We often wonder if we have enough. I was recently working on a project at home. I made the plans, calculated the materials and made the purchase. But as I was making the purchase I was aware of a constant nagging question in my mind, “Is this going to be enough?” This nagging question was legitimate based upon past experiences. In the past I had projects, made plans, calculated the materials, made the purchase and gone to work on the project only to realize in the middle or at the end I did not have enough to finish. And then there is that time wasting trip back to the store that inevitably lengthens the time of the project. When we wonder if we have enough we are dealing with the issue of sufficiency.
The issue of sufficiency is also a matter of life and death. How do we know we have sufficient authority to live life for the glory of God? And when it comes to death how do we know we have sufficient authority to assure us of eternal life beyond the grave? These are questions that every man, woman and child should be wrestling with because we are all created for the glory of God and we will all face death and an eternal existence of life or death.
The apostle Paul wrote concerning this sufficient authority to his son in the faith Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15-17. Paul first of all tells him that the Scriptures are the sufficient authority to assure him of eternal life beyond the grave. He says in verse 15 and 16, “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God…” Timothy had been taught from the “sacred writings”. This phrase refers to the Old Testament Scriptures. He had been taught these by Paul, but also his mother and grandmother. It was the Scripture or the “breathed out” Word of God that was God’s sufficient means to bring Timothy to salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. The Scripture is from God and authoritative and because it is from God it is his sufficient source for the certainty of his children’s salvation. It is able to make them wise and understanding as to the way of God’s salvation for them in Christ. Where there is so much uncertainty inside and outside the church as to how many ways there are to God, in the Scripture we read the only sufficient answer. In Jn.14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Scripture is from God and sufficient to make us certain of God’s salvation for us in Christ Jesus.
We also see in this text that the Scriptures are the sufficient and final judge in the matter of faith and life. Timothy was living in the midst of ungodliness in the context of the church (2Tim.3:1-9). In that situation God is the judge and he judges according to his sufficient Word. Paul did not command Timothy to think through their lives and his life and try to determine which is best way, so that he may pass judgment on one way of life and live in the other. In the midst of this ungodliness he was to follow Paul’s example of godliness and expect suffering (3:12). And while he did this he was to preach God’s Word (2Tim.4:1-2). It is God’s breathed out word that is the sufficient and final judge in matters of faith and life. The church will be among a form of godliness that denies it’s power (3:5) within the church and God has given her his sufficient word to be the final judge. If there is uncertainty about what you must believe to be a Christian or if there are questions about what we must believe and do as those who are alive in Christ and following him by faith through the Spirit, then God’s Word is the sufficient and final judge. In a church and culture that does not think anyone should judge or be judged we have great uncertainty. But there is great certainty where God’s Word is trusted as the sufficient and final judge in the matter of faith and life.
The last thing Paul tells Timothy about the sufficiency of God’s Word is that it is sufficient for a life of good works that flow out of his salvation for us in Christ Jesus. In verse 16 and 17 he says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” God’s salvation for his children leads to good works or fruit bearing for his glory (Mt.13:23; Jn.15:8). We read in Ephesians 2:10, “10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” But how do we know we have enough for these works or to know what the works and the fruit looks like? The Word of God is “profitable” to this end. It is the sufficient truth of God given to his church to lead her in his pleasure.
The Word of God given us by God through the prophets and apostles is his sufficient Word for faith and life and it is the basis of the churches certainty that we may believe and live for his glory.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sola Scriptura - Authority of Scripture
There was an advertisement for a brokerage firm some years ago that said, “When E.F. Hutton speaks people listen.” In those television adds you would see and hear people walking about being busy with their live and a man would speak and everyone would stop and listen. In this way they were showing that E. F. Hutton was the authority on investments. This is how we often think of authority. We say someone is an authority who is an expert in the field. We say a referee is an authority because he enforces the rules of the game. But the Christian concept of authority is different from these views of authority. In both cases their authority is derived from something they represent.
The Christian is met with a superior and sovereign authority in the only true and living God who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And his authority is revealed to us in his expired or breathed out Word. God’s authority is revealed to us because it is given us in his Word. Therefore the Word of God is authoritative because it is God speaking to us. The Scriptures claim this authority in several repeated phrases in Scripture. “It is written” is used 46 times. “Scripture says” is used seven times. “According to the Scriptures” is used three times. And Jesus uses the phrase, “the law and the prophets” 38 times. In the words of Augustine, “What Scripture says, God says.” The Scriptures have their origin in the will of God and not the opinion or rational thinking of man. They have authority that man must submit to. Paul says to the Corinthian church, “What I am writing to you is the Lord’s command” (1Cor.14:37). So the writings of the prophets and apostles are the authoritative foundation stones of the church (Eph.2:20). The authority of the Lord Jesus Christ is given us in the Scriptures. When we say Jesus is our Lord then we must have a belief in and submission to the authority of the Scriptures. As one theologian says, “It (the authority which comes from the Bible) calls for instant and unqualified acceptance of every statement of the Bible on the part of man. To ignore, disregard, or reject any doctrine of the Bible is rebellion against God’s authority, and will not go unpunished.” (Edward W.A. Koehler) The authority of the Scriptures is found in the sovereign God who breathed them out. “The voice of Scripture is the voice of God.” (John Armstrong).
Let me illustrate this way. If a parent commands a child to do something and the child responds by saying, “Why must I do this?”, they are questioning the parents authority. If the parent responds by saying, “Because I said so”, then they have taken the supreme place of authority in the child’s life. The authority of the parent over the child is a derived and temporary authority. Therefore any authority the parent exercises over the child should point the child to their ultimate authority who is God who directs them through his Word. Therefore the proper response of the parent is not, “Because I said so”, but “Because God says so and you need to learn to trust and obey God.” God says, “Children obey your parents” and this is the final authority.
Therefore when Abraham repeatedly said to the rich man in Jesus’ story (Lk.16:19-31), “They have Moses and the prophets”, he was saying what Paul said about the weapons of our spiritual warfare. His and other Jews lives were set against the knowledge of God and his pleasure. Therefore they needed the sword of the Spirit (Eph.6:17) to demolish those strongholds, arguments and pretensions that were set up (2Cor.10:3-6) in that money promised a greater joy than God in Christ. And that walking over your neighbor to pursue that promise was greater than giving one’s neighbor the glory of God in Christ through love. But how does God through his Word take this place of authority in our lives. The kind of authority that is embraced, believed and loved?
The Scripture has a self testimony because it is God breathed and the Holy Spirit operates through that testimony in the life of Christian. Scripture itself bears witness to its own divine authority by the working power of the Holy Spirit. This is what is called the internal witness of the Spirit. The witness of the Spirit is not present in human emotions that cause you to choose God. The Spirit operates through the Word to believe, willfully embrace and act on God’s authoritative Word. This is what Paul says in 1Thessalonians 2:13, “13And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” Notice in this passage that the internal witness of the Spirit is tied to the gospel. The believer must believe in the death of Jesus Christ as a satisfaction for sin and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a justifying life. This must be the inner work of the Spirit that brings the witness of the Word to bear on the life of a true believer. If this is not present then the Word is not working authoritatively in the life. What the Scripture says, God says, and this authoritative Word of God working through the Spirit of God is what enables his church to submit to her Lord.
God has spoken and is speaking through his Word are you listening, trusting, submitting and obeying under his authority?
The Christian is met with a superior and sovereign authority in the only true and living God who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And his authority is revealed to us in his expired or breathed out Word. God’s authority is revealed to us because it is given us in his Word. Therefore the Word of God is authoritative because it is God speaking to us. The Scriptures claim this authority in several repeated phrases in Scripture. “It is written” is used 46 times. “Scripture says” is used seven times. “According to the Scriptures” is used three times. And Jesus uses the phrase, “the law and the prophets” 38 times. In the words of Augustine, “What Scripture says, God says.” The Scriptures have their origin in the will of God and not the opinion or rational thinking of man. They have authority that man must submit to. Paul says to the Corinthian church, “What I am writing to you is the Lord’s command” (1Cor.14:37). So the writings of the prophets and apostles are the authoritative foundation stones of the church (Eph.2:20). The authority of the Lord Jesus Christ is given us in the Scriptures. When we say Jesus is our Lord then we must have a belief in and submission to the authority of the Scriptures. As one theologian says, “It (the authority which comes from the Bible) calls for instant and unqualified acceptance of every statement of the Bible on the part of man. To ignore, disregard, or reject any doctrine of the Bible is rebellion against God’s authority, and will not go unpunished.” (Edward W.A. Koehler) The authority of the Scriptures is found in the sovereign God who breathed them out. “The voice of Scripture is the voice of God.” (John Armstrong).
Let me illustrate this way. If a parent commands a child to do something and the child responds by saying, “Why must I do this?”, they are questioning the parents authority. If the parent responds by saying, “Because I said so”, then they have taken the supreme place of authority in the child’s life. The authority of the parent over the child is a derived and temporary authority. Therefore any authority the parent exercises over the child should point the child to their ultimate authority who is God who directs them through his Word. Therefore the proper response of the parent is not, “Because I said so”, but “Because God says so and you need to learn to trust and obey God.” God says, “Children obey your parents” and this is the final authority.
Therefore when Abraham repeatedly said to the rich man in Jesus’ story (Lk.16:19-31), “They have Moses and the prophets”, he was saying what Paul said about the weapons of our spiritual warfare. His and other Jews lives were set against the knowledge of God and his pleasure. Therefore they needed the sword of the Spirit (Eph.6:17) to demolish those strongholds, arguments and pretensions that were set up (2Cor.10:3-6) in that money promised a greater joy than God in Christ. And that walking over your neighbor to pursue that promise was greater than giving one’s neighbor the glory of God in Christ through love. But how does God through his Word take this place of authority in our lives. The kind of authority that is embraced, believed and loved?
The Scripture has a self testimony because it is God breathed and the Holy Spirit operates through that testimony in the life of Christian. Scripture itself bears witness to its own divine authority by the working power of the Holy Spirit. This is what is called the internal witness of the Spirit. The witness of the Spirit is not present in human emotions that cause you to choose God. The Spirit operates through the Word to believe, willfully embrace and act on God’s authoritative Word. This is what Paul says in 1Thessalonians 2:13, “13And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” Notice in this passage that the internal witness of the Spirit is tied to the gospel. The believer must believe in the death of Jesus Christ as a satisfaction for sin and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a justifying life. This must be the inner work of the Spirit that brings the witness of the Word to bear on the life of a true believer. If this is not present then the Word is not working authoritatively in the life. What the Scripture says, God says, and this authoritative Word of God working through the Spirit of God is what enables his church to submit to her Lord.
God has spoken and is speaking through his Word are you listening, trusting, submitting and obeying under his authority?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Faith, Engendered or Hindered
How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
John 5:44
Belief is hindered by seeking glory from man. There is only one glory that is true glory, but there are many false glories. There is the false glory that comes from man. This is a glory that fears man for what glory he may receive from him. It may be in knowing him and being associated with him, even if it be in name only. This is the love of praise and approval from man. This imposter glory posts something on a blog or facebook that makes a person proud of the response they get from others or to know that others are paying attention to them or what they have said. This seeking of glory from mortal, limited, weak and sinful man is a false glory that does not satisfy. It is a false glory because it is not weighty. It is a light weight glory that is like the flower of the field. It blooms and blossoms red but fades quickly into dried up browns that loose their glory. The glory of man is a light weight glory because it is here a moment and then gone, it seems rock solid in promising joy but it quickly returns to the dust. Man was not made to be a vessel for providing the glory we seek. Man was made for a weighty glory that is outside of himself that he needs.
Man’s will must be changed to seek the weight of God’s glory. His will must be changed to seek and delight in what truly gratifies, the only God as he reveals himself. Man is a god we seek glory from in our sin. God is the only God we seek glory from in his grace and truth in Jesus Christ. This is the only true glory we were made for, to be trusting in God in Jesus Christ as he reveals himself in the Scriptures as our only real and lasting treasure and pleasure. This seeking of glory from the immortal, unlimited, powerful and holy triune God is a true glory that satisfies the souls of men. God’s glory is weighty. It is like the sun rising at dawn with all its glorious light to hide the lesser glories of the night sky. The glory of God in Christ is a rock solid eternal glory promising and providing joy for all who seek him. His glory is a true glory that when sought with a true heart of faith engenders greater belief. But how do you seek his glory?
We must come to Christ at the cross repenting of a will that seeks man’s glory and by faith seek his glory through the grace and truth of his revealed person and will in the Scriptures. His glory is known and enjoyed where he is being known and enjoyed in a growing knowledge of who he is and a growing life of doing his pleasure each day. His glory is known through his grace, and we attend to that grace through faith believing his glory is a greater treasure than all that man could ever offer. In this way man becomes one we serve the glory of God to through our lives of faith and repentance, instead of one we try to extract glory out of for ourselves. In this way faith is engendered and not hindered.
John 5:44
Belief is hindered by seeking glory from man. There is only one glory that is true glory, but there are many false glories. There is the false glory that comes from man. This is a glory that fears man for what glory he may receive from him. It may be in knowing him and being associated with him, even if it be in name only. This is the love of praise and approval from man. This imposter glory posts something on a blog or facebook that makes a person proud of the response they get from others or to know that others are paying attention to them or what they have said. This seeking of glory from mortal, limited, weak and sinful man is a false glory that does not satisfy. It is a false glory because it is not weighty. It is a light weight glory that is like the flower of the field. It blooms and blossoms red but fades quickly into dried up browns that loose their glory. The glory of man is a light weight glory because it is here a moment and then gone, it seems rock solid in promising joy but it quickly returns to the dust. Man was not made to be a vessel for providing the glory we seek. Man was made for a weighty glory that is outside of himself that he needs.
Man’s will must be changed to seek the weight of God’s glory. His will must be changed to seek and delight in what truly gratifies, the only God as he reveals himself. Man is a god we seek glory from in our sin. God is the only God we seek glory from in his grace and truth in Jesus Christ. This is the only true glory we were made for, to be trusting in God in Jesus Christ as he reveals himself in the Scriptures as our only real and lasting treasure and pleasure. This seeking of glory from the immortal, unlimited, powerful and holy triune God is a true glory that satisfies the souls of men. God’s glory is weighty. It is like the sun rising at dawn with all its glorious light to hide the lesser glories of the night sky. The glory of God in Christ is a rock solid eternal glory promising and providing joy for all who seek him. His glory is a true glory that when sought with a true heart of faith engenders greater belief. But how do you seek his glory?
We must come to Christ at the cross repenting of a will that seeks man’s glory and by faith seek his glory through the grace and truth of his revealed person and will in the Scriptures. His glory is known and enjoyed where he is being known and enjoyed in a growing knowledge of who he is and a growing life of doing his pleasure each day. His glory is known through his grace, and we attend to that grace through faith believing his glory is a greater treasure than all that man could ever offer. In this way man becomes one we serve the glory of God to through our lives of faith and repentance, instead of one we try to extract glory out of for ourselves. In this way faith is engendered and not hindered.
Helpful Thoughts from Reading This Week
John Calvin on the Necessity of Scripture...Institutes Book I. Chapter VI.3; "Without Scripture We Fall Into Error"
"Suppose we ponder how slippery the fall of the human mind into forgetfulness of God, how great the tendency to every kind of error, how great the lust to fashion constantly new and artificial religions. Then we may perceive how necessary was such written proof of the heavenly doctrine, that it should neither perish through forgetfulness nor vanish through error nor be corrupted by the audacity of men. It is therefore clear that God has provided the assistance of the Word for the sake of all those to whom he has pleased to give useful instruction because he foresaw that his likeness imprinted upon the most beautiful form of the universe would be insufficiently effective.... For we should so reason that the splendor of the divine contenance, which even the apostle calls "unapproachable" (1Tim.6:16), is for us like an inexplicable labyrinth unless we are conducted into it by the thread of the Word; so that it is better to limp along this path that to dash with all speed outside of it...For errors can never be uprooted from human hearts until true knowledge of God is planted therein."
Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment; Chapter 2 pg.44; "The Mystery of Contentment"
"The peace of God shall keep you, and the God of peace shall be with you (Phil.4:7,9). Here is what I would observe from this text, that the peace of God is not enough to a gracious heart except it may have the God of that peace. A carnal heart could be satisfied if he might but have outward peace, though it is not the peace of God; peace in the state, and in his trading, would satisfy him. But mark how a godly heart goes beyond a carnal. All outward peace is not enough; I must have the peace of God. But suppose you have the peace of God, Will that not quiet you? No, I must have the God of peace; as the peace of God so the God of peace. That is, I must enjoy that God who gives me the peace; I must have the Cause as well as the effect. I must see from when my peace comes, and enjoy the Fountain of my peace, as well as the stream of my peace. And so in other mercies: have I health from God? I must have the God of my health to be my portion, or else I am not satisfied. It is not life, but the God of my life; it is not riches, but the God of those riches, that I must have, the God of my preservation, as well as my preservation."
Keep Reading...
"Suppose we ponder how slippery the fall of the human mind into forgetfulness of God, how great the tendency to every kind of error, how great the lust to fashion constantly new and artificial religions. Then we may perceive how necessary was such written proof of the heavenly doctrine, that it should neither perish through forgetfulness nor vanish through error nor be corrupted by the audacity of men. It is therefore clear that God has provided the assistance of the Word for the sake of all those to whom he has pleased to give useful instruction because he foresaw that his likeness imprinted upon the most beautiful form of the universe would be insufficiently effective.... For we should so reason that the splendor of the divine contenance, which even the apostle calls "unapproachable" (1Tim.6:16), is for us like an inexplicable labyrinth unless we are conducted into it by the thread of the Word; so that it is better to limp along this path that to dash with all speed outside of it...For errors can never be uprooted from human hearts until true knowledge of God is planted therein."
Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment; Chapter 2 pg.44; "The Mystery of Contentment"
"The peace of God shall keep you, and the God of peace shall be with you (Phil.4:7,9). Here is what I would observe from this text, that the peace of God is not enough to a gracious heart except it may have the God of that peace. A carnal heart could be satisfied if he might but have outward peace, though it is not the peace of God; peace in the state, and in his trading, would satisfy him. But mark how a godly heart goes beyond a carnal. All outward peace is not enough; I must have the peace of God. But suppose you have the peace of God, Will that not quiet you? No, I must have the God of peace; as the peace of God so the God of peace. That is, I must enjoy that God who gives me the peace; I must have the Cause as well as the effect. I must see from when my peace comes, and enjoy the Fountain of my peace, as well as the stream of my peace. And so in other mercies: have I health from God? I must have the God of my health to be my portion, or else I am not satisfied. It is not life, but the God of my life; it is not riches, but the God of those riches, that I must have, the God of my preservation, as well as my preservation."
Keep Reading...
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Scripture, Necessary or Important
The Scriptures, are they necessary or merely important? This past Lord’s Day I preached on the necessity of Scripture from Romans 10:12-17. In that sermon we discovered the Scriptures are necessary to make one wise unto salvation, for the churches growth in that salvation, and a continued understanding of and life in the way of God’s pleasure. Therefore the Scriptures are not just important; they are necessary, so necessary that the church cannot exist without them. God is not bound to the Scriptures but he has bound his church to them (Francis Turretin). I encourage you to connect to the link to listen to this first sermon in our series, “Sola Scriptura: The Necessity of Scripture; Why Do We Need the Bible.”
We must reckon with our own minds and hearts in regard to the necessity of Scripture. Do we treat the Bible each day and week of our lives as though it is just important or absolutely necessary to our lives in Christ? In the last words of Moses to the people of Israel God speaks clearly of their need to treat his Word as necessary. He says to them in Deuteronomy 8:3, “3And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” The life of God that keeps the souls of men alive in him is necessarily found in his Word. He gives life and sustains life through the means of his Word. He says much later in the book, "Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess." (Deut.32:46-47). Here God tells us that his Words are not empty. They are full of the grace of life and they are necessary for God’s people to live upon forever. Is your mind and heart fixed by faith on the necessity of sitting at the Lord’s feet to be fed by him through his Word? The church is dying where the necessary Word of God is marginalized into a place of mere importance or unimportance.
Here are 7 reasons from Psalm 119 for you to consider why the Scriptures are necessary:
1. The Word is necessary for our joy or blessedness in God. "Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!" v.1
2. The Word is necessary for a diligent faith in God’s pleasure. "You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently." v.4
3. The Word is necessary to the end for which you were created, to praise God. "I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules." v.7
4. The Word in the heart is necessary to protect the life from sin. "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." v.11
5. The Word is necessary to lift us up out of our flesh to his life. "My soul clings to the dust, give me life according to your word!" v.25
6. The Word is necessary for strength to not be overcome by sorrow, despair and depression. "My soul melts away for sorrow, strengthen me according to your word." v.28
7. The Word is necessary to protect against a self imploding, worldly life. "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain." v.36
These 7 reasons only scratch the surface of the necessity of God’s Word for the churches salvation, growth in that salvation and continued understanding and life in the pleasure of God. There are many more you could list from this Psalm and the rest of Scripture.
The Word of God is more than important, it is necessary. May the church be reforming her life on this formative principle of the Reformation, Sola Scriptura.
We must reckon with our own minds and hearts in regard to the necessity of Scripture. Do we treat the Bible each day and week of our lives as though it is just important or absolutely necessary to our lives in Christ? In the last words of Moses to the people of Israel God speaks clearly of their need to treat his Word as necessary. He says to them in Deuteronomy 8:3, “3And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” The life of God that keeps the souls of men alive in him is necessarily found in his Word. He gives life and sustains life through the means of his Word. He says much later in the book, "Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess." (Deut.32:46-47). Here God tells us that his Words are not empty. They are full of the grace of life and they are necessary for God’s people to live upon forever. Is your mind and heart fixed by faith on the necessity of sitting at the Lord’s feet to be fed by him through his Word? The church is dying where the necessary Word of God is marginalized into a place of mere importance or unimportance.
Here are 7 reasons from Psalm 119 for you to consider why the Scriptures are necessary:
1. The Word is necessary for our joy or blessedness in God. "Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!" v.1
2. The Word is necessary for a diligent faith in God’s pleasure. "You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently." v.4
3. The Word is necessary to the end for which you were created, to praise God. "I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules." v.7
4. The Word in the heart is necessary to protect the life from sin. "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." v.11
5. The Word is necessary to lift us up out of our flesh to his life. "My soul clings to the dust, give me life according to your word!" v.25
6. The Word is necessary for strength to not be overcome by sorrow, despair and depression. "My soul melts away for sorrow, strengthen me according to your word." v.28
7. The Word is necessary to protect against a self imploding, worldly life. "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain." v.36
These 7 reasons only scratch the surface of the necessity of God’s Word for the churches salvation, growth in that salvation and continued understanding and life in the pleasure of God. There are many more you could list from this Psalm and the rest of Scripture.
The Word of God is more than important, it is necessary. May the church be reforming her life on this formative principle of the Reformation, Sola Scriptura.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Sola Scriptura
“Unless I am convinced by Sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I will not recant. My conscience is held captive by the Word of God and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe.” These were the words spoken by Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms in 1521. He was on trial for his writings and doctrinal positions that put him in the position of being called a demon and a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church. It was Luther’s belief in the authority of the Scriptures that lead him to argue that the Pope and the church councils are able and in fact had erred. Therefore for Luther the church was not infallible in its interpretation of the Scriptures and its traditions set down according to those interpretations. This put him at odds with the church who believed that the Scriptures and the Roman Church were infallible sources of special revelation.
The dispute over sola Scriptura was a dispute over authority. Who had the authority to bind the conscience of believers in the church, was it the church and the Scriptures or the Scriptures alone? The reformers were not averse to recognizing God given authority in the church through her offices, creeds and confessions. But they saw these authorities as subordinate to God’s authority through his Word. And when the churches traditions, creeds, and confessions made demands on her people contrary to the authority of God’s Word then she needed reforming according to the Word. Only God who is infallible has the right to bind the consciences of his children in his church through his infallible Word alone. But even in our day the true doctrine of sola Scriptura is confused.
In our modern culture we have elevated the autonomous or individual reason to the place of an infallible authority. In the church it is common to believe that the Scriptures are the only “basis of authority”. In our “no creeds but Christ” church culture it is the autonomous reason that has taken the place of the Roman Catholic tradition. In the time of the Reformation the Roman Catholic Church believed that the infallible Scriptures and the infallible Pope and Church were the authority. But now the individual reason has taken the place of the church and Pope as an infallible source of authority. It says, “I am my own interpreter, I am my own authority based on what I believe the Scriptures say”. In this present climate change in the church it does not necessarily matter what you believe as long as you do not believe that I have to believe or interpret the Bible in the same way you do or according to a standard. This is why we have churches emerging that do not stress or even have church membership. Church membership infringes upon the individual. It causes the church to have to rule and teach authoritatively from a standard given them by God in subordination to the Scriptures.
In our modern church culture of “solo Scriptura” (the Scripture is the sole basis of authority) any God given authority in the church which is subordinate to the Scriptures is replaced by man’s own reason. In the time of the Reformation were Martin Luther and other reformers only studying the Bible? And were they only studying the Bible through their own thought lenses? When I was in graduate school taking a class in hermeneutics I was taught to come to the Bible with no preconceived notions or thoughts, no presuppositions about the Scripture I was studying. This teaching was borrowed from Lewis Sperry Chafer founder of Dallas Theological Seminary who said, “the very fact that I did not study a prescribed course in theology made it possible for me to approach the subject with an unprejudiced mind and to be concerned only with what the Bible actually teaches.” This is an approach resting on the infallibility of the individual in interpreting Scripture. Keith Mathison says, “Each of us comes to the Scripture with different presuppositions, blind spots, ignorance of important facts, and, most importantly, sinfulness. Because of this we each read things into Scripture that are not there and miss things in Scripture that are there.” Martin Luther and other reformers used by God in the 16th and 17th centuries did not interpret the Scriptures as the sole basis of authority. They recognized that though men and councils in the church could ere nonetheless they depended upon the creeds and confessions and writings of the church in the past. This is why when Charles of Germany handed down his decisions regarding Luther at the Diet of Worms he connected him with the teachings of the pre-reformers John Wycliffe, Jon Hus and the Waldensians. Luther was not original in his understandings and interpretations. In his debate with Johann Eck he quoted as much of Augustine and the church fathers as he did the Scriptures in defending his positions. The modern church must be careful that she does not abandon the ancient paths in the pursuit of the autonomous infallible self.
The modern church needs the authoritative Word that has produced creeds, confessions and writings that still guide her to this day. The Word of God alone can bind the consciences of God’s beloved church, but it is not the sole basis of authority. God has given his church fallible yet authoritative offices, creeds and confessions as subordinate to the Word of God. Yet the Scripture alone is the infallible, expired, special revelation of God which is the formal cause of the churches reformation then, now and forevermore. Ecclesia semper reformanda est.
The dispute over sola Scriptura was a dispute over authority. Who had the authority to bind the conscience of believers in the church, was it the church and the Scriptures or the Scriptures alone? The reformers were not averse to recognizing God given authority in the church through her offices, creeds and confessions. But they saw these authorities as subordinate to God’s authority through his Word. And when the churches traditions, creeds, and confessions made demands on her people contrary to the authority of God’s Word then she needed reforming according to the Word. Only God who is infallible has the right to bind the consciences of his children in his church through his infallible Word alone. But even in our day the true doctrine of sola Scriptura is confused.
In our modern culture we have elevated the autonomous or individual reason to the place of an infallible authority. In the church it is common to believe that the Scriptures are the only “basis of authority”. In our “no creeds but Christ” church culture it is the autonomous reason that has taken the place of the Roman Catholic tradition. In the time of the Reformation the Roman Catholic Church believed that the infallible Scriptures and the infallible Pope and Church were the authority. But now the individual reason has taken the place of the church and Pope as an infallible source of authority. It says, “I am my own interpreter, I am my own authority based on what I believe the Scriptures say”. In this present climate change in the church it does not necessarily matter what you believe as long as you do not believe that I have to believe or interpret the Bible in the same way you do or according to a standard. This is why we have churches emerging that do not stress or even have church membership. Church membership infringes upon the individual. It causes the church to have to rule and teach authoritatively from a standard given them by God in subordination to the Scriptures.
In our modern church culture of “solo Scriptura” (the Scripture is the sole basis of authority) any God given authority in the church which is subordinate to the Scriptures is replaced by man’s own reason. In the time of the Reformation were Martin Luther and other reformers only studying the Bible? And were they only studying the Bible through their own thought lenses? When I was in graduate school taking a class in hermeneutics I was taught to come to the Bible with no preconceived notions or thoughts, no presuppositions about the Scripture I was studying. This teaching was borrowed from Lewis Sperry Chafer founder of Dallas Theological Seminary who said, “the very fact that I did not study a prescribed course in theology made it possible for me to approach the subject with an unprejudiced mind and to be concerned only with what the Bible actually teaches.” This is an approach resting on the infallibility of the individual in interpreting Scripture. Keith Mathison says, “Each of us comes to the Scripture with different presuppositions, blind spots, ignorance of important facts, and, most importantly, sinfulness. Because of this we each read things into Scripture that are not there and miss things in Scripture that are there.” Martin Luther and other reformers used by God in the 16th and 17th centuries did not interpret the Scriptures as the sole basis of authority. They recognized that though men and councils in the church could ere nonetheless they depended upon the creeds and confessions and writings of the church in the past. This is why when Charles of Germany handed down his decisions regarding Luther at the Diet of Worms he connected him with the teachings of the pre-reformers John Wycliffe, Jon Hus and the Waldensians. Luther was not original in his understandings and interpretations. In his debate with Johann Eck he quoted as much of Augustine and the church fathers as he did the Scriptures in defending his positions. The modern church must be careful that she does not abandon the ancient paths in the pursuit of the autonomous infallible self.
The modern church needs the authoritative Word that has produced creeds, confessions and writings that still guide her to this day. The Word of God alone can bind the consciences of God’s beloved church, but it is not the sole basis of authority. God has given his church fallible yet authoritative offices, creeds and confessions as subordinate to the Word of God. Yet the Scripture alone is the infallible, expired, special revelation of God which is the formal cause of the churches reformation then, now and forevermore. Ecclesia semper reformanda est.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Beautiful Feet
Do you have beautiful feet? I am not talking about a nice shaped foot that has been gently cared for and nurtured by all the correct massages and lotions, pedicures and polish. No, I am speaking of the beautiful feet of those who preach the good news of Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Rom.10:15). Here he is quoting from Isaiah 52:7 which reads,
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
Those with beautiful feet are those who bring the glorious riches of God in the person, works and words of Jesus Christ. Their feet may be blistered and worn, but their news is beautiful and a precious ointment to the souls of those who hear by faith. For there are those who sit in the news of their misery and death, those who know only strife, discord, guilt and condemnation, those who know only tears, sorrow and darkness, and those whose god is the creature or the creation. But the one who comes by their feet to proclaim the sovereign reign and grace of God seen in Jesus Christ is an ambassador of joy and a steward of riches to those who sit in misplaced joy and sorrow.
How beautiful are your feet to those in your family, your neighborhood and your workplaces? How beautiful are your feet to those in your church? Those in the church are the stewards of the good news, the words of peace, the words of joy and happiness and the words of the salvation of her God who reigns.
There are many ways the church can publish the words of Christ to those around her. You can write a letter of this good news to one of your renewed friendships on facebook. You can give a good Christian book to someone in your family who may not know the way of Christ truly from the Scriptures. You can invite a friend, neighbor or work associate to church to hear the good news proclaimed. You can carry the good news of peace with God to your neighbor through a conversation over tea, dessert or supper. You can be used of God to take the good news to a people who have never heard as you walk to your prayer closet or board a plane to cross a culture to publish peace in Jesus Christ. The church must remember that “these boots were made for walkin”, but not like the popular song lyrics say, “for walkin all over you”. No the feet that go in the boots are beautiful when they bring the good news of peace where there is enmity, joy where there is sorrow and good news where there is only bad. The beautiful feet are those who treasure the truth of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ and spread the riches of that treasure to all God’s broken image bearers.
The apostle Paul says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Rom.10:15). Here he is quoting from Isaiah 52:7 which reads,
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
Those with beautiful feet are those who bring the glorious riches of God in the person, works and words of Jesus Christ. Their feet may be blistered and worn, but their news is beautiful and a precious ointment to the souls of those who hear by faith. For there are those who sit in the news of their misery and death, those who know only strife, discord, guilt and condemnation, those who know only tears, sorrow and darkness, and those whose god is the creature or the creation. But the one who comes by their feet to proclaim the sovereign reign and grace of God seen in Jesus Christ is an ambassador of joy and a steward of riches to those who sit in misplaced joy and sorrow.
How beautiful are your feet to those in your family, your neighborhood and your workplaces? How beautiful are your feet to those in your church? Those in the church are the stewards of the good news, the words of peace, the words of joy and happiness and the words of the salvation of her God who reigns.
There are many ways the church can publish the words of Christ to those around her. You can write a letter of this good news to one of your renewed friendships on facebook. You can give a good Christian book to someone in your family who may not know the way of Christ truly from the Scriptures. You can invite a friend, neighbor or work associate to church to hear the good news proclaimed. You can carry the good news of peace with God to your neighbor through a conversation over tea, dessert or supper. You can be used of God to take the good news to a people who have never heard as you walk to your prayer closet or board a plane to cross a culture to publish peace in Jesus Christ. The church must remember that “these boots were made for walkin”, but not like the popular song lyrics say, “for walkin all over you”. No the feet that go in the boots are beautiful when they bring the good news of peace where there is enmity, joy where there is sorrow and good news where there is only bad. The beautiful feet are those who treasure the truth of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ and spread the riches of that treasure to all God’s broken image bearers.
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Need to Read
There is a need to read. CNN reported this week that the Pew Forum conducted a 32 question religion quiz with 3,400 people living in America. In their findings they discovered that atheists and agnostics scored higher than evangelicals. Those in the “Bible belt” scored the lowest. The poll was certainly not exhaustive in its findings but it does represent what the church knows and those findings are not good. One conclusion is obvious; those who read did better than those who do not.
A 2004 NEA survey found that most adult Americans do not read one book a year. They found that the average 15-24 year old spends less than seven minutes a day reading leisurely. Another study found that 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college. 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book in 2007. Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines. The average American watching 4 hours of TV a week will spend 9 years of their life in front the TV by the age 65. The average American parent spends 3.5 minutes per week in meaning conversation with their children. The average American child watches 1,680 minutes per week watching television. People are reading less and watching more and knowing less.
When I first read George Orwell’s 1984 I feared what most young Americans feared living during the Cold War, Big Brother and oppression from without. But what I missed in that government education by day and TBS education by night was Aldous Huxley’s prophecy in Brave New World. Neil Postman puts it this way, “As he (Huxley) saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think…Orwell feared those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one to read one…Huxley feared that what we love would ruin us.” It appears that Huxley was on the road to right especially if we apply these thoughts to the church.
Does the church know what or how to think in this culture of amusements or is she sliding with the culture into the same ruin of passivity and egoism? I would argue that if you asked the “evangelicals” of those 3,400 polled by the Pew Forum on religious knowledge if they cared about the questions they were being asked the answer would have been, “No, what does it have to do with me.” The church does not know what she is laughing about and why she has stopped thinking. Therefore the following questions are necessary: How many hours a week is the average church member spending reading, hearing, praying and singing the Word of God? How many hours a week is the average church member spending in reading good Christian books and discussing them with other church goers?
David prays in Psalm 119:17, Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Life in the ways of God is through the transforming and renewing of the mind with the knowledge of God and his will (Rom.12:1-2). The turning away from worthless things and worthless thoughts happens in the context of treasuring the knowledge and will of God revealed through his Word. But it also occurs where the truth about God and his will is discovered in good Christian literature. This week I struggled with discouragement and was tempted to shrink back into passivity and egoism. But God through his Word studied, talked about, taught and written on my heart and the use of good Christian literature my mind and affections were renewed and transformed that I might live in his ways.
The apostle Paul uses the phrase, “Do you not know” thirteen times. Jesus is recorded as saying, “Have you not read” seven times, and “have you never read” three times in the gospels. The prophet Isaiah says, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isa.40:28) What are you knowing, what are you reading, what are you hearing read and discussing? It is the unsearchable knowledge and understanding of God that is for the shaping and imaging of the church for his glory The church must be attending to every opportunity to read the Scriptures, hear them read, taught, preached and participate in the discussion of them. The church must also be reading good Christian literature. By reading good Christian literature 15 minutes a day each church member could be reading 20 average Christian books a year. Tolle Lege, take up and read. There is a need to read.
A 2004 NEA survey found that most adult Americans do not read one book a year. They found that the average 15-24 year old spends less than seven minutes a day reading leisurely. Another study found that 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college. 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book in 2007. Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines. The average American watching 4 hours of TV a week will spend 9 years of their life in front the TV by the age 65. The average American parent spends 3.5 minutes per week in meaning conversation with their children. The average American child watches 1,680 minutes per week watching television. People are reading less and watching more and knowing less.
When I first read George Orwell’s 1984 I feared what most young Americans feared living during the Cold War, Big Brother and oppression from without. But what I missed in that government education by day and TBS education by night was Aldous Huxley’s prophecy in Brave New World. Neil Postman puts it this way, “As he (Huxley) saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think…Orwell feared those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one to read one…Huxley feared that what we love would ruin us.” It appears that Huxley was on the road to right especially if we apply these thoughts to the church.
Does the church know what or how to think in this culture of amusements or is she sliding with the culture into the same ruin of passivity and egoism? I would argue that if you asked the “evangelicals” of those 3,400 polled by the Pew Forum on religious knowledge if they cared about the questions they were being asked the answer would have been, “No, what does it have to do with me.” The church does not know what she is laughing about and why she has stopped thinking. Therefore the following questions are necessary: How many hours a week is the average church member spending reading, hearing, praying and singing the Word of God? How many hours a week is the average church member spending in reading good Christian books and discussing them with other church goers?
David prays in Psalm 119:17, Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Life in the ways of God is through the transforming and renewing of the mind with the knowledge of God and his will (Rom.12:1-2). The turning away from worthless things and worthless thoughts happens in the context of treasuring the knowledge and will of God revealed through his Word. But it also occurs where the truth about God and his will is discovered in good Christian literature. This week I struggled with discouragement and was tempted to shrink back into passivity and egoism. But God through his Word studied, talked about, taught and written on my heart and the use of good Christian literature my mind and affections were renewed and transformed that I might live in his ways.
The apostle Paul uses the phrase, “Do you not know” thirteen times. Jesus is recorded as saying, “Have you not read” seven times, and “have you never read” three times in the gospels. The prophet Isaiah says, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isa.40:28) What are you knowing, what are you reading, what are you hearing read and discussing? It is the unsearchable knowledge and understanding of God that is for the shaping and imaging of the church for his glory The church must be attending to every opportunity to read the Scriptures, hear them read, taught, preached and participate in the discussion of them. The church must also be reading good Christian literature. By reading good Christian literature 15 minutes a day each church member could be reading 20 average Christian books a year. Tolle Lege, take up and read. There is a need to read.
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