Admittedly, most (if not all) of the people reading this entry were shocked by its title. No, this conservative Evangelical has not gone off the deep end, and no, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has not turned liberal in its theology (nor have I). I am not speaking of the Prosperity Gospel as it is known for its "name it and claim it" theology, I am speaking more of one that speaks of spiritual prosperity and sanctification through obedience.
A little bit of background...
In the beginning of this semester I was working on an exegesis project for my Hermeneutics class. We had to study Genesis 22:1-19 and create an outline of the passage. This outline was to be submitted to the grader who determined if the passage was broken down into the correct number of parts, if I understood the correct meaning of the text, and if my exegesis was sound (all of which are really subjective, but that's a whole other argument that we won't get into here). I was really excited to turn my outline in because I did a fair amount of research and felt like what I was turning in was sound. My excitement was somewhat diminished when I received the response from the grader. There was no positive feedback (which I was still ok with), but the very last comment that he made was that I lost points because I alluded to a prosperity gospel. My immediate response (admittedly it would have been disrespectful) was the desire to suggest to him that his Heremeneutical approach to my exegesis was faulty; thankfully, I didn't respond that way.
In all fairness to the grader, he only had an outline to go by, and an outline, without the necessary information to fill in the gaps, can sometimes lead to a faulty interpretation. The offender in my outline was the last point about blessing following obedience. It is clear by verses 15-18 that Abraham was blessed because he obeyed God. The blessing to which I am referring is not necessarily physical, though Abraham was physically blessed, but is more spiritual in nature. I did some self-searching, and poured through some of the gospels to see if I was wrong in my point. The following is based on what I found in Matthew 5.
Why I believe in the Prosperity Gospel (remember, not necessarily physical/material)...
Even if it is only the fact that obedience to God means that you are in His will, being in God's will is a far better blessing than being against it. If this was the only argument presented, I would be convinced; but Jesus taught in His sermon on the mount that there is blessing in obedience to God The blessings of obedience to God mentioned here are not physical in nature, but are spiritual or relational. As this post already seems to be getting rather long, I will quickly break down each type of person that is blessed and their blessing
-The poor in spirit: those that recognize their position before the Almighty God, they are broken of themselves and rely on God for His grace.
-Those who mourn: those that are so broken by their depravity that they mourn their offenses to God, they mourn the limits of their earthly body and long for the day of salvation. (cf. 2 Corinth. 7)
-The meek: the obedient
-Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: those that so desire to be righteous in God's sight that they pursue it as much as food to eat and water to drink
-The merciful: self explanatory
-The pure in heart: those that God makes pure
-The peacemakers: self explanatory
-Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake: self explanatory
The blessings:
-the kingdom of heaven
-comfort: spiritually comforted (ex. Jesus was ministered to by angels after his temptation in the wilderness)
-inherit the earth: I believe the inheritance referred to is in our everlasting life
-righteousness satisfied: for those listening to Jesus' sermon the permanent satisfaction had not yet arrived. We live in a time after the cross where Jesus met the satisfaction for us. We impute our sins upon Him and He imputes His righteousness to us (double imputation) at salvation.
-mercy
-shall see God
-called the sons of God (we are made into the likeness of Christ)
-the kingdom of heaven
These blessing are all spiritually prosperous to the child of God. For the sake of length (I realize this post is already outrageously long), I will cut my argument to the Beatitudes only, but suffice it to say there is other evidence in the gospels that supports my thesis.
There is, indeed, prosperity in obedience to God. If for nothing else, our continued sanctification means that we are prospering spiritually with spiritual blessings. While the blessings are not necessarily material in nature, there is obvious blessing in following God and obeying His will. The most basic of which is that we are spared His wrath.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Reformed Youth Ministry...
my four pillar approach to a youth ministry with Christ as its foundation
81, 61, 19, 20. Numbers that are shocking when the information that they represent is filled in. 81% of teens attend a church for at least 2-months during their teen years. 61% of twenty somethings do not attend church even though they attended church for a period of at least 2-months during their teen years. That means that 20% of teens maintain the same level of church involvement into their 20s, and 19% of 20-somethings were not in church during their teen years and do not attend church during their 20-something years (statistics courtesy of The Barna Group www.barna.org). Though my source for these statistics is a few years old, I think that they still apply today.
What is the cause of this shocking decline in church attendance? Though I am no expert, I feel it is because the youth's faith was not authentic, deep, personal, or encouraged. Far too often a successful youth program was more of a social club for teens. While I am not against social gatherings (and even find them beneficial), if that is as far as we go, we are doing a disservice to youth.
So how do I think we can fix this disturbing statistic? Glad you asked... though I am no expert, I feel that a four pillar approach to Youth Ministry will help turn this disturbing trend around (though it may take some time).
1st pillar:
The first step is the most important, and that is to involve the family. A successful youth ministry is one in which the youth minister (or director, pastor, etc.) seeks to actively engage the families of the youth. There should be special youth gatherings in which the families are invited to attend. In these the students and families will interact with each other and hear solid biblical teaching to encourage each member of the family in their respective role. There should also be gatherings where only parents attend. (in which things can be discussed that may not be appropriate for the youth or other children to hear). These gatherings are meant to provide the atmosphere where parents can discuss their concerns and the concerns facing their children and receive encouragement and solid biblical teaching to equip them to raise a teen and encourage them toward godliness. (realizing that we do not live in a perfect world and that not everyone's parents will want to be involved, volunteers within the church should be recruited to invest in the lives of the teens). The goal is to get the families involved and equipped to teach their children spiritual truths from scripture.
2nd pillar:
The 2nd pillar of youth ministry (and just as important as the 1st pillar) is solid biblical teaching. Each gathering, whether social or not should have some varying degree of biblical teaching. Youth ministry is first and foremost a ministry and should therefore always have a period of time in which the Words is opened and taught. My personal belief is that expository preaching is the most effective way to teach the Word because it helps to keep everything in context and continues to build upon itself the further along you go in the teaching. The expository preaching should rightly divide scripture to teach proper theology, sound doctrine, the truth of scripture, how scripture applies to us, and how it all points to Christ and the redemption of the church. The goal of this pillar (and the third pillar) is to save the lost youth and disciple the saved youth to a deeper relationship with Christ and deeper, authentic, understanding of their faith.
3rd pillar:
In conjunction with the 2nd pillar, the 3rd pillar is to look deeper into scripture through studying the Bible. This approach is more of a study/discussion approach to the scripture in which we will read through scripture together and dive deeper into it (consulting parallel passages and biblically sound works) to determine further meaning and application of the scripture. The goal is to seek to practically apply the scripture and learn how to properly interpret the scripture ourselves; to teach the youth to get out of their "highchair" and feed themselves the spiritual nourishment found in scripture.
4th pillar:
The 4th pillar is a practical education and application approach (it could also be referred to as a missional approach). The purpose of this pillar is to teach the youth how to practically share their faith, have a quiet time, and pray. And then to put them into practice through acts of service and spending time on their own in the Word. The goal of this pillar is to get the youth to a point where it is natural for them to serve, pray, spend time in the Word on their own, and share the Gospel.
I will be the first to admit that this is not perfect, and I definitely don't have all of the answers. I do, however, know that God has laid this vision on my heart for a purpose, and I am writing this post as more of a reminder to me than anything else.
What is the cause of this shocking decline in church attendance? Though I am no expert, I feel it is because the youth's faith was not authentic, deep, personal, or encouraged. Far too often a successful youth program was more of a social club for teens. While I am not against social gatherings (and even find them beneficial), if that is as far as we go, we are doing a disservice to youth.
So how do I think we can fix this disturbing statistic? Glad you asked... though I am no expert, I feel that a four pillar approach to Youth Ministry will help turn this disturbing trend around (though it may take some time).
1st pillar:
The first step is the most important, and that is to involve the family. A successful youth ministry is one in which the youth minister (or director, pastor, etc.) seeks to actively engage the families of the youth. There should be special youth gatherings in which the families are invited to attend. In these the students and families will interact with each other and hear solid biblical teaching to encourage each member of the family in their respective role. There should also be gatherings where only parents attend. (in which things can be discussed that may not be appropriate for the youth or other children to hear). These gatherings are meant to provide the atmosphere where parents can discuss their concerns and the concerns facing their children and receive encouragement and solid biblical teaching to equip them to raise a teen and encourage them toward godliness. (realizing that we do not live in a perfect world and that not everyone's parents will want to be involved, volunteers within the church should be recruited to invest in the lives of the teens). The goal is to get the families involved and equipped to teach their children spiritual truths from scripture.
2nd pillar:
The 2nd pillar of youth ministry (and just as important as the 1st pillar) is solid biblical teaching. Each gathering, whether social or not should have some varying degree of biblical teaching. Youth ministry is first and foremost a ministry and should therefore always have a period of time in which the Words is opened and taught. My personal belief is that expository preaching is the most effective way to teach the Word because it helps to keep everything in context and continues to build upon itself the further along you go in the teaching. The expository preaching should rightly divide scripture to teach proper theology, sound doctrine, the truth of scripture, how scripture applies to us, and how it all points to Christ and the redemption of the church. The goal of this pillar (and the third pillar) is to save the lost youth and disciple the saved youth to a deeper relationship with Christ and deeper, authentic, understanding of their faith.
3rd pillar:
In conjunction with the 2nd pillar, the 3rd pillar is to look deeper into scripture through studying the Bible. This approach is more of a study/discussion approach to the scripture in which we will read through scripture together and dive deeper into it (consulting parallel passages and biblically sound works) to determine further meaning and application of the scripture. The goal is to seek to practically apply the scripture and learn how to properly interpret the scripture ourselves; to teach the youth to get out of their "highchair" and feed themselves the spiritual nourishment found in scripture.
4th pillar:
The 4th pillar is a practical education and application approach (it could also be referred to as a missional approach). The purpose of this pillar is to teach the youth how to practically share their faith, have a quiet time, and pray. And then to put them into practice through acts of service and spending time on their own in the Word. The goal of this pillar is to get the youth to a point where it is natural for them to serve, pray, spend time in the Word on their own, and share the Gospel.
I will be the first to admit that this is not perfect, and I definitely don't have all of the answers. I do, however, know that God has laid this vision on my heart for a purpose, and I am writing this post as more of a reminder to me than anything else.
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Joys of Parenthood... recounting the births of my children and seeing where they are now
I love my kids! Sometimes I am just overwhelmed with love for these two little rascals that are constantly on the go. But... they are exhausting! The nights that Sarah works, I stay home with the kids. Often I find myself going from making dinner at the stove to the kitchen table (to give Simon a snack) to the potty to the laundry closet to get the Swiffer (so that I can clean up the mess that Simon made while I was taking Karis potty) to the kitchen back to the potty... nights like this seem like they go on forever (I am blessed to have an amazing wife that takes care of all of this stuff during the day!!!). With as exhausting as they are now, their births and early days were even more exhausting. Though the experiences were tough, I would not change them for the world!
It's hard to believe that it was almost three years ago (it will be in December) that I became a parent for the first time. We weren't expecting to see our little girl until after the first of the year, but God had different plans. It was a Friday and I was at our church grounds finishing the construction on a cave for a living nativity that our church was putting on and my wife, 8-months pregnant, was painting a backdrop (outside). She worked in the church office so we each had our own car there. I was finished with what I needed to do so I went and kissed her goodbye and told her I was going to swing by the drive through on the way home to get some dinner. From where I was sitting on the couch I could see Sarah walking along the path to our house through the kitchen window and expected to see her through our sliding glass doors. I looked, but I didn't see her. A few minutes later, I found out that I didn't see her because she was having a contraction and had to stop walking until it was over. We were soon on our way to the hospital. We were going to become parents.
Karis entered the world at exactly 10pm. Everything about her was perfect, she seemed fine and immediately let out the loudest cry I had ever heard (and still have not heard a louder one to this day). I remember not knowing what exactly was going on when the doctors and nurses began to make frantic calls and moving about the room as if an emergency were happening. I remember it taking a while for the words Neonatal Intensive Care to sink in. I remember feeling torn on whether I should be with my wife while she recovered from giving birth or being with my daughter as the doctors and nurses were working on her in the NICU. I remember seeing my baby girl in an oxygen tent to help heal the hole that had been created in her lung. I remember the pain of not being able to hold my baby girl for the first 24 hours of her life (and having very little physical contact because the doctors didn't want her to be disturbed). I remember feeling sorry for all of the other parents in NICU, some of whom would never experience the joy that we felt a week after Karis was born when we brought her home from the hospital. I remember my first dance with her in front of our Christmas tree in our small 2-bedroom apartment. I remember being scared when I realized that she had stopped breathing one day when we got home from a family trip. I remember spending the night in the hospital with my wife while they ran tests on our 3-month old little girl. Those were tough experiences... that I would not trade for the world. All of those things forced Sarah and I closer to each other and forced us to rely on God. Now we have a beautiful little girl that loves sitting in Daddy's lap (and has me wrapped around her little finger), that will lay in her bed for hours without falling asleep so that she can see Mommy when she gets home from work, that has a unique personality all her own, and that I love very much.
My little guy, Simon (champ, buddy, booger, mister, or whatever I feel like calling him for the day), is about to turn one. I remember his birth like it was yesterday.I remember watching Sarah, as the trooper she is, bringing this life into the world. I remember the fear I felt when the doctor told me that we needed to get the baby out NOW because he was in distress. I remember seeing my son for the first time, a very purple baby with a little lifeless-looking body. I remember not hearing his first breath immediately. I remember the relief that I felt when I heard him take his first breath what seemed like hours after he entered the world (though it was only about 10-20 seconds). I remember many mid-night wakings and zombie-like trips to the kitchen all because of this little guy. For a long time after his birth (and up to about 3-4 months ago) I used to have to swing him in his car seat in order to get him to fall asleep at night. I would spend about 30 minutes each night in his room swinging him in his car seat like those swinging ships that are so popular at fairs/carnivals (if I swung him any less, he would scream his head off). With sweat dripping down my face and an arm that felt like it was going to fall off (again) I would pray that God would get him to a point that he would fall asleep on his own. Sometimes I'd get frustrated at the little guy because I NEEDED my sleep and I NEEDED him to be content on his own. As "difficult" as it was for me, it was exponentially more draining on my wife. It is safe to say that we are past those frustrating nights where I had to push through the pain and lost sleep.
With as "difficult" of a baby as he was, he was and is a blessing to have in our family. I now have a little guy with a unique personality all his own. I wouldn't change anything about him or those sleepless nights. Though he is still young, I feel as though he and I are so much alike. My heart is knit to his (just like it is to Karis). I look forward to seeing him grow up and getting even closer to him as he is able to interact more with me. I love Simon!
It sounds cliche, but I do love my kids equally yet differently. Simon is my football buddy, my little champ, my (hopefully) early morning fishing buddy, and my retirement plan (he's gonna be an awesome left tackle)(obviously I kid). Karis is my little girl. And she knows it!
It's hard to believe that it was almost three years ago (it will be in December) that I became a parent for the first time. We weren't expecting to see our little girl until after the first of the year, but God had different plans. It was a Friday and I was at our church grounds finishing the construction on a cave for a living nativity that our church was putting on and my wife, 8-months pregnant, was painting a backdrop (outside). She worked in the church office so we each had our own car there. I was finished with what I needed to do so I went and kissed her goodbye and told her I was going to swing by the drive through on the way home to get some dinner. From where I was sitting on the couch I could see Sarah walking along the path to our house through the kitchen window and expected to see her through our sliding glass doors. I looked, but I didn't see her. A few minutes later, I found out that I didn't see her because she was having a contraction and had to stop walking until it was over. We were soon on our way to the hospital. We were going to become parents.
Karis entered the world at exactly 10pm. Everything about her was perfect, she seemed fine and immediately let out the loudest cry I had ever heard (and still have not heard a louder one to this day). I remember not knowing what exactly was going on when the doctors and nurses began to make frantic calls and moving about the room as if an emergency were happening. I remember it taking a while for the words Neonatal Intensive Care to sink in. I remember feeling torn on whether I should be with my wife while she recovered from giving birth or being with my daughter as the doctors and nurses were working on her in the NICU. I remember seeing my baby girl in an oxygen tent to help heal the hole that had been created in her lung. I remember the pain of not being able to hold my baby girl for the first 24 hours of her life (and having very little physical contact because the doctors didn't want her to be disturbed). I remember feeling sorry for all of the other parents in NICU, some of whom would never experience the joy that we felt a week after Karis was born when we brought her home from the hospital. I remember my first dance with her in front of our Christmas tree in our small 2-bedroom apartment. I remember being scared when I realized that she had stopped breathing one day when we got home from a family trip. I remember spending the night in the hospital with my wife while they ran tests on our 3-month old little girl. Those were tough experiences... that I would not trade for the world. All of those things forced Sarah and I closer to each other and forced us to rely on God. Now we have a beautiful little girl that loves sitting in Daddy's lap (and has me wrapped around her little finger), that will lay in her bed for hours without falling asleep so that she can see Mommy when she gets home from work, that has a unique personality all her own, and that I love very much.
My little guy, Simon (champ, buddy, booger, mister, or whatever I feel like calling him for the day), is about to turn one. I remember his birth like it was yesterday.I remember watching Sarah, as the trooper she is, bringing this life into the world. I remember the fear I felt when the doctor told me that we needed to get the baby out NOW because he was in distress. I remember seeing my son for the first time, a very purple baby with a little lifeless-looking body. I remember not hearing his first breath immediately. I remember the relief that I felt when I heard him take his first breath what seemed like hours after he entered the world (though it was only about 10-20 seconds). I remember many mid-night wakings and zombie-like trips to the kitchen all because of this little guy. For a long time after his birth (and up to about 3-4 months ago) I used to have to swing him in his car seat in order to get him to fall asleep at night. I would spend about 30 minutes each night in his room swinging him in his car seat like those swinging ships that are so popular at fairs/carnivals (if I swung him any less, he would scream his head off). With sweat dripping down my face and an arm that felt like it was going to fall off (again) I would pray that God would get him to a point that he would fall asleep on his own. Sometimes I'd get frustrated at the little guy because I NEEDED my sleep and I NEEDED him to be content on his own. As "difficult" as it was for me, it was exponentially more draining on my wife. It is safe to say that we are past those frustrating nights where I had to push through the pain and lost sleep.
With as "difficult" of a baby as he was, he was and is a blessing to have in our family. I now have a little guy with a unique personality all his own. I wouldn't change anything about him or those sleepless nights. Though he is still young, I feel as though he and I are so much alike. My heart is knit to his (just like it is to Karis). I look forward to seeing him grow up and getting even closer to him as he is able to interact more with me. I love Simon!
It sounds cliche, but I do love my kids equally yet differently. Simon is my football buddy, my little champ, my (hopefully) early morning fishing buddy, and my retirement plan (he's gonna be an awesome left tackle)(obviously I kid). Karis is my little girl. And she knows it!
Friday, August 26, 2011
My response to Stephen...
a healthy debate
Your blog was well written. For the sake of this argument, I am only going to address the canonization of the NT.
In my point about canonization as affirmed by the church I, in no way, am saying that the church is infallible. The Word of God is, however, infallible. Again, the church did not choose (and had no say in) what books were Scripture. Scripture, by it's very nature, reveals itself to be Scripture, they merely recognized it to be so. Were they right? I believe they were absolutely correct. Though the canon was not officially confirmed until the 4th century, most scholars believe that it was widely accepted in the late 2nd century. Assuming that timeframe, there was a 100 year period in which the 27 books of the NT were compiled and distributed and a 200 year period in which they were put to practice. To be sure, during that timeframe other books were considered for canonization, but ultimately revealed themselves to not be Scripture and were rejected as such. The 27 books that we have as the NT canon were widely received to Scripture and affirmed officially by the church in the 4th century. We must remember that there is wisdom in numbers.
With regard to authorship, I do not believe that any letter could be 100% verified as authentic, so the argument is moot. For the sake of debate let's assume it can be verified. If I understand your argument correctly, the summary of your point is that the "lost letters" should be included because Paul, as an apostle, was the author. I do believe in apostolic authority, but I do not feel it applies to everything that they write/say. Most scholars believe that Paul, himself, compiled his letters that were circulated as scripture. The fact that he did not include those letters (or more details about them than we already have) in his compilation should weigh heavily on the decision to include the lost letters as Scripture or not. Other factors of canonization aside, let's assume we find a letter of Paul addressed to Barnabas on the subject of items needed for their missionary journey. Should it be included as Scripture just because Paul was the author? I think the obvious answer is no.
In conclusion, let me restate part of my original post. I do feel that the "lost letters" would be beneficial and should be highly regarded if ever found. Bit they should not be considered on the same level as Scripture.
In my point about canonization as affirmed by the church I, in no way, am saying that the church is infallible. The Word of God is, however, infallible. Again, the church did not choose (and had no say in) what books were Scripture. Scripture, by it's very nature, reveals itself to be Scripture, they merely recognized it to be so. Were they right? I believe they were absolutely correct. Though the canon was not officially confirmed until the 4th century, most scholars believe that it was widely accepted in the late 2nd century. Assuming that timeframe, there was a 100 year period in which the 27 books of the NT were compiled and distributed and a 200 year period in which they were put to practice. To be sure, during that timeframe other books were considered for canonization, but ultimately revealed themselves to not be Scripture and were rejected as such. The 27 books that we have as the NT canon were widely received to Scripture and affirmed officially by the church in the 4th century. We must remember that there is wisdom in numbers.
With regard to authorship, I do not believe that any letter could be 100% verified as authentic, so the argument is moot. For the sake of debate let's assume it can be verified. If I understand your argument correctly, the summary of your point is that the "lost letters" should be included because Paul, as an apostle, was the author. I do believe in apostolic authority, but I do not feel it applies to everything that they write/say. Most scholars believe that Paul, himself, compiled his letters that were circulated as scripture. The fact that he did not include those letters (or more details about them than we already have) in his compilation should weigh heavily on the decision to include the lost letters as Scripture or not. Other factors of canonization aside, let's assume we find a letter of Paul addressed to Barnabas on the subject of items needed for their missionary journey. Should it be included as Scripture just because Paul was the author? I think the obvious answer is no.
In conclusion, let me restate part of my original post. I do feel that the "lost letters" would be beneficial and should be highly regarded if ever found. Bit they should not be considered on the same level as Scripture.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Hypothetical Question...
As part of my New Testament class this semester, we were asked a question about the "lost" letters of Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. The question was meant to get us to interact with an assertion made by the author of our textbook that if the "lost" letters were found, they should not be included in scripture. My answer is below. I was on the side of it shouldn't be included in Scripture. Some in my class said it should. What do you think?
"If one of Paul's letters to the Corinthian church were to be found, to be sure, the question on whether or not it should be included in the canon would be a weighty one. The hypothetical situation, however, allows us to think about difficult subjects and form real opinions without any real consequence. While I can appreciate others' point of view of including it in the canon, I feel that the author is correct in that it should not be included.
"If one of Paul's letters to the Corinthian church were to be found, to be sure, the question on whether or not it should be included in the canon would be a weighty one. The hypothetical situation, however, allows us to think about difficult subjects and form real opinions without any real consequence. While I can appreciate others' point of view of including it in the canon, I feel that the author is correct in that it should not be included.
First, we must consider the valid points made by the author. If Paul was indeed the one that put the collection of his letters together, then the fact that he, himself, did not keep it in his collection should give us a solid reason to not include it. Additionally, God did not see fit for it to be in our canon. We must recognize that the church did not decide what books were Scripture and what books were not, but they recognized that certain books were Scripture and merely affirmed the books that revealed themselves as canon.
Secondly, we must consider some additional points. One of the conditions of a book being considered for part of the canon was widespread acceptance by the early church. Since the early church did not have access to this letter, there was no widespread acceptance and therefore the letter would not meet that condition. Additionally, it is my opinion that the "lost" letters, at least in part, are actually in our canon. The whole reason that we know of Paul's "lost" letters is because of the fact that he mentioned them in the letters that are in Scripture. The parts that he (and ultimately God) saw fit for inclusion in Scripture have been preserved as part of 1 and 2 Corinthians. From what was preserved we see that Paul addressed sexual immorality in the "previous letter" and other failures in the "painful letter". 1 Corinthians contains the equivalent of 5 verses summarizing or further emphasizing the "previous letter". Though not as detailed as the information in 1 Corinthians about the "previous letter", we see in 2 Corinthians that the "painful letter" did cause the church "godly grief" that lead them to repentance.
Finally, we must again consider a valid point by the author. It would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to prove, with certainty, that the "lost" letter is authentic. Given the importance and power of Scripture, if something cannot be verified without a doubt, then it certainly should have no place in Scripture.
Simply put, if the "lost" letters of Paul were to be found, they should be held as informative and beneficial, but they should not be considered as part of Scripture."
Should it be included in Scripture? or merely viewed as informative and beneficial?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Inerrancy of Scripture...
proper interpretation returns no error
There is a certain doctrine that is foundational to the Christian faith. There is no room in Christianity outside of full belief in this doctrine. Is it the most important doctrine in Christianity? No. Can one call himself a Christian and not believe in this doctrine? Yes, but. Is someone a Christian that does not believe in this doctrine? I don't see how it is possible. Is it the most important doctrine in Christianity? No,but it is foundational and is a basis by which other doctrines are upheld. The doctrine to which I am referring is that of the inerrancy of scripture.
I am unashamedly an inerrantist, so some might be surprised with what I have to say next. There are discrepancies in scripture. Again, I affirm that I am an inerrantist. I believe that the Word of God as we have it today is perfect. I believe that it is God-breathed, that it is profitable for teaching, and all areas of life. Scripture is reliable, but some passages seem irreconcilable.
I grew up in church, learning about the inerrancy of scripture was part of life. I've always believed that scripture was perfect. At times I've been witness to preachers pounding their lecturns, symbolizing pounding this truth into my brain. So imagine my surprise when I was asked a question about Judas and who exactly purchased the potter's field. In Acts 1:18 we hear that it was purchased by Judas himself and in Matthew 27:6,7 we hear that the potter's field was purchased by the chief priests. How can they both be correct? One obviously has to be wrong. Doesn't that make scripture errant?
If you are as I was when I first heard about this all of those years ago, your brain might be wrinkled right now. I believed that scripture was inerrant because that is what I was told all of my life, but I never really had that belief tested. I attempted to say that there must have been some mistake in the translation of that particular version of the Bible, but soon found out that it wasn't just that translation with the error. For a little while I was bothered by this. Was what I grew up believing wrong? (Obviously not!!!).
My mistake was several fold. First, I thought that this was a really big deal when it really has very little theological consequence. Second, I attempted to explain it away with an answer that was as leaky as a $2 rowboat. Third, I assumed that I HAD to explain it.
The vast majority of scripture does not pose any problem within itself and, given the amount of manuscripts available and the general agreement between manuscripts, even the toughest of critics must agree that the Bible is reliable. Those critics, however, would stop short of saying it is inerrant. One that takes a critical look at the evidence, though, must admit that the Bible is reliable. Since the Bible is reliable, when one sees what the Bible proclaims about its inerrancy, he must rightly conclude that the Bible is inerrant.
For the Christian, the proof goes even further. Not only do we see the claim made by the Bible and believe it to be so, we also know the character of God and trust in Him and His promises (since God is God, no other "proof" is necessary" but if you will indulge me a bit more I promise we'll wrap this up soon).
The Word of God, properly interpreted and applied, will return no error. When reading the Bible, one must consider what the authors' intentions are. The authors are not necessarily going to be as specific as we would like with every detail that is recorded especially if it has no impact on the main point of the text. It was (and is) common practice to use generalizations or exaggerations to emphasize a point. Doing so does not change the meaning of what is written or mean there is an error; it just reflects the beauty of Scripture as literature.
In conclusion we see that, for the Christian, there is not, nor should ever be, any question as to the inerrancy of Scripture. God is God, and Scripture, being the Word of God, must be inerrant. For the skeptic, the question of its inerrancy is also moot; the Bible has been proven reliable, therefore its intrinsic claims of inerrancy must be believed. As a final answer to both the Christian and the skeptic, when the meaning of the text is correctly interpreted, and when literary styles are taken into account, the seeming "inconsistencies" in scripture are quickly reconciled. Praise God for His Word!
I am unashamedly an inerrantist, so some might be surprised with what I have to say next. There are discrepancies in scripture. Again, I affirm that I am an inerrantist. I believe that the Word of God as we have it today is perfect. I believe that it is God-breathed, that it is profitable for teaching, and all areas of life. Scripture is reliable, but some passages seem irreconcilable.
I grew up in church, learning about the inerrancy of scripture was part of life. I've always believed that scripture was perfect. At times I've been witness to preachers pounding their lecturns, symbolizing pounding this truth into my brain. So imagine my surprise when I was asked a question about Judas and who exactly purchased the potter's field. In Acts 1:18 we hear that it was purchased by Judas himself and in Matthew 27:6,7 we hear that the potter's field was purchased by the chief priests. How can they both be correct? One obviously has to be wrong. Doesn't that make scripture errant?
If you are as I was when I first heard about this all of those years ago, your brain might be wrinkled right now. I believed that scripture was inerrant because that is what I was told all of my life, but I never really had that belief tested. I attempted to say that there must have been some mistake in the translation of that particular version of the Bible, but soon found out that it wasn't just that translation with the error. For a little while I was bothered by this. Was what I grew up believing wrong? (Obviously not!!!).
My mistake was several fold. First, I thought that this was a really big deal when it really has very little theological consequence. Second, I attempted to explain it away with an answer that was as leaky as a $2 rowboat. Third, I assumed that I HAD to explain it.
The vast majority of scripture does not pose any problem within itself and, given the amount of manuscripts available and the general agreement between manuscripts, even the toughest of critics must agree that the Bible is reliable. Those critics, however, would stop short of saying it is inerrant. One that takes a critical look at the evidence, though, must admit that the Bible is reliable. Since the Bible is reliable, when one sees what the Bible proclaims about its inerrancy, he must rightly conclude that the Bible is inerrant.
For the Christian, the proof goes even further. Not only do we see the claim made by the Bible and believe it to be so, we also know the character of God and trust in Him and His promises (since God is God, no other "proof" is necessary" but if you will indulge me a bit more I promise we'll wrap this up soon).
The Word of God, properly interpreted and applied, will return no error. When reading the Bible, one must consider what the authors' intentions are. The authors are not necessarily going to be as specific as we would like with every detail that is recorded especially if it has no impact on the main point of the text. It was (and is) common practice to use generalizations or exaggerations to emphasize a point. Doing so does not change the meaning of what is written or mean there is an error; it just reflects the beauty of Scripture as literature.
In conclusion we see that, for the Christian, there is not, nor should ever be, any question as to the inerrancy of Scripture. God is God, and Scripture, being the Word of God, must be inerrant. For the skeptic, the question of its inerrancy is also moot; the Bible has been proven reliable, therefore its intrinsic claims of inerrancy must be believed. As a final answer to both the Christian and the skeptic, when the meaning of the text is correctly interpreted, and when literary styles are taken into account, the seeming "inconsistencies" in scripture are quickly reconciled. Praise God for His Word!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Theology of a Child...
lessons about God from the mind of a child
Working from home has it advantages and disadvantages. One thing that I really enjoy is being home when my kids wake up for the day (I start work at 7am and I am often the only one awake for 1.5-2 hours). Today my daughter, Karis, woke up, came into my "office" and sat on my lap as I was answering emails. After she settled in, she looked outside at the sunshine, trees, and North Carolina red-clay in our back yard. After a few minutes, Karis looked at me and said "God turned the sun on." (My wife, Sarah, and I have, at times, told her that God turns the sun off so that when we lay her down at night she won't be as afraid of the darkness in her room, but this is the first I have heard her say that God turned the sun on.) Immediately my "sophisticated" mind started thinking. I wanted to explain to her that the sun is always on, that the world turns and that causes us to have day and night.
Then... it hit me... Karis was right! God did turn the sun on. As I thought about it, I realized that God, long ago, turned the sun on. In Genesis we read that on the first "day" there was only darkness; God said "let there be light" and there was! With those four simple words, God turned the sun on. This first day of the seven days of creation (and yes I believe it is a literal 7 [24-hr] days) was an amazing thing. God said "let there be light" and the sun, a burning ball of gas that is 93million miles away from the earth, formed out of nothing. God's power is extensive! Out of nothing creation, including the sun, came to be!
In addition to the initial "turning on" of the sun, God turns the sun "on" every day. God, the creator of everything, saw fit for the earth to spin (I won't pretend to be smart here and try to talk about the benefits of a revolving earth, suffice it to say that it is essential that the earth spins on an axis) and it is by His sovereign will that the earth continues to spin. The earth will continue to spin until He sees fit to bring this world to an end. And what is even more impressive is that He determined the number of days that the sun would "rise" before He spoke it into existence.
Each new day is a gift from God. God turned the sun on and gave us another day to praise Him and serve Him. It is by His sovereign will that the earth continues to spin and give us new days, and the reason that it still spins is because he is not finished with us yet. God has ordained each and every day and each and every detail for this earth until the time that He will create a new heaven and new earth. If you doubt that God pays attention to detail, you need to read passages in scripture that speak on how much He cares for this world. We read that a sparrow will not fall to the ground without God knowing about it. We read that God knew us while He knit us together in our mother's womb. We also see that God knows the number of hairs on our heads (and not everyone's hair is as easy to count as mine!). And it is because of His attention to detail that we know that God is working in everything for His will to be executed. This is not to say that freewill doesn't exist. Somehow, God works freewill and His sovereignty together for His purposes. (I will not attempt to try to fully understand God because His knowledge and wisdom are beyond measure.) Each day exists so that God's will can be executed.
In Karis' simple recognition that God turned the sun on there was a huge amount of theology. God is all powerful: He made the sun out of nothing with four simple words, God is sovereign: the number of days that the sun "rises" has been ordained before there was time, and God's will is perfectly executed: He works in even the minutest of details so that His will is perfectly executed. I pray for more insight into God brought on through the mind of a child.
Then... it hit me... Karis was right! God did turn the sun on. As I thought about it, I realized that God, long ago, turned the sun on. In Genesis we read that on the first "day" there was only darkness; God said "let there be light" and there was! With those four simple words, God turned the sun on. This first day of the seven days of creation (and yes I believe it is a literal 7 [24-hr] days) was an amazing thing. God said "let there be light" and the sun, a burning ball of gas that is 93million miles away from the earth, formed out of nothing. God's power is extensive! Out of nothing creation, including the sun, came to be!
In addition to the initial "turning on" of the sun, God turns the sun "on" every day. God, the creator of everything, saw fit for the earth to spin (I won't pretend to be smart here and try to talk about the benefits of a revolving earth, suffice it to say that it is essential that the earth spins on an axis) and it is by His sovereign will that the earth continues to spin. The earth will continue to spin until He sees fit to bring this world to an end. And what is even more impressive is that He determined the number of days that the sun would "rise" before He spoke it into existence.
Each new day is a gift from God. God turned the sun on and gave us another day to praise Him and serve Him. It is by His sovereign will that the earth continues to spin and give us new days, and the reason that it still spins is because he is not finished with us yet. God has ordained each and every day and each and every detail for this earth until the time that He will create a new heaven and new earth. If you doubt that God pays attention to detail, you need to read passages in scripture that speak on how much He cares for this world. We read that a sparrow will not fall to the ground without God knowing about it. We read that God knew us while He knit us together in our mother's womb. We also see that God knows the number of hairs on our heads (and not everyone's hair is as easy to count as mine!). And it is because of His attention to detail that we know that God is working in everything for His will to be executed. This is not to say that freewill doesn't exist. Somehow, God works freewill and His sovereignty together for His purposes. (I will not attempt to try to fully understand God because His knowledge and wisdom are beyond measure.) Each day exists so that God's will can be executed.
In Karis' simple recognition that God turned the sun on there was a huge amount of theology. God is all powerful: He made the sun out of nothing with four simple words, God is sovereign: the number of days that the sun "rises" has been ordained before there was time, and God's will is perfectly executed: He works in even the minutest of details so that His will is perfectly executed. I pray for more insight into God brought on through the mind of a child.
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