Chronological Teaching: Telling the Story

2012-08-18

There is a good reason why the majority of the Bible is written in narrative form. Most people in our world communicate through stories. You can see this in many societies, including our own. Knowing the American story makes us feel more American, such as the bravery of George Washington, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and so forth. People also like to hear good stories. But most importantly, stories can communicate truth at a much deeper level than if we were just to tell them directly. Jesus knew this well. Consider this example:

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:25-37)

Jesus used a parable to show this man many things. The lawyer wanted to know who he could consider his neighbor. Jesus tells him more than who a neighbor is; but what a neighbor does. The lawyer got more than he bargained for! A neighbor goes out of way to help people that may even be an enemy. A neighbor spends time and money to help other people. A neighbor shows love by actions and not words. A neighbor is merciful. This beautiful story conveyed deep truths, and I am sure I am missing many more. The Old Testament narratives show us who God is, what he does, what he expects from us, and so on. Introducing unsaved people to God can be done by Old Testament narratives, and we can expect that God’s Word as both story and objective history is going to do a better job than any story we can come up with.

Not only do we tell the story from the Scriptures, we are to do it in their native language. Whatever their heart language is, the teaching must be done in that language, not the national language. We know that God can speak every language, and therefore God’s Word can be translated into every language. It is not reasonable to have the entire Bible translated into their language before the teaching, but one would need to have the pertinent verses translated when presenting these lessons.