THE BIBLE AS GOD'S WORD: A LITTLE BIT OF PROOF

Your Brother Daniel

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

The Bible as God’s Word: A Little Bit of Proof

Many ask me to prove that the Bible is God’s Word. Not wanting to downplay the evidence, I usually say:

• Well, there many types of proof – fulfilled prophecy, miracles, changed lives and societies, wisdom, internal and external consistency, and the very nature of the Bible.

This usually elicits a burst of invectives. However, if the inquirer seems serious, I might attempt to share with them one family of proofs. One of my favorites is the wisdom of Scripture – how it provides us with the very truths we need to navigate this often exasperating sojourn we call “life.” It’s a wisdom intelligently designed to optimally meet our needs and those of society. Here are just a few of the many examples of how Scripture psychologically gave me exactly what I needed.

I am always second-guessing myself, wondering, “Did I say the right thing? ...Did I say it with the wrong motives? … Could I have said it more effectively?” Although this perfectionistic preoccupation can promote self-improvement, it can also drive us crazy. I needed to lay it aside before it laid me out, and the Holy Spirit did this for me through applying Scripture to my life:

• I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

What a relief! My failures were no longer my own. They belonged to my Savior who promised that He would work all things for my good (Rom. 8:28), even my worst failures and nightmares, my worst humiliations! I was now free to fail. Not that failures no longer hurt, but I now know who will lift me out of my discouragement (1 Cor. 10:12-13), and He has proved this to me repeatedly. Consequently, Biblical truth allows me to constructively face my challenges without being overwhelmed by them.

We are also self-obsessed with questions of our goodness and worthiness. One of the greatest threats to our psychological well-being is the dread of not being worthy. This might take the form of a deep and abiding sense of shame, insecurity or inadequacy. We might even worry that we are not even worthy of God. Therefore, it is such a relief to realize that none of us are worthy. We are all sinners who need the Savior:

·            "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)

This had certainly been true of me. Even though I attempted to suppress this truth of my moral inadequacy before God, it would continue to resurface to my great shame. I tried to beat back the ugly truth with assertions that I was really a good and loving person. I was engaged in a costly war with myself, and the result was desperation and depression.

Instead of deriving my sense of worthiness or adequacy from myself, I needed to find it from another source, and Scripture informed me that Jesus is that source:

·               God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

I could begin to accept the fact that I am entirely unworthy, because, in the eyes of my Savior, I am now entirely righteous. I could now face the once-shaming truths about myself and take responsibility for my behavior, because I have been assured of my ultimate worth before Him!

My wife can now charge me with being insensitive, and I can readily apologize. We’re restored! Others can regard me as unworthy, but that’s okay because I am now defined, not by what others might think, but by what my Savior thinks.

For the longest time, I had been feeling condemned. Even after Christ came into my life, I still had that sense. My feelings were so forceful that everything else – even Scripture – appeared as merely hollow words in comparison. I felt that even God condemned me! Finally, however, Scripture broke through, took hold of my self-contempt and torn it apart, like a lion tearing apart red meat. What a consolation it has been to learn that:

• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

This taught me conclusively that my feelings of condemnation and rejection had nothing to do with God rejecting me, but just my own aberrant reactions! I could now laugh at these once terrifying feelings, knowing that they have nothing to do with my ultimate status! It’s like receiving a letter saying that there has been a warrant issued for your arrest. However, upon reading it more closely, you find that the letter is actually addressed to someone else.

Many say, “Well, I’m glad Christ worked for you, but many find consolation through psychotherapy.” I didn’t. I had seen five highly recommended psychologists, and each left me worse off that I was before.

Yes, they all affirmed that I was “okay,” but I could never believe them. I knew what my feelings were telling me, and they talked with a greater authority than the psychologists. I just knew I wasn’t “okay.”

Besides, their affirmations rolled off my back as if it was made of Teflon. Perhaps this was because I had been giving myself false affirmations all my life. I told myself I was the greatest but actually felt that I was the least. After a while, these affirmations became no more than an addiction. I needed them but got little out of them. However, having believed them – and this distorted my thinking and perceptions - they alienated me from reality, wisdom, and honest relationship. Because I perceived the world through my distorted self-affirmations, I also regarded others through this grid. They were either superior or inferior to me. If they were seen as “superior,” I resented them. If “inferior,” I disdained them.

However, these affirmations bore little resemblance to reality, while I subsequently found that the Biblical affirmations brought me in touch with a deeper reality. Now, perceiving myself as an object of God’s mercy, I began to regard others with mercy.

Besides, our sense of okay-ness requires more than the affirmation of other people. They all say different things, and every experience - every success and every failure – sings a different song. Which was I to believe? Therefore, to base my worth on either the opinions of others or on my socially approved accomplishments meant that my worth was like the stock market – booming, crashing, and the cause of constant instability and insecurity.

Not only does Scripture tell us what to believe, it tells us what to avoid. It is not simply that certain acts are regarded as “sin.” These acts also destroy. Sin is worse than eating junk food. The latter just destroys the body. Sin destroys everything about us. It contaminates our thinking and passions (Rom. 1:21-32). For one thing, as a result of sin, we carry around unresolved guilt and shame. We even project our shame and self-contempt on others, convinced that others regard us in the same way we feel about ourselves. However, Scripture relieves us of these blinding burdens we carry:

·               If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:9-10)

Instead, we often try to cover over this problem with a variety of palliatives – successes, sex, drugs, popularity. However, there is nothing that gives the relief and cleansing the way that confession does.

What makes the affirmations of Scripture so powerful – so life transforming? For one thing, they illuminate what had been shadowy and confusing. Once I began to understand myself in its light, I found that I began to understand others. With the assurance of God’s love and forgiveness, I could begin to face myself. As I saw my needs and insecurities – I had previously run from these and denied them – I could also see those of other people. As I began to face my denials and rationalizations, I began to understand the same defensive maneuverings I saw in others. As I received God’s compassion for me, I could more readily extend it to others.

While Scripture is foolishness and contemptible to the one whose eyes haven’t been opened (1 Cor. 2:14), it is the scalpel in the hand of the Holy Spirit. It cuts deeply to remove malignant tumors (Heb. 4:12) – attitudes and ideas that fail to accord with holiness. Such cuts are always painful (Heb. 12:5-11), but they identify and remove cancers that threaten well-being. They expose jealousy. However, they also provide the perfect antidote:

• All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours. (1 Cor. 3:21-22)

In light of God’s assurances that He wants to eternally give us the world, jealousy had to take a back seat. And I had been jealous, even of the spiritual successes of others, convinced that they would receive heavenly reward and recognition, and I wouldn’t. However, Scripture assures us that all of God’s people are one, and “all things” would be ours. We had become joint heirs with our Savior (Rom. 8:17).

This is just what I needed to know. This truth stomped all the vitality out of my jealousy. I now rejoice as others rejoice!

Westerners have invented a new god, a god who is non-judgmental and non-punitive. Momentarily, this god might feel comfortable. However, once we have suffered victimization, our thoughts turn to justice, even revenge. Therefore, it is so liberating to know that we have a God who cares deeply about justice:

·               If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” [ Proverbs 25]…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:18-21)

It is only because we have the assurance that God will bring justice (also through the legal systems He has ordained – Rom. 13:1-4) that we can devote ourselves to love. It is also because we know the undeserved love of God for us! Without this knowledge, revenge would become a way of life.

When I read about the estimated 170,000 Christians being murdered yearly simply because they are Christians, I want to grab a machine gun or suicide belt and right the wrongs. But my Lord informs me that He has a better way. He’ll deal with it! Instead, I should pray, love my enemies, and address the wrongs with righteous means. How liberating and personally enhancing!

This represents just a small sampling of the ways that God and His truth has infiltrated to bring us new life. Volumes can be written on this subject. Jesus had taught:

• "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)

Not only has He set us free from sin and its various penalties. He has also set us free from so many things that have kept me in prison – fears, lusts, rationalizations, denials, addiction to self-affirmations, and many forms of self-deceptions.

GOD WILL PROVIDE

Today's promise: God protects his people

God will provide

Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing.

Psalm 34:10 NLT

Dear God, I know you will provide, but why don't you provide until you provide?

Jewish saying

The empty basket

When Palestine was partitioned, Maltar and his family were stranded in Jerusalem. Daily his family read the Lord's promises, such as those of Psalm 34. One day Maltar said, "Children, we finished the last of our food for breakfast. We have no money. We'll tell this only to the Lord, and I'll go out with this basket." So they prayed around the empty basket.

Maltar went to the bank, but there was still no money coming through. As he turned to go, he saw a friend from his hometown in the line. He'd left before the worst troubles and banked his money in Jerusalem. "Maltar!" his friend cried. "What are you doing here?"

"We were on holiday in our small house in Jerusalem and weren't able to get back home," Maltar said.

"Then you must be having money problems. How are you managing?"

"Fine," Maltar told him and left the bank.

His friend overtook him: "You can't be fine, Maltar, with nine kids to feed." He dropped a handful of bank notes into the basket.

The children, waiting at the gate, stared in wonder as Maltar returned with an overflowing basket.

Patricia St. John
in Finding God Between a Rock and Hard Place

David said, "Those who honor will have all they need" (Psalm 34:9). Why not claim that promise today?

Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for May 13.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

FANTASTIC OFFERS

FANTASTIC OFFERS

READ:
1 Peters 1:3-9

[God's] abundant mercy has
begotten us again to a living
hope through the resurrection
of Jesus.  - 1 Peter 1:3

I am amazed at the unbelievable offers that flood my e-mail box every day.  Recently, I added up the offers of free money that came to me in a week, and my "take" totaled $26 million.  But each of those offers was a fraud.  Every one-from a $1 million prize to a $7 million offer-was nothing but a lie sent by unscrupulous people to squeeze money from me.

We're all vulnerable to fantastic offers-to scams that in reality pay off with nothing but trouble.  We are offered false hope that ends in dashed dreams.

There is one offer, however, that is genuine, though fantastic beyond belief.  It's the offer God makes to us-salvation through faith in Jesus' finished work on the cross:  "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).  It is an offer that cost Him greatly-and we get the benefits.  The book of Romans tells us, "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (4:25 NIV).

By saying yes to salvation, we can have hope (Titus 1:2), peace (Romans 5:1), forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7), incomparable riches (2:7), and redemption (4:30).  This is the real deal.  Jesus' death and resurrection guarantees it. - Dave Branon

Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? - Wesley
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Our salvation was infinitely costly to God,
but it is absolutely free to us.

INSIGHT
Peter wrote to encourage believers in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) who were being persecuted because they were Christians.  Such troubles are to be expected (1 Peter 4:12), and they prove the reality and quality of faith (1:7).  Believers can "greatly rejoice" (v.6) in the privilege of following Jesus' example (2:21), participating not only in Christ's sufferings but also in His glory (1:7; 4:13).  Because of its focus on undeserved suffering and unequivocal submission to God's sovereignty, 1 Peter is sometimes referred to as "the Job of the New Testament."

Have a blessed day and week ahead.
God Our Creator's Love Always.
Unity & Peace

THE HEART AFFECTS EVERYTHING

Today's promise: God delights in those who honor him

The Heart Affects Everything

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Let us learn to cast our hearts into God.

Bernard of Clairvaux

Guard the inside

If you're typical, you think of guarding your heart in terms of keeping things out. Corruption, false ideas, temptations — all are to be held at arm's length, never to be allowed in the inner depths of your affections. But there's another side to this vigilance. We are to keep things in. In fact, if we can master that, the corruptions and temptations will often take care of themselves.

Think about it: The things that can assail a heart from the outside are innumerable, far too overwhelming to manage. But the things we are told to keep within — the spirit of Jesus, the humility and gentleness, the servanthood and sacrifice, the worship and thankfulness — these are one Spirit. Most religions tell us to avoid the bad; God tells us to embrace Him. We are better equipped to focus on His character than on the enemy's devices. Nowhere are we told to live against the sinful nature and hope that the Spirit will show up. We're told to live by the Spirit and expect the sinful nature to have no power. We often get confused about that.

Too many Christians guard the way into their hearts to keep things out. That may be appropriate at times, but try a different approach. Guard the way out. Stand at the inside of the gate, and be careful about what may be leaving. Once in a while, we get a life-altering glimpse of true worship. By all means, keep it in! From time to time, we'll see a picture of true servanthood. Don't let that picture go! Hold on to these things! Treasuring the wellspring that God has birthed in your heart will leave little room for those corruptions you once obsessed over. And the wellspring is a much more pleasant preoccupation.

Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 10.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

THE BEST SEASON YET

THE BEST SEASON YET

READ:
Ephesians 5:15-21

See then that you walk circumspectly,
...redeeming the time, because the days
are evil.  -Ephesians 5:15-16

Life is a lot like the weather...it's seasonal.  It has a way of pushing us into the next season whether we like it or not.  And when pushed into the next season, we are often uncertain and even fearful of what it might hold for us.

This is especially true of later seasons of life, when we are haunted by thoughts such as:  Will I be left all alone?  Will my health hold up?  Will my money last?  Will my mind stay fresh?  As with every season of life, we have to make a choice-to waste the season in fearful thoughts or, as Paul says, make "the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16 ESV).

Regardless of your season, you can count on God's faithfulness.  He says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.  So we may boldly say:  'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear'" (Hebrew 13:5-6).

Because you have God's presence and provision, you can make the most of your time in every season by following Jesus closely, spending time in His Word and prayer, loving and forgiving more freely than ever before, and serving others with joy and generosity.

God has blessed us with our present season-make the most of it! - Joe Stowell

Lord, give me the grace to accept life right where
it has put me, and help me to overcome the fear
that would waste my days.  Give me the wisdom
and desire to make every day count for You.
****************************************
Life matters-make the most of it!

INSIGHT
After explaining how believers are saved (Ephesians 1-3), Paul spent the rest of his letter to the Ephesians instructing them how to live their new life in Christ (Ephesians 4-6).  They were to "be very careful" (5:15 NIV) in how they lived; to be wise or skillful in handling life's challenges.  Because the world is evil, believers are to be "redeeming the time" (v.16), which literally means "to buy up the opportunity" to work and act for God's kingdom.  We are to live in a way that pleases God (v.17).  Paul gave the Roman Christians similar advice in Romans 13:8-14.  To the Galatians, he told them, "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10).

Have a blessed day and weekend.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace

TOUGH TO LOVE

TOUGH TO LOVE

READ:
Acts 13:13-23

Now for a time of about forty years
[God] put up with their ways in the
wilderness. -Acts 13:18

Years ago I was a camp counselor for some rebellious boys.  I found it challenging to deal with their behavior.  They would mistreat the animals at the petting zoo and occasionally fight among themselves.  So I adopted a calm and firm approach to leading them.  And although they often exasperated me, I always made sure their physical needs were taken care of.

Even though I had a kind and loving exterior, I often felt on the inside that I was just "putting up with them."  That caused me to prayerfully reflect on how a loving heavenly Father provides for His rebellious children.  In telling the story of the Israelites during the exodus, Paul said, "For a time of about forty years [God] put up with their ways in the wilderness" (Acts 13:18).  In Greek "put up with" most likely means to patiently provide for people's needs despite an ungrateful response.

Some people may not react favorably to our efforts to show care and concern.  When this happens, it may help to remember that God is patient with us.  And He has given us His Spirit to help us respond with love to those who are hard to love or who are ungrateful (Galatians 5:22-23).

Give us Your patience, Lord, for anyone in our lives who is difficult to love. -Dennis Fisher

I want the love that sweetly bears
Whate'er my Father's hand may choose to send;
I want the love that patiently endures
The wrongs that come from enemy or friend. - Anon.
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Be as patient with others as God has been with you.

INSIGHT
To fulfill the Great Commission, Paul took advantage of the synagogue system.  In the cities he visited, Paul would go to the synagogue on the Sabbath to preach the good news to the Jews who gathered there (Acts 13:14; 17:1-2; 18:4; 19:8).

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Today's promise: God delights in those who honor him

Do not be afraid

The Lord who created you says: "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you."

Isaiah 43:1-2 NLT

Two Margarets

Margaret MacLachlan and Margaret Wilson, Covenanters in Wigtown, Scotland, were tried for their faith on April 13, 1685, for refusing to take the Oath of Abjuration, which stated that the Church of God is a department of the State. Found guilty of rebellion, attending field meetings, and worshipping in places other than a church, they were ordered to receive their sentences on their knees. When they refused to bow before anyone but God, they were forced down to their knees and then were sentenced to death by drowning.

On May 11, 1685, the two faithful Margarets were tied to posts and staked in the sea as the tide was rising. The older Margaret (MacLachlan) was farther out. They were given many chances to recant their beliefs, but they stood firm and resolute.

Margaret MacLachlan remained silent, her eyes closed throughout the ordeal, communing with Christ until death. As the tide rose eighteen-year-old Margaret Wilson began to sing a Covenanter rendition of Psalm 25:7. Then, she recited from Romans 8: "We are more than conquerors through him that loves us.…"

After the waves washed over her head, the soldiers pulled her out, pleading with her one last time to "pray for the king!" She prayed, but her prayer was, "Lord, give him repentance, forgiveness, and salvation, if it be Thy holy will." The angry soldiers threw her back into the water, and she joined Margaret MacLachlan before the throne.

We may never face the rising tide of the sea, but the deep waters of trouble and loss can be just as overwhelming. How do you react when you feel you are about to drown in the rising tide of your own troubles?

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003), entry for May 11.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

FAITHFUL TO THE FINISH

FAITHFUL TO THE FINISH

READ:
Hebrews 12:1-4

Let us run with endurance the
race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1

After running 32 kilometers (20 miles) of the Salomon Kielder Marathon in Great Britain, a runner dropped out and rode a bus to the wooded area near the finish line.  Then, he re-entered the race and claimed third prize.  When officials questioned him, he stated that he stopped running because he was tired.

Many of us can relate to the exhaustion of a worn-out athlete as we run the race of the Christian faith.  The book of Hebrews encourages us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (12:1).  Running with endurance requires that we lay aside the sin that stands in our way and shed the weights that hold us back.  We may even have to press on through persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

To prevent weariness and discouragement in our souls (Hebrews 12:3), the Bible urges us to focus on Christ.  When we pay more attention to Him than to our struggles, we will notice Him running alongside us-supporting us when we stumble (2 Corinthians 12:9) and encouraging us with His example (1 Peter 2:21-24).  Keeping our eyes on "the author and finisher or our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) will help us stay close to the source of our strength and remain faithful to the finish. - Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace. - Lemmel
***************************************
We can finish strong when we focus on Christ.

INSIGHT
Because of severe persecution, Jewish Christians were pressured to abandon Christianity and revert to Judaism.  The unnamed writer of Hebrews wrote to encourage them by affirming the preeminence, superiority and sufficiency of Christ through His person and position (chs.1-4) and His work (chs.5-10).  To encourage them to persevere in their faith, the author recounted examples of people from their history who had remained faithful to the end (ch.11).  In Hebrews 12, he challenged them to stay focused on Jesus, the supreme example of perseverance and faithfulness, by remembering what He had done for them on the cross (vv.1-2) and by imitating Him in His suffering (vv.3-4).  Just as Jesus was exalted through His suffering, they too would be honored (v.3).

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace

A CHEERFUL SPIRIT

Today's promise: God delights in those who honor him

A cheerful spirit

For the poor, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

Proverbs 15:15 NLT

When I think of God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes leap and dance as they leave my pen; and since God has given me a cheerful heart, I serve Him with a cheerful spirit.

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

A happy heart

A person's heart is a major concern of the Lord. God's Word tells us that he doesn't look at the things people look at. We look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart; that is, our "thoughts and intentions" (1 Samuel 16:7). Today's verse tells us that a happy, or cheerful, heart make life "a continual feast." How do we obtain — and maintain — this happy heart? There are many clues throughout the book of Proverbs. We should not let our hearts be anxious or proud because anxiety and pride are deterrents to a cheerful heart (Proverbs 12:25; 16:5). Instead, God calls us to have pure hearts and to keep them on the right path (Proverbs 22:11; 23:19). These are positive steps to achieving a happy heart because when we are being obedient to God's Word and experiencing his smile of approval, our hearts will be lighter, even in difficult times. The Bibles gives us many other instructions about how to have "healthy" hearts, but a good place to start is to embrace the truth of Proverbs 15:15 and ask God to show us how to develop hearts that are happy, no matter what challenges we are facing.

FATHER, help me to have a happy heart. Remove the anxiety that sometimes weighs my heart down. Keep my heart from growing proud. Instead, give me a pure heart — a heart that is pleasing to you. Help me to hide your Word in my heart so that I can walk in your ways and enjoy life that is a continual feast.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for May 17.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

NOW I SEE

NOW I SEE

READ:
John 14:15-27

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things, and
bring to your remembrance all things
that I said to you.  -John 14:26

Deborah Kendrick loves to attend Broadway musicals even though she is blind and always struggles to understand the setting and the movements of the characters onstage.  Recently, however, she attended a play that used D-Scriptive, a new technology that conveys the visual elements of the stage production through a small FM receiver.  A recorded narration, keyed to the show's light and sound boards, describes the set and the action as it unfolds onstage.  Writing in The Columbus Dispatch, Deborah said, "If you ask me if I saw a show last week in New York, my answer is yes...I genuinely, unequivocally mean that I saw the show."

Her experience struck me as a vivid illustration of the Holy Spirit's role in our understanding of God's Word.  Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers that "the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26).

As we open the Bible to read or study, the Spirit of Truth is with us to guide us into all truth (16:13).  On our own we are blind, but through the guidance of God's Holy Spirit we can see. - David McCasland

Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea.
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word. - Lathbury
*********************************************
The Father gave the Spirit to teach us from the Word.

Have a blessed day and week ahead.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace

THE GOSPEL: A MATTER OF SPECIFIC TRUTHS OR MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES

Your Brother Daniel

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

The Gospel: A Matter of Specific Truths or Mystical Experiences

Have you heard of Chrislam? It is a reinterpretation of the Gospel that enables Muslims to remain Muslims while they believe that Christ died for their sins. This invention causes us to revisit the question: “How specific must the Gospel message be?”

People answer this question in various ways. Emergent Church guru, Tony Jones, writes that it isn’t even about a set of doctrines or beliefs:

• Jesus did not have a “statement of faith.” He called others into faithful relationship to God through life in the Spirit…he was not concerned primarily with whether individuals give cognitive assent to abstract propositions [His teachings] but with callings persons into trustworthy community through embodied and concrete acts of faithfulness. The writers of the NT were not obsessed with finding a final set of propositions. (Jones, The New Christians, 234)

This is clearly inaccurate. In a sense, the Apostle Paul did have a “statement of faith!” He had been very specific about the Gospel he was preaching, so specific that he warned:

• But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8-9)

Paul was very definite that there are a set of teachings that comprise the Gospel. In his mind, Peter was acting out a different and poisonous gospel when he withdrew from eating with Gentile believers upon the arrival of the Judaizers (“false brothers,” Gal. 2:4; the “circumcision group,” 2:12). Because Peter cowardly withdrew, Paul accused him of requiring the Gentiles to become Jews to qualify for Christian fellowship (Gal. 2:14).

Instead, Paul argued that fellowship was based on grace and not on following the Law, as Peter already understood. Meanwhile, the “circumcision group” had professed faith in Christ but also insisted that it had to be combined with circumcision. This would make the believer a Jew and enable him to also follow the Law in order to be saved.

The Jerusalem council had dealt conclusively with this question. The circumcision group contended that believers in Christ had to first become Jews:

• Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses." (Acts 15:5)

However, the council nixed that motion. Similarly, Paul warned that the Galatians were following Christ for naught if they also trusted in performing the good deeds of the Law (Gal. 3:1-5). A trust in good deeds was incompatible with trust in Christ:

• You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Gal. 5:4)

To many of us, including Jones, this simple addition of the requirement of fulfilling the good deeds of the Law seems quite innocuous. Hadn’t the Jews been saved under the Mosaic Covenant prior to the Cross? What then could be so wrong about simply insisting on the very thing that God had ordained beforehand!

However, to Paul, such a theology was accursed. The Law was supposed to lead us to Christ and then step aside after it had performed its duty (Gal. 3:23). Bringing back what had been fulfilled was a matter of adding to salvation. It was also a matter of denying the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning death, and this addition undermined the Gospel!

The Gospel is very specific. It can’t be added to; nor can anything be taken away from it:

• I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Rev. 22:18-19; Deut. 4:2; 12:32)

God’s Gospel was so specific that any adding or subtracting represented a capital offense. Meanwhile, Jones claims:

• The writers of the NT were not obsessed with finding a final set of propositions.

Although “obsessed” is the wrong word, the “writers of the NT” had the highest appreciation for the proclamation of the exact teachings of the Gospel – so high that any possible distortion carried frightful warnings, while the preaching of the unadulterated Gospel was associated with great blessings:

• For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)

• "Now I [Paul] commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)

In contrast to Jones’ assertions, the Gospel had to accord with the truth about God. The Samaritans had a religion similar to that of the Israelites. The Samaritan woman explained to Jesus that their main difference was one of geography:

• Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." (John 4:20)

Against this observation, Jesus emphasized truth:

• "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:21-24)

According to Jesus, salvation was a matter of worshipping God according to truth, according to the specific revelation given to the Jews.

We are obsessed today with discovering a new gospel – one that might bring all religions together. However, in order to do this, the ground-rules have to be changed. Instead of a collection of teachings (and these will differ from religion to religion), a common experience of God is now to be the new gospel – a common “language” or Tower of Babel around which all can rally. Sociologist, writer and speaker, Tony Campolo, advocates this very solution:

• A theology of mysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic union with God, which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions but have much in common with each other.

• I do not know what to make of the Muslim mystics, especially those who have come to be known as the Sufis. What do they experience in their mystical experience? Could they have encountered the same God we do in our Christian mysticism? (Tony Campolo, Speaking My Mind: The Radical Evangelical Prophet Tackles the Tough Issues Christians Are Afraid to Face [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004], 149, 150.)

However, Jesus’ Gospel was a preached message to be believed, not mystically experienced:

• Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15; NKJV)

Grace came in the form of good news to the shepherds, not in the form of an ecstatic mystical experience:

• But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

The good news was a revelation of hope, not a new technique to experience God. Even in the Old Testament, the Jews were primed to receive a saving message, not a mystical high:

• How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7)

In fact, in Scripture there is no hint whatsoever of a salvation or union with God through learning techniques to achieve a mystical experience. Frankly, the God of the Bible cares nothing about mind-altering techniques. Instead, He cares about believing and obeying His teachings (Mat. 28:19-20).

What then does the Sufi experience? Well, whatever it is, it is not a saving union with Christ! This alone comes through believing the Gospel message:

• Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the [Gospel] testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:10-12)

Campolo’s hope is not a Scriptural one. However, God’s loving concern and plan for all humanity is, but we have to allow God to achieve His glorious plan in His own way. He does seem to prophecy a time when all who are left in the end will be saved:

• On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD; we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation." (Isaiah 25:7-9)

Frankly, I don’t know how it will all play out. However, I know God well enough to know that He has a perfect plan in which:

• Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps. (Psalm 85:10-13)

Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, but they pursued this goal in their own way, to their own destruction. Ironically, they pursued the very thing that God had already planned to give them (1 John 3:1-3)! However, they mistakenly thought that they knew better how to achieve this goal than did God. In this, I think that they represent the arrogance of this age, the arrogance of the well-fed and well-endowed, assured that they can come to God (or become God) in any manner they so choose.