March 31

Christ-followers have long viewed Holy Week as a time of reflection and introspection. We know ourselves. Our lives often become too hectic and busy to take time to evaluate ourselves adequately.

We must consciously stop from time to time, and take inventory of our spiritual selves. When we do this, we invariably find room for improvement.

There are sins to confess, more prayers to be offered, more Bible verses to read. The pursuit for greater Godliness must never end, because holiness matters most. Holy Week gives us a chance to return the quest for holiness to the top of our to-do list.

March 30

By riding on a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus proved He was a King of Peace. Horses were the animal of choice during times of war. Conquerors, for their victory parades, rode into town on white chargers, tall noble intimidating steeds.

 

Victors brandished spears and swords. Jesus waved a cross. The religious leaders believed they won, and He lost. But!! In Jerusalem, no soldiers at arms met Him, but at the end angels and an army of believers will accompany Him.

 

In the holy city, there were no trumpet blasts, but at the finale Michael will blow the loudest trumpet ever. In Jerusalem, there were no chariots of state, but in the end clouds will be His chariots, and roll back like a scroll.

 

This triumphal entry into Jerusalem was but a dress rehearsal for a coming day when Jesus will ride, not on a beast of burden, but as a conqueror on a white horse (RV 19:11). If you've not read the end of the Bible, do so. Jesus wins.

 

Credible Bible #2

Our Credible Bible (Lesson 2)

Why These 66 Books?

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

            Thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls we know we have a reliable record of the books Jesus and the early believers deemed Scripture. At this point, we would be well served to consider why we accept the 39 Old Testament books, but not the Apocrypha, as Scripture. We reject the Apocrypha because Jesus said the prophets, a common way for referring to Holy Writ in His day, went from Abel to Zechariah (Luke 11:50-51). Abel was killed in Genesis; Zechariah was killed near the end of the book of Chronicles, which is the last book in the Hebrew Old Testament.

 

Once convinced of the makeup of the Old Testament, our next issue to face is; why have a New Testament at all? Why did we not stop with the 39 Old Testament books? Why did early believers, who obviously believed the Old Testament books were Scripture, feel a need to add any more books?

 

Two answers are very plausible. One, Jesus had promised to send His disciples the Holy Spirit, who would make them remember Jesus' teaching (JN 14:26), testify about Christ (15:26), and lead them into all truth (16:13).

 

Two, the Old Testament was a collection of open-ended books. Many of them ended looking ahead to a time when God would restore His people, and send Messiah. For instance, Jeremiah and Ezekiel predicted a coming new covenant. Other Old Testament books could also be cited as examples here (see Blomberg, pp. 61-62). They leave the strong impression the story of Israel was not yet complete. More was yet to come.

 

Early believers felt they had experienced in Jesus the completion and fulfillment of Old Testament expectation and hopes. All four Gospel writers for sure wrote as if they were continuing the Old Testament story line.

 

Another question is, why stop at 27? Some think certain works by the early church fathers belonged in the canon. Only 14 books other than our 27 New Testament books were ever given any consideration by early believers. None were serious contenders, except for the Shepherd of Hermas.

 

This brings us to the three guidelines that were used for inclusion in the canon. One, apostolicity; written during the Apostolic Age, in the first century, before the last of the 12 Apostles had died. This criterion was, first and foremost, the dominant requirement. Almost all scholarship now agrees the 27 books of the New Testament were written within the first century. Paul wrote first, in the early 50s to mid 60s. Matthew, Mark (the first Gospel writer), and Luke-Acts were written in the 60s. John was written in the 90s. (For an excellent handling of dating the four Gospels, see Bird, pp.125ff.)

 

Some church fathers began writing soon after John died, even very close to 100 A.D., but this was considered too late to make the final cut. This requirement precludes adding the Koran or Book of Mormon to the canon.

 

Two, orthodoxy. A book had to be faithful to the teachings of Jesus and the disciples. This became more valued as time passed, especially as heresies began to pop up. No book was allowed to be more than one person removed from an Apostle. Matthew and John were numbered among the original 12 disciples. Mark was believed to have written for Peter, who counted Mark as his son in the faith (1 P 5:13). Luke was a student of Paul.

 

Three, widespread use. To gain acceptance, a book could not be popular in only a small sect or in only one section of the Empire. Leaders everywhere were expected to be using them. They had to be valued widely.

 

The early believers interacted a lot. Roman roads helped make this the case. Paul's trips were also a unifying factor. Information and manuscripts flowed freely among early believers. They saw themselves as not only a local, but also a global, community. They felt a need to have worldwide impact. Thus, what happened elsewhere in the Empire mattered to them.

 

Origen (184-253 A.D.), in Alexandria, pondered a few books other than the 27, but when he moved to Caesarea and did not find these books used there, he dropped them because they failed to pass the widespread use test. This test may explain why the Shepherd of Hermas, though written very early, did not make the cut. It remained popular in the west, but not the east.

 

New Testament books obviously spread far and wide quickly. By the last half of the 100s, the Fathers at various points of the Empire were referring often to many of what are now New Testament books as Scripture.

 

They were read in churches every Sunday; an honor accorded only the Old Testament Scriptures. One reason so many manuscripts were saved is due to the fact early believers deemed them authoritative from the first, and wanted them for public reading in worship services.

 

The four Gospels were almost immediately and universally acknowledged everywhere by every one as extraordinary. Early believers also had no controversy with Acts, Paul, 1 Peter, and 1 John. Ones that triggered some discussion were Hebrews (no author mentioned), James (contradicts justification by faith?), 2 Peter (so different from 1 Peter in style; could it be by same author?), 2 and 3 John, and Jude (too short to be of timeless value?), and Revelation (always a puzzle).

 

The early church fathers quoted what are now New Testament books as authoritative, often showing them the respect they showed Old Testament books. Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.) picked 22 (20 for sure plus Hebrews and 2 John). Tertullian (155-240 A.D.) had 23 (James and Revelation; not 2 John). Origen (184-253 A.D.) had 21 (not Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2,3 John, Jude). In the 300s the Church Councils would confirm ideas and beliefs that had already been generally held in the 100s and 200s.

 

Determining the canon was not playful activity. Dodging persecution, and wrestling against heresies, can make people serious about what books they are willing to die for. Selecting the right books was serious business.

 

The canon was not forced on believers. Dan Brown's fiction, "The Da Vinci Code" notwithstanding, the council called by Constantine at Nicaea in 325 A.D. had nothing to do with determining the New Testament canon. This issue was not debated. This council was about the Person of Jesus.

 

Constantine did commission Eusebius to copy and send 50 Bibles to key locations in the empire. Eusebius included all our 27 books, but divided them into categories of acknowledged, and acknowledged with some doubt.

 

Well after Constantine, there still wasn't absolute unanimity on the final list. The first official list with our 27 books on it, all deemed to be without doubt Scripture, happened in AD 367, when Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, sent an Easter letter to the churches and listed the precise books we acknowledge today. In 397 the Council of Carthage ratified this list.

 

The four Gospels deserve special mention. Though in the 100s there was no widespread formal movement toward compiling a canon as such, from the first the four Gospels were entrenched among the earliest believers as the authoritative information sources about Jesus. In the mid 100s, Justin called them "Memoirs of the Apostles". These four books contained stories about Jesus, the essence of our faith, and kept people from fanciful thoughts about Him by setting limits on how far we can go in interpreting who He is.

 

For early believers, the Gospel of Matthew led the march toward canonicity. It was by far the go-to Gospel, for reasons not fully known. My guess is its having the Sermon on the Mount, and having been written with Jewish believers, who outnumbered Gentiles at first, in mind. Early church fathers thought Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew or Aramaic before he left Judea in order to leave his remembrances behind with the mostly Jewish audience he was leaving. Irenaeus (130-202 A.D. Lyon, France), Justin (100-165 A.D. Rome), Clement (150-215 A.D. Alexandria), and many others preferred it in their quotes and use. There are more manuscripts of Matthew than any of the other three Gospels. John comes in second.

 

A fascinating thing I have learned is; early believers had a rabid desire to read, and be read to, about Jesus. As Christianity spread across the Roman Empire, the four Gospels began to be translated almost immediately into languages other than Greek. Talking in our parlance, the Gospels went viral.

 

Demand for the four Gospels was so great that believers helped develop a new literary form; they contributed to the world's shift from scrolls to books. Scrolls were cumbersome and could be written on only one side. Books allowed documents to be written on both sides, and made it possible for them to be stacked and then bound together.

 

From the first, believers craved to have copies of the four Gospels. People wanted to know about Jesus. What I liked most about studying this was seeing how desperately early Christ-followers wanted to be in the Word, and to be near Jesus in their learning. Amen. May we be and do likewise.

 

The fourfold Gospel codex was by far the most popular book among early believers. The fourfold Gospel witness was not due to edicts enforced from above, but due to a grassroots movement among believers to have the Gospel. The people had a portable Jesus library they loved. They enjoyed the richness of having more than one vantage point to look at Jesus' life.

 

 

 

 

 

March 29

The Triumphal Entry was a living sermon. Here was a new kind of king. No army, no wealth, no jewels, no violent revolution, no political insurrection, no blood being shed except His own. He will let the mob crucify Him, and let His death be a ransom for their sins. He came not in wrath to condemn and avenge, but, being "gentle", in mercy to save (JN 3:17).

 

His choice for a mount, a donkey, made a statement settling forever the kind of King He is. Our sovereign King is one of us. Donkeys were lowly pack animals. Jesus rode on a donkey because He wanted us to know He was accessible, easy to be touched. He was not elevated high above the crowd on a horse, but sat lower to the ground, near the people.

 

Jesus didn't desire much pageantry. His greatness flowed from inside Him. He had no need for varnish, veneer, ornaments, or fancy clothes. Jesus could have had any kind of animal He wanted, but in order to let His lowliness on our behalf be absolute, he chose a donkey, about which there is absolutely nothing glamorous.

 

Don't be dumber than a donkey. Donkeys are infamous for being hardheaded, but this stubborn creature was more compliant to Jesus than were the people He came to save. Don't go there. Better a praying saint than a braying donkey. Balaam showed what not to do (NB 22-24). He was more stubborn than his donkey, which had to talk for God.

March 28

Being omniscient, Jesus knew even the smallest details. He foreknew where to find the animals, gave specific instructions on what the disciples were to look for: a mother donkey and her colt, and predicted what the owner would say and do (MT 21:3).

Jesus spoke of the donkeys with an air of authority that, if He were not "the Lord", would be presumptuous. "Lord" designated Him as being God. He had the right to claim universal proprietorship over all things. Therefore, He commanded.

Does Jesus have our all? Are we giving Him the first 10% of our earnings to prove all our money is His, are we giving Him one day each week to signify every day is His. It's hard to claim He has our all when we reluctantly give Him a part.

March 27

In heading to Palm Sunday, Jesus at Bethphage, a Jerusalem suburb, crested the hill "covered with olive trees" (Robertson), crossing a summit about one mile east of, and 250 feet above, the temple area (MT 21:1).

To procede into Jerusalem, Jesus needed to borrow a ride. He was so poor that His head, which carried all knowledge, had nowhere to rest, and His hand, which created worlds, owned not even a donkey (MT 21:2).

Few in Israel would be poorer than Jesus was. At His birth, He truly did leave behind His heavenly riches.

Though poor, Jesus lacked nothing once He entered the holy city. The Father met all His needs, whether He required a donkey, food, lodging, a place of prayer, a tomb, etc. Jesus totally and regularly trusted His Father. I wish I could trust God this way. This desire should become the holy grail of our spiritual quest.

Facedown

Matthew 26:36-39a

Facedown

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Matt. 26:36-37a  (Holman)  Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,. . .

 

            Jesus led His disciples eastward across the Kidron Valley in order to pray in a place He visited often (Luke 22:39). It was an enclosed piece of ground, a garden (John 18:1) named Gethsemane. The word means "oil-press". It would have been a place on the Mount of Olives where olives were crushed to retrieve their juice.

            Tradition says a site 2/3 mile from Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives is the place. It has 8 ancient olive trees, and has become a shrine. All Christian tourists to Israel go there. To us, it is holy ground, representing where our Master agonized for us. The olive trees there are about 900 years old, among the oldest in the world. They bear identical DNA, which means they came from the same parent tree.

            We are grateful for the benefactor who let Jesus retreat often to Gethsemane Garden. This owner, along with the owners of the donkey and the Upper Room, are anonymous, but their kindness to Jesus in a hard week will be remembered forever.

            The 8 disciples who stayed nearer the Garden entrance would have been close to Jesus, but evidently not near enough to see or hear what happened. Peter, James, and John—Jesus' innermost circle—went deeper into the Garden with Him.

 

Matt. 26:37b-38a   . . .He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is swallowed up in sorrow—to the point of death."

 

            Isaiah 53:3 had predicted Jesus would be "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief." Jesus could now feel the storm of agitation; He sensed the tsunami was coming. A wave was breaking over His soul.

            How could He not have been "sorrowful and deeply distressed?" He who had always been just would now suffer injustice. Ultimate good was about to receive ultimate evil. The kind One felt cruelty. The perfect One was vilified. The One who had pleased the Father in all things would soon be cursed and mocked.

Adding to the burden was; life had to die. God can't die, yet God was about to die. As the Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity had been in the burning bush; one lesson we learned about Him there was He is the self-existent One, the fire who needed no fuel to burn. Jesus was the creator and giver of life—He had life in Himself—and could have prevented His own death, but chose not to.

He, in His own person, submitted to trampling death with death. As Alfred Edersheim said, "He disarmed Death by burying its shaft in His own heart."

 

Matt. 26:38b    "Remain here. . ."

 

            Jesus told them to stay, while He went on a little farther to pray. He wanted His disciples and us to see how to face the temptations and troubles of life. He wanted all to know He depended on God. We too must trust God, not ourselves.

            Let pain and trouble bring us to prayer, and draw us closer to God. Don't waste suffering. The deeper the pain, go that much deeper into the Lord. Our Master taught us to bring our griefs to the Father. Prayer is our best consolation.

 

Matt. 26:38c   ". . .and stay awake with Me."

 

            Jesus kept sympathetic friends near. He wanted to comfort them; and them to comfort Him. He wanted them close enough to have comforters nearby to be able to talk to when He wanted them, but not close enough to distract His praying.

            Don't overlook the fact Jesus, by holding the disciples close to Himself, was also keeping them close to each other as long as He could do so. He was teaching them a lesson in Godliness: the benefit of community. There is no place among us for Lone Rangers. There are no extra bonus points for going it alone. God saves us to bond us with one another as family. We need others, and others need us.

            Jesus taught us; in addition to community, sometimes we have to be alone with God, dealing with Him one on one. We require community; we also need to be alone with the Father at times. Jesus progressively moved into an absolute aloneness with God. His millions in Heaven were reduced to thousands on Earth.

Then there were 70, followed by 12 who became 11. Eight stayed near Gethsemane Gate. When the three who went on with Jesus fell asleep, the number of His comforters fell to two: His Father, and an angel who was sent to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). Two then became One; on the cross, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them" (LK 23:34). At noon the One became zero. He bore our punishment alone, crying out, "My God My God, why have you forsaken Me" (Mark 15:34).

            On our behalf, Jesus gave up the comforts of community, and became utterly alone. "The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" (Is 53:6b NAS). "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24 NAS).

 

Matt. 26:39a   Going a little farther, He fell facedown. . .

 

            "Facedown"—humility, reverence, anguish, begging, fervency—even Jesus' body was praying. The burden was unbearable. He had no strength left to hold His body up. What an image! The Son of God facedown with a heart about to explode.

            Posture in prayer never earns us any merit. The position of our bodies does not sway God. But this does not mean posture is always unimportant in prayer.

Posture can help us focus, humble us, and let us more easily release inner emotions. For some unknown reason, I often pray in intense times with my hands on my face. To me, this somehow seems to increase my focus and earnestness.

Christians tend to bow their heads in prayer, as opposed to lifting up their eyes, which was customary in Jesus' day. This is due to the parable in which Jesus honored the publican who "would not even raise his eyes to heaven" (Luke 18:13).

Christians usually pray with their eyes closed. We do this for practical reasons, to help keep out distractions. We close our eyes also for spiritual reasons, as an act of worship to acknowledge that the One we worship is invisible.

            Posture does not gain us merit before God, but if our bodies can help us in our praying, use them. If a certain posture can humble us, relieve our heart, or increase our intensity, let it be—not for show, not for glory, not for merit, but for deeper submission, freer emotions, and better concentration. Our warfare against evil is intense. Bring to the fray every weapon we can muster in spirit and body.

 

 

Ed and Pat Meyer

Today I had the high honor of spending time with one of the finest Christian couples I have ever known: Ed and Pat Meyer. They have served the Lord faithfully for over 60 years.

 

Ed and I share several common passions. We are both rabid Cardinals fans. He remembers players that were before my time. He had the privilege to meet several of them. Ed even played on the field at Sportsman Park a time or two. He was a gifted athlete.

 

We also both loved the Blackwood Brothers Quartet. He could remember them before the plane crash killed two of them in 1954. My first memory of them is a few years after that.

 

Ed, Pat, and I talked a while. I led us in prayer, and then Ed began to sing in his beautiful tenor voice. He sang about Heaven, and told me he wants Jesus to come take him to Heaven. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

 

Credible Bible Lesson 1

Our Credible Bible (Lesson 1)

Introduction

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Ruth and I are in our fifth year of hosting a college Bible study group in our home on Thursday nights during the school semesters. We have fallen in love with our students, and enjoy sharing life with them.

 

In these studies, Ruth and I have learned a painful truth. We are often reminded students can be unknowledgeable and unappreciative of the Bible.

 

Even students who grew up in church often show a lack of knowledge about rudimentary Bible truths. Even more alarming, they can be lax in their commitment to Scripture as the authority in their life for belief and behavior.

 

Due to this disconcerting observation, I took a three-week study break in January 2016 to investigate certain scholarly theological books that would help me better defend to our college students the truthfulness and reliability of Scripture. The six books listed here helped me immensely:

 

Bird, Michael F., "The Gospel of the Lord" (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids MI,

2014)

Blomberg, Craig L., "Can We Still Believe the Bible?" (Brazos Press, Grand

Rapids MI, 2014)

Cowan, Steven B., and Wilder, Terry L., "In Defense of the Bible"

(Broadman and Holman, Nashville TN, 2013)

MacArthur, John, ed., "The Scripture Cannot Be Broken" (Crossway,

Wheaton IL, 2015).

Ward, Timothy, "Words of Life" (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove IL,

            2009).

Warfield, Benjamin Breckenridge, "The Inspiration and Authority of the

Bible" (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg

NJ, 1948 reprint).

 

            Warfield's book is the greatest book I ever read regarding the Bible. I think the other five authors in the above list would pretty much agree with this assessment. I think I can safely say Warfield's book is referenced in the other five books more times than all other sources combined. It would be hard for me to express how refreshing it was to read a masterful, scholarly book that was 100% totally sold out to the Bible being the Word of God.

 

Through 50 years of ministry, I have been guided by a firm belief that without a commitment to the truth of Scripture, we have no chance of living a successful spiritual life. The Bible is the crux of our faith. I respect and love the Bible. I want our college students to do the same—thus this class. I pray it will effectively teach the importance of Holy Writ.

 

I feel the timing is right for a class like this. Forces seem to have been let loose in our land that want to convince us the Bible has no current value for our culture. Sadly, these attacks sometimes come from within the so-called Christian movement. Some see it as antiquated, an ancient relic irrelevant to today. But many of us believe what the Bible says, God says. We feel we can make this claim based on rational, reasonable research.

 

People are prejudice against the Bible before they even give it a fair hearing. Nothing in the writings of the ancients has near the verification and support the New Testament does, but people do not reject the other writings.

 

Many reject the Bible on predetermined factors totally unrelated to the reliability of Bible manuscripts. Often they have a sin they don't want to forsake; thus the Lordship of Christ is not a welcome thought. Sometimes our interpreting the Bible is inconvenienced by its interpreting of us.

 

Others hate the Bible's worldview. They have no use for a God who became flesh through a virgin birth, lived a perfect life, died for the world's sins, rose from death, returned to Heaven, and is the only means of salvation.

 

THE APOSTLE PAUL AND MY DAD

 

            On Paul's second missionary journey (AC 15:36-18:22), Paul founded the church at Thessalonica (AC 17:1-4). Philippi was Europe's first church. Thessalonica was second. (Maybe they called it Second Baptist.)

 

            Within months of the church's founding, Paul felt a need to write his first letter to the Thessalonians. He probably took a pen made of hard reed that was cut diagonally across one end with a finely cut slit through the point. His ink would have been made of soot with burnt resin or pitch. Thicker and more durable than our ink tends to be, Paul may have had to use water to thin its gumminess. An inkstand discovered at Herculaneum, Italy, which was destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., contained ink as thick as oil, and was still usable for writing.

 

            Paul's writing material would have been either papyrus or parchment. Papyrus, the more common, was made from the pith of a water plant that grew along the banks of the Nile. Parchment, sometimes called vellum, was made from the skins of cattle, goats, and sheep that were scraped till smooth.

 

            Armed with pen, ink, and papyrus, Paul wrote his name in Greek, "Paulos", thereby penning the first word of Holy Writ in almost half a millennium. His letter was the first New Testament writing, and is our oldest extant written Christian document. The year was 51 A.D.

 

In 1951 A.D., the year I was born, my dad began preaching from a Bible, which I now own, that contained a copy of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. The purpose of this class is to analyze what happened to the message of that letter and of the other New Testament books in the intervening 1900 years. Can we be sure that the book my dad preached from was conveying the same message Paul wrote 19 centuries earlier?

 

Questions about the reliability of Scripture have to be viewed through the lens of Archaeology, which has become our true friend. (CW, pages 236-239, lists several significant archaeological discoveries.) Over the past few decades the archaeologist's spade has become a witness on our behalf.

 

I learned this on my study break. It had been 40 years since I had read in-depth theological books. I was surprised at how much more corroboration there is for Biblical reliability now than I was exposed to in seminary.

 

For example, in my seminary days, Rudolph Bultmann, the liberal German scholar, was a force to be reckoned with. Now, almost none of his tenets are widely accepted. That's a game-changer for me. I am grateful we have left his arguments behind us.

 

Though Archaeology is our friend, news outlets still seem to prefer to publicize any find that might in any way possibly contradict Christianity. Digs sometimes turn up factors that are quickly analyzed, and prematurely assumed to disprove some historical tenet of Scripture. These are almost always later shown to not evidence Bible error, but the damage is done.

 

The story of Archaeology's finest hour fits well here. Much criticism of the Old Testament was made passé by the greatest archaeological find ever--the Dead Sea Scrolls, which pushed back 1000 years the date of our oldest Old Testament manuscripts.

 

The scrolls helped us better appreciate the reliability of the text we have. We now know the Masoretes accurately conveyed Holy Writ to us.

 

For me, the Dead Sea Scrolls' biggest contribution is; they gave us copies of the Bible that predate Jesus. This is earthshakingly vital to me.

 

We have always known Jesus believed the Old Testament Scriptures were true and divinely inspired. He said, "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), and "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law" (Matthew 5:18b). Critics, though, could say, "Yes, but we don't know for sure what the Old Testament manuscripts said in His day. We have no manuscripts extant within 1000 years of His lifetime."

 

They can no longer make this claim. Now we know what the Scripture of His day said. Dead Sea Scrolls have portions of every OT book except Esther. The most striking result of these 972 or so Dead Sea manuscripts, ranging from from 250 BC to 50 AD, is how similar they are to the Masoretic texts of a thousand years later. A stunning example of this is the handful of minor differences the huge scroll of Isaiah brought to the table.

 

Jesus' judgment is the most valuable one we have, and the Dead Sea Scrolls have shown that what we have now is what Jesus had then, and He verified them all as trustworthy and holy. We know precisely what He was referring to when He claimed, "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail" (Luke 16:17).

 

 

We're Weaker Than We Think

Matthew 26:31b-35

We're Weaker Than We Think

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Matt. 26:31b (Holman) . . .for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

 

            On this evening when the powers of darkness were let loose in the land, it looked like everything was exploding into chaos, but this quote of Zechariah 13:7 shows who was in control. God was seated on His throne. The evil events were no accident, or bad luck, but part of a divine plan that predicted 500 years before.

            The disciples had been tightknit at the Last Supper, but everything was about to unravel. Desertion would happen later this night. They would end up hiding their connection to Jesus—a dangerous temptation Christians still face. Our silence about our knowing Jesus can be deafening.

 

Matt. 26:32  But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

 

            Happily, not all was doom and gloom. Jesus shared good news; He saw order coming out of chaos. The Eleven's cowardly scattering will not be the end.

They will forsake Jesus, but He will not forsake them. Jesus knew the worst about the disciples, yet He loved them. Fellow believers, be comforted by this.

He knows all our faults, frailties, foibles, and failures, yet loves us. Even if we're in sin, Jesus does not love us less. He may not like it, or be displeased with it, but He still loves us, and responds more with sorrow than anger.

            Jesus did not let His sheep stay scattered. He went to Galilee before them, as a shepherd gathering his flock behind him. Jesus knew we are better in community.

After Peter denied Jesus, and started climbing back up to make a comeback, John the Beloved was there to welcome and encourage him. Peter, when out of fellowship, needed this touch of community from John. Does someone need you?

John the Baptist needed community. When isolated in prison, and separated from other believers, he doubted. We all need community, a small group we call ours. Any piece of coal that falls away from the other coals always cools quickly.

 

Matt. 26:33  Peter told Him, "Even if everyone runs away because of you, I will never run away!"

 

            As this night races at breakneck speed toward Peter's denial, notice five red flags. One, Peter considered himself better than the others: "Even if everyone runs away". He could not stand being included in the "everyone". Don't play the comparison game. We can always find sinners who will cause us to feel good about ourselves, making us smug. Looking down on others may make us feel content about where we are spiritually, but will not help us grow in the Lord.

           

Matt. 26:34  "I assure you," Jesus said to him, "tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!"

 

            Red flag number two. Peter did not know himself. Peter said "Never." Jesus said, "Before dawn." Peter thought he would never deny once. Jesus predicted he would do it thrice. Peter had too high a self-image. Seeing himself as the top-dog, successful leader of the Twelve, he felt he could never cowardly deny Jesus.

In nothing do people err more grievously than in self-analysis (Spurgeon). We all have kindlings of sin in us that can easily be sparked at any moment.

Red flag number three. Peter trusted his own strength. We tend to overestimate our strength, and underestimate Satan's. He has watched each of us for a lifetime. He knows the triggers that can put extreme spiritual pressures on us.

This is why I often say, "The life you've always dreamed of lies hidden in the mission you've always dreaded." Satan knows exactly what tasks your personality and gifts would match perfectly in the Kingdom. He has spent your lifetime trying to make sure you disliked that one thing, and never did it.

Our flesh believes it can on its own defeat temptations. Peter was sincere—no doubt about it. He loved Jesus—we can be confident of this. But no matter how sincere we are, or how much we love Jesus, we fail if we do not depend on Him. John MacArthur wells says, good intentions are not strength. Wishing is not doing.

            We Christians feel we must tell the lost about causes and consequences of their sins. Sometimes we forget we must tell ourselves too. We are not above sin.

In fact, the better we are, the more we are tempted to be over-confident, to think we are growing stronger in ourselves. Reject self-confidence. Be dependent.

 

Matt. 26:35  "Even if I have to die with You," Peter told Him, "I will never deny You!" And all the disciples said the same thing.

 

Red flag number four. Peter had more confidence in himself than in God's words. Peter contradicted, rather than listened to, Jesus. Christ, due to His love for Peter, warned the disciple of his weakness, but Peter neglected the warning. Always have an attentive, listening heart. Hear the Lord's warnings loud and clear.

Heed the Bible, God's gift of words to us. "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Proverbs 28:26a). "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes" (Isaiah 5:21a). "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:21).

            Red flag number five. Peter boasted. The other disciples did too. Peter was the only disciple that verbally denied Jesus this night, but the others also deserted Christ in His hour of need. If all the disciples forsook Christ, we all have reason to fear. If we think ourselves above committing sin, we are sinning the sin of pride.

Their weakness was exposed in their self-swagger. Peter first fell, not when he denied, but when he boasted. This was his first misstep, and once we take one footstep down, we usually lose our footing; the whole world seems greased for the occasion. Ravi Zacharias well said, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go; keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay." Beware bragging. It can start us down a long, time-consuming, costly road.

One of my life verses teaches, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips" (Proverbs 27:2). Success, to make itself known, does not need the varnish of a brag. When we boast, Satan goes to work.

            Castles built on boasting often crumble. Many of our youth go off to college or into the Armed Forces, thinking they can never fall into sin, or doubt the Bible.

Some single adults think they would never marry an unbeliever. Some here are thinking they would never lie, steal, cheat, renounce faith, or have an affair.

            We do not know what we will do if our surroundings change. When in our current safe zones, we are all heroes, but beware the danger of new circumstances.

Being strong today in our present setting does not assure us of strength tomorrow in a different setting. It is easy to talk of victory at a distance, but don't yell defiance at danger. It might hear you and wake up with a vengeance. Always state our intents as humble requests in prayer; never as proud boasts in conversation.

 

 

Holy Week: Sing!

Matthew 26:29-31a

Holy Week: Sing!

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Matt. 26:29 (Holman) But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father's kingdom with you.

 

The thought in our text—that we will enjoy Heaven with Jesus someday—is highlighted in all five Bible accounts about the Lord's Supper (Mark 14:25; Luke 22:16; John 14:3; 1 Cor. 11:26). Thus this thought should always be in our minds as we take the meal. We deem it primarily a remembrance. It is also a prediction.

The Passover meal looked back to deliverance from Egypt, and forward to settling in the Holy Land. The Lord's Supper looks back to the crucifixion, and forward to the Second Coming. Jesus never lost sight of the fact He was and would be the winner. To Jesus, the cross was not defeat, but the steppingstone to victory.

On Good Friday Jesus drank the bitter cup alone, but forever He will drink the promised victory cup with us. He did not come to establish an earthly political kingdom. He came to do something much better. He established a spiritual kingdom that will last forever; and He is thrilled to share it with us.

The Lord's Supper covers time. In the present, it enhances our fellowship with Jesus. It points us to the past, to the one sufficient payment for the sins of the world. It points us to the future, to the unending satisfaction of every desire.

In a dark hour, Jesus steadied Himself with thoughts of a bright future. Join Him in anticipating the celebration. "Deep down in our hearts some of us have gashes that always bleed" (Maclaren). For believers, someday the hurt will stop.

At times our faith falters, and we sin. A blessed day is coming when we will never hurt Jesus again. Let thoughts of a blessed future strengthen us as they did C. S. Lewis, who wrote, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

 

Matt. 26:30 After singing Psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

When Jesus' ultimate war against evil forces was to begin, He chose to go to His place of prayer, where He had nightly gone in this holy week (LK 21:37). Our prayer closet is always the best place to fight evil. Before temptation begins, or at its first impulse, find your private prayer chamber and go to war with the evil one.

Jesus did not stay in the city—this could have incited a riot. He did not stay in the upper room—this could have endangered the homeowner. He left the house, but before leaving, Jesus sang; He worshiped. This is a remarkable statement about our Savior; He sang in the shadow of death. Our Master went to the cross singing. We know what He sang. In Jesus' day, the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 at the Passover meal. These songs of victory and joy were known as the Hallel (Praise) Psalms. They begin with the word "Hallelujah", a term we often use without fully realizing its significance. Hallel meant praise; hallelu was plural, meaning praise ye; hallelujah added the abbreviated name of the recipient of praise, YHWH.

At least five times this dreadful evening Jesus sang the word, "Hallelujah" (113:1,9; 115:8; 116:19; 117:2). Our Master taught us; at all times, sing hallelujah. Are we afraid we may be about to experience a terrible trial we may not be able to sing after? I hope not, but if so, sing before it. Get your praises in before affliction stifles the tune. Fill heaven with your praises while you can (Spurgeon).

At all times, sing hallelujah. Don't let troubles interrupt our praise. Songs of praise are always appropriate. Don't let difficulties squelch them. Sing even in the sad times. Job lost his farming industry, his cattle, and his children, yet said, "The Lord gives; and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (1:21b).

At all times, sing hallelujah. Let gratitude be the north star of your heart; always be moving that direction. The last words Jesus sang this night were, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever" (118:29). Paul later commanded us, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18). Don't miss the promise nestled in the command--whatever our difficulty, look around; we will always be able to find something to thank God for, however dark the night becomes. Remember God's kindnesses when we face troubles and trials.

At all times, sing hallelujah. Yes, even in the face of death. Death is terrifying, but fear and cowardice will not make it less so. Sing praises instead.

Paul and Silas sang in prison. Margaret Wilson, martyred in the days of the Covenanters, sang while bound to a stake, waiting for the tide to rise enough to drown her. John Hus, when the flames were lit beneath him, began to sing; as they enveloped him, he continued singing till within seconds of His death. A beautiful trait of our faith is; it has given millions the ability to sing in the face of death.

In Pilgrim's Progress, when Christian came to the river of death, he began to sink and cried out. His friend Hopeful called back, "Be of good cheer, my brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good." Christian, having little faith, continued sinking.

Hopeful grabbed him and struggled to keep his head above water. Dragging Christian along, Hopeful said, "I see the gate, and men standing by to receive us." Finally, Christian's faith found solid ground to stand on. He and Hopeful crossed to the other side of the river, and made their way to the gate of the celestial city.

David wrote, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4a). Shadows never hurt us. A gun's shadow never killed anyone; a lion's shadow never tore anyone. Even so death does not harm believers. Shadows tell us a light is somewhere casting the shadow. Believers, at death, step through the darkness, into light on the other side.

 

Matt. 26:31a Then Jesus said to them, "Tonight all of you will run away because of Me, . . ."

 

This night of betrayal was hard not only for Jesus, but for the disciples also. They abandoned our Master. We can all see ourselves here. Like us, these men were believers (John 17:11) who loved Jesus. They had been loyal to Him through thick and thin. There will be only one traitor tonight, but they will all be cowards. A storm of failure can waylay us quickly.

Ashamed and afraid, because of Jesus--this describes all of us way too often, doesn't it? Ashamed--we have opportunity to speak for Him, but don't. Afraid--what will people think of me? What could this end up costing me?

Believer, beware thyself. We may not be as spiritually strong as we think. We often fail to measure accurately the extent of spiritual weakness in us. Nothing more proves our need for a prayer closet than not feeling a need for a prayer closet.

The farther we go on our spiritual pilgrimage through life, the more we should be realizing we are totally weak in and of ourselves. We desperately need to be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). Our trust must be in Him, not us.

Our text can comfort us. It should encourage us to know Christianity is not for the proud and strong, but for weak people like us.

 

 

Credible Bible #5

Our Credible Bible (Lesson 5)

What Scripture Says, God Says

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

            One way to undermine the significance of any teaching is to say it is unimportant. This is how some skeptics try to undercut the doctrine of inerrancy. They say, since we do not have the original manuscripts, the doctrine itself is superfluous. This is the equivalent of saying God Himself evidently did not think the written Scriptures were very important.

 

This doctrine matters. It is essential to the life and success of Christianity. In all of redemption history, Holy Writ has been deemed vital. For 40 years, Levites carried in the Wilderness the tablets God wrote. What Old Testament prophets wrote was often a product of "Thus saith the Lord".

 

In the early church, "Scripture says" and "God says" were one and the same thing. Luther, on trial at Worms, declared, "My conscience is captive to the Word of God." John Wesley said, "At any price give me the book of God!" My Grandpa Marshall called it "The Book", as if no other books were worth comparing to it.

 

No questioning of the authority of Scripture has ever had a positive impact on God's people. Whenever Israel strayed from God, they always strayed first from His word. Whenever they returned to God, they first returned to His Word.

 

I rejoice at calls to prayer for revival I hear in our day, but am appalled at the dearth of preaching I hear about the six great Old Testament revivals. This troubles me because by ignoring them we miss a deep truth; all six were begun, not primarily in prayer, but in response to rediscovering God's written Word.

 

Revivals under Joshua (JS 8:32), Asa (2 CH 14:4), Jehoshaphat (2 CH 17:9), Hezekiah (2 K 18:6), Josiah (2 K 22:8), and Ezra (EZ 7:10) were "Bible revivals". God convicted people by a re-discovery of Scripture.

 

If revival comes in our nation and churches, it will descend on the wings of prayer and ascend from the pages of the written Word. Revival hinges on both/and not either/or. Keep praying hard about revival. At the same time, let's ratchet up a notch our talking about the Bible.

 

Anyone who wavers on Bible-authority eventually fades off into trivial oblivion. Spiritual disaster looms at the end of this skepticism, as is being proved in Western Europe, and in High Protestantism in the USA.

 

The Trinity believed the holy writings were important. God the Father wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger. God the Son said Scripture cannot be broken, that is, annulled; its authority cannot be denied (John 10:35). The Son began His post-baptism ministry with thrice saying "It is written" (MT 4:1-11). Near its end, close to Emmaus, He said, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!" (LK 24:25). "Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27).

 

God the Holy Spirit guided the authors themselves. "No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:20b-21). They wrote for God because they were borne along by the Holy Spirit. They did not do this writing on their own initiative.

 

As a result, we have something better than if an eyewitness were giving testimony of something he or she saw firsthand. We have a Holy-Spirit-moved prophetic word. Scripture is more reliable than any eyewitness' testimony, for the latter is a matter of private interpretation. Scripture, though, is not a result of human investigation, or the production of the writer's thinking.

 

This role of the writers of Holy Writ in the moment they were writing Scripture is a study worth investigating. Paul dealt with this issue in his last epistle. After mentioning "the sacred writings" (2 TM 3:15b) Timothy grew up on, Paul gave us an analysis of their "sacred" nature, saying, "All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 TM 3:16a).

 

The word "inspiration" implies an influence from outside producing results inside. Inspiration means a supernatural impelling and directing of the words that were written. To say the Bible is inspired is to say its words are a divinely determined product given through the men Peter said were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 P 1:20b-21).

 

Literally interpreted, 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed". God breathed out the very words. Thus the words themselves have divine authority. The Bible not only contains the words of God, as if some of its words may not be God's words. It is the words of God. In Scripture the breath of God was often mentioned to picture the irresistible outflow of His power. The breath of His mouth made all the stars (PS 33:6b). God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul (GN 2:7). The "breath of the Almighty hath given (us) life" (Job 33:4b). If God withdrew His breath from us, we would perish (Job 34:14-15); therefore you and I are divine creations. So is the Bible, for it was birthed and lives on the breath of God.

 

The Trinity invested in the Bible. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all focused attention on Holy Writ. This is why no one has ever been able to silence the Bible, and no one ever will. It is the God-book.

 

Just as we believe God directly intervened in human history to bring us redemption through the blood of Jesus, we also believe He intervened in human history to give us a guide whereby we could confidently know of His redemptive works among us. God did some things in the incarnation that no one can undo. God wrote some things in the Bible no one can erase. God did not leave us ignorant of Himself. We are not adrift, totally clueless as to God's dealings among us.

 

Before ending these lessons on the credibility of the Bible, I want to allude to a matter Warfield called attention to in his classic book. He gave instances of where "God says" and "Scripture says" were used interchangeably in New Testament passages referring to Old Testament passages. In Matthew 19:4 Jesus stated that God was the One who said in Genesis 2:24, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife." But the Genesis passage does not mention God as the speaker. It is merely a statement of Scripture. Jesus was saying the verse can be assumed to have been a declaration of God solely because it was a saying of Scripture. Paul followed the Lord's lead in this, and handled the Gensis 2:24 passage in the same way in 1 Corinthians 6:16.

 

In Romans 9:17 Paul wrote, "The Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you." But in the original text (Exodus 9:16) God, not Scripture, is speaking. Paul referenced this again in Galatians 3:8, where he wrote the Scripture says Abraham will be blessed. However, Genesis 12:1-3 records God said this.

 

When referencing Holy Writ, "God" and "Scripture" were, for Jesus and Paul, interchangeable. "Scripture" and "God" lay so close together in the minds of the writers of the New Testament that they could naturally speak of "Scripture" doing what Scripture records God as doing" (Warfield), and vice versa. In other words, what Scripture says, God says.

 

Other examples help reinforce this. Luke recorded the sermon of Peter, which stated the words of David were the words of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:16). Peter's thoughts on this matter were echoed by the congregation at large (Acts 4:25). Matthew (2:15) claimed the Lord spoke through the prophet Hosea (11:1). Paul believed God had promised good news through His prophets in the Old Testament (Romans 1:2).

 

A final addendum: we long felt the bulk of Jesus' teachings were passed down orally. Recent research indicates the early followers of rabbis in first century Palestine used wax tablets to write down the comments of their leaders. If the disciples did make private notes, it would help explain the recording of long speeches made by Jesus. Either way, the oral had to be made into the written fairly soon because of the demand for Scriptures to be read in church services.

 

 

Holy Week: Blood Covenant

Matthew 26:28

Holy Week: Blood Covenant

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Matt. 26:28a  (Holman)  "For this is My blood that establishes the covenant;"

 

In Bible times, a covenant was a contract between two parties. It usually entailed stipulations, including promises of blessing, and threats of curses.

Why God ever humbled Himself to enter into a binding agreement with humans, to show us special acts of friendship, is unfathomable. Nevertheless, our God, in infinite condescension, has on several occasions bound Himself to act toward us in certain ways according to distinct courses of action He defined.

YHWH made a covenant with Noah, setting a rainbow in the sky to say He would never destroy the Earth with a flood again (Gen. 9:13). The Lord made a covenant with Abraham, promising him his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the sea shore (Gen. 22:17). At Sinai, God made a covenant with Israel; after Moses read the book of the covenant, and the people vowed to obey its commands, YHWH promised to be the nation's God (Ex. 24:8).

In our current text, Jesus announced at the Last Supper that His shed blood would establish a new covenant, the ultimate covenant overshadowing all others. He instituted on our behalf new levels of possibilities in our relating to God.

Old Testament covenants were usually made legally binding by shedding the blood of animals. This gore was a symbol; each party was in essence calling down a curse on themselves, saying, "May my blood be shed if I break this covenant."

Bloodshed was also a symbol in Israel's worship. The blood of animals brought temporary ceremonial purification, and pointed to the cross, where the indispensable blood of Christ brought everlasting purification. Jesus shed His blood to ratify the ultimate covenant between God and us.

In Bible covenant negotiations, a mediator often handled details and debates about ratification. This go-between sealed the deal by securing acceptance of the terms agreed on by both parties. In the ultimate covenant between God and us, Jesus was the Mediator, representing both parties that negotiated this contract. By His own blood, Jesus signed the covenant on behalf of God and behalf of people.

God the Son represented God the Father, satisfying the divine wrath against us. We owed a debt we could not pay; Jesus paid a debt He did not owe. He made it okay for the Father to deal with us graciously, and to not require merit of us.

God the Son represented God the Son. He who loved us enough to die for us will love us enough to live in us. His own life has been imparted to us. He communes with our spirits. "We live, not by our own power, . . .but by Him and in Him, and with Him and for Him" (Maclaren).

God the Son represented God the Holy Spirit, giving us the Holy Spirit and His indwelling power. Christ spilled out God-life for us. The Old Testament taught, "The life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11a). The blood was considered the life. Shedding one's own blood was thus seen as giving one's own life.

This takes on huge significance in the case of Jesus. Jesus' life contained the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:34). Thus, when Christ's life was poured out, the Holy Spirit was released in fullness. This is why after the resurrection He "breathed on" the 12 and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). He was saying the Spirit had been given to Him in fullness, and now He was bestowing the Holy Spirit on His followers in fullness. In His death, Jesus "establishes the covenant" from God's side. God the Son represented each Person of the Trinity.

 

Matt. 26:28b  "It is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins."

 

God the Son represented us. For us, He negotiated "the forgiveness of sins." Since the debt to God is paid, Jesus stands before the Father and says all who receive the Son's blood payment should be forgiven. That's the deal. We do not deserve it, but His covenant is faithful. We "come to Him with His own promise" (Maclaren). "Lord, I don't deserve it, but You said it, and I accept it." Jesus dealt with my sin, our sin—me, us. Our sins--you there, you there--were put in His body.

"He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). What sins? All sins. None too vile to be forgiven—murder, adultery, lying, pride, envy, greed, unkindness.

Nothing nullifies His power to forgive and clean. If appealed to, His blood removes guilt, cleanses stains, satisfies God, and is adequate for the whole world.

Don't miss the burning question that simmered behind these covenant negotiations. What blood could ever be valuable enough to cover the sins of all humanity, and at the same time satisfy the demands of the Father against the guilty? Only the blood of God could be this valuable. But God had no blood. He is spirit (John 4:24a). Therefore, God had to take on Himself flesh that coursed with blood, so He could have blood to shed in order to ratify a covenant.

            The Scriptures are careful to let us know Jesus not only had to die; He had to shed His precious blood (1 Peter 1:19). His death entailed a crown of thorns, scourging, crucifixion-nails in His hands and feet, and a spear thrust in His side.

Why was all this required? Ultimately for reasons we cannot fathom. Dare we say we have penetrated His mind, His deepest secrets? For some reason, God chose shed blood as the best way to show His extreme extravagance of love for us.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have always radically loved us. In the Perichoresis, there has never been a moment that we were not on the mind of God. They did not think blood-atonement up; this is them. There was no surprise in the Three when it was mentioned. God had always wanted to do this.

Jesus said in our text, "It is shed"—present tense, as if already done. This reminds us Jesus was the "lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8). From before time, the God-ordained method of forgiving sins was directly connected to the blood Jesus would shed. It is freely given, goes to work immediately, and is forever effective in eternity and in this lifetime.

The cross gives us Judicial forgiveness, a reprieve lasting forever.  I was reminded this very week as to why we desperately need to know this truth.

A former church member from a church in my past called me Friday with sadness in her voice. She said a Pastor had told her friend that her son would never be in Heaven because he had committed suicide. This broke my heart. It shows a total misunderstanding of justification, which is a once-for-all-time judicial act.

Paul clearly wrote, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). His death drank our cup of damnation dry. "He endured so much suffering. . .that God was pleased to accept it in the place of the eternal torments of all the redeemed" (Barnes).

God foreknew, predestined, called, and justified; "and those He justified, He also glorified" (Rom. 8:30b)—one of the most significant past tense verbs ever. He judicially forgave us at conversion, and thinks of us as being already in Heaven.

In addition to Judicial forgiveness, He also gives Relational forgiveness. When we sin, we can repent and be fully restored in our relationship with Him. "He forgives our sin with the design of curing our sinfulness. We are pardoned that we may become holy. God forgives the sin that He may purify the sinner" (Spurgeon). He aims to kill sinfulness that we may love Him and serve Him.

 

Credible Bible 4

Our Credible Bible (Lesson 4)

Perceived Bible Problems

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

The Bible is by far the most reliable book ever produced in the ancient world. Manuscript evidence supporting its trustworthiness is overwhelming. The abundance of manuscripts available to us has let us determine with reasonable certainty what the original autographs said. Very few passages are left in doubt as to what the writer wrote. Thus the question: why is this fact not enough to convince most unbelievers to become Christ-followers?

 

One, some refuse to take time to investigate the evidence. Rather than do research, they often make a prejudgment based on hearing arguments against us that are one-sided and distorted. In some public settings, nothing bars attacks against Christianity. Other religions are off-limits, negativism toward them is deemed politically incorrect, but brutalizing Christianity is fair game. People often hear this onslaught against us, but ignore thousands of articles, books, blogs, etc., that present cogent arguments defending us.

 

Two, some say they cannot understand the Bible. This is not true. The Bible is noted for what theologians call perspicuity; it is understandable. It is the world's #1 best selling book in all of history because people can read and understand it. Parts of it are difficult to read, but any person can take a Bible, read it from cover to cover, and walk away understanding what the Bible is all about. "The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple" (PS 119:130 NAS). The Bible's main truths can be grasped.

 

Often the problem is not misunderstanding, but understanding, the Bible, and not liking what it says. Mark Twain said, "It ain't those parts of the Bible I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts I do understand."

 

Three, some reject the Bible not based on whether or not we have a reliable transmission of original writings, but due to what they consider to be culturally offensive messages in it. For instance, does the Bible promote slavery, or relegate women to a secondary role; did the Old Testament prescribe genocide? These attacks are specifically refutable with Apologetic rebuttals, but for our purposes we'll take an overarching look at the issues.

 

We err in interpreting any writings if we fail to enter into the worldview of the writers when we try to judge their beliefs. We have to understand their setting in life. For instance, it would be easy for me to condemn my great-great-grandfather for supporting slavery and fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War. To do so, though, would make me an elitist--as if to say I would have been above such behavior. Humility is a winsome virtue, even when exhibited across the ages. Was my ancestor wrong? Yes. Do I thus write him off as a terrible man? No. In fact, he became the spiritual patriarch of our family. He lived till 1924, and had a profound spiritual impact on my Grandpa Marshall, who in turn heavily influenced my spiritual formation. Perfection is not required for us to be effective, and it should not be required for us to think kindly of others.

 

Four, some reject the Bible because they feel the original writers were not trustworthy men. The manuscript evidence doesn't matter because we can't be sure the writers wrote the truth. The answer to this objection lies in whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. If Christ rose from death, all of Christianity is true. If Jesus did not rise, none of our faith is valid. Paul bluntly said, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep (died) in Christ have perished" (1 Cor. 15:17-18 NAS). I believe we can confidently say the original followers of Jesus, including the writers of the New Testament, were credible, believable, trustworthy eyewitnesses of His resurrection.

 

When in college, I met an older student who was an ex-priest. He had renounced his vows, Roman Catholicism, and Christianity as a whole. We were one day discussing our lives. He had left behind the ministry and faith. I was in the beginning stages of ministry. I asked why he had renounced the faith. He answered, and asked why I believed. No one had ever confronted me with the question. My spontaneous answer to him then remains my more developed answer today. I believe primarily because the original followers of Jesus were willing to die for what they claimed about His resurrection.

 

Five, some reject the Bible because they believe it contradicts what they deem obvious teachings of science. Did creation take only six 24-hour days? What about evolution, geological dating, dinosaurs, the fossil record; was Noah's flood worldwide? What about those miracles (BL 11)? This kind of questioning especially matters because many of our young adults who grew up in church are forsaking the faith, often due to these very issues. The arguments against our beliefs are often expressed in settings hostile to our faith. Our kids can find themselves bombarded with pressures of unbelief, and are in danger of ridicule or worse if they opt to believe and vocalize it.

 

Our churches and families need to do a better job of providing credible evidence to our youth to help them refute our critics. We are not doing well in preparing our own for the cultural wars they are entering. Sometimes the problem is not so much knowing a precise answer, but rather finding somewhere in our churches a safe place to ask and debate the tough questions. We would hope those who grow up in church could find there places of gentle Christian understanding, but many times they are inculcated with a sense of a harsh all-or-nothing choice from their childhood.

 

            We in the church too often come across as being impatient with any who disagree with us, including our own children. We must be careful. Our Master said, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6 NAS).

 

An atheist, Loftus, wrote in "Why I became an Atheist" that for many who leave the faith, there are three factors often involved (p. 24). One of the three relates to this very point. He says many leave the faith due to an initial serious investigation of a different worldview they had never examined in any detail previously. One problem is; young adults who ask questions are cut off quickly by their family and friends because they don't know the answers; the questioner is thus treated like their having questions is wrong in and of itself. There is nothing wrong with questioning and debating issues. Many of us are too embarrassed to admit we do not know the answer, and rather than admit our weakness, and offer to take time to do some research, we cut off the questioner, which in essence usually drives them farther away.

 

Six, some reject the Bible due to a failure to understand how a good God can allow suffering. Surveys say the problem of suffering is the main reason people who seriously consider the faith refuse to accept Christianity. The atheist Loftus says one reason people leave the faith is a personal crisis of some kind that forces one to struggle with why God allows suffering.

 

Would a kind loving omnipotent God allow suffering among the innocent, or send people to an everlasting lake of fire? These question marks turn like fishhooks in many people's hearts.

 

The 9/11 attacks, done in the name of religion, are seen by some as the event that spawned our modern day attacks from attacking atheists. These attacks are more and more aimed at Christianity. "How could a good God let this happen? Religion seems more bad than good."

 

Seven, a sensed lack of love and support from believers at a critical crossroad in life. This is the third reason the atheist Loftus gives for why people forsake the faith. Many who adopt a sinful lifestyle sense the absence of love and care from the Christian community they were depending on; there is no place in the Christian community where they can be enfolded, accepted for what they are; not told their sin is okay, but where they know they are loved; only in a loving community like this can people who made wrong choices find a runway greased to make their return to the faith easier.

 

Eight, some reject the Bible because they think if it is the powerful Word of God we say it is, there shouldn't be as many hypocrites as there are. Our detractors say many who say they believe the Bible don't live the Bible.

Christianity groans under the burden of heavy baggage, sinful lives lived by people claiming to be Christians. We bear the burden of bad history, including the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Salem witch trials, racism, anti-Semitism, ethnocentricism, being perceived as cultural hit-men who disrespect the views of unbelievers we disagree with. If reminded of these past failures, rather than becoming defensive, we must reply with humility.

 

This is a complex issue requiring long answers, but one thing I would like to interject here is; it is wrong to always equate failure with hypocrisy. A hypocrite is a fake, a person who knowingly pretends. Many sincere believers fail often. Their shortcoming is not hypocrisy, but rather frailty. We believers are not perfect.

 

We also need to distinguish between cultural Christians and committed Christians. Not all who claim to be Christians actually are.

 

Jesus spoke bluntly to this truth. "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven: but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Many were baptized as infants, or as adults merely went through the formality of becoming members of a church, and yet never entered into a personal relationship with Jesus.