On Thursday mornings this fall, I am teaching the book of Romans to a group of ladies, the Soul Sisters, at a local Presbyterian church. And on Thursday evenings, I am teaching the book of Revelation to our home group Bible study that has been together for more than twenty years.
Romans is traditionally known as the “head knowledge” of the faith and Paul, the author of the book, uses Romans to teach us about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the grace of God, sanctification, justification and many other New Testament concepts that are the result of God’s love for us and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Of course, the difference between Christianity and other world religions is that Jesus rose from the dead to rule eternally as King, in addition to His roles as priest and prophet.
Romans is usually a pretty difficult book to teach; and to understand. Paul really gets into the faith and teaches us so many things that most folks must read it many times to make sense of it.
Revelation is the last book in the Bible and has to do with what we refer to as eschatology – the study of the endtimes. It is in the genre of apocalyptic literature and is John’s account of having visited heaven and learned more about the future of the world; and how Jesus ultimately reigns supreme for all eternity. John had a vision and was instructed to write most of his recollections down – this writing became Revelation.
Since this book takes place in the future it is difficult to truly unpack some of the language and concepts put forth in the book. This has led to a number of different interpretations of Revelation. Most of them center on the events surrounding the rapture of the Church (the church’s removal from the earth) and whether this happens before, during or after the Tribulation period. This is a timespan of seven years on the earth that results in the ultimate establishment of God’s eternal kingdom after a series of events led by Satan, the Beast of the Sea and the Beast of the earth.
Admittedly, there are many different possible scenarios and it is not difficult to listen to a variety of opinions that sometimes cause people to end up confused. This is the second time in our 20+ years together that we have taken on the assignment of studying this book – and it’s not easy – even for the most well read and educated theologians.
In both of the aforementioned books of the New Testament, I get asked questions that require deep study. Teaching them both at the same time has been daunting. In fact, I have found myself using resources that I have not consulted in a long time.
Namely, I have gone back to my notes I took in seminary as a student of Dr. Clinton Branine. Dr. Branine was the lead professor who taught many of the theology courses that we were required to take. Soteriology (the study of salvation), Biblical Theology, Trinitarianism, Angelology and Demonology, Ecclesiology (study of the church) as well as other disciplines of the faith were taught by the theology department. In fact, up until the day before his death, Dr. Branine could be found at his desk studying the Scriptures, never content to think that he had learned enough during his eighty some years of life. I can’t even begin to share how humble this great man was.
When I was about to start seminary, I sat down with Dr. Branine and I shared my desire to grow closer “to the one who created me.” I gave him the sacred responsibility of teaching me the truth – the God centered Gospel truth – and I sat under his tutelage for more than three years – three of the greatest years of my life.
When it came time for my oral defense in fulfillment of the requirements for my Doctor of Ministry degree, Dr. Branine was one of the leaders present to assess my work and my knowledge. I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for what he taught me – and even after years of sitting under him, I am still learning more about the doctrines of the Bible, using the methods of study that he taught me.
During the past several weeks, I have been consulting my class notes and position papers written by Dr. Branine. They have been very helpful in my teaching, both to the Soul Sisters and also to our home study group. And I have been able to relive some of those wonderful class discussions through the written record of my notes. He was a kind, caring, loving theologian who poured his life into each of us.
Tonight’s verse is from the apostle Paul, the same one who wrote the book of Romans. In his book to the church as Galatia, Paul told those Christians, in Galatians 6:6, “Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.” It is with deep respect and gratitude that I recognize Dr. Branine for teaching me theology and having the faith in me that I could become an ambassador for Christ. Through his influence in me, I have taught more than 20 years myself – which would not have been possible without his dedication to me and the rest of the class.
My encouragement this evening is God wants each of us to study His word and share the Good News of the Gospel throughout the world. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to enlighten us through the leading of the Holy Spirit so that we can each become more Christlike as we grow in our faith. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…