StudyGrowKnow

Do Graduate Degrees Matter?

February 2, 2012 at 9:22 AM Leave a comment

It’s interesting how often I hear statements like, “I’m not impressed by letters after your name,” or something similar.  It’s usually stated by people who have no letters after their name at all.

I know people will disagree with me, but I tend to think that people who have never formally studied the Bible have a far more difficult time wading through it than those who have formally studied.

The other thing I often hear is something along the lines of “God teaches me everything I need to know about the Bible.  I don’t need to study formally, or under pastors or teachers.”  This of course is based on passages like John 16:33 which states, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

Now let’s be clear.  The Holy Spirit does live within each authentic believer.  That is a given.  But let me ask you this: are you perfectly capable of hearing and understanding what the Holy Spirit teaches? I’m not, which is why I need to bounce ideas of other learned individuals.

The people who believe that it’s just “me and the Holy Spirit” are completely missing the point.  The same people who believe that pursuing an advanced degree in Bible is not necessary are also missing the point (in my opinion).

Did Paul study formally?  The answer is yes.  Did Jesus study formally?  Most likely, but even if He did not, He was capable of perfectly understanding the teachings of the Holy Spirit.  It is also very clear that He knew the Bible.  He began learning it from an early age and since He did not have the sin nature to deal with (meaning, all temptation came from outside of Him), it was far easier for Him to comprehend what the Spirit taught Him.  It is also interesting to note that He obviously put a high price of studying and knowing the Word.  We know this because of how He was able to rightly divide it when dealing with the Pharisees or religious leaders.  We also know this from the times Satan tempted Him just after His water baptism (Matthew 4).  The Word was always on His lips because it was embedded in His heart.

Think about the fact that Jesus never misquoted or misunderstood any portion of Scripture.  Can you say that about yourself?

We know that Paul studied because he told us so in one of his letters to the Corinthians.  We also know this from various places in the book of Acts.  We need to understand that Paul counted all that loss, but what did he mean here? Well, he was speaking in the context of salvation, therefore we can rightly assume that he understood that his advanced study meant nothing as far as salvation was concerned.  It was for that his degrees did not matter.  However, because he studied the Scriptures formally, he was able to rightly divide the Word like no other person in the Bible, except Jesus.

Paul studied formally.  Peter did not.  Peter was a fisherman and while God brought Peter along in leaps and bounds, he was still capable of making mistakes.  This is not to say that Paul could not have made mistakes.  Lord knows there are many people today who believe Paul was wrong on any number of counts.

But consider that in the book of Acts, Paul actually had to stand against Peter because Peter was wrong about something.  Peter should have known better, but while he had the zeal, he lacked the wisdom.  Paul did him a great favor by straightening him out and unfortunately, he had to do it publicly.  But Peter was humble enough to receive Paul’s correction (cf. Galatians 2:11-21; Acts 15).  This is another thing I find lacking in people who are “self-taught” solely.  They are unable and even unwilling to hear that they could be wrong about something.

I have stated any number of times on this blog and in my books that I could be wrong about the subject that I was addressing.  I know that I do not have perfect wisdom, which is why I study under other individuals who have greater learning that I.  People who believe that it’s just “me and the Holy Spirit” are actually being arrogant, but they would deny it.  What they’re truly saying is that they stand against everyone else.  If the Lord doesn’t speak directly to them about a subject, then they are inclined to ignore it.

I’m sure there are people who have formally studied who are arrogant because of their (head) knowledge, but I have found many more individuals who have never studied formally and are almost loathe to sit under the tutelage of anyone else to be so.  They glory in the fact that they believe God speaks to them directly and often I have found that they have moved into the realm of the experiential, which they believe is one of the ways in which they know whether or not the Holy Spirit speaks to them.  It becomes an esoteric-type of relationship because it’s God they believe they are hearing from.

I have heard some really far-out situations that have occurred with people who are “self-taught.” They tend to go beyond Scriptures believing that since God cannot be encapsulated in one book (He can’t), then God will speak to them about things that are not discussed in His Book (He won’t).  Because of this, we’ve seen all manner of cults rise up with charismatic leaders who gather people to them, pulling the wool over their eyes the entire time.

If it wasn’t a full-blown cult, we’ve got people who have gained “wisdom” through dreams or visions in which Jesus is placed in situations He would never be caught dead in.  Because it feels right, it must be right, in spite of the teaching of Scripture.  They may not say it that way, but it’s implied because of the fact that they have accepted it as truth.  It must have come from God because there is no way they will admit to the possibility that it came from Satan.

I have not gotten to the end of my learning, but I do know this:  God’s Word is so complex, so deep that if I had two lifetimes to study it, I would still not come to the end of my learning.  Yet we have people who believe that God has said some things in the Bible we need to know, but He also speaks outside of the Bible directly to us, in our unique situations.  They simply do not realize that this opens up a serious can of devilish worms that can play havoc with our emotions and our thinking because of it.

I’ve heard a number of people relate to me conversations they’ve had with God and how He spoke to them in detail.  I understand that because at one point, I was involved in the Charismatic Movement years ago.  Because of my involvement, it was certainly not uncommon to hear these types of stories about how “God told me” such and such.

I’m not saying God does not direct our steps, because that’s one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit, but there is a way to interpret Scripture that allows God to speak to our hearts through it, not apart from it.

If I’m in a store and I get a sense that I should pray for my wife, I stop and pray.  I don’t hear “Fred, you need to pray for your wife right now because she is experiencing a terrible time with work.  Pray to me that I will give her strength so that she can overcome.  I know she is tired and worn out, but she needs to wait on my strength…“, etc.  It is merely a sense that I should pray.  God doesn’t present that nudging with a speech.

Besides, God’s Word is filled with ample evidence that we should pray for one another as often as we think about it.  I don’t need the Holy Spirit to give me a speech about it, though He certainly may choose to remind me of Scripture that He wrote generations ago.  However, if I have not memorized or at least become very familiar with aspects of Scripture, then He won’t do that either.

People who believe God speaks to them all the time prefer that to reading the Bible.  They are involved in something esoteric and because of that, are loath to give it up for the mundane study of His Word.

I’m convinced that if more people – everyone – studied formally to at least gain a basic understanding of how to study His Word, there would be a good deal less acrimony and error within the visible Church.  People don’t do that.  Those who do study His Word often view things in an incorrect context.  I know people who would simply open up God’s Word and wherever it fell open, God was speaking to them.  That’s not how it works, folks.

The Bible is not a book of magic.  It is God’s Word to humanity and it does represent what God wants us to know about Him.  The people who do not feel the need to study His Word and look upon people like myself arrogantly are off on the wrong foot, in my estimation.

Ask yourself: have you ever been corrected about something biblically?  If so, was your response accepting in a humble way, or did you immediately become antagonistic or defensive?  After all, if you believe God Himself told you something and someone else comes along and tries to point out to you that you may well be incorrect, why wouldn’t you become defensive? You believe God taught you something. How dare anyone else comes along and tries to show you that you are in error!

Having formally studied with three advanced degrees, I can honestly say that I am nowhere near the end of my learning.  In many ways, I feel as though I’m just beginning.  Studying formally has given me tools, that’s all.  It has helped me understand how to interpret God’s Word.

Ask yourself another question.  When you come across someone who has studied formally and has degrees, do you instantly see them as arrogant?  Does it tend to put you on the defensive?  If so, then you are dealing with pride, my friend.  Pride goes before a fall.

There are too many people in Christendom who either do not know God’s Word at all, preferring that someone simply tell them what it says and means, or there are those who do all their studying on their own because rather than work through others, the Holy Spirit will speak directly to them.  In the process, what they are also saying is that the Holy Spirit does not really speak to and through anyone else, especially if there is disagreement over an issue.  They would likely deny this, but it seems to be true enough.

I have letters after my name.  So what? Those letters after my name do absolutely nothing for me as far as salvation goes. I will get into heaven with or without them.  However, those letters after my name mean that I am learning to rightly divide His Word and when I stand before Him, I’m hoping that I will not be embarrassed because I misrepresented Him in ministry during this life.

Understanding God’s Word is not necessarily an easy thing.  There is a proper way to rightly divide it and an incorrect way to do so.  Context is extremely important and primary.  After that, we must understand the particular vernacular including grammar that was used by the human author.  We also need to take into consideration the history that is shown throughout Scripture.

People who do not interpret Scripture as noted above usually wind up allegorizing Scripture to suit their own needs and wants.  This is where error sneaks in and if left unchecked, will grow to include more error.  Is this what you want?

Take the time to study formally, even if it’s only for a year or so, because in doing so, you will gain greater understanding and appreciation for His Word and how to interpret it.

Whenever we say “God said…” we need to be sure that God actually said that.  In the Hebrew Bible, false prophets were stoned to death outside the camp.  Today, people open their mouths crediting God with the things that come out. I think if we all realized just how responsible we are for what we say, we might think twice or three times before we say it.

There is nothing wrong with formally studying His Word.  Yes, the downside is that it can become an exercise in academia.  The up side is that we gain greater insight into God’s Truth.  Take a chance and seek Him through formal study of His Word.  There’s really no excuse not to today because there are so many online campuses available.

May you be blessed as you seek His face through His Word.

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