Why do Christians believe the Bible?

We start with a number of basic beliefs. We believe that it is possible to know things truly. That there is order and consequence in the universe. That it is possible to build a rational construct and that these things are so because that's the way God made them. That God not only exists but that he has entered into a relationship with his creation and with man in particular.

We are taught that truth is established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. So here are my two:
As we study the Bible we discover there are some things that are so obvious we call them common sense. The sun rises each morning and sets each evening (not the other way around and the time it is "up" depends on your location on the earth's surface). Then we discover there are conditional statements which can be checked such as Proverbs 22:15 - "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will remove it far from him." The course of our society over the past 40 years indicates the truth of this one. And finally there are statements we need to take on trust - especially those dealing with our final destination. So, my first witness - Bible study and investigation of its claims - demonstrates the Bible is to be trusted.
Next a comparison between the Bible and the religious writings of other religions shows the restraint of the Bible. Unlike those writings, its claims can be tested by history and science. Luke's writings, his Gospel and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles abound in historical detail which can and have been checked. And, in every case where Luke's history can be checked it has been confirmed. Checking the details of the fall of Jerusalem against the prophecies of Jesus in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 demonstrate how accurate were the words of the Christ. And that's before we enter the study of archaeology and how it confirms the Old Testament. My second witness, the study of the external data referred to in the Bible, demonstrates the Bible is to be trusted.
Then, for the Christian, it is possible to know the author. This usually starts as one of those conditional statements which can be investigated. As we search out the truth of the Bible's statements we can sometimes be surprised by the author himself. When that happens we understand the Bible more clearly than we ever did before and, in fact, even wonder why we didn't see it was sin which stopped us from truly knowing God. Then we understand the Bible as a letter written to all men and to us in particular and we believe it. My third witness also attests to the trustworthiness of the Bible.

So, from without and within, the Bible demonstrates it is to be trusted. Why do Christians believe the Bible? Because life and study demonstrate it is to be trusted.

Reformed and Evangelistic

There are two blog sites I ran into today that I think deal with the issue of the doctrines of Reformed Theology and the apparent conflict with the Great Commission. Calvinicm is often claimed to be an atmosphere in which evangelistic fervor cannot live.

The first of these sites found here is for the ministry of one Voddie Baucham Jr, the pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Texas. A lot of what he says is just plain common sense - like this quotation which says (among other things) that we should not have to check everything a man says about everything before we are prepared to quote him. If what he says here, for example, is to the point and accurate - well and good - after all we might have to throw out a lot of good people if we sieve them through (say) racist sunglasses.

The second site here led to another, the former home page of the Cork Free Presbyterian Church and the original article. It seemed to me that, for those of my readers who are interested in following up on some of the issues we discuss here, Colin Maxwell's Evangelism issues could well provide some food for thought.

Enjoy the reading :)

Evangelism and the Law of God

A few days ago this article appeared on the Arminian Today blog site. It is an excellent explanation of the importance of using the Law of God in the process of evangelism. Much of today's "evangelism" follows the procedure laid out at the head of the article and the "pray a prayer" step never seems to include any time to allow the Holy Spirit to convict the person of sin.

Reading this article could go a long way to explaining why we have so many "Christians" who live as if they belonged to a club (like Rotary with less obligations). This is an encouraging sign that there are those who are not of the Reformed camp who see the necessity of preaching the Law if people are to be born again. What's that you say? There are Reformed congregations who use the steps outlined at the beginning of the article? Surely not!!

Maybe this article should "stir us to jealousy" to whom God has granted the "oracles of God, and the Law ..."

The Purpose of Man - Part III

The Shorter Catechism says, not only that we must glorify God, but that it is our purpose to enjoy him forever. This reminds us that Christianity is not just a matter of duty - we ought to obey God and keep his commandments - but it is also a relationship. It is this relationship which helps us understand why God is as interested in our attitudes as he is our actions. In fact, most often it is the attitude which has the key role in assessing what we do.

Take this passage in Proverbs. "A proud look and a haughty heart and the lamp of the wicked is sin." An alternate reading of the text has "the plowing of the wicked" for "the lamp ..." Now we can understand the proud look being sin and the haughty heart. But while we might find it more difficult to class the plowing of the wicked as sin, how can we do the same with the lamp of the wicked? A lamp is surely neutral. It does neither good nor evil. Surely the fact that it is owned by a wicked person is not enough to class it as evil?

In this we show we have forgotten the role of relationship. The importance of the saying rests not on the word "lamp" but on the phrase "lamp of the wicked." It is not the lamp but what the person uses it for. A good man uses his lamp to light the way so he can act for the benefit of his neighbors. A wicked man uses his lamp so he can act for the detriment of his neighbors. God reminds us that intent is all important by calling such a lamp sin.

So saying we turn to consider the purpose of man. If our intent is to glorify God; if we seek to honor him in all we do and think; if we become downhearted when our "best-laid plans gang oft aglee" (as Robert Burns put it) and we - once again - show we have not overcome sin in our lives; then we can take comfort in the promise that it will not always be so. Even as we struggle to overcome our sin, so also the, whole creation groans and trevails awaiting the revelation of the Sons of God, says the Apostle. So there will come a day when we put off our mortal body with the corruption of the flesh and put on a perfect body, having been made into the very likeness of Christ himself.

In the garden of Eden, Adam walked with God every day. His was the communion of a perfectly good creature, made in the image of God, with his Creator. On the final day we will have that restored and more because we will (along with everyone else who has put their trust in Christ) also know him as our Redeemer and our King. We will enjoy his fellowship as those who love him and are assured (in a way that Adam never knew) that he loves us. There is no greater joy on earth than that between two people who have loved and had that love strengthened by the things they have suffered together. How much more the love we share with Christ who, though he was perfect, suffered on our behalf, in order that he might present us spotless before his father.

We will be able to gaze on his face, hear his beloved voice speaking and, above all rejoice that the whole world gives him the same honor as the very angels in heaven. We will know that no more will we cause him pain as he sees us fail to achieve what we long to do in his honor but will rejoice with us that sin has finally been defeated in our lives. How wonderful just to say: The good that I would, that I do and know that there is no evil to even resist - that is almost too wonderful to contemplate!!

Pray that this hint of what will be makes us long to serve him and do so without any of the sin that still clings to us. May we know the joy of being able to do as we long to now. The Catechism only gives us a glimpse of the joy that awaits us when finally we stand in his presence and hear: "Come the blessed of my father ..." the invitation to be with him and enjoy his presence forever. No wonder John ends his vision with "Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly."

The Purpose of Man: Part II

The second part of this blog about the catechism answer to the question: "What is the chief end (or purpose) of man?" is " ... to glorify God ..."

I was reading an article today about the need for heroes. The writer, Jon Foreman, said he had found a hero in John M. Perkins. He is, as we are told: "a man who devoted his life to those around him in simple and profound ways. He was quick to forgive, quick to utilize resources to help those in need. He has been a tireless civil rights worker who has endured beatings, harassments, and even prison for what he believes. With the help of his wife, Vera Mae, and a few others, he founded a health center, leadership development program, thrift store, low-income housing development and training center in his hometown of Mendenhall, Mississippi. His is a story of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of patience. He endured the suffering, holding on to a cause greater than himself."

It's great that Jon Foreman considers such a man a hero. So many others require more flashy evidence. Then came the quotation (emphasis added) that made me think about this subject: "His is a story that reminds me of a goodness beneath the system. Though Perkins was a devout Christian, he was quick to point out that this goodness is bigger than stale religion. Mr. Perkins once said that 'many congregations do nothing but outsource justice.'"

Suppose Mr Perkins' quotation is only partly accurate, then this is a telling indictment of the way many Christians view their beliefs. That someone can, with any legitimacy, label a congregation's Christianity as "stale religion" and see their work as "outsourcing justice" is a shame to us all. Has the Church really reached the point where our faith does not remind us of why we are here? Has her teaching really deteriorated to the point that some can imagine "outsourcing justice" is what it means to glorify God? And what about the idea that there can be a version of Christianity which is no longer fresh? All these questions may only be the result of one man's inability to find a local Church which is truly Christian but they do remind us that the task of evangelizing the nation is still a long way from complete.

Mr Perkins is an encouragement to believe the are some who take their role of glorifying God seriously and a reminder that we need to do much more than talk about serving God and our fellow man. We need to remember that our savior spent his whole life doing good as well as teaching. I remember talking about justification by faith to someone recently. They were hot to remind me that we are saved by faith alone and even quoted the Bible correctly to prove it. The problem I had with their presentation (and which led to a further discussion) was that there did not seem to be any need for us to "show our faith by our works," as James so beautifully puts it.

If, as the catechism puts it our main purpose in life is to glorify God, then we need to show it by more than just theological acumen. Perhaps a part of the problem is that so many of us are used to seeing Christianity in terms of its message and attacks on its theology. In such a context it can become easy to forget that Christianity is a life based on a particular relationship which has practical implications. There was a reason Jesus taught his disciples as they moved around Israel - he wanted them to learn to both do and teach as he did.

I read what Jon had to say about Mr Perkins and thought how important it would have been for young men (especially - but young women as well) to have learned to do what he was doing and to learn the Christian reasons why he acted as he did. Then I got to wondering why that same principle (based on what Jesus did) wouldn't work in today's Churches. I couldn't think of a single reason ... as long as it wasn't all taught by a minister/pastor.

There are a few advantages - young Christians would learn that there is no area of life which is not affected by the way we honor Christ; they would learn there are things each and every one of us can do to honor God in our lives, they would learn that doctrine and life are complementary parts of the same life, they would see that doctrine informs our actions, they would even learn that God loves us in spite of our failings. Hmmm Oh, and did I mention that Mr Perkins would eventually be considered "just another Christian" as I am sure he would want it to be.