When You Disagree with the People’s Translation – Part III of III

Old Church Slavonic (18th Century)

Now that I have convinced myself which text is original, I see a more daunting task before me.  If I am to teach this in a Russian or Ukrainian context, how do I teach the text without undermining the authority of the people’s Bible?  If I simply tell them to trust me, I am undermining the authority of their Bible and making myself their authority.  I don’t want to do that.  If I try to explain how I came to this conclusion, I will lose most of them and bore the rest to death.  So how do I teach/preach what I am convinced is the original text and at the same time support the authority of the people’s Bible?

Here are some suggestions.  The following suggestions are given under the assumption that the teacher/preacher prayerfully and humbly prepares his messages with a desire to communicate God’s truth in a way that will bring glory to God and transform the hearts, minds and lives of his listeners.  A high standard I know, but the calling to teach/preach God’s truth should, in my view, always be approached with awe, fear and trembling.

First, do your homework.  To the extent that God has given you the ability, study the issue.  This is also an opportunity to perhaps increase and improve the exegetical skills God has allowed you to develop. 

Second, study the issue from different points of view.  One way to do that is to read people you don’t agree with and even learn their position well enough to defend it.  One professor used to say, “You are not ready to debate an opponent until you can skillfully defend your opponent’s position.” 

Third, be able to explain your view in terms that the non-seminarian can understand.  This is not easy.  Not everything can be explained in simple terms.  This will take time and may require a willingness to further educate those who ask.  You should think this through as part of your message preparation.  You should be prepared to define terms and point people to resources for further personal study.

Fourth, consider your audience, your verbal genre and your explanation.  For example, if your preparing a sermon that includes Romans 8:1, you are going to have to say something about the textual issue.  If your audience is a small congregation of elderly people living in a village in rural Ukraine, it is probably a bad idea to go into a lot of detail about the study of textual criticism.  However, it may be helpful to say a few words about the nature of translations.  There is sometimes disagreement on how to translate certain Greek or Hebrew terms.  Always humbly affirm that there are good reasons for the decision that the translators of the Russian Bible (for example) made and while you respect their scholarship, on this one point you don’t agree.  Explain your conclusion and then offer to explain further after the service if someone has more in depth questions.  I think this is enough.  It affirms the usefulness of the people’s Bible while at the same time reminding them that it is a translation and in all translation something is lost.  It also indicates the humble possibility that you could be wrong (and it’s true, you could be wrong) and the translation could be correct.  On the other hand, if you have an audience of seminary students and staff, it may be useful to spend a little time on the textual issue and show how the discipline can be used in the exegetical process.  I think it is a good idea to try to include, on some level hermeneutical and/or exegetical principles – directly or indirectly in every sermon.  It may also serve as an opportunity to stretch and inspire your hearers to further study.

Finally, consider your time constraints.  The textual issue is important, but you don’t want it to obscure the more important truth that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  Remember, if some have questions, there is always time to have a mini seminar or informal discussion group after the sermon.

It is my sincere hope and desire that these musings help some better study, understand and communicate the Word of God.