The Reliability of the Bible

About a month ago, I was invited to speak to a church planting team on the issue of the origin and reliability of the Bible. This is a topic I tackled a couple of years ago, so I got out the old notes and rewrote them. I need to note that the material that follows is the result of a bit of reading and sermon listening. I am indebted to a lot of folks, some of whom are mentioned in the material below. I don't intend to claim individual originality in either the argument or the ideas below, as I am standing on the shoulders of many preachers and apologists. I hope the material below blesses you.

The Origin and Reliability of the Bible

Where did the Bible come from and can I trust it?

Introduction

To many Christians, the Bible is a book that has simply been around forever.

Whether they think it was handed down as “golden tablets” or dictated by God, they think that Bible has just always been there.

Unfortunately, that is simply not true.

What I intend to do is to give you an idea regarding where your Bible came from and why you can rely on it as a sound witness to the historical events surrounding the life and ministry of Jesus.

Are you ready?

What is the Bible?

The Bible is a collection of books, it is not a single book

It consists of 66 books collected into one volume

These books were written by around 40 different authors over many centuries

In general these books agree on one thing—God is making himself known through these writings

The purpose of these books is the self-disclosure of God, his character, and his interactions with humans

In Christian circles, the Bible is divided into two basic sections

The Old Testament (or Hebrew/Jewish Scripture)

39 books

Reflects the history of God’s interaction particularly with Israel but also with other people

The New Testament

27 books

Focuses on the life of Jesus and his impact

The Bible is more precisely a library of books that speak of one major topic—God’s interaction with humanity

How Did We Get Our Current Bible?

Since the individual books of the Bible were written over a period of more than one thousand years, the question of origins could be a lecture in itself

Simply put, these books were written by authors at a particular time and in some cases for particular reasons and then collected by those who acknowledged the importance and inspiration of the documents

By the fourth century AD, the Bible as we currently know it was considered authoritative and settled (no more books were to be added—Council of Carthage)

Since then Christians everywhere have accepted this as God’s Word

The actual development of our current Bible can be summarized as follows:

Many of the Jewish or Hebrew Scriptures began to be collected shortly after they were written

By the time of Jesus, most of the books currently in our OT were recognized as authoritative by Jews

Criteria for this recognition included conformity to the theology of the Law (first five books), inspiration (Prophets), written in Hebrew, and commonly used among most Jews

After Jesus’ life and ministry, some of his followers wrote materials pertaining to his life and impact on humanity. These books were written roughly from AD 45 to about 100. They began to be collected early on (Paul’s letters are mentioned as a collection by Peter sometime in the mid-60s—2 Peter 3:14-16), and we have authorized list of our current 27 books as early as the second century. The criteria for acceptance included the books ties to an apostle, the use of the book by the church at large, the theology of the book, and inspiration

Is the Bible Reliable?

Now that we have some history about this collection of books, we have to consider whether or not we can accept this collection as reliable. In order to make the process more manageable, we will focus only on four books of the New Testament—The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

My argument is simple

If these books are reliable historical witnesses, then what they say about Jesus is true

If what they say about Jesus is true, then the claims that Jesus is the Son of God must be true

If Jesus is the Son of God, then what he says about the rest of the Bible must be true and what he says about God must be true as well

How do we determine historical reliability?

Note that we are primarily concerned here with historical reliability

How can we tell if a document is historically reliable?

We have to be aware that offering a “proof” of history is difficult if not impossible. “Proof” requires observation and repetition. What we have to consider is evidence. What does the evidence tell us?

Think of a court of law. Both sides of a case present evidence to support their view or their claims. Evidence is not a proof, it is simply a testimony to the probability of a certain set of circumstances. Whichever set of evidence is considered most probable usually wins. (Example—how do you prove you are married, or that you came to this training session? )

The question to be answered involves what is most probable, not what is possible—we have to have probable cause

An example from my life—a car wreck in Waco, TX

What is the most probable explanation of what happened?

Ancient Manuscripts and History

The four books we are considering are ancient manuscripts

Two ways to show the reliability of ancient manuscripts

Look at their age/date and distribution

Look at their authors—are they reliable?

Let’s consider the manuscripts first—Roman history as an example

Rome existed for almost a millennium—during that time Roman emperors and other leaders commissioned many different authors to write an authorized version of Rome’s history

Literally dozens (if not hundreds) of documents were created, published, and preserved. Writers like Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, and Tacitus wrote volumes on Roman history.

The Gallic Wars—our oldest copy dates to around AD 900—many centuries after the events they record

—Yet only a few of the copies remain

Tacitus—lived and wrote near the end of the first century—wrote a 30 volume history of Rome

Yet only about 20 copies representing maybe half of the volumes remain

These Roman materials are used regularly in history classes all around the world.

In spite of the limited number of copies and the late date of the materials, these works are considered historical and worthy of use as representations of “what really happened”

Questions About Manuscripts

Would you expect Roman history to survive through the ages?

Absolutely.

Roman leaders kept records and stored them in vaults to keep these things for the future.

The Roman Empire existed for hundreds of years and ruled the world.

Of course we would have some copies of historical documents regarding these events.

All of Rome with all its wealth produced histories of the empire, yet all we have left are a few copies of key manuscripts.

Would you expect to have four detailed accounts of 3 years of the life of a Jewish carpenter from Galilee in the first century AD?

He didn’t write anything, he didn’t run for office, but it may surprise you to find out that we have more information for him than we do for the Caesars!

The NT Manuscripts

Let’s look at the manuscripts of the Gospels

They represent not a history of an entire kingdom, but rather about three years of the life of Jesus in the first century

We actually have hundreds of copies of the manuscripts for the Gospels (not dozens, but hundreds)

We even have one fragment that dates to around AD 130—the John Ryland’s Papyrus—that is a part of the Gospel of John

This manuscript was found in Egypt, which means that it was probably written sometime near the end of the first century (to give time for a copy to be made and circulated to Egypt)

By AD 250, we have complete copies of all four Gospels as we have them in our current Bibles

As far as the rest of the NT is concerned, we have over 5,500 copies of manuscripts of the books of the NT—almost 10 times the number of manuscripts for Homer’s works

Compared to Roman history, the Gospels (and the other NT books) have a better distribution and dating of manuscripts.

Surprising, No?

How is that possible?

Why would so much time and attention be given to these three years of a single Jewish life?

Why would they survive in such large numbers?

Apparently someone found these materials to be so important that they copied them—multiple times over!

In fact, you could argue that these documents seem more important than even documents of the history of Rome!

What about Differences?

What about errors? Don’t this many copies have errors?

Example of copying a letter today

Given the sheer number of copies of New Testament works, you would expect some differences in the manuscripts

On the other hand, the sheer volume of copies also provides comparison data to ascertain the probable original wording

To compare this—the manuscripts of the NT are old enough and numerous enough to offer the promise of ascertaining the original readings, even though the originals no longer exist

We have over 600 manuscripts of Homer and scholars are certain that we have restored Homer to 90% of the original

Given the sheer number of NT manuscripts, we should be able to do better than 90%

In fact, the differences in the NT manuscripts are negligible—the manuscripts agree on over 90% of the material, and the disagreements amount to insignificant details

There are no doctrinally significant differences in NT manuscripts

So? What’s the Problem?

Why aren’t the Gospels (and the rest of the NT for that matter) considered history?

If we have more of them, if they are better distributed, if they date closer to the originals than others, if we can come to some idea of the original wording, why aren’t these works considered “history”?

The answer may surprise you

There seems to be a real prejudice against the supernatural

The idea is something like this: “Documents that contain supernatural events cannot be considered historical since ‘supernatural’ things don’t happen on a regular basis.”

Do you see a problem with that logic?

How about the Civil War?

How about the Holocaust?

How about 9/11 and the rescue teams?
Do we see these events or the responses to them on a regular basis?

We don’t judge those historical events on personal experience or presuppositions alone, do we?

We have to consider the evidence and ask “What is the most probable explanation?”

Can we trust the authors?

Let’s consider the authors of the Gospels

Matthew—a tax collector and eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry

Mark—a friend of Peter (1 Peter 5:13)—history tells us that Mark wrote down what Peter preached

Luke—a Gentile doctor and friend of Paul

John—a disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness

The material these individuals wrote agree on basic topic, order, and historical record

Although they wrote at different times and from different perspectives, they come to the same conclusion about Jesus and present the same basic historical information about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ

These four different presentations of Jesus offer historical events

They are portraits of the life and ministry of Jesus

The Case of Dr. Luke

Luke is unique among the Gospel writers

He was not an eyewitness follower of Jesus nor a Jew

He came to be a follower of Christ as a result of the testimony of others

He then decided to investigate the claims about Jesus so that he could write an orderly account for his friend (Luke 1:1-4)

He interviewed eyewitness and read accounts about Jesus so that he could compile his history of the events

He had no idea that his work would be collected with three other accounts and included in some “Bible”!

Luke claims to write an orderly account so that Theophilus can be sure of what he has heard about Jesus

Four Witnesses, Four Perspectives

The other three writers put together their materials for different purposes, but they all exist as witnesses to the same historical events (1 John 1:1-3)

Since they are writing about similar events from different perspectives, shouldn’t some variation be expected?

Think of four witnesses to a car accident

Each one will remember different details as they describe the same incident

One may remember the colors or makes of the vehicles

Another may remember the gender of the drivers

Yet another may remember the accident itself

But all are describing the same incident

We have a similar probability with the Gospels

Differences As Evidence

All four Gospels describe the same event from different perspectives

They emphasize different details

Varying level of detail is found in each Gospel

Agreement on the general flow of the story is there (they all focus on Jesus’ character, ministry, and passion)

As a result, the apparent “contradictions” are just what would be expected if we had four different witnesses

The differences show that collaboration among the four writers is unlikely

Our hypothetical car accident above took only a few minutes to develop, but the Gospels are writing about events that happened over a period of almost 3 years

We ought to expect some differences in these materials

Each Gospel writer sees Jesus from a different perspective

None of them became rich or famous for their writings—in fact they all died for their conviction that Jesus was who he claimed to be—the Son of God who came to reveal God to humans

Legend and History

Sherman White in his research found that two generations (a little over 50 years) is not sufficient to cause a legend to alter a solid core of historical fact

In other words, if the Gospel information about Jesus was a legend, then it would take 50+ years before its repetition would be viewed as historical events

How much time separated the writing of the Gospels from the actual events of Jesus’ life?

Conservative scholars place the earliest of the Gospels around AD 45 to 55. Even liberal scholars date the earliest Gospel before AD 70.

If Jesus lived and ministered in the mid-30s, then the first Gospel is written just a few decades after his life. That is not long enough for it to be considered legend!

There is also evidence that the story of Jesus’ life and resurrection circulated during the lifetime of the authors of our Gospels

Three witnesses—Paul, James, and Tacitus

First Century Witnesses

Paul—left a leadership position in Judaism to become a follower of Christ, plant churches all over the Roman empire, and write books about Jesus (Paul died in the mid-60s of the first century AD)

James—another author of a NT book who left Judaism to become a Christian. He mentions the return of Jesus in his letter (conservatively dated to around AD 45—just fifteen years after Jesus). Where did he hear about Jesus’ return? How could Jesus return unless he left (as the Gospels report)?

The final witness is the most important, in my opinion

The Non-Christian Witness

Tacitus

Wrote around AD 100 to 115

Wrote about events in the life of Roman Caesar Nero

Nero ruled from AD 54 to 68

Peter and Paul were reportedly martyred under Nero

He wrote about Nero:

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite torture on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.” He continues: “Christ, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate. A most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, but even in Rome.”

Other witnesses include the following non-Christian historians:

Pliny the Younger (AD 62-113)—describes Christian worship

Suetonius (AD 100-160)—describes Claudius’ edict of AD 49 that kicked Jewish Christians out of Rome

The Conclusion

The conclusion is obvious, isn’t it?

Tacitus and Pliny reference a superstition, not a teaching, or a philosophy.

What brought people to Christ was the story of the resurrection! It wasn’t Jesus’ teaching or philosophy that attracted people, but his claims to be the Son of God and his resurrection.

This Jesus, who was crucified by Pilate, came back to life. That is the so-called superstition.

The disciples began preaching the resurrection within 2 months of Jesus death and resurrection.

The existence of Christianity in Rome less than 2 decades after Jesus’ life and ministry support the historical perspective of the Gospels

This means that the Gospels should be reliable history

What do we do now?

What will you do with this information?

How will you respond?

If what I have shared supports the historical reliability of the Gospels, then the claims made about and by Jesus are also historical and reliable.

We cannot ignore them. Jesus spoke of the OT, he spoke of God, he forgave sins, he rose from the dead.

You now have to decide—if the Gospel accounts are historically reliable, you cannot ignore the claims about or by Jesus.

He is either a liar or he is God. He cannot be both.

What do you think? How will you respond?

Thanks for reading!

What's Your Indulgence? Galatians 5:13-16

Hello all:

This is a Scripture lesson I first presented on April 25, 2010, but it seems rather appropriate today as well. The lesson is on Galatians 5:13-16 and discusses our freedom to indulge our flesh or to follow the Spirit. The contrast between fleshly living and Spirit-led living are given. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

What’s Your Indulgence?

Galatians 5:13-16

Introduction

When you think of the word “indulgence,” what comes to mind?

How do you define “indulgence”?

What is a favorite indulgence of yours?

A good cup of coffee, some rich dark chocolate, good conversation, and a good book are some of my favorite indulgences

We typically engage in indulgences when we have freedom
Indulgences spring from desire and opportunity

Today’s passage talks about freedom and indulgence

Some background: Gentiles, Jews, and Galatians!

Liberty is both freedom from and freedom to

Galatians 5:13-16

1. Called to Freedom

Galatians 5:13

“Called to freedom”: eklathate/kaleo, eleutheria—Paul indicates that all Christians have a call on their lives, a vocation to live in liberty

In verse 1, Paul reminds his Gentile readers that Jesus has “freed you unto freedom;” that is, Christ paid the price for our salvation/freedom so that we could live as free individuals

Now we are reminded that we are “called” to a vocation, to a ministry of freedom ( John 8:36; 2 Cor. 3:17; cf. 2 Cor. 3:4-6; 5:15)

Liberty gives freedom for us to “indulge” in luxuries or pleasures
“Indulgence” or “opportunity” here refers to a base of operations, a starting point, or an opportunity to pursue something

Paul reminds us that freedom heads toward two different indulgences:

a. A fleshly indulgence

b. A spiritual indulgence

2. Fleshly Indulgence

Galatians 5:13a, 15
Paul claims that we can use our freedom (the one we received from Christ) to indulge or to satisfy our fleshly desires

What is the flesh?

a. Sinful nature (Rom. 8:6-8)

b. That which opposes God (Rom. 7:18-23)

c. Flesh is the opposite of what Christ would want from us

d. Bottom line, Flesh is selfish

To engage the flesh, Paul says, is to “submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1b)

If God has called me to freedom and I use that freedom to indulge my flesh, I am essentially returning to bondage to sin (to which I am supposedly dead, cf. Rom. 6:6-9)

Paul commands us to avoid using our freedom to indulge the flesh

Since the flesh tends to selfishness, it also tends to divisive behavior

“Bite and devour”—refer to the actions of wild animals who hunt one another or prey on each other in an effort to find sustenance or to protect territory

Living in the flesh usually manifests itself in an attempt to build up myself by making others look bad (“biting and devouring”)

Living in the flesh means viewing my needs or my position as more important than others (cf. Phil. 2:3-4)

The warning is that if we live in the flesh, we will destroy ourselves; we will be consumed

3. Spiritual Indulgence

Galatians 5:13b-14, 16

Paul claims that we should use our new-found freedom in Christ as an opportunity for spiritual indulgence

Verse 16: “Walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh”

a. “Walk in the Spirit”—allow the Spirit to guide your everyday behavior; learn to act in ways that are in keeping with the character of God

b. “Carry out the desires of the flesh”—fulfill or complete the desires of the flesh; the flesh is our sinful aspect that fights to keep us living opposite of God’s plans

Freedom should be used to serve one another in love

“Serve” (doulete/doulew)—to be a slave, to serve as a slave“Serve one another.” But the language is really stronger—“be slaves to one another.” Christians are “not to be masters with a lot of slaves, but each should be one poor slave with a lot of masters.” (Stephen Neill)

No wonder some translations soften the phrase from “slaves” to “servants.” It’s hard enough to act like a “servant,” but “slave” sounds even more demanding.

The word “slave” is all about service

a. Slaves don’t consider themselves more important than the masters they serve. They don’t act superior!

b. Slaves serve whether they feel like it or not

c. Slaves do whatever job their Master gives them; no matter whether it’s hard or easy, dirty or clean

d. Slaves don’t expect recognition or reward or even a pat on the back for their service

e. Slaves serve because that’s what slaves do

Paul is calling us to be slaves in loving one anotherRomans 12:9-13

Fulfill (complete) the law by loving each other (Rom. 13:9b-10)

How do we do this?

Being a servant begins with proper attitude.

a. Love is the foundation of a life of a servant

b. Humility is a necessity

c. Determination to do what needs to be done is a part of it

Being a servant requires sensitivity or discernment

a. We must be aware of opportunities around us

b. We need to learn to act, not react

c. We need to develop the habit of listening

To God

To others

As Nike reminds us, we need to “just do it.”

Application

Now what?

We are left with a choice, we know we have freedom and that this freedom provides us the luxury of indulging desires

So, what desires will we choose?

Will we carry out or complete our selfish desires?

Will we walk by the Spirit?

If you desire to walk by the Spirit, here are some suggestions for this week:

a. When you are tempted this week to “put someone in their place” or to “speak the truth in love” by gossiping about someone, instead take a few minutes to make a list of the good things God has done in that person’s life. List the positives and then pray specifically for that person that God will give a blessing.

Look for a specific opportunity to “love your neighbor”

b. Go out of your way to serve someone this week and do it with no expectation of recognition or payment in exchange

c. Share the love of Christ by serving: make some cookies, clean a room, pick up some trash, volunteer to a charity, or simply tell someone how Jesus changed your life

Discussion Questions

a. Read Romans 13:8-10. How are all of these commandments from God summed up by Paul?

b. Jesus loved us enough that he died for us. Look at Philippians 2:5-11. How can we imitate Jesus’ love when we love others?

c. Read Jeremiah 31:31-33. How does this passage relate to Paul’s discussion about freedom and the law in Galatians 5?

d. Where do we get the power to live godly lives that include loving our neighbors? See 2 Peter 1:3-9

e. How can your life be characterized as “walking by the Spirit”? What will need to change?

f. How can you love your neighbors this week in such a way as to reveal God’s love to them?

Thanks for reading!

The long winding road to Emmaus: A retelling of an ancient story

“O Lord my God, when the storm is loud, and the night is dark, and the soul is sad, and the heart oppressed; then, as a weary traveler, may I look to you; and beholding the light of your love, may it bear me on, until I learn to sing your song in the night. Amen.” From Little Book of Prayers by George Dawson.

Sometimes in the midst of the trials and burdens of life, we lose sight of the idea of an anchor. We feel tossed and thrown as on a wild and restless sea. Our emotions tell us that things will never be good, all will be despair and loss. Our hope seems shipwrecked, our desire to go on in life sinks into depression. We see nothing good, only evil all around us. Our enemies (both physical and spiritual) seem to have the upper hand, they seem to be winning the day. The victory we felt sure would come has not yet manifested itself, and we feel ourselves sinking ever deeper into a pit in which we cannot get the proper traction to climb. The clock is ticking down, our hope is gone, our day is over, and Christ has not come.

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, we had hoped that Jesus would be the one who would rescue us all. We had fervently prayed that maybe, just maybe, today would be the day when we would “live happily ever after” and find our dreams coming true. We shake our heads and go out for a walk. Maybe some fresh air and a quick walk will clear out the cob webs in our minds. Still, the topic of our recent failure hangs like a cloud over our heads, raining down doubt and fear.

We chat quietly together, commiserating a bit in our sorrow, in our recent loss. We try to remember all the "good reasons" we came to this time--like the first time we heard the story of Jesus, or the first time we met him, or even when we experienced firsthand some of his cool deeds. Still, sorrow clings to our soul like a wet coat in a sudden thunderstorm. We can't get rid of the sense of sadness, it is drenched on us and stick to our bodies. We wonder why we even brought the subject up and continue to make our journey in silence. Maybe time with our thoughts will help.

Suddenly, a stranger approaches. He seems rather ignorant of our experiences, and besides that he has a fairly sunny disposition. He is definitely someone we want to avoid at this moment. No pie in the sky false hope will satisfy us. We fear that he will say something like, “Cheer up! Keep a stiff upper lip! Things will work out in the end!” We try to avoid the stranger, yet he resolutely comes our direction. He seems determined to interrupt our brooding, our despair. He is on a mission, and we seem to be his primary targets. We try to ignore him, but then he speaks.

“So, what’s going on? Why the sad face?” Out of pure human kindness we try to explain our pain in as brief a manner as possible. We do not want to burden strangers with our “little” concerns, after all. The stranger hears our story and stands tall. Looking at us he says boldly, “Foolish ones, slow of heart to believe what God has said!”

The force of his accusation causes us to stumble in our walk. How dare this stranger tell us our business? How dare he interject his thoughts into our moment of pain, our sorrow? Just who does he think he is to interrupt our musings with his “pollyanna” announcement? We look at him with disdain and think that he likely has nothing of real value to offer.

Then, he begins to speak to us again. Starting with the beginning of our story and bringing us pretty much up to date he tells us things we knew but somehow in our anguish had forgotten. As he speaks, our hearts get a bit lighter. We can literally feel a burning inside that slowly (painfully slowly) begins to purify our thoughts and hearts. His words seem to dry the wet sorrow drenching us. Like sunshine after a thunderstorm, we begin to feel a bit of relief. Spring may yet come! We even feel encouraged (a little at least) .

We invite the stranger to eat with us, and he offers to say grace. As he prays, we realize his true identity. He is our Lord, the one who was beaten brutally, was painfully crucified, who died with the full weight of our sin upon his broken and bruised body. He has been there all along, listening to us, sympathizing (or is it empathizing?) with our pain and anguish. He has been waiting to comfort us with his presence. He loves us so.

We beg him to stay. Oh, the situations of our life haven’t changed dramatically. We still have problems, and those problems seem just as depressing and burdensome as before. The difference is that we have Jesus in the house, and the light of his love gives us courage to press on, he becomes an anchor for our souls. Why? Simply stated—“Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Through him and his love we may not have better situations or circumstances, but we can still be “more than conquerors through him who loved us” in the trials we share as his joint heirs. How? Talk to him. Let him love you. Trust his character. He is faithful even when we are faithless. You matter to him.

He longs to say to you "Hang in there. I love you."

As you walk your soggy path of life, pause and wait for the Lord. Let him catch up to you in your musings. Listen to his words (even the ones that gently rebuke). Get in his presence, let him pray for you and with you. Let his words and actions encourage and empower. Remember, he walks with us whether we acknowledge him or not. Why not sit in his presence for a minute and acknowledge his care for you?

Thanks for reading!

Interesting Quote on the Inspiration and Durability of Scripture

Hey y'all:

I was looking for some material for a lecture on the reliability and uniqueness of Scripture, and I came across the following long quote by H. L. Hastings. From what little research I've done (tonight, thanks Google), this could be a quote from a book by Hastings on the inspiration of Scripture. At any rate, here is what I found, and I thought you all might enjoy it:

Nineteenth century writer H.L. Hastings once forcibly illustrated the unique way in which the Bible has withstood the attacks of its skeptics:

“Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt.

When the French monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, ‘Sire, the church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.’ So the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.

No other book has been so chopped, knived, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology or belles letters of classical or modern times has been subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet? The Bible is still loved by millions, and studied by millions.”

Thanks for reading!

ETS Paper: Print and Recording

Hello all:

I finally put the finishing touches on the paper I read at the annual Evangelical Theological Society meeting in San Francisco in November 2011. The paper's title is "Confidence in Christ and the Sin Unto Death: When Should a Christian Not Pray" and deals with 1 John 5:13-21. Here is a link to see the pdf file: Paper. For those who want to hear a recording of it, here is that link: Recording. Your comments are welcome! Thanks for reading and listening!

Do You Hear What I Hear? John 1:14-18

The following are notes from a Christmas sermon I delivered at Leesville Road Baptist Church on December 18, 2011. Feel free to leave some comments. I hope it is a blessing to you!

Do You Hear What I Hear?
John 1:14-18

Introduction

What’s the good word?

Our world seems obsessed with communication. We have phones that are not for making calls only, but are also used to surf the internet, to send text messages, to even read books and watch movies!

All around us we are bombarded by some sort of communication—billboards, text messages, commercials, even pop up ads on-line.

We are a people drowning in information who at times seem to be longing for meaningful communication.

We want to hear a “good word,” something that is helpful or communicates hope. We want to hear some good news.

Have you ever noticed how often “words” play a role in Scripture?

1. In the beginning, God “said” and there was

2. God spoke to Adam and Eve in the morning

3. God spoke the Law to Moses

4. God spoke to the Jews through prophets (Heb 1)

5. On the first Christmas, God spoke through dreams and angels

6. God speaks to us today through his Son the Word and through his written Word Scripture

Whenever God wants to make something known, he speaks

God likes to communicate, he wants us to know what is going on

Three elements in communication—the speaker, the message, the hearer

For good communication to happen, all three have to function properly

What happens when God communicates?

God is the speaker, and he reveals himself to us by his message (i.e., his Word)

God is infallible, and his Word is perfect, so that puts the emphasis on the hearers

God speaks, but are we listening?

This Christmas, God offers us a Word—that Word is his self-disclosure, his speaking of himself through his Son

When God speaks, we should listen

Do you hear what I hear?

John 1:14-18

In this passage I hear God saying three things. Let’s see if we hear the same thing.

1. I hear that the Word is among us, vv. 14, 18 (The Word Among Us)

a. The Word became “flesh”—when God spoke, it was personal and a bit messy. God spoke in these last days to us through his Son (Heb. 1:1-3), This “Word” takes on flesh (Romans 8:3). The word “flesh” here is not a pretty word. God doesn’t say that his “Word” became simply “human.” No, Jesus became “flesh,” he took on our situation, he identified with us, he was tempted like us (yet without sin—cf. Heb. 2:14-18; 4:14-16; 2 Cor. 5:20-21). Jesus got involved in our messy existence and by doing so offered a means to clean up our mess. By being one of us, Jesus healed and redeemed our situation. Do you hear what I hear?

b. The Word dwelt among us (tabernacle)—When God spoke, he didn’t do it from a distance. He came among us. In the OT, God’s presence among his people was signified by the tabernacle and its three chambers. The inner chamber (where God’s glory dwelt) was only accessible once a year by one person on the Day of Atonement. Jesus coming as God’s Word makes that glory accessible to all of us by pitching his tent (taking up his dwelling place) among us. He lives with us, he lives among us. He has not left us nor forsaken us. Do you hear what I hear?

c. The Word is full of glory—When God spoke, he made his glory known. When Jesus came, we saw God’s glory. In the OT, God’s glory was hidden (remember Moses and the Tabernacle), but with the birth of Jesus God’s glory now becomes obvious to all. God makes himself known in Jesus. Do you hear what I hear?

d. This Word was never seen before, but now we see him—That which was invisible has now become visible (Colossians 1:15-17; cf. Rom. 1:18-20). In Jesus we see the invisible attributes of God. Jesus makes God visible and known. Do you hear what I hear?

e. The Word has explained God—Jesus showed the way to God, he exegeted God. He explained God. Jesus made God understandable. What was inexplicable now is explained. What was inscrutable is now “scrutable.” In Jesus God is capable of being understood. Do you hear what I hear?

f. When God speaks, we should listen

g. Do you hear what I hear?

h. When God “spoke” in Jesus, he became one of us (flesh), he pitched his tent among us (tabernacle), he made visible his invisible glory (we saw his glory, that which no one had seen), he offered an explanation of God’s grace and truth, and our response is to witness his glory and proclaim it to others

2. I hear that The Word is Before Us, v. 15 (The World Before Us)

a. He is superior to us because he existed before us (John 1:1-3; Phil 2:5-8)

i. Jesus’ superiority is explained in detail in the letter to the Hebrews

ii. Although the author of that letter dwells on Jesus’ superiority to many things and people (i.e., angels, Moses, Aaron, the Levites, the sacrifices, etc.), he also goes out of his way to remind us that Jesus is one of us (cf. Heb. 2:14-18; 4:14-16). He is not an alien. He is superior, yes, but in his humanity the child in the manger brings God’s glory to all people (remember the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."—Luke 2:14)

iii. Jesus is “before” us

iv. Do you hear what I hear?

b. Because of his position, we are called to testify of his superiority and glory (this is what John does here)

c. But Jesus also lives “before” us in the idea of being right in front of our eyes. God is not hidden, he is in our midst. Jesus is known to us. Remember, what was unseen is now visible. The babe in the manger makes the glory of God known to all humanity. Jesus’ very existence has explained God to us all. He is right in front of us. Will we pay attention?

d. When God speaks, we should listen

e. Do you hear what I hear?

f. When God reveals himself, he sometimes uses the testimony of others (John), he reveals his superior nature (he is before us and existed without us), as a result he is worthy of our worship and our testimony

3. I hear that The Word is full of Grace, vv. 16-17 (The Word of Grace)

a. We have all received from his fullness (full of grace and truth—cf. John 1:14; Col. 1:5-6)

i. Jesus is the fullness of God (Col 2:9-10)

ii. Christ is the ultimate expression of grace and truth

1. He is grace in that he was freely given for us all (John 3:16; 1 John 2:1-2)

2. He is truth in that he reveals clearly who God is and how to get to God (John 14:6)

b. Grace stacked up on grace (cf. Heb. 4:16)

i. The idea here is an endless supply of grace

ii. Like a warehouse with an unending supply of boxes stacked up against each other, so Jesus offers an ongoing and never exhaustible warehouse of grace

iii. He is grace beyond measure, He is grace yesterday, today, and forever

iv. His grace is never shallow and is trustworthy

c. Law reveals God, but Jesus brings grace and truth to reality (grace and truth “became” through Jesus, same word as “became” flesh)

d. We all receive his grace

i. 1 John 2:1-2 reminds us that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins even of the whole world (i.e., in 1 John 5, the “whole world” is described as those in the hands of the devil)

ii. The grace of God is available to all people by means of the incarnation as Jesus reveals and explains God’s grace

iii. The grace of God is effective in the crucifixion as the blood of Jesus is applied to the sins of humans

iv. The grace of God is sealed by the resurrection in which God declares his work completed and finished

e. When God speaks, we should listen

f. Do you hear what I hear?

g. When God “spoke” the word of grace, he provided an unlimited storehouse of the gift of grace, he made it available to all (we “all” received it), and he makes grace and truth a reality in Jesus, our response is to live God’s grace and truth as a tangible example of God’s Word spoken to us—we “incarnate” God’s grace and truth in our own lives

4. Application/Conclusion

a. Are we listening to God during this Christmas season? Are we paying attention to the “Word” he speaks in Jesus and the Incarnation? Do people see his “grace and truth” in how we live in response to God’s Word?

b. Have you experienced his grace? What a Christmas gift you could receive today if you yield yourself to God and receive his grace in Jesus Christ. John 1:11-13 reminds us that to those who receive him (i.e., put their trust in him) he gives authority to be called the children of God. (Give an overview of Gospel here, offer salvation to all).

c. For those of us who have experienced this wonderful gift, how can we respond to this “word” from God? Do you hear what I hear? If so, here are some suggestions for you:

i. This Christmas, testify of his glory in the “baby Jesus”

ii. Speak of his superiority

iii. Speak of his grace and truth

iv. Take opportunity to share the truth of God’s Incarnation during the Christmas season

When God speaks, people ought to listen

Do you hear what I hear?

Thanks for reading!