8 October GRII Night Seminar - Full Dialogue

 Hello! On this day there is a seminar in GRII. Here is the complete summary of the event. This is completely written fresh: I am writing this as I listen to the speaker, as this maximizes accuracy. The speaker is professor Stephen Coleman and it is in english language. This event is payment free and registration free. It is titled "Narasi Perjanjian Lama dan Kehidupan Kristen", in other words, "Old Testament Narrative and Christian Life". How does the  Old Testament relate to our lives? Let's find out.

Preseminar

1: Prayer

2: Song "Batu Zaman" (english: Rock of Ages)

Speaker 1: Good night. We are thankful Old testament professor Stephen Coleman from the Westminster can come here. Last week there has been a regional KKR.

Stephen Coleman: I delight to be here in Jakarta again. It is wonderful to be in RMCI. I am very grateful for the invitation to be here and speak to you this evening. Let us pray.

PRAYER

Coleman: We love stories. We love stories that grip our imaginations and we love being thrilled from a drama. We love things that flare up our emotions and thoughts. We communicate through stories too. In the evening I say to my wife, "Guess what happened today!". What he says is a story of characters, of a climax and of a conclusion. We truly love stories. If someone asks us, "Who are you?", we don't say "I'm 65% oxygen, 18% carbon, and 6'2 and 190 pounds in weight on good days.". Rather, we say, we say our place of origin and growth. This is because we love stories. We are not surprised God has given us stories in his Word - the Bible. But when it comes to Old Testament stories, we often find it too diffucult to understand or comprehend them. Especially understanding it in a way that it can inspire and change us. It is because the world of the Old Testament is unfamiliar from us. It is even more unfamiliar than the New Testament world of Rome and Greece.  But the world of the Old Testament seems like a distant land for us. Its languages, customs, rituals are very different from ours.

Coleman: One scholar said that the Old Testament stories feels like viewing a distant country. Another reason is because the Old Testament is full of many disgraceful and immoral characters. We think "What do we do, what do we learn from these horrible sinners?". The story of Judah and Tamar is one example: Judah and Tamar's story's climax is when Tamar, a woman, tricked his father in law to have sexual relationships with him. But Tamar is more righteous than his father. But how do we use this story? What about Esther's? She is a woman from Judea that rose the ranks into marrying the king but did not tell the king of her Jewishness. The third reason of this diffuculty is because their message is not clear. Compared to Paul's reasoning, whose reasoning is clear, or compared to the authors of the gospels, who wrote for how Jesus Christ came, lived, and died for us, which is easier for us to understand, the Old Testament narrative often lacks a clear message to us. What does King David encourage his son Solomon to do in 1 Kings 2? He says to Solomon, "You need to kill Joab and  Shimei the Benjamite". Is this good or bad advice? Is this vengeance? Or is this wisdom? Is this king engaging with worldly politics or offering godly wisdom that will save his son? This narrative is often confusing, but God has given this narrative. In 1 Timothy it says the Bible was given to rebuke, correct, etc. 

Coleman: This kind of narrative makes up 40% of the OT. So how do we interpret this and get a message from this. What I hope this can make you able to apply OT principles. How do I apply the Old Testament into our lives? But the Old Testament gives us advice and wise things to us even today. Many will disagree with this statement. Some might sat the Old Testament was meant only for that the people of old. But Paul still brings up stories from Israel. In 1 Corinthians 10:11, Paul says that these things happened to Israel as an example. He says there are instructions in these stories for us. He says to Timothy that all Scripture is God-breathed. All Scripture is important.

Coleman: The most common and tempting way to apply the Old Testament is to read it and apply it more moralistically. But God gave us these stories to see good and bad examples of people. Perhaps you've heard of a moralistic sermon. A moralistic sermon might say "Moses was faithful, you must be too.". "Daniel prayed every day. You must too.". "David was courageous. You must be too.". But what's the problem with these statements? The problem is that  it missed the fundamental point of Scripture. David is a moral example, but he has his weaknesses. Abraham might be a terrific faith example, but he lied to Abimelek. Noah may be righteous but he also became drunk. We cannot be saved from our morality. The problem with setting "faith heroes" on a pedestal to emulate is that these heroes have many weaknesses. The saints and heroes are also sinners, just like us. They are weak and have failures. They need a Savior. What good news is there for us? There must and should be a different way to interpret and apply the Old Testament's plentiful stories. The antidote to moralistic teaching is to read the Old Testament christocentrically: making the center God and Christ. The Bible is not about us or what we do to be saved, but primarily about God and his actions to save sinners unable to save themselves. This is how Jesus read the Old Testament. This is what I want to advocate this evening. Luke 24:25 it says Jesus rebuke his disciplies, saying that it is neccesary for the Messiah to come to save the earth. He explains the Old Testament stories but his method is centered around himself: Christ. The Gospels do not give much of Jesus' inner life details: his feelings, experiences, and thoughts. I think Jesus would tell us to read the Psalms about the emotional life of our Saviour. Jesus is really the ultimate singer of the psalms. The Old Testament is not about us but about God. When reading the Old Testament christocentrically, we're not doing it the wrong way: not doing the way God never intended it to be. We are correct when we are reading the Old Testament with Jesus at its center. 

Coleman: In John 5:46 Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, saying that if they believe Moses, they would believe Him, for Moses wrote about Jesus. So Jesus said that the Pharisees did not believe in Moses, as Moses foretold Christ. Paul says that he both preached the full council of God but also wanted to preach about Jesus and him only. How can this be? This is because if we read the Bible christocentrically, we understand it has been leading us to Christ all along. Christ can come from the Old Testament, the sacraments, the Church seminars and sermons, etc. All of Scripture we must see in a way relating to Christ: as if Jesus had a message to say to us. Ask: "How does this story apply to me?". Our applications must run through Christ.  The Old Testament reveals the glory, majesty, and greatness of our Savior. But the ultimate application is worship and doxology - to delight and to glorify the one true and living God. Old Testament narratives are not always unclear. Sometimes they give us clear narratives that we are supposed to imitate. Think of Daniel standing firm in his faith against unspeakable pressure. Pressure to compromise and capitulate his faith. Certainly it is good to emulate Daniel's outstanding faith and effort. However, we should still look at these narratives in a christocentric way. Though Daniel's story orders us to be faithful, where is the good news for those who fail to live up the same faith under pressure? In Daniel's case, we can see that there is a sovereign God that can deliver us from all threats - including our own sin. There are good news! There is surely hope from threats outside and inside us. One of the most famous Old Testament narratives in 1 Samuel 17 is David and Goliath. This has it all: action, suspense, intrigue, changes in the plot, and climax of good over evil. Israel has prepared to attack their Phillistine rivals. Their enemies have just arrived in Judean territory in a valley. A phillistine giant emerges: Goliath! Goliath is described with good detail, saying his height was six cubits and a span, and that he had a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. The weight of the coat was 500 shekels of bronze. He had a javelin of bronze and leg armor of bronze. His spear's weight was 600 shekels of iron. That is about three meters tall. Why are these detail  important? They are meant to overwhelm us with this champion, Goliath's strength. Saul might not even have access to such armor. Saul cowers and fears at Goliath's strength. He, the king that is meant to engage in war, cowers. But some shepherd boy named David comes to the front lines. Goliath mocks and taunts at him and his God. David steps forward, and he shoots a stone with his sling. Goliath falls. There is a grear Israelite victory. How can this be applied? We can apply this to obstacles and threats. We can apply it to our Goliaths. God gave victory to David against his Goliath. God will give victory to us against our Goliaths. But sometimes we forget that the Bible does not intend for us to be a hero or a savior. We are the saved. We are the villains that need to be saved. We are much more like the cowering Israelite army. The story is about how God provides a champion that saved his people. David went forth not in his own strength but in God's. Christ also went forward in the power of God - in the spirit - and fight " a battle". He went to the wilderness and battled forces far greater than Goliath. David delivered Israel from political and physical slavery. But this is merely a foreshadowing of Christ.

Coleman: Paul tells us in Colossians 2:15 that when Christ died in the cross, he disarmed the rulers and the authorities and put them in open shame by triumphing over them, who defeated threats for us. But it would be a mistake saying that the story of David and Goliath is all about Christ. David himself can also give some moral example for us. We can see in David his tremendous faith in God. When David saw the battlefield and heard Goliath's taunts, he did not see it in the way Saul did. He had faith. He would probably even think the title of the story "David and Goliath" should have been changed to "God and Goliath". Goliath cursed David by the name of David's God. David answered in 1 Samuel 17:45-47. He says that Dvaid is coming in the power of God (while Goliath is coming with the power of a sword and javelin) and that he will kill Goliath. David is seeing the story through faith and living with and by faith. By faith, not by sight. So the story of David and Goliath shows us how to live by faith and challenges us eachof us to live by faith, not sight. However, David is a foreshadowing of Christ, he, nevertheless, is a sinner like us. He is in need of a Saviour. In 1 Samuel 17 he lives by faith, but at other times, he failed dreadfully to live by faith but rather live by his sight. When he sees Bathsheba bathing, he invites her into his bed. He is living  by sight, not by faith. David needed a Saviour when even he was a foreshadowing of that Saviour. But we cannot see David in a way of seeing his faith or greatness, for we need saving. There is no good news if we see his story in that method. What hope is there for failed Christians? The answer is that God provides a champion that fights for weak people. In 1 Samuel 17 this champion is David, but that was from a more political perspective. Jesus is an even greater champion that fought for weak, sinful, and unfaithful people. None of us is good enough, so Jesus was given as a champion for us. Every time we read the Bible, we need to read it in a Christ centered way, for we may have some good news. The center application is praise and worship unto the Triune God. Let us pray.

PRAYER

There's also a Q&A afterwards. 

1. How do long genealogies (e.g Chronicles) apply?

Coleman: In Matthew, it lists a genealogy of the ancestors of Jesus. The genealogies of Chronicles also give us examples of God's faithfulness. It begins with Adam until the return from Babylon. As you read these genealogies, you will see of God's faithfulness to Israel - his covenant community - whose faith is wavering. But God's faith does not waver. Many nations did not return from exile usually, but Israel did. They were still a people, a community, after the exile. 

2. What about churches that say "Christ is a greater David/Noah". What is your thoughts?

Coleman: We should read the Bible christocentrically the way the apostles did it. Paul sees in the Red Sea parting a baptism. Yes, it is legitimate that Christ is a greater David and Noah, but there are better ways to talk about Fhrist. 

3. Should the Old Testament always need to be thought christologically? Can't there be OT's own voice?

Coleman: We cannot separate the Old and New Testament as two completely separate and binary entities. We cannot say they contradict each other. In John 4:46, it says that if we believe Moses, we believe in Jesus. The Old and New Testament connects well. 

4. Should there be totally no moralistic extraction from the Old Testament?

Coleman: We are given moral examples in the Old Testament but to read the Old Testament only moralistically is wrong, for it severs it connection with Christ, the main point in the whole Bible.   I am not saying there are no Old Testament moral examples, but this view should ony be secondary.

5. Not all NT books read the OT christologically such as John and Luke. Meanwhile, James is quite comfortable with OT wisdom.

Coleman: In 1 Corinthians 1 that Christ is our wisdom. He lived a perfectly wise and righteousness. I think this topic is for another time. I think the apostles and gospel writers wrote it christocentrically. 

6. How do you read the bloody texts such as the Amalekite genocide in a christocentric way?

Coleman:There is no Amalekite genocide. A genocide is a killing of a people because of their race and genes. God never declared the destruction of the Amalekites because of ethnicity. It is because of Amalekite religion and wickedness. This is a more accurate description. God ordered this destruction because of the Amalekite wickedness. This can be a foreshadowing of a judgement day: where all wicked people throughout the face of the earth will be punished and destroyed like the Amalekites. In Genesis 15, it says that the Israelites will be in Egypt for four centuries to wait for the Amorites to sin even more. Why? God is patient and gives time for repentance. But sometimes God needs to say "No more" and  punish. The destruction of the Canaanites and Amorites were a destruction as a punishment. But Israel was also punished - they were exiled.

7. How do we read the OT christocentrically when its orginal authors do not directly address Christ?

Coleman: St Augustine described the Old Testament as being in a room with the lights turned very low. You know that there is furniture and you can see shadows of said furniture. When Christ comes it is as if the lights have turned on. The authors did see the shadows of Christ. In the book of Hebrews, it states that, in the Hall of Faith (Heb 11), faith is the  substance  of things hoped for. The author continues to list various Old Testament heroes and says that all of them received Christ by faith. When Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac but Isaac did not die, Abraham learned something about the ressurection. 

That's a summary and dialog of the sermon.