Welcome again. thank you for visiting my blog.
I have just completed the course on the study of Romans.
It has been a most memorable experience - learning how to show genuine love to all.
It is the beginning of a wonderful journey.
You are most welcome to join me by responding to my blog.
25 Jul 2013
Reflection on ROMANS Learning Experience
“Why
are you here to study the Book of Romans?” This pertinent question at the
presentation on the outset begged for an appropriate personal response. It was
a timely reminder to search my heart - besides it being one of the requirements
of the course, as everyone knows. I asked myself for not only the purpose but
my expectation of the course. To my surprise I found that truly, if I was able
to meet God through this study, to discover what He wants to teach me, wouldn’t
it be so wonderful? So, as the course began to unfold, God was faithful to
answer my prayer. Importantly, He gave me the confidence of the assurance of
His love in Rom 8:31-39, in that nothing will be able to separate me from His
love, even if I were to go through trial or tribulation. For me, it added a new
dimension of God’s love, for when I am assured of God’s love, only then will I not
be afraid for He will be there for me through trials, and His strength and
grace will be sufficient for me.
Without a doubt, throughout
the lectures, there were indeed instances of useful learning points or gems to
take away as well. I especially found Structural Diagramming and the Online
Study Tools extremely useful to help me grasp and understand the content of
Romans better. Knowing the verbs and conditionals helped me to be better able
to determine the key ideas of the chapter and verse at hand. It also helped me
to better structure the outline of Bible verses for sharing or teaching later, in
my ministry. For as I prepare, I am able to check the meaning of actual words in
Greek as they appear in the verses just by using the Online tool for word study.
These tools I feel are pertinent in the study of the Bible. I was also reminded
of the danger of ‘exegetical fallacy’ where we use our modern day mind to
interpret the Bible without thoroughly examining the historical context and
setting, word and origin. Now I am greatly challenged to exercise caution, to examine
passages of Scripture painstakingly, using all these tools before coming to any
conclusion, even to the extent of retranslating the verses in my own words.
In my interaction with
the varied materials sourced for the study of Romans, this particular article
caught my attetntion. It is entitled “Interpretation”
taken from A Journal of Bible and
Theology, October, 2003, written by Michael Barram. He pointed out a pertinent
idea from v 19 – that of ‘feeding our enemies’ and ‘not avenging yourselves’
and ‘bless those who persecute’ in v14. The writer questions the implication of
this command in today’s world, fraught with global terrorism and political
upheaval, which he says that Paul cannot possibly understand! The writer feels
that it is too ‘idealistic’ – what more after 9/11, it is totally impossible!
Well, this statement gave me much to reflect on as I continue to grapple with
the concepts and commands in the study of Romans. As such, I am continually being
challenged. Even as I disagree with the writer’s view, I am sure that to
forgive and love our enemies is possible only with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Another area that
seems to trouble me still is from Rom 12:1-21. I used to take Paul’s
exhortations for Christian living ever so lightly. True, I can say that I did
my best to love my brothers and sisters in the body of Christ and in the larger
community - that was all. Now I begin to question my attitude towards them, and
more significantly, have I done enough within my capability? Have I been
unkind, selfish, putting my interest above theirs, and only being interested
when there is a benefit in it. With excuses like time, family, work, commitments,
I must confess that I have fallen short! It only leaves me to repent and to ask
God how I can show genuine and sincere love to all to apply well the
exhortations of Paul in daily life, toward family, friends, colleagues,
course-mates and strangers too. Romans has changed the perspective of my past
response and attitude to fellow Christians to a more positive one.
Right from the start
of the course, emphasis was put on collaboration and community – so the need to
form groups. I was full of anticipation regarding this. However, to my pleasant
surprise, my group comprised the most hardworking and ‘gung-ho’ go-getters I
have ever met. At the word ‘Go’ they sped off, like the bullet train of Japan -
scanning materials for reading; sending email after email, and even posting on
the social forum before the first lesson! Wow! I have never worked with such a
great bunch of positive and enthusiastic students before. I am truly blessed by
the good interaction, warmth and support, consideration and genuine love shown within
the group. Indeed this is true love in action! Working in groups is a good
opportunity for me to learn to put Romans 12 into practice. All said and done, I
have thoroughly enjoyed the course with Rev Casey. Thank you and God bless.
6 Jul 2012
Reflection on BI learning experience
It was the most shocking experience of my
life when I stepped into the BI class on the first day – it suddenly dawned on
me that I was the “most mature” student in the class, and I do mean, “most
mature” in every sense of the word! At that moment I was totally intimidated!
Would I be able to cope? How about IT? How about group work?...on and on my
mind went into a whirl! It was very daunting! And true enough, even at the
first lesson, I had problems logging onto the eduencounter site set up for the
class, when everyone else found it a breeze! Anyway, I decided to face up to the
challenge ahead. With some help from the
other more IT- savy students, like Alvin, I got through my first day with much
relief! It’s a boon for having helpful course-mates! Well, I
suppose studying at a mature age can pose many different challenges, but I
learn that if one were to press on with determination, and not allow small setbacks
to get in the way, then learning God’s Word really becomes a joy, at any age –
sixteen, or sixty!
To more
serious thoughts - the passage for our study in this Bible Interpretation Module,
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 proved to be very exciting and aptly chosen. I feel that
it is a topic well chosen as parts of the passage are thought-provoking, and calls
for much debate. It forces me to dig deep into the meaning of many significant
words and phrases. During the process of working on EGP1 through to EGP3, my
group members and I discovered new meanings and understanding of the words that
we would normally interpret at face value like “control your own body”, ‘sexual
immorality’ and others. Little did I realise that after checking and further
examination of the work of various commentators, there was even some contention
among these well-known scholars, especially to the real meaning of what Paul
meant by to ‘control your own body’. It was really an eye-opener – something I
had never thought of before. Thanks to the search on the ‘literary context’ in
EGP2, I realised what he meant to say. This simple exercise, although
demanding, taught me never to take God’s word literally without checking the
meaning and usage in context.
In the same
vein, the lesson on historical context proved very useful. The research and
reading of the book by Williams uncovered the fact that sexual immorality was
the ‘cultural norm’ of the Greco Roman period of that time, and marriage was
for producing legal heirs while mistresses was for pleasure! Hence I can now
understand the fear and anxiety that Paul showed each time he wrote to the new
converts in the different churches. He was afraid that they could easily fall
back to the immoral way of life that was so prevalent in their society at that
time. This understanding changed my perspective of why Paul always included the
exhortation to the churches to be “holy” and to be “pure”. The importance of
historical context cannot be dismissed, and the Bible cannot be interpreted
with our modern 21st century mind! That aside, I now have a clearer
understanding of this. And the significance of theological implications cannot
be taken lightly either. I realise that this is a very important aspect of
Bible Interpretation as well. This has helped me to learn to compare our
cultural context with that of Paul’s time, then proceed to explore further the
local church setting, the problems that are relevant and how to apply possible
solutions to the problems. My perspective of just looking at one aspect has
changed. Now with the integrated approach, interpretation is more complete and
meaningful.
When attempting
to apply what I have learnt in Paul’s message to the modern day context in the
small city of Singapore, I find that the state of morality in today’s society is
no different from the time of Paul. The world view and practices of so called
sexual morality leaves much to be desired. Premarital sex, adultery, prostitution
and homosexuality have been degraded to almost an everyday piece of news that would
no longer cause anyone to bat an eyelid. These issues are becoming so rampant even
in other parts of the world, so much so that even ‘gay marriages’ have been legalised
in a particular state in the USA. This has challenged me to look at specific issues
in my church and to see if there is anything further that can be done,
especially in the area of divorce among brothers and sisters that I know, to
help them to take God’s word for marriage seriously and to work towards
reconciliation. Another issue is the one on premarital sex, for our church has
quite a large number of youths, and it would be worthwhile for the youth
ministers to examine if there is any further need for talks that are suitable
to drive home the message of purity, holiness and abstinence before marriage.
The topics in
this module proved to be very comprehensive and I learnt so much by way of how
to do a proper and complete exegesis. This would prove very useful in my future
modules at AGBC. (Assembly of God bible College). Not only that, it will benefit
me greatly as I continue to study God’s word at both study and personal level. It
will also be of great help to me during my small group meetings as we meet to
deliberate the Word, and during ministry trips too, when I deliver the Word to
those I minister to in the various places that I visit. Being able to interact
with my course-mates and group members also brought new insights, especially in
their understanding, their effort and willingness to assist at all times, and
the resourcefulness in the group assignments. I have thoroughly enjoyed the
module, the lectures, the interactions, the reflection and the purposeful assignments,
albeit a bit stretched for time. Thank you Rev Casey. God bless.
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