Views of the Bible

'The point about the religious bible is that it purports to give us some direction. It contains the commands of a divinity wishing us to live a certain way.'

This is an interesting quote from Prof AC Grayling a popular humanist and editor of an Atheistic Bible called the 'Good Book'. I'm not sure why it's called that. Survival of the fittest doesn't seem like a good message in my eyes. Anyway, I reckon what Grayling has articulated is a very popular view of scripture. Most people that I speak to think the Bible is simply a book of rules and stories that were written to help us live morally. The Bible clearly contains lots of commands. But these rules weren't primarily written to change our behaviour.

The Bible was written firstly to show us how weak we are to keep God's commands. For example in Galatians 3:22 the Apostle Paul is teaching a church in modern day Turkey, he writes 'the scripture has confined all under sin'. His point is that after reading the old testament properly we will became more aware of our sin. The law confines us to sin because the more we look at God's law, the more we see his perfect standards, the more we become convinced the we are unable to obey Him perfectly. If we stop reading there the Christians message sounds quite depressing- full of guilt and despair...

The good news is the Bible also wants us to see that God has kept His own commandments on our behalf. See Galatians 3:19: 'the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith'. So the law brings us to Christ. In other words, the law (which reveals our sin) points us and connects us to the God-man, Jesus Christ, who died for our sin. Jesus also kept the law perfectly as if He were us. The result is 'justification by faith'. Imagine God in a crown court. He looks at you a disobedient sinner, one who has never honoured Him as He deserves. You think the verdict is going to be 'guilty'. But God pronounces you 'righteous'. Righteous is much much more than not guilty. Being declared 'not guilty' is brilliant because it means that you've never disobeyed. 'Righteous' on the other hand means constant perfect obedience. it speaks of someone who has never done anything wrong and always done what was right. It speaks of Jesus.

This justification is 'by faith', faith in Christ. What I'm saying is that the justification is not automatic. It's dependent on you trusting that God will freely give it to you. The declaration of 'righteous' is the declaration that Christ should have heard for His obedience. Instead of hearing 'righteous' on the cross He heard the word 'guilty'. With the guilt of my sin He was punished to liberate anyone who trusts.

Understanding the Bible properly brings transformation.

Tozer on Textualism

'The error of textualism is not doctrinal. It is far more subtle than that and more difficult to discover, but its effects are just as deadly. Not its theological beliefs are at fault, but its assumptions.

It assumes, for instance, that if we have the word for a thing we have the thing itself. If it is in the Bible, it is in us. If we have the doctrine, we have the experience. If something was true of Paul it is of necessity true of us because we accept Paul's epistles as divinely inspired. The Bible tells us how to be saved, but textualism goes on to make it tells us that we are saved, something which in the very nature of things it cannot do. Assurance of individual salvation is thus no more than a logical conclusion drawn from doctrinal premises, and the experience wholly mental.'

-A. W. Tozer, Leaning into the Wind, pages 20-21

Interpreting and Applying Scripture

Here are my notes from last nights Bible study at MPBC. Click here to see the additional handout.

Before we start we need to understand Jesus’ Warning to the Pharisees:

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:39-40

Implications of this warning
a) It’s possible to know a lot about the Bible and not have the real meaning
b) It’s possible to know a lot about the Bible and have the original meaning and then refuse this meaning
c) Searching the scriptures is not a definite sign that we are glorifying God
d) All scripture points to Jesus
e) Life is found in Jesus through Bible study. Bible study is never an end in itself

How can we interpret to the glory of God?
What’s the difference between sinful interpretation and God-glorifying interpretation?
John 17:3- Eternal life is about knowing God; meaning eternal life is about enjoying God.
If we are not interpreting the scriptures to strengthen our worship of God we are interpreting the scriptures sinfully.

Pray for help to interpret scripture correctly

Interpreting and Applying Genesis chapters 1 and 2
To understand the Bible we first accept that scripture has one coherent meaning
On this basis we can start our interpretation.

The goal of interpretation is application. This is bringing relevant meaning from scripture to the people living in 21st century Brighton. To do this we first need to see what the original meaning of a text was at the time it was written.

1) Exegetical Statement – ‘What did Genesis mean then?’
i) How can we find this meaning?
We need to establish the author’s purpose of writing a text.

ii) Why did Moses write Genesis?
The book of Genesis had a relevant message to the audience that was hearing it.

iii) What were the concerns of Moses readers?
The readers were the 2 generations of Israelites travelling from Egypt to Canaan:

The concerns of the 1st generation:
‘Did we do the right thing by leaving Egypt and marching through the miserable wilderness?’

The concerns of the 2nd generation:
Numbers14: ‘Entering Canaan and conquering the giants will be a hard thing’

Moses wrote Genesis to address both of the issues. He didn’t write Genesis just to a record history!

iv) The Meaning of Genesis to the Israelites:
‘Leaving Egypt and possessing Canaan is God’s design for Israel.’
The Israelites were to read the stories of Genesis to see that it’s right to go onto the Promised Land.

v) The meaning of Genesis 1 and 2 to the Israelites

How did Genesis 1 and 2 teach the Israelites to leave Egypt and pursue Canaan?
Consider the parallels:
Perfect created order (Gen 1:26-2:25) with life in Canaan
The pre-created world (Gen 1:1-25) with life in Egypt

Genesis 1:2 claims that ‘The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.’ The same poetic use of words (formless and hovering) are found in Deuteronomy 32:10-11. The parallel is therefore that the pre-created world is a symbol of Egypt and the created good order is Canaan.

Egyptians say only Pharaoh is the image of God
Babylonians say only the emperors are in the image of God
Genesis says that all people are in the image of God!

Adam and Eve are supposed to subdue and fill the earth, same for Israel in Canaan.

God’s rests after created the world. Israel can rest from their travelling once they enter Canaan. As God created the universe in a finite time so Israel’s travels in the wilderness were going to come to an end one day.

The Israelites are encouraged by the start of Genesis to pursue Canaan as it was a good place for them to be. It is not formless and void. It is a fruitful and prosperous place.

2) The Theological Statements of Genesis 1 and 2
When looking for theological statements we are looking for truths from a particular passage that will apply to all people at all times.
We have to remember that when we find truth statements from the text we are not giving the whole truth. There is one absolute truth. We are only describing part of that truth.

i) The Atlantic Ocean
It’s like the Atlantic Ocean. We can ask: ‘How many Atlantic oceans are there?’ There’s one objective, coherent ocean. But how many ways are there to describe this ocean? Multiple. You can describe the ocean in terms of location, types of water, colour, etc. We can describe the ocean in multiple ways.

ii) Partial Theological statements of Genesis 1 and 2:
God created everything in 6 days
God rested on the 7th day
There’s only one God
Man is given a higher position of authority than animals
God created the world in perfection
God created man from nothing
God and Man had a relationship

There are different ways of summarising the same absolute reality.
Many disagreements happen over emphasis not heresy.

3) Homelitical Statement
i) Contextualisation
We need to bring the Bible to Brighton. In order to do this we need information about the Bible and about Brighton. Studying scripture is not enough. We need to understand the different cultures that exist in Brighton and how they operate. When missionaries move to another country they study the culture in order to be relevant to the people. We live in a multi-cultural society. Brighton is full of people living in and under different cultural values. We need to know these cultures in order to apply the gospel in the most effective way.

Contextualisation is the method of showing the people in this city that the Bible is a necessary and relevant book for their lives.

ii) To contextualise anything we need to know the text and context. The text is scripture and the context is the culture.

ii) Exercise: Application
How would you apply the truths of Genesis 1 and 2 to these groups of people?
Christian
Arminian Christian
Non-Christian
Evolutionist
Avid cinemagoer
Mormon
Indifferent person
Buddhist
Doubting Christian
Homosexual
Lukewarm Christian
Single Mum
High-paid city worker

How would you apply Genesis 1 and 2 to these Christian concepts?
Sunday
Heaven
Work
Human worth and value
Nature
Death

Interpretation and Application of Scripture

Here's a helpful diagram I found today on how to apply and interpret the Bible. I'm leading a Bible study tonight at MPBC on this topic. Notes will be uploaded soon.

Remembering Scripture

If you're a person who wants to start memorising scripture, a helpful method is able to download here.

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

Fanny Crosby loved memorising scripture...

Scripture is hard to accept

I struggled for a long time with the Spirit-filled words of Romans 9:14-24:

'What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?'

After lots of wrestling and struggling with God I had to accept these words. I can't ignore it or call it obscure and without relevant meaning. If you believe this paragraph of the Bible you will start to expereince God as bigger and more precious than you ever imagined.

One of the best books on the Sovereignty of God by A W Pink: Buy, read online.
Scriptures proving the Sovereignty of God here.
A simple definition of the Sovereignty of God here.
Piper resources on the Sovereignty of God here.

Sermons that I preach to myself

• Love sometimes means offending people people with the truth
• Living a Holy life doesn't just consist of outward actions but inward emotions
• The primary task of obedience is faith (Rom 1v5, 14v23, 16v26, Hebrews 11v6)
• Don't believe that evangelism is a portion of the day. Live the life of an Evangelist.
• Jokes about sin are sin
• Scripture should be studied as a serious pleasure rather than a light-hearted chore
• Real believing always produces joy and peace (Rom 15v13)
• My closest Christian brothers and sisters will hurt me the most (Prov 27v6)
• Don't get tired of stirring up gifts (1 Cor 14v1, Gal 6v9, 2 Tim 1v6)
• Stop having conversations concerning small things when talking about Jesus is better (Matt 12v36, 1 Pt 4v11)
• Your whole life is the communication of a sermon. Preaching is done through body language and emotions as well as words. Are you preaching the gospel with all that you are?
• It's not how much you read. It's how much you digest.
• Putting off the old man is not the same as putting on the new man-both have to be done (Col 3v5-14)
• Pleasing God is being pleased with Him.
• Without love you are nothing (1 Cor 13v1-3)

Made for us....

I've just been reading the 2nd chapter of marks gospel and was struck by verse 27:

'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'

Amazing! A whole day made for us so that we can delight in God, it was made for us! I reckon that too often Sunday becomes a day when we do more restricting than liberating. For example don't go to this place or don't watch that. If negative rules are the extent of the sabbath then it's going to be dull. There has to be a postive as well as a negative. We most seek our joy in God especially on Sunday. This comes from regulating what we don't do but more importantly what we DO do.

Matthew Henry says:

The sabbath is a sacred and divine institution; but we must receive and embrace it as a privilege and a benefit, not as a task and a drudgery. God never designed it to be an imposition upon us, and therefore we must not make it so to ourselves.

'If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your [worldly] pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own [worldly] pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord' (Isaiah 58v13)

'For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome' (1 John 5v3)

WWJD

What would Jesus do? Maybe a better question is what did Jesus do?

How did Christ react when he was confronted with injustice? What did the Lord do about the religious darkness and deception that transported many souls into the Devils hands.

How strong a stand did Christ take against a perverted society? Yet how much love did he pour out unconditionally to the unworthy individual?

How much more should we contend for the faith and let the world know that we hate sin and would rather spend eternity in Hell than offend our Holy God. How much more should we show people grace and shower goodness onto them so that they undertand that we love because He first loved us.

Let's leave speculation to the interlectuals and study scripture so that we can be equipped for every good work, remembering that we will recieve our reward-glory for the Father.