We don’t want you to become commentary junkies. And neither does John Piper. While there are certainly people out there in danger of arrogant isolation, refusing to consider the opinions of others recorded in Bible commentaries, Piper’s world is a bit different:
Now, in the world I live in — where I function at Bethlehem College and Seminary and Bethlehem Baptist Church and Desiring God — and the circles I go in, there aren’t many people who are falling off the horse on the first side, who say, “I never read commentaries. I never read books about the Bible. I just read my Bible, I pray, and that’s all I need.” I don’t know anybody like that in my sphere. That’s not the world I live in. I’m sure they exist; I just don’t have anything to do with them.
In my sphere, the error is almost always on the other side, the other direction. And therefore, I have devoted most of my life to encouraging people not to be dependent on commentaries and books about the Bible but to give assiduous attention to the biblical text directly — for themselves. When it comes to church leadership, I see more danger in becoming an inauthentic second-hander than in spending too much time assiduously thinking for yourself about what the Bible text is teaching.
My experience within my own circles has been similar to Piper’s. Which is why we want to help you learn how to study the Bible for yourself. By all means, don’t avoid commentaries altogether. The question is not whether but when.
And Piper can help you think that through further.
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