Alexander Campbell was one of the founders of the Restoration Movement in the early 1800’s. This was an American movement to return Christianity back to the simplicity of the New Testament, and to return to the Bible as the guide in Christian beliefs. Campbell was the leading spokesman for the new movement. Out of all of Alexander Campbell’s writings, probably the most influential was The Christian System written in 1839. His system of Bible Study is taken from the second chapter of that work. Even after 160 years, it’s amazing how his ideas are still current for a new generation of believers who want to study the Bible and learn God’s truths for themselves.

1. Generally, how important was the Bible in Campbell’s view?

Alexander Campbell had a high opinion of scripture. In chapter XX he wrote, "The Spirit of God inspired all the spiritual ideas in the New Testament, and confirmed them by miracles; and he is ever present with the word that he inspired." And in Foundation of the Christian Union he wrote, "All revealed religion is based upon facts. Testimony has respect to facts only; and that testimony may be credible, it must be confirmed. These points are of so much importance as to deserve some illustration, and much consideration. By facts we always mean something said or done. The works of God and the words of God, or the things done or spoken by God, are those facts which are laid down and exhibited in the Bible as the foundation of all faith, hope, love, piety, and humanity."

To Campbell, the Bible was the very foundation of our faith, of our beliefs, and of our church. He argued strongly against the words of men that were proliferating in his day in the forms of creeds, confessions, and catechisms. He believed that the church was wandering astray from the importance of God’s word. And he called on all Christianity to return to the simplicity of the New Testament church and the simplicity of the gospel message.

2. Do you think Campbell thought the Bible was easy or difficult for us to understand?

Notice that in Section IV Campbell wrote, "The words of the Bible contain all the ideas in it. These words, then, rightly understood, and the ideas are clearly perceived. ...when God spoke to man in his own language, he spoke as one person converses with another - in the fair, stipulated, and well-established meaning of the terms. This is essential to its character, as a revelation from God; otherwise it would be no revelation, but would always require a class of inspired men to unfold and reveal its true sense to mankind." And in Section VI, "...the voice of God is distinctly heard and clearly understood."

Alexander Campbell believed that the Bible was written in simple and clear language that would be easy for any Christian to understand. Observe that he makes the point that if it required a special class of inspired men to interpret the Bible for us, the Bible would not be a revelation from God at all. His view was that the Bible was not as complex as many of the theologians of his day wanted to make it out to be.

But men have not listened to Campbell’s words. Today, after 160 years, we have a whole new group of preachers who think they have a special anointing, Christians who think they have a new secret revelation, and scholars who have a new wisdom and understanding. All of them tell us the common man can’t understand scripture without their enlightened help. They arrogantly consider themselves the elite of God’s kingdom. This was not Campbell’s view as we see from his comment under Rule 7, "The wisdom of God is as evident in adapting the light of the Sun of Righteousness to our spiritual or moral vision, as in adjusting the light of day to our eyes. The light reaches us without an effort of our own.... Now, while the philological principles and rules of interpretation enable many men to be skilful in biblical criticism, and in the interpretation of words and sentences, who neither perceive nor admire the things represented by those words; the sound eye contemplates the things themselves, and is ravished with the moral scenes which the Bible unfolds."

3. Name some specific statements Campbell wrote about the Bible.

Section II – "The Bible is to the intellectual and moral world of man what the sun is to the planets in our system - the fountain and source of light and life, spiritual and eternal."

Section III – "The Bible, or the Old and New Testaments, in Hebrew and Greek, contains a full and perfect revelation of God and his will, adapted to man as he now is."

Section VII – "The Bible is a book of facts, not of opinions, theories, abstract generalities, nor of verbal definitions. It is a book of awful facts, grand and sublime beyond description. These facts reveal God and man, and contain within them the reasons of all piety and righteousness, or what is commonly called religion and morality. The meaning of the Bible facts is the true biblical doctrine."

4. From these statements, what do you think is his emphasis on the importance of the Bible?

To Alexander Campbell the Bible was the Constitution of Christianity, the creed of the church, the treatise for the theologian, and the guide for the believer. Campbell thought the Bible was extremely important.

5. Paraphrase what you think are his main ideas in each of these sections:

I – about a system of study

Campbell begins this section with these words, "One God, one moral system, one Bible. If nature be a system, religion is no less so. God is ‘a God of order,’ and that is the same as to say he is a God of system." He is arguing that God is a God of order, therefore he would have a systematic approach for man to discover religion. This system is revealed in his word, the Bible. He may also be proposing that a systematic study of the Bible will reveal God’s truth to us.

We can appreciate the order of the universe – the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. We understand how these laws can govern the universe, and we understand how our reason can comprehend them. But God also has a moral law which governs our spiritual and eternal actions. And just as we can understand the way the physical world operates by our senses and reason, we can also understand the spiritual world through faith and reason. God has not left us alone, without moral direction, to figure things out by ourselves. He offers us a system to guide us. That moral system is described in the Bible. We don’t have to be morally bewildered..

II – his metaphor about the sun

Alexander Campbell is saying that just as the Sun gives the planets light and life, so the Bible gives man spiritual light and life. Notice he says, "There is not a spiritual idea in the whole human race that is not drawn from the Bible." This indicates that Campbell believed that the spiritual ideas that God presented to Adam and Eve and Enoch and Noah as recorded in the Bible formed the basis for all spiritual ideas in the world’s religions, although perverted and deformed as they became far removed from their source.

Do you sometimes feel that you are wandering in darkness and confusion? The Bible will give you spiritual light and life – light to understand God’s plan for you, and life to fill your mind with hope and your heart with joy. If you are hurting, are discouraged, or are confused, the light of his word will heal your wounds and calm your anxiety.

III – the revelation of God’s will

Campbell believed that the Bible contained "a full and perfect revelation of God and his will." God revealed himself in the words in the Bible. This revelation in scripture was full, which means it was complete; and it was perfect, which means it was without fault. What is revealed to us about God in the Bible is not incomplete or imperfect. It does not contain man’s misconceptions or inaccurate portrayals of God. It doesn’t have man-made legends or myths. It is a full and perfect revelation.

When we don’t know which way to turn, we don’t have to struggle to find answers. The Bible will reveal to us God’s love for us, his care, his mercy, and his compassion. It may point out sin in our life, but it also shows us the path to redemption. It never condemns us, but it may cause us to repent. It never casts us away, but it draws us to God. It is God’s revelation to humanity. It is God’s instruction book for all Christians.

IV – the words of the Bible

This section teaches us that the words of the Bible are easy to understand. They do not require a special class of inspired or intelligent men to understand them. He writes, "the ideas are clearly perceived." Notice how Campbell proposes that the Bible is as easy to understand as any other book. He writes, "when God spoke to man in his own language, he spoke as one person converses with another - in the fair, stipulated, and well-established meaning of the terms." This, I believe, is an important step in understanding scripture. He proposes that what God caused to be written in the Bible would reflect the plain and obvious meaning of the words. To understand scripture, you do not need a language degree or need to do extensive research in the origins or uses of the words. The plain and obvious meaning of the words would be the correct meaning.

As we are looking to a System of Bible Study, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. We sometimes think of the Bible as a difficult book to understand. But if we just approach it as God speaking to us in our language, we can be assured that we will learn, we will discover, and we will grow.

VI, Rule 7 –

1st – the understanding distance

Alexander Campbell proposes that we must come within the understanding distance in order to comprehend the spiritual truth of the Bible. Notice, he is not talking about intelligence or scholarliness, or Biblical knowledge, for he writes, "Now, while the philological principles and rules of interpretation enable many men to be skilful in biblical criticism, and in the interpretation of words and sentences, who neither perceive nor admire the things represented by those words...."

It is not enough to have knowledge. We must have something else in order to enter into the understanding distance.

He defines it this way, "Every one, then, who opens the Book of God, with one aim, with one ardent desire - intent only to know the will of God - to such a person the knowledge of God is easy; for the Bible is framed to illuminate such, and only such, with the salutary knowledge of things celestial and divine." It is not knowledge, not a seminary degree, not language skills, not intellectual attainment. It is an ardent desire in our heart to know spiritual things.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:23, "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness." The Jews Paul is referring to were the ones who wanted to be justified by their good works, and the Greeks were the ones who wanted to use their intellect and wisdom. To the first group, it was too easy; and to the second group it was too foolish. The problem with these two groups of people is they wanted to do it themselves – they wanted their actions or their intellect to show them spiritual truth. But they were too focused on themselves. God wants us to have an ardent desire to learn about him. We are to examine His actions and we are to understand His intellect. When we truly do this, we will discover spiritual insight. As Campbell says, "To such a one there is an assurance of understanding, a certainty of knowledge, to which the man of letters alone never attained, and which the mere critic never felt."

2nd – humility of mind

Any time we try to understand God’s word, we must begin the study in humility. If we are confident that we already know the meaning, God will not be able to teach us anything new because our mind will be closed to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. We must approach Bible study with a humble spirit. Campbell quotes James 4:6, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Notice he tells us, "Amidst the din of all the arguments from the flesh, the world, and Satan, a person is so deaf that he can not hear the still small voice of God's philanthropy. But, receding from pride, covetousness, and false ambition; from the love of the world; and in coming within that circle, the circumference of which is unfeigned humility...." We must not listen to the voices around us, but hear the still, small voice of God’s instruction.

Then Campbell gives us some instruction. He says we must approach Bible study by doing these things:

1. approach Bible study as a child

2. meditate upon God’s word day and night

3. sit in God’s presence

4. listen to God’s instruction

VII – a book of facts

When Alexander Campbell used the word "facts" in the Bible, he thought of them as the result of the works or the words of God. We would probably consider them "established facts." Here in this section he makes a strong statement about what is contained in scripture. He claims the Bible is not a book of "opinions, theories, abstract generalities, nor of verbal definitions," but it is a book of established facts. He disliked man’s speculations or opinions. He stated, "The meaning of the Bible facts is the true biblical doctrine." In his mind, nothing more was needed. In fact, he railed against any statement presented as a creed or doctrine that wasn’t words of scripture.

The Bible was the only important resource to him. He wrote, "These facts reveal God and man, and contain within them the reasons of all piety and righteousness, or what is commonly called religion and morality." He proposes that the Bible is our only guide.

When we are faced with changing morality and confusion over what’s right and wrong, it is good to know that there is one standard that we can go to which will never change. When cultural relevance and political correctness threaten to undermine the morality of our nation, we can stand firm on the sure foundation of God’s word. As Psalm 119:89 tells us, "Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven."

Footnotes:

This study on Alexander Campbell’s System of Bible Study © 1998 by David Humpal. All Rights Reserved.

All quotations from Campbell are from The Christian System, Standard Publishing Company, unless otherwise noted

All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers