No Private Interpretation VIII. Using the tools.

It has often bothered me as I have watched young people from Christian homes come to the university and loose their faith. I argued earlier that the Church has many times been too defensive and failed to “truth proof” our young people. I want to finish this series of posts on Biblical interpretation to show how the tools I am suggesting can be used to refute one of the more serious underminings that occur at the University and even in the “Church”. The deceptions can be subtle, since many of those who advocate them are fully sincere. Sincerely wrong, fully sincere but, in my opinion, deceived.

Much modern scholarship has anti supernatural presuppositions. It permeates everything from Science to Philosophy to Psychology to Sociology to Religious Studies etc. etc. For the most part, this is the right thing, but not if you are wanting to investigate the supernatural. So the starting point of much of these studies is the assumption that miracles simply don't happen. So when investigating a miracle “we must find an alternative explanation”. This presupposition must not be questioned, and anyway it is “obvious”, because you cannot explain miracles by Science (but see “I know too much Science to believe in God” June 2010). They don't tell you this is an underlying presupposition though, in fact they many not even know it. But as I have argued earlier all world views are held by faith (see “The faith of the atheist” July 2010). These anti supernatural presuppositions permeate not only University scholarship, but also many Seminaries and even Bible Schools. It all becomes very confusing when the “Church” is saying these things. We must not close our eyes to the existence of what, for what of a better phrase we could call “unbelieving believers”. It should not really surprise us, since we live in a culture of unbelief and 1. Even Jesus could do no mighty works because of unbelief (Mark 6:5), and 2. When the scriptures tell us not to be conformed to the World (Romans 12:1,2) it clearly implies that even the Church is in danger of doing just that!

Some of the stuff that comes even out of our seminaries then, can come across something like this. “Do you mean to tell me that you believe that God really parted the Red sea (Exodus 14:21). They will then tell you as “fact” that the Red sea is really the reed see, and it was 2 inches deep. How God managed to drown the whole of the Egyptian army in 2 inches of water is a bit of a mystery, but if you don't believe miracles can happen, then you have to come up with some other explanation. As I said earlier, its easier to believe that God can perform miracles when you have seen them and even been used to perform them in Jesus' name!

But I want to suggest that the central issue in the “miracle or not miracle” debate is resurrection. If you can disprove the resurrection, you have essentially demolished New Testament Christianity. One unbelieving explanation, with its accompanying interpretation of the Bible, might declare that the “resurrection” talked about in the Bible is not a resurrection of the body, but of the spirit. The “spirit of what Jesus said and did lived on”. What happened (in this explanation of things) is that the boys invented the story of the resurrection because they wanted to continue the cushy lifestyle they had enjoyed with Jesus. They carried on, the explanation continues, in the spirit of what had gone before. So the resurrection was not literal at all. It becomes difficult when such opinions come from a pulpit, claim to be what the Scripture is actually saying, and declare this to be the essence of Christianity.

This is just one of many theories put forward to explain away New Testament Christianity. Another is the so called “swoon” theory, that is Jesus did not really die, but fainted. But none of the suggested theories fit the facts. Concerning the swoon theory, we are asked to believe after the sever flogging Jesus received at the hands of the Romans (See Mel Gibson's “The passion of the Christ”), after the exhausting agony on the cross, after all the loss of blood and being laid in a dank tomb for three days, He suddenly revived, rolled away the huge stone from the mouth of His grave, overcame the guards put there to ensure the disciples would not steal the body, and appeared as the Lord of life. All in the natural. It takes more faith to believe that theory than to believe in the resurrection!

Concerning the “cushy life theory”, we are in fact asked to believe that with the possible exception of John all the boys were willing to die for this lie. Some cushy life! And these were the same boys who ran from the garden at the arrest, and who denied and even swore that they did not even know Jesus. These were the same boys who changed from a bunch of unlearned cowards into a band of bold evangelists who would defy death and arrest, and could speak eloquently enough to confound the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:13, 19). What was it that changed them? The best explanation, however unlikely it may seem to a skeptical world whose views as I have pointed out before are also based on faith, is that the story about Jesus rising from the dead is true.

But the main reason for bringing all of this up here, is to illustrate the tools of interpretation I have been advocating. In particular let us ask, “Is a spiritual resurrection a valid interpretation of the Scriptures?”
Our tools remember are the various expressions of the believing community across time and geography, with the primary documentation being the Bible. All the rest has to do with making sure we have correctly understood.

It has been said and it is true that the Bible is its own best interpreter. What do the Scriptures have to say about this question? Firstly Jesus really was dead. In John 19:34 we read that after the soldier pierced His side, blood and water poured out. I am told that the separation of blood and water is strong medical evidence of death. The empty tomb (John 20:5) shows the body was gone. In order to calm the boys (for they initially thought He was a ghost) Jesus asked for and ate a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb (Luke 24:42,43). Thomas who was absent at that time declares that “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” When he is later convinced, he falls down and declares that Jesus is “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24,25). The fact mentioned earlier that, with the possible exception of John, the disciples all died for their faith, is strong evidence that they were really convinced of that to which they testified, and which formed the basis of the Apostolic teaching (i.e. Acts 2:22-32, 42). That this is how the early church understood the resurrection is confirmed by the early church fathers (Google “early church fathers”), and in fact down through history by the fruit of transformed and transforming lives in those who embrace this truth. No that the resurrection was a “spiritual resurrection” fits none of the facts, and we must reject it as a possible interpretation/explanation of New Testament Christianity.

I earlier raised the question do I take the Bible literally? Well many parts I do. Do I take the part about the resurrection literally? I answer a resounding yes. I see the fruit in my own life, of what I have believed (I am not claiming that that I have arrived. If you think I am bad now, you should have seen be before the Lord started working on me!). I see the fruit of this faith in the lives of others who similarly believe and surrender and so begun the process of being transformed. I see the fruit of revival down through history as things like the abolition of slavery, of child labour and the like that followed revival. I see the fruit that remains even in our post Christian era, as we still value justice and equity and freedom, even the freedom to disagree (though we are rapidly loosing this!). So we can have confidence that we are on the right tack because “By their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:20).

Many who reject Christianity fail to realize (or refuse to recognize, as they reinterpret history in terms of their presuppositions) this legacy and the positive influence of the Bible on our Justice systems, and many other places, for example in the positive gains of the Women's movement that have their genesis in the (ahead of His time) way that Jesus dealt with the fairer sex. After all in Christ there is neither "slave nor free, nor is there male and female..."(Galatians 3:28).

I close this month's posts with the Gospel invitation. He who has ears to hear, let him hear, she who has eyes to see let her see and understand. If the son shall set you free you will be free indeed. But he who sins is the slave thereof. We are here to choose our eternal destiny. And we choose it by receiving or not what Jesus did for us at the Cross. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to eternal life (John 1:11; 3:16-21). Make no mistake about it, we do choose. The choice to put it off is a choice, the choice to ignore it all, is a choice. The Bible tells us to “Choose you this day whom you will serve”. But like Israel of old this generation has “made a lie our refuge, and falsehood our hiding place” (Isaiah 28:15). But as for me and as many as will follow, we will serve the Lord! (Joshua 24:15). So what does He require, what must we do to work the works of God? "This is the work of God that you believe in Him (i.e. Jesus) whom He has sent” (John 6:28, 29), for “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

Have you received Christ as your Lord and Saviour? If not will you do it now? Just ask Him into your life, surrender it all to Him, and you will enter the Kingdom. You will not regret it. I would love to hear that you have, or to speak more with you. My email is at the top of the blog. May the Lord bless you.

No private interpretation VII. Moves of God.

I said last day that putting Ephesians 4: 12-14 into practice is so big a task that no one group or denomination could possible answer all the questions that need to be answered. To say it another way, we need to trust a wider community that our own traditions can provide. We must not be naive, we have an enemy who robs, steals and destroys. Isolation and disunity is one of his primary tools and goals. Over the years, he has had a lot of success, but God is forever countering Satan's strategy and is restoring in an on going basis, what was stolen from us both in our own lives and in the Church. I am talking of course about revival/renewal and/or 'moves of God'. In addition to being a thief, Satan is also a liar, and is not happy when God is on the move. He whispers many lies into believers hearts. We therefore need to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.

In this month's series of blogs I am not seeking to answer every question that can be asked, rather I am seeking to suggest appropriate tools and some guidelines for boundaries of who and what we should take into account as we "continue in His Word, seeking the Truth" (John 8:31f). We do of course need to listen much more widely than from within these boundaries. Part of the problem is that though we rightly believe that we have the answers (in the Bible), when we don't listen, we do not know the questions the current generation are asking!

There are many pitfalls. The Scripture tells me that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday for ever (Hebrews 13:8), and yet our God is forever doing a new thing (Isaiah 43:19). One of the parables that Jesus taught was of the new wine and old wineskins (Mark 2:22). They did not have glass bottles in those days, so wineskins were cured leather containers into which the new wine was sealed. The leather would stretch as the wine fermented, and all would be well. However these were not recyclable wineskins. There is only so much stretching that a particular skin (container) could make. After a single use, the skins hardened and would crack if new wine was put into them. We need to understand that the wineskins are the structures that we as humans place around the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Rick Joiner puts it this way, movements of God too easily become monuments.

I do not want to pick on any particular move of God, but I am thinking of one where when God showed up, there was a lot of things good things happened. The bars emptied, alcoholics were set free. The people in the group stopped drinking. Well they were enjoying a very different kind of Spirit, and they simply did not want the old wine. The problem was that generations later what happened was that not drinking became a rule. Now the Bible certainly warns of the dangers of excess (Ephesians 5:18; Proverbs 20:1), but it is clear that the use of wine in New Testament was widespread (John 2:2). Some, to enforce the rule, have tried to say that the word 'oinos' (Greek for wine) is grape juice. This makes no sense, for this would render (Ephesians 5:18) as “Do not get drunk with grape juice ...”. Now an alcoholic or someone for whom drinking is a problem, needs to make a rule for him or herself, but to make this a rule for the whole church is with the Pharisees to move towards legalism, and is why Jesus spoke the above parable. Making rules like this not only leads us into legalism, but it quenches the Spirit.

I said earlier that History has been described as a series of cycles consisting of progress, decline (destruction) and recovery. This is illustrated graphically in the Old Testament. This is why God needs continually to do a new thing. And His new things are almost always controversial. Take prophetic symbolism for example. How would you feel if someone who loudly claimed to be a Prophet of God showed up walking the streets downtown stark naked? Even if you didn't, if this happened in my fellowship, I would have a lot of trouble believing that was of the Lord, a lot of trouble. I mean that could not possibly be God could it? I mean He would never tell a Prophet to do that would He? Are you sure? Read Isaiah 20:2.

I would really be uncomfortable with that would you? I also don't think (but what do I know) that God would do that in this culture of pseudo hyper sexuality, since it would be misunderstood in the worst possible way. What I do want to say though, is that the questions we should ask are not along the lines of “am I comfortable with this?” We should be asking "Lord is this really of you?" When we don't like something, or are afraid of it, we must not (as many do) go to the Scriptures to prove that it cannot possibly be of God. We should go to the Scriptures humbly asking “Lord if this is of You, please show me”.

There have been some very strange things that have come out of the recent move of God in Toronto, really strange. Actually strange things have come out of almost every "revival", but they tend to get hushed up in the history, since they are always controversial. Concerning Toronto, google “gold teeth Toronto”. There are widespread reports of people miraculously receiving replacement fillings of gold in their teeth. I have seen it from someone I know. I asked her “How does it make you feel?” 'Loved' was her reply. Can I conceive of God wanting to make His people feel loved? Yes. Is this weird? Yes! Is God allowed to move outside my box? Is it Biblical? Well is it a 'sign and a wonder'(Jeremiah 32:21)? It was a sign to my friend of God's love for her. Is it a wonder? It made me wonder. Is there a definitive list of signs and wonders? Is it of God? Should we rush to decide, or should we check it out carefully, knowing that there is a long history of God's people rejecting God's new things?

I picked on that very strange manifestation, because such things are what you tend to hear first, and need to be dealt with. There is a huge tendency to consider only the controversial or the spectacular. But should not these things be taken in context? There is after all a Biblical way to check things out. It is "by their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). It takes time to check out fruit. Fruit is not as immediate as are strange and puzzling happenings. Perhaps the most outstanding (though by no means the only) example of good fruit is the example of two of my heroes Roland and Heidi Baker. They met God in a new way through the Toronto movement. Check out the fruit of the ministry they attribute to this encounter (http://www.irismin.org/) - over 10,000 new Churches of brand new Christians (as opposed to recycled believers), since their encounter, and this is just the very tip of the iceberg.

New moves of God are always controversial, and there is always a danger of the old moves of God persecuting the new ones (the old moves become the old wineskins). Part of this is that when God shows up, it is almost always messy (and so open to criticism). Written histories of the moves of God often try to suppress or minimize the messiness, but when God shows up and people get delivered from all kinds of addictions (1 Corinthians 6:11) – they do not become mature over night. On top of this when God shows up, the fellow with the pitch fork shows up too, and he has his people in the very midst of every revival (Matthew 13:24-30), seeking to give is a bad name.

I was weened as a new Christian by a “Word emphasizing fellowship", and the "Spirit emphasizing fellowships" were essentially dismissed as being of the Devil (see "no private interpretation IV"). The “Holy Spirit” move of God, that characterized much of the last century, had and has many problems and difficulties. These difficulties “proved” that this could not be God. But I came to see that this was wrong in spite of my church, rather than because of it. I had encountered some very interesting people, and some very interesting experiences. But I could also see the abuses and excesses. At the very time I was wrestling with what it all meant, the Lord put this book in my hands “Bursting the wineskins” by Michael Cassidy. Michael had been on the very same journey, and encountered the very same difficulties I was at that very moment experiencing. There was one part of the book that grabbed me. Michael tells of saying in frustration to his charismatic friend “Two thirds of this is fake”. 'Yes', his friend replied, ' but that means that one third is genuine, and one third genuine is a lot of genuine!' So I had to decision to make. Was I was going to allow what the Devil was doing along side what God was doing, to rob me of this part of my inheritance? I prayed “God if You have something for me, that will help me in my walk and bring glory to You and Your kingdom, then I want it”. I need to warn you though, following the Lord in this way could very well cost you everything you hold dear (Luke 14:26). On the other hand in His time we will see that it is worth it all.

No private interpretation VI. So exactly who or what is the believing community?

In the last couple of post I have been suggesting that we allow the “believing community” to test, refine and deepen our understanding of Biblical truth. I want to emphasize that I do not mean to say that this is to be independent of the Holy Spirit. As I said earlier, even Paul felt he had to confirm what the Spirit has told him concerning the Gospel (Galatians 2:1, 2). If Paul felt this way, surely we need to too! Coming back to the subject in hand, I said specifically (Feb 22) that fullness of truth can be found (confirmed) only in the furnace of loving interaction and debate within the the community of believers down through history, and across the globe. But exactly who or what is the believing community?

It is a good question. Are we talking about Christians, are we thinking about the Church? I deliberately avoided using these terms, though I feel I need to say why. The problem is that we don't all mean the same thing by either of these words. Lets look first at the word Christian. Like many Biblical words it has come to mean something other than what it originally meant. In Acts 11:26 we read “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch”. So first and foremost a Christian in the Biblical sense is a disciple. The closest we have in our culture would probably be graduate student, or close follower of Jesus Christ, but even that is not the whole thing. Today in the West “Christian” can mean anything from not Muslim or Hindu to “born again believer” (a term which has also lost its meaning) to only someone who belongs to my Church or group. But the word Church is likewise ambiguous. The Greek work is transliterated ekklasia the called out ones. So the Biblical idea of Church is that is it “the body” (Colossians 1:18) i.e. those who belong to Him as His disciples. It is not a building, it is not a denomination, it is the people.

The first references to the “Church” (and therefore the most important in terms of the Biblical understanding of what the word means) includes the one in Acts 5:11. Here it is referring to those who were giving sacrificially to each other (Acts 4:32f), but also those who “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). In light of this, I want to suggest that it is appropriate to take the phrase “believing community” in what I am writing here, as those who are substantially and faithfully following the example of the practices and teachings of this early “Christian” community (Church). Again we need to ask what does that mean, and how are we to differentiate between those who do this, and those who merely claim to “do it Biblically”? After all those who are widely regraded as cults make this claim. This is where my phrase “ down through history, and across the globe” comes into play.

Let me say up front, that we must not put anything on a par with the Scriptures, which of course are precisely the Apostles' teachings, and include both Old and New Testaments (i.e. Acts 8:35). In particular, it cannot be the Bible plus anything. This is one place where we must be firm in our stand. To quote the Intervarsity statement of faith again (and I will say more later) the Scriptures are both unique and divinely inspired. The cry of the reformation was “Sola Scripture” - Scripture alone. There is a problem however, and it is that we all bring our baggage to the Scriptures, and we all read them through our cultural glasses. We must prefer Truth to tradition, but we are all at some level, resistant to change. This is one very good reason why we need each other across space and time (geography and history), and why I have described it as a furnace. I don't pretend it is easy, but then neither is growing up. The Scriptures themselves tell us “As iron sharpens iron so man sharpens man” (Proverbs 27:17). We are diamonds in the rough, and need to rub up against each other under the care of the Holy Spirit in order that those rough edges be rubbed off. It can be painful. Is it any wonder we cut each other loose! But when we do this we are neither walking in love, nor in maturity (Ephesians 4 again), and it is moving in the exactly the opposite direction to God's primary purpose in sending His Son (Ephesians 1:9,10). It also short circuits His work in our lives.

But while the Scriptures alone are to be the supreme authority upon which we base our teaching, it should also be clear that not one of us has arrived in our understanding of them. In particular while we inhabit these bodies we will all at some level and in various places in our understanding, be out of balance. And hence we will (again at some level), in our own minds and in the collective minds of the fellowships to which we belong, be holding private interpretations. There are many reasons for this. They relate to the biases and peculiarities of our environment, to our woundedness, to our reactions and over reactions to the error we see in other parts of the body. However the primarily reason is because we have listened to the enemy who kills, steals and destroys. He has an agenda which is the exact opposite of God's primary purpose in redemption. He loves to cause division and to keep us from the fullness of all that God has provided, and he uses all our wrinkles, weaknesses and finiteness in his quest to isolate us from each other, and so pervert the truth. The architect behind the Roman Empire's strategy of divide and conquer was Satan. We need to be aware of his devices, since we all too often far too willingly cooperate with him in his strategy. We do this though pride, through ignorance, through our weakness and woundednesses.

I want to close today's post with some guidelines. In our quest to understand the Bible, our tools in summary are the various expressions of the believing community across time and geography. We need to understand “believing community” to mean those who stand in accord with the early church as described in the New Testament. The New testament church devoted itself to the Apostles teaching. This was in the process of being written down. The primary reason, by the way, that the various writings were included in the New Testament cannon, was that from the beginning the early Church regarded them as authentic.

You will see immediately using these guidelines that this excludes a number of cults. What I am saying is that many (though not all) cults add to the Bible, and place their addition either above or on a par with it. In doing so, they produce interpretations of the Bible that deviate from the historic Christianity of the early Church. A general principle is that if a teaching is unique, it is very likely to be wrong. This is not to say that there will not be insights into Scriptures, that are new to us. Secondly, the Bible distinguishes between the essentials and the deep things of God. In my post “milk and meat”, I suggested that there is a central message that is and was clear to the early church, but that there are also things which are deep and hard to understand. There are things upon which the believing community in space and time agree. These things are the basis for our unity. Such things include the unique divine inspiration of the Scriptures; the dual nature of the deity and humanity of Christ; the physical bodily resurrection of our Lord (more later); the justification by God’s grace to all who repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation; the indwelling presence and transforming power of the Holy Spirit; the victorious reign and future personal return of Jesus Christ; the existence of a personal and very real enemy who is intent on destroying our unity and witness and robbing us of our inheritance etc. etc. (this list is not meant to be exhaustive).

Thirdly the task is formidable for all sorts of reasons, but was important enough that even without the distance of time and culture that we face, the early apostles felt it necessary to devote all their time to teaching the Word and to prayer (Acts 6:2-4). This being the case, it should be obvious that the task is so big that no one group or denomination could possible answer all the questions that need to be answered. The fact of the matter is that we are hugely dependent on the believing community even for questions of which texts should form the basis of the Scriptures, as well as which translation should we use. Since every translation is at some level an interpretation, we will want to be sure the Scholars who translated the Bible we use are believers. Arbitrary decisions about which translation is “the inspired one”, are naive and divisive. A missionary friend of mine in Argentina was asked if he used only the King James version. But there is no Spanish King james version! We must get past such pat and shallow answers to complex questions. To give such answers is to do the very opposite of loving God with all of our minds.

The task is certainly challenging, but we need to realize that the process (Ephesians 4 again) is every bit as important as the end result. Also to repeat an earlier point, there is sufficient agreement among the believing community that we can be fully confident of the basics. This certainly includes the last two questions I raised in the last paragraph. In particular though there was a proliferation of hand copied manuscripts as the Church grew, in the end the variants are minor, and we can say with confidence that no major teaching of the New testament is compromised by the differences in these manuscripts. The same is true of the translations accepted by the believing community. I have used KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASNB, then Amplified Bible, the Message etc. in my quotations. There are many others. We must not also forget, that God is alive and at work in His Church to bring us to “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God”. His purposes will not be thwarted. He is God after all!

No private interpretation V. Refining Truth in the beleiving community

Years ago I observed a mother wearing a face mask with her baby when she fed her, or changed her diaper. She was of course trying to protect the child from harmful bacteria. What she did, was to so overprotect her daughter, that the girl did not develop a natural immunity to everyday bugs. The result was that when this young girl eventually got out into the world, into school, she was constantly sick, as her body sought to catch up with the immunities that the other children had developed.

We in the Western Church have done a very similar thing with truth. In particular we have failed to “truth proof” our young people by allowing healthy debate. As I will argue below, healthy debate sharpens the truth, and takes us into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Scriptures, and in fact of each other. The nature of our God and very often of His truth, can only be understood in terms of unity in diversity. The Sovereignty of God and the free will of man, or the Word and the Spirit are not things to be settled in terms of 'either or', but of 'both and'. Too often our unity is more like conformity, where we are not even allowed to question the teaching of the group, let alone disagree and still be in good standing. This results in a bland and boring uniformity, rather than, as is intended, a rich and haunting harmony.

We have been so concerned that our people should not embrace error, that we have isolated them both from the World, and other expressions of Christianity. The Scripture has something to say about this. As I have quoted before “The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbour comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). There are many persuasive arguments out there, and when having heard nothing but your group's teaching, you are suddenly exposed to other views, you are likely to be defenceless in the face of them. Part of the problem here is that even when some small understanding of the faith is challenged, and doubt entertained, the person who is not used to the give and take of debate, is likely to throw the whole thing our. Many times, in reality all that needs to happen is to make a small adjustment. But we present our theology as complete package deal systems, where if you discover but a single error or imbalance, the whole pack of cards collapses. I am convinced that this is one of the reasons why so many of our young people loose their faith at University. This and that many times our Christianity is not real, and/or lacks the demonstration of the power of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 2:4; 4:20, 1 Thessalonians 1:5)

One of the objections I hear when I talk about these things is “Yes, but people get confused”. I admit that it is quite easy to confuse people when they have been sheltered over and over from even hearing a different point of view. But sheltering people from different points of view is unBiblical, and in fact it is very dangerous. Paul was well aware of the problem of “infants” being “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching” (Ephesians 4:14), and we are all infants at the beginning. From Hebrews, it seems that many were “infants in Christ” much longer than they should have been (see Hebrews 5:12; 6:1). Coming out of infancy in our faith and knowledge has to do with study and disciplined reading of the Word (2 Timothy 2:5; Psalm 1). It has to do with learning (under the direction of the five fold ministry of the wider Church) to discern all things including truth and error (1 Corinthians 2:15). It has to do with taking ownership of our faith and knowledge, and while still listening, learning not relying solely on the faith of our pastor or our parents.

So then how exactly are we to deal with the problem of people getting confused? Certainly not in isolation and arbitrary proud exclamations that our group alone has the truth. In the context of Ephesians 4 Paul is saying that the exercise of the five fold ministry gifts, are intended to “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12,13). He is saying that the solution to the “being tossed to and fro” problem, to the “people get confused” problem is that through the process of the five fold ministry in the wider Church, we are to enter the process of being equipped to grow up into unity of faith and knowledge. Note that this is a process “until we all reach unity...and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”, until we all reach “unity of faith and knowledge”. We do not do this by isolating ourselves from the wider body of Christ, nor by allowing only our denominational views and expression of Christianity. “But what” I hear you ask, “if some of the things that the people are hearing are wrong”? In these days of the internet, can you even begin to prevent it? Look at what is happening in the Middle east! But Paul has something rather interesting to say on the place and role of error.

In 1 Corinthians 11:19 he says “there must also be differences (NIV )/ - factions (NJKV)/ - heresies (KJV) among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you”. What Paul is saying is that if we are going to grow up into the unity of faith and knowledge, it is will be as that faith and knowledge and understanding of what God has revealed is tested and refined, through the process of interacting with each other in the believing community. What do we have to fear, if we have the truth? It will become clear in debate, as we allow God to “approve” the truth, and to reveal His teachers among us. If we are wrong, or out of balance, we need to see that too. Remember no one has all the truth (see 1 Corinthians 8:2). Still more to come.

No Private Interpretation IV. The role of unity in the Community of believers

The unity of believers in both heart and mind, is important in the New Testament. Paul tells us that “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism!”. This just after telling us to “be diligent to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3-5). Furthermore, we are to “be of the same mind one toward another”, and we are “with one mind and one mouth (to) glorify God” (Romans 12:16, 15:6). We are to “be of one mind, and live in peace" (2 Corinthians 13:11), we are to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind” and be “likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind (Philippians 1:27; 2:2). Well you get the point.

Unity, oneness, peace, love, harmony etc. are qualities that are high on God's agenda for His Church. God has made known to us “the mystery of his will" ... that "in the fullness of time" .... He would "bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9,10). Jesus Himself is “our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down every wall of separation” so that “He might reconcile them (us) both (all) to God in one body through the cross” (Ephesians 1:14,16). He gives the World the right to judge that we are His disciples by the love we have one for another (John 13:35).

You don't have to look far, to see that the Western Church is seriously out of sink with this ideal to which God is calling us. I am told that there are over 10,000 registered Christian denominations, most of which are saying “We do things Biblically”. I don't doubt there is great sincerity in what is being said, but when you see this through the eyes of the unbeliever, you want to shake your head. It has to grieve the heart of God.

If we are to advance the Kingdom, if we want the Lord to come and heal this desperately wicked and hurting land, then we need collectively to repent of our disunity, arrogance in effect claiming that we, or our group, or denomination is the way the truth and the life. We joke “You don't have to agree with me, you have every right to be wrong”. The problem is half the times, we are not really joking! It is Jesus who is the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:6), it is not me or my group, and it is not you or yours.

Christianity is exclusive certainly, for “there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). However the “One Faith” mentioned above, is much bigger and much much richer than that expressed by any single group or denomination. Here once again reflecting our God, it is unity in diversity that gives the best expression of His body (the Church) here on earth. The history of the Church is of reaction and overreaction to the truths we hold or neglect. The denominational distinctive are important many times, but being a reaction to real and perceived error, we go too far in the opposite direction, and we go there at the speed of light. This results in false dichotomies. Perhaps the biggest such divide in the last centenary was between those who stressed the Word, and those who stressed the Spirit. Those who stressed the Word cited certain excesses of those who stressed the Spirit. Those who stressed the Spirit pointed out the legalism that attended many who stressed the Word pointing out that the letter kills, but the spirit makes alive (2 Corinthians 3:6). Well which is it? None of the above, for if we take the Word without the Spirit we dry up, and if we take the Spirit without the Word we blow up. But if we take the Word and the Spirit progressing towards the unity intended in the Church, we grow up (Ephesians 4:14-16).

It is easy to dismiss and/or vilify others, when we isolate ourselves, keeping those who differ at arms length. The Scriptures tell us that “The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbour comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). But what if the neighbour is prevented from coming and examining him? This is one of the main problems with “Political correctness”, we are shouted down and disbarred from the court of public opinion. We should not follow this same tactic in the Church!

Debate is healthy when it is handled Biblically. What else does it mean that “As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens man” (Proverbs 27:17). We are told that we do need to contend for the faith (Jude 3). Truth is important. But but we need to be eager to maintain unity (Ephesians 4:3). We need to realize that we can have all intellectual knowledge and faith that can move mountains, but if we do not operate in love we are nothing, zilch, a big fat zero! (1 Cor 13:2). So we are to contend for the faith, but we are not to be contentious (Titus 3:10). We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We must not quarrel, but be gentle to all and apt to teach (2 Timothy 2:24). We must also be slow to speak and quick to hear (James 1:19). Sounds impossible? We need to grow into this. This is Paul's vision for a mature Church growing up into the Unity to which we are called. It should be our goal too.

In fact this is the purpose and goal of what has been called the five fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11). The goal is that “we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). You may have noticed in the natural that young siblings fight. But if those who surround them are mature and love one another through their differences seeking to put these Scriptures into practice, then the children will likely grow up that way too. It needs to start with us, it needs to start with me, being diligent to maintain the unity of believers.

So what has this to do with interpretation of the Scriptures? Well to coin a Biblical phrase, much in every way. What I am saying is that fullness of truth can be found only in the furnace of loving interaction and debate within the the community of believers down through history, and across the globe. I want to take this up again next day.

Do you take the Bible literally? No Private interpretation III

When somebody asks me this question I usually answer that this is like asking me if I have stopped beating my wife yet. No matter if I answer yes or no, I am in trouble. The point is that both questions hold the hidden assumptions that they can be answered with a simple yes or a no. In fact, depending on the passage, the answer is sometimes yes, sometimes it is no, and sometimes I need to answer “I still have not quite figured that out yet” (i.e. huge chunks of the book of Revelation, see also 1 Corinthians 8:2). We Christians, if we are to be real, need to learn to say “I don't know”. Other times I might answer “I take the Bible seriously”.

Let's look at a couple of examples. “Do not murder, do not commit adultery” (Exodus 20). These commandments, as with most commandments are meant to be taken literally. But what do you do with the saying of Jesus that “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26)? To take this literally would be to contradict the whole thrust of both the Old and New Testaments. In particular it would contradict the "Great Commandment" to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:30). It is also contrary to “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar” (1 John 4:20).

As I have suggested elsewhere when we encounter apparent contradictions like this, we need to ask the question “What am I missing here? It is a mistake to think that every statement the Bible makes can be understood by taking it literally. We must , for example, take into account the genre, that is the style or type of expression of the writing. The Bible contains a great many genres, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, history, apocalyptic writings etc. etc. It also uses many literary devices in order to make a point, or to cause you think deeply about something. We short circuit the intention that lies behind what is written when we insist on interpreting everything literally. The literary device that Jesus is using here is hyperbole. That is it is an over the top exaggeration of the point He is wanting to make. He does not want you to pass over this lightly, it is shock value. His intention is for you to pause and say “Wait a minute, what does He really mean here?” We will not fathom the deep things of God if we insist on taking everything at face value. Jesus can be clear, and Jesus can be subtle (see last day's post). Loving God with all of our minds, involves searching out the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10)! We need to be sure of the basics, but we also need to go on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1,2). It is a tragedy when a child does not grow up. Reciting “Mary had a little lamb” is cute in a 4 year old, but not so cute in a 25 year old!

If we look at the context of the passage in Luke, we see that Jesus is talking about the cost of discipleship. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me”. So discipleship has to do with self denial and frankly with suffering. You might encounter opposition, even strong opposition, from your parents, siblings or children. Jesus did (see Mark 3:21). What if it is your spouse? What is being required here is a radical commitment that excludes all else. If and when it comes down to a choice between following the Lord or following the desires of our family (or even of our own hearts - “yes, and his own life also”) then the true disciple will choose the Lord, even if that looks to others, like hate.

Some Christians insist that we take the whole of the Bible literally. When I read their defense of this, the impression I get it that what they are really insisting on, is the radical obedience to the Word that Jesus is calling for, in passages like the one we have been discussing. I don't however think that they would council one caught up in the grip of pornography, to literally blind himself (see Matthew 5:29). This is certainly not what Jesus intends. He does however intend that we deal radically with such things. This is what I mean when I say we need to take the Bible seriously. 

By and large it is a pretty soft option, here in the West to become a Christian. But there are places in this word in this day and age where it can cost you your job, your family or your very life. However if we follow Jesus in the radical way He is calling us to follow Him, it is more than possible that our contemporaries will conclude, as they did with Jesus that “He is out of His mind” (Mark 3:21 again). What are you and I willing to sacrifice to follow Him? How far are you willing to go to enter into the fullness of what Jesus is offering us, or even to see if it is all true?

Are you a God chaser (see Tommy Tenney - God Chasers), or are you a limp lover (see "A safe place to be real II" October 2010)? Are you willing to go where they are telling us God is at work (check it out carefully – years ago I went to Africa seeking revival, but by the time I got there, revival had moved on!)? God is doing some amazing things today in our world. We do hear about them, but we too easily dismiss them as fake, and certainly some are. But not all are fake. If you want to experience the miraculous, you may have to leave the comfort of home. You may need to be willing to go to the ends of the earth. The Kingdom is advancing in the here and now, and these things are totally worth checking out. What if it is all true and you miss it? I will suggest three places. Visit Bethel church (http://www.ibethel.org/site/) where miracles happen on a regular basis (see also http://www.bjm.org/home.html and check out the testimonies). Go to Iris ministries in Mozambique and elsewhere (http://www.irismin.org/). Take a short term mission with Randy Clark (http://www.globalawakening.com/).

I said above, that I take the Bible seriously. It is easier to do this when you have seen, and been used of the Lord to perform miracles in Jesus name. Do I take the Bible literally? In many places I do. I take the promises literally, and most of the commandments. “All things are possible to he who will believe”. I pray and mean it “Lord I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:23). I have not yet fully entered in, but I want to press forward towards the goal of the high calling in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:14). How about you?

No private interpretation II Meat and Milk.

What I was saying last day is that if we want to understand what is intended when we read the Bible, we must firstly approach the Scriptures with a childlike humility, looking to learn and to understand, rather than looking for excuses to dismiss it, or to use it to justify our already existing positions. The secrets of the Kingdom are given to those who are truly seeking. Secondly the Bible has a central theme/message /purpose which when received by faith is clear. Outside of this central message, there are things that are difficult to understand, and require much careful work and study. There is the milk of the Word and there is the is meat of the Word. Thirdly we are not to engage in private interpretations of the Bible. There are checks balances and discernments that the Bible itself requires we take. Even the Apostle Paul checked out his teaching with the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem (See Galatians 2:1-2). Today I want to say a bit more about the second point. In particular the essentials are clear when we come in faith and humility (the milk of the Word), but some things are hard to understand (the meat of the Word).

One of the characteristics of a cult (a religious movement or group sharing certain highly unorthodox (read wrong) religious beliefs), is that they claim that they are right and everybody else is wrong. Of course, not every group that takes this stand is necessarily unorthodox in the majority or even the most important, aspects of their teachings. But if they claim in black and white that “We are right and everybody else is wrong”, then they are incorrect at least in this statement. Paul puts it this way “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know”. He also says that “We know in part,...” (1 Corinthians 8:2; 13:12).

So then can we be confident of nothing? There are two groups of Scriptures that we need to take into account, to hold in tension, and to discern how to apply. Paul certainly does not mean we are to be wishy washy in the essentials of the Faith, since he also tells us that we need to beware lest we become like those who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). The writer to the Hebrew tells us that faith is “ being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

So then there are two sets of Scriptural references which at first sight seem to contradict each other. The unbeliever will seize on such things and tell you “See the Bible contradicts itself”. Let me say what I said last day in a slightly different way. We will not be able to understand the Bible if we look at it through the eyes of unbelief. If we are childlike as in curious and humble we will ask “What am I missing here?”

I dealt with another example of this need to balance teachings in my December post “Salvation by Faith, Assurance by Works I”. What I am saying is that over and over we will find Scriptures that need to be held in tension. More often than not, the solution is to understand them as both and, rather than either or. For me the resolution of the two sets of Scriptural references we are considering today is easy. We are I believe being told on the one hand that we can have assurance of the essentials of the faith of the things that pertain to salvation. But we need to be careful that we do not give pat and shallow answers to complex questions on the other. I remember one Pastor I challenged on this last point. “Well the congregation wants simple answers”, he said. I suppose it saves us the bother of having to think, and to think deeply. But as I said last day, the Scriptures are so simple a child can understand them, but deep enough to drown an elephant. If we are to love the Lord with all our minds (Matthew ), we need to avoid pat and shallow answers in the “meat” of the Word.

If you are a babe in Christ, you can relax. Ask the Lord to guide you and then to drink, and drink and drink from the Word. The Lord will guide you, and show you when you need to take more notice of the deeper things we need to consider as we grow up in Christ. You don't feed steak to a baby. In 1 Peter 2:2 new converts are admonished “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”. In other words as a baby is greedy for milk from its mother's breast, the newly born Christian should be greedy for the nurture of the Word as he or she reads. If this is you, I say to you what I was told as a baby Christian “Get your nose into God's feedbag” - His Word. Read the Word, feed on the Word, believe the Word, do the Word.

Can't you make the Bible say anything you want? No private interpretation I. First things first

Can you make the Bible say anything you want? Well in one sense people can and do, but that does not necessarily mean those interpretations are valid, or that they are representing what is intended. I can by selecting words from the dictionary, and quoting their position (verse and chapter), claim that the dictionary says all kinds of outrageous things. But that would not mean that it is the dictionary is making (intending) those statements. Those statements would be made by me, and it would be the wrong way to use the dictionary. There are a lot similar things going on in many of the so called interpretations of the Bible. The apostle Peter warns of such Scripture twisting and tell us that those who do this, do so to their own destruction. He also warns us against “Private interpretations” (2 Peter 1:20; 3:16).

It has been said that the Bible is simple enough that a child can understand it, and deep enough to drown an elephant. There is a lot of truth in this statement (that it is both things). It is no coincidence by the way, that Jesus said that unless we become as a little child we will not enter the kingdom (Matthew 18:3). I want to suggest that likewise, unless we become as little children we will not be able to understand and correctly interpret the Bible. There are many things that need to be said here, and I cannot say all of them. I do however, want to say some things and to clear away a number of things that could clutter up our being able to read or even come to the Bible.

The first thing that I want to say, is that the Bible has a central theme, a central message, and receiving and understanding what all lies behind this message, is foundational to interpreting the whole Bible. The Bible itself tells us this, since “the wisdom of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). For example, if we turn our backs on this central message, we will not understand that God is for us, and has acted in history with incredible and costly love to reconcile us with Himself (John 3:16). Theologians call this central theme soteriology, that is the history, the how, the what and the why of salvation. Put simply this is all about how we get right with God and why we even need to. To say this in other ways, it is how we enter the Kingdom, how we get saved, how we receive His life, life in its fullness, and life everlasting. From the early chapters of Genesis where God sacrificed an animal to provide coverings for Adam and Eve's (spiritual and other) nakedness, to the picture painted by the sacrificial systems of the Temple, to the once for all sacrifice on the Cross of the perfect Son of God, God was providing and showing the way back to Himself. We receive this “salvation” by faith, and as with Abraham of old, this is credited to our account as it were, as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). It is not a righteousness of our own (i.e. self righteousness - Philippians 3:9), it is a righteousness that is greater than that of the religious hypocrites, and it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8,9). It is the only way to get right with Him (see John 14:6).

The second thing I want to say, it that all this gets very complicated for us when we step out of our childlikeness. When we are childlike (as opposed to being childish), we know we need help, we know we can't do it on our own, we know there are wonders we have not even begun to experience. When we step out of childlikeness we loose our curiosity and we begin to feel we have arrived. But there is more to life with God than we have even begun to think or imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9). There is always more. When we loose our childlikeness and start to become proud believing we are good enough on our own, or if for whatever reason we become too wise to believe “such foolishness”, then the cross becomes a stumbling block (I Corinthians 1:23), a rock of offense and we cannot understand it (1 Corinthians 1:18). Understanding the Bible then, has very little to do with being smart in the sense that the World means being smart. No doubt you will have heard the expression “too smart for his (or her) own good”. The apostle Paul tells us that “by wisdom the world did not know God” (1 Corinthians 1:21). You see it all the time in the University. The word “childlike” does not always come to mind when you think of the academic (British understatement).

I cannot emphasize this childlikeness enough as a necessary component of interpretation, in particular on our dependence on God to understand. The Scriptures did not come into being apart from God, and they cannot be understood apart from Him. All Scripture we are told is inspired by God or “God – breathed” or God Spirited as one translation puts it (2 Timothy 3:16). Likewise we are told that Holy men of old were moved by the Spirit of God to prophecy. The Intervarsity statement of faith that I recommend (I will say more later) proclaims this Divine inspiration is unique. The Scriptures are inspired in a way no other literature is inspired.

But the inspiration of the Scriptures is only half of the equation. In particular in this age of Grace (since Jesus came and suffered and died in our place), the Holy Spirit has been given to “lead us into all truth” (John 16:13). Note again that it is the Bible itself that is telling us what is it that we need in order to correctly interpret it. Theologians call this role of the Holy Spirit in our understanding of the Scripture “illumination”. He sheds His light on what we read. Most of us who have walked with Jesus for any length of time, know the experience of a portion of the Scripture coming alive. We variously experience this as “ah” or as “oh yes” moments, and they change our lives. We somehow know it is God speaking to us (see “You hear from God and fairies too right?” September 2010). But hearing and obeying and trusting and understanding are closely related to keeping clean before Him, and to returning to Him when (not if) we stray. All this is part of being childlike, of being dependent on Him. So then in order to understand the Bible the way that God intends us to, we need to be willing to confess and forsake our sin, and turn to Him and ask Him to shed His light on what we read. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are dependent on Him, for “In Him we live and breath and have our being” (Acts 17:28). We are dependent on Him for our every breath. In becoming childlike, we acknowledge this dependence, and this is where we need to start in our understanding, and where we also need to continue. This last point is emphasized on John 8:31 where part of the condition of the fulfillment of the promise to be set free, is that we “continue in His Word”.

I wrote earlier about “Truth, Bible and Propaganda”. The propaganda of the World is relentless and is everywhere seeking to undermine our faith. There are three things we need to do to counter this propaganda, and so to be set, and to walk, free. They are, firstly to read the Word, secondly to read the Word, and thirdly to read the Word :). Actually we need to read the Word, memorize the World, prayerfully meditate on the Word and then obey (do) the Word. When we do this, we will have the all the tools we need to see through the propaganda, to be not conformed to the World, and we will prove and approve, what is good and perfect and acceptable, namely the very Will of God whose very essence is Love, and who wants to protect and to provide (see Romans 12:1,2). The Scriptures tell us that there are three things that war against the soul. They are the World, the flesh (our sinful lusts and our sinful nature) and the Devil. The one who continues in His Word is not ignorant of the devices of this last Buddy.

Coming to the third and final point for today, I want to start to say something about how to avoid the trap of falling into (subjective and isolationist) private interpretations. We need a balanced view, but to whom shall we listen? It is too easy to get confused. Let me start by saying that there is a spiritual wisdom of which the world knows nothing. Jesus Himself tell us that to the disciples (i.e. to those of us who are willing to sit at His feet and learn) are given the secrets of the Kingdom, but to those outside all things come in parables, precisely so they will not understand (Matthew 13:11). This is rather startling when you first hear it, since most of us thought of parables as a means to make things simple so we can understand. And this is true for those “inside”, but not for those outside. Part of this is God's mercy on those who reject Him, since we all are accountable for our response to the light given, for what we do with what we know.

This teaching of Jesus from Matthew has profound implications for correctly understanding the Bible. First of all there are secrets of the Kingdom that need to be discovered. Second of all these secrets are only given to the believing Church. Begging the question, for the moment who exactly is the church, this gives us a way to confirm (or not) that what we are understanding is indeed what is intended. As always, we need to look to the Bible for guidance. In the book of Acts we read that they were together on one accord, and that “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 ). So here are two components to consider. First of all there is unity (one accord). It is not that there were no disagreements (see Acts 15), but that disagreements were (and hence should be) dealt with. So the second thing I want to say, and I will take this up in the coming days, is that part of the way things were settled was through the collective wisdom of the Apostolic teaching. More to come.

To summarize I am wanting to say three things about where we need to start (but not where we need to finish) in our interpretation of the Scriptures. We need firstly to understand that the Scriptures have a primary central message, and that is how we enter into life with Him. Getting right with God is foundational not only to our life with God, but in understanding the Scriptures themselves. The secrets of the Kingdom are revealed to those who receive it. On the other hand “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So then, if you are at the very beginning or are searching and have not yet entered into the Kingdom, I suggest you might start with the Gospel of John (New Testament). John tells us that his purpose in writing is that “ you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). In John we also read that it is in continuing (not just a one time reading) of His Word that its operation in our lives sets us free (8:31). Secondly in our approach to understanding the Scriptures we need to come with the attitude of a little child, open curious, trusting. Part of this is our understanding that the Word was given by inspiration of God and cannot properly be understood apart from the illumination of God the Holy Spirit. In other words in order to understand, we need to come in a child like openness and dependence on Him. It is good and right and proper to stop before we read and ask God to guide us in our reading and our understanding. Thirdly while we must read and study and pray for illumination for ourselves, we need to check that our interpretations (and the interpretations of our little group or denomination) are in accord with the Apostolic teachings of the rest of the New Testament, and as understood by the believing church, in History (the early church), and across groups and denominations who believe what the Bible says about itself. I will say more in the coming days.

Bring them recovery, healing and restoration through Your Truth, Your Word is Truth

This paraphrase of John 17:17 was spoken by non-other than the one who is universally regard as the greatest teacher the world has ever known, Jesus Christ. There are reasons why He is regarded this way. Because this is so, surely what He is saying is well worth considering. In particular because of who He is we should check out His claim that His Word (the Bible) is indeed very Truth. The Words of which He speaks, give both a challenge and an invitation as to how to enter in and to live the abundant life. In particular, there are amazing promises which if true are worth claiming (and they are true). There are promises of wisdom when we lack it, promises of love and peace and hope and joy, promises of a different kind of freedom (not the kind that enslaves us see below). We are invited to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) i.e. give it a try. Into a World that is busy, busy , busy we are invited to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). There is promise of peace and soul rest to the burdened and heavy laden (Matthew 11:27-29).

The challenge is to absolute surrender, for as with 12 step programs, “half measures profited us nothing.” The promise though is that with such surrender comes the proof that God's ways are “good and perfect” (Romans 12:1,2). The promises are for the here and now (life in all its fullness – John 10:10), and the retirement benefits are out of this world (everlasting life John 3:16) :). The confirmation in the here and now comes after we “walk in the way” (see Isaiah 30:21), not before. This involves a step of faith, a choice to trust and follow.

One mistake that some people make, is they think they have to wait until they get all cleaned up before they come. We come, and I came “just as I am”. Jesus came not for those who are all cleaned up, but to call sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). Prostitutes and despised tax collectors heard Him gladly, and they left all to follow Him (Matthew 9:9). When we do this, He gives us in His timing, the wherewithal to do and to be all that He desires for us to do and to be. He is for us, not against us, and His desires for us are good and right and proper. What is more, His ways are smart! It is an amazing thing to be free of guilt and shame, to be clean before the Lord! Salvation is free, but to enter fully into the life He desires for us, will cost us everything we have. It is worth it. The burly fishermen who followed Jesus knew this. When some of the hard saying of Jesus prompted many to turn back, Jesus asked His disciples (His followers), “Will you too go away?” Peter answered “Where shall we go, You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

After you have tasted that the Lord is good, the shallow pleasures of sin that do not last, no longer even begin to satisfy. They leave us empty and unfulfilled even while we struggle to escape them (Isaiah 55:2). When through our surrender we enter into cooperation with God (God's help, self help), He uses His Word (Bible help), to bring healing and wholeness and a life worth living. Eternal life (fullness of life) is both in the hear and now, and in the life everlasting (Luke 18:39). John tells us the very reason for his writing is that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).

What I am saying here is for me, not just theory, it is a description of my journey. While I have not by any means arrived, I am not what I once was. Also I did not always believe what I now believe about the Bible. I was drawn more and more into it as I read and obeyed. This is key. Faith and obedience are not unrelated. In the beginning as I read I saw more and more that “This book knows me, knows us”. It tells us the truth about the human condition. It shows us how we got into the mess we are in, and better, it shows us how, with God's help and His Truth, we can to reclaim our lives. I want to close this post with just a few examples of what I have learned about the Bible and Truth.

The Bible tells us the truth about our ability to fool ourselves (Jeremiah 17:9), about what lies behind what Psychology is calling denial and rationalization. The Bible tells us that we suppress the Truth in and through the choices we make, and the things we do (Romans 1:18). The Bible tells us the truth about how bitterness and revengeful thinking poisons us and those we love (see January 27th's post). The Bible tells us the truth about how just one poor choice can lead over time to utter chaos (read Genesis). The Bible tells us the truth that as part of this we turn right and wrong on its head to our destruction (Isaiah 5: 20). The Bible tells us the truth that what it calls sin enslaves us (see “The freedom that enslaves” August 2010). The Bible tells us the truth that spiritual things are foolishness to the World (I Corinthians 1:18). The Bible tells us the truth that the pleasures of sin do not last. They are fleeting and finish up being destructive (Hebrews 11:25). In particular the Bible tells us the truth that all forms of sexuality other than one man one woman in life long monogamous are destructive to those who practice them (1 Corinthians 6:18). The Bible tells us the truth that those who resist its Truth will hate and persecute those who receive and rejoice in it (John 15:18). Finally the Bible tells us the truth that as long as we still have breath, it is not too late to turn to Him and be saved. His Word is Truth. It is Truth indeed!

Truth, Bible, Propaganda

In my early posts, I argued that every worldview is a faith position (see e.g. “The faith of the atheist” July 2010). What is a worldview? The online dictionary has two bullets. It is 1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world, and 2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.

There are two things that I want to say here about worldviews. The first is that we all have one, even if we do not have it systematically organized in our minds. You may have a Christian or an Islamic worldview. You may have a secular worldview, but you do have a worldview. We all do, and we all interpret life/reality/experience in terms of them. We use our worldview to try to make sense of the world. We also often use them (possibly without knowing we are doing so) to dismiss those who do not hold similar views.

The second thing I want to say, is that all worldviews are held by faith. In other words we cannot prove by logic, that our worldviews are either right or wrong. I am not saying that we have not thought about our worldview, even thought deeply and feel passionately about them, but they are all, as the second point in the online dictionary sates, a collection of beliefs. They are not a collection of indisputable facts.

There are many things that influence the development of our worldviews. Our experience for one thing. A child born into the midst of war, is likely to believe the world is a scary place, whereas a child born into a loving and accepting home in a time of peace, is likely to have a very different view of the world. The sins of people who say they believe in God can turn us off the religion they say is truth, while the example of “saints” can draw us to it. Our beliefs and values are also deeply influenced by the culture in which we live. This is one reasons they say that travel broadens the mind. Being exposed to beliefs and values that differ radically from our own can be a good thing, and help us to be better and more balanced people. Most of the time, most of us shut ourselves off from opposing views. Our Western culture does this supremely. This avoids the challenge of having to think, or even take notice of different views. It occurs both inside and outside the church. It is part of the human condition. There is a proverb that says the one who speaks first seems to be right, until his neighbour comes and examines him.

Our worldviews are not only deeply affected by the values of our friends and neighbours, but especially in the developed world are we are also deeply affected by the prevailing propaganda/view concerning the nature of truth. It is widely held that all truth is relative. But that is a self contradictory statement, and in the end nobody can live consistently with the “truth” that all truth is relative. I briefly discussed these things in a post in July 2010 entitled “I don't believe that adultery is wrong!” You see the spouse of the one with whom this young woman wanted to commit adultery would be in no doubt that adultery is wrong! As I have also already said, some of us have learned the hard way that to reject “the old fashioned morality of the Bible” has many unwanted consequences, it robs us of our joy, and plunges us and others into deep heartaches, woundedness and pain (see Provision and Protection posts in November).

There have been many attempts to build a philosophy that is not based on faith. I address one such philosophy in another July post “I will not believe in, or accept anything that cannot be verified by one of the five senses!” Such attempts are all doomed to failure. In fact as I indicate there, there is even a mathematical theorem (due to Godel) which implies that there can be no logical proof that any of these systems are “true”. So then if all worldviews are held by faith, are all equally valid? Our “tolerant society” with its moral relativism would say “yes”. But do you really think that a view that advocates genital mutilation of non-consenting girls is just as good as one that abhors the practice? If you do, I may have nothing to say to you.

If we are to take the high ground here, we should be willing to examine or reexamine our worldviews and be willing to move towards those that bring fulfillment and wholeness and fullness of life. This is exactly what the doctrine of political correctness will not allow us to do. An open minded person would be willing to ask which worldviews best explain reality, that is which ones best explain what is there, and how life works. If we are going to do this in an unbiased manner, we should examine the best expression of the worldview under consideration. If I am going to investigate Islam for example, I should not be looking at the Taliban's version. Choosing between investigating the Christianity of a fallen televangelist or that of Mother Teresa should not be rocket science!

My claim, and I intended to pursue this in the next few posts, is that a Biblical worldview (the Jewish Christian Bible) is superior in a number of ways. In particular the Bible gives the best explanation of
the fact that something is there, and that it had a beginning. It gives the best explanation of human nature, in particular that we are both good (made in the image of God) and evil (chose to do what we know is wrong -the fall). It gives the best principles concerning how to live, it points to help we can obtain from the Bible and from God. This can be thought of as the wherewithal to put those principles into practice and escape from the slavery of our addictions, and restore us to wholeness. It also explains why there is intense opposition to this Biblical worldview (men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil).

I will explore all of this in greater detail, but it is the last point to which want to devote the rest of this post. Where does this intense opposition even hate come from? I have said before, that we are in a war to the death with the enemy of our souls, the Devil or Satan. Again the Bible tells us that his primary agenda is to kill and to steal and destroy. Judging by the mess we are in he is doing a real good job. The Bible calls him the deceiver of the World and the Father of lies. As part of this, his primary mode of operation in the West is to convince us that he does not exist (see "You believe in the Devil? Give me a break!" - Nov 2010). This gives him lots of room to whisper lies into our hearts and minds. He is the architect behind all forms of propaganda, and he is very successful.

The point of all propaganda is of course to convince those to whom you are speaking that the lie you are telling them is the truth. He has been involved in this for a very long time. Centuries ago the prophet Isaiah speaking to his day declared woe upon those who “... call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).

History has been described as a series of cycles consisting of progress, decline (destruction) and recovery. Those of you who have read my posts will know that recovery is of primary interest to me. Biblical recovery (or redemption) has to do with claiming back all that has been lost. In terms of where we are at, there is no doubt in my mind that here in the West, we are in a period of decline. A big part of this is the systematic, powerful, well funded and well organized lobby intent on tearing down the values and beliefs of our Judeo-Christain culture. David Kupelian in his book “The marketing of evil”, documents some of the human resources that have been committed to this agenda. We can define evil as anything that is opposed to life and wholeness. One reviewer of Kupelian's book wrote “From pitching promiscuity as “freedom” to promoting abortion as “choice”, the marketers of evil are always selling you something destructive – with catastrophic results. Kupelian shines light on it all".

Kupelian exposes the Harvard marketing strategy behind some of the propaganda that has turned our morals upside down in North America over the past several decades. The three strategies are desensitization, jamming and conversion. Hitler knew if you kept telling even the biggest lie over and over and over, people would sooner or later start to believe it. This is desensitization, flooding the “market” with the lie, until people accept it. Jamming has to do with disallowing or shouting down any view that is contrary to the one you wish to espouse. Try saying something on open line programs that is not considered to be politically correct, and you will see what I mean. The lag time on these “live performances” allow you to be cut off before you utter the first word. Conversion has to do exactly with what Isaiah was talking about above reversing good and bad, truth and error. In particular what was formerly thought to be evil is now promoted as good and wholesome and normal, and as throwing off the so called chains of Biblical morality (see “The freedom that enslaves” August 2010). But what we are being sold is not wholesome and good and normal. We are only starting to reap what we have sown in these “choices” that we are making, but we may need to go a lot further down the “decline” before we are willing to re-examine where we are going. More to come.

I can do it all by my own

Have you ever seen (or ever been) a little boy (or girl) who became impatient with daddy fixing a broken toy. I mean impatient to the point that he (you) snatched the toy out of daddy's hand because “I can to it all by my own”. And have you ever seen this go very badly wrong, with the final condition of the toy being worse when it was first given to daddy. What is it about a child that makes them (us) do that? We are told that in order to enter the Kingdom we need to become as a little child. But there is a huge difference between being childish (immature) and being child like (trusting, forgiving, carefree, believing). If we are wise we will acknowledge that we need help. But where do we find it, and where do we find a safe place?

It is the testimony of most Christians that I know who are truly living for the Lord, that God has never let them down. I came to God out of desperation, but He would never have held me if He had not been real, and His help substantial. I am writing my book and my blog, because the help I have received from Him is life giving, and it is too good not to share. I know that I would quite literally be dead if it were not for God, and the help He gives me in and through His Word. I have found it to be true that when I put my trust in Him He becomes my “refuge”, and “underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). He is my safe place and my high tower, and a very present help in times of trouble and danger (Psalm 46:1). He is also my comforter.

Many shy away from faith based recovery, but the fact of the matter is that the secular rout is in the end also faith based. What I mean is that we all put our trust in something, be it the changing wisdom of the World, or in our own abilities, or in our buddies. One self help book puts it this way “We can trust that life is a gentle teacher”, and that “life has brought us to this point and we can trust that life will bring us through”. The problem for me, is that life has not been a gentle teacher. I have a Ph. D. from the school of hard knocks! If I am to put my trust in something I need to know, or at least have some hope that that in which I am trusting, will hold me up. If I see that a chair is broken, I am not likely to want to sit on it! Blind faith may be alright for some, but it's not for me.

But where do we find the right kind of help, where can we find a safe place, and what part of all the conflicting advice that is given, can we trust? In this blog and in my book, I am advocating a trinity of helps, Bible help, self help and God's help. In the last few posts I have been emphasizing two components of this, namely God's help and the part that we have to play (our cooperation with Him). In this month's posts, I want to be looking at the Bible help component. I am sure you have heard the tongue in cheek advice “If all else fails, read the instructions”. Well the Bible is God's love letter to mankind, and its Words are “Words of Life”. In John 20:31 we read “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”. John is talking about life in all its fullness (John 10:10). The Bible has much to say about the things that bring life, and the things that bring death. The book of proverbs tells us much about what works and what does not work. It also tells us that there are ways that seem right to us, but they lead to destruction (Proverbs 14:12). I found this out the hard way, I discovered that the wisdom and the ways of the World are a snare! We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7) and this is a big part of the mess we are in (see "A cursed earth and the laws of sowing and reaping" August 2010).

Modern man seems to think he knows better, but we are not wise if we reject the wisdom God handed down to us through the Scriptures. The Bible itself tells us that the Scriptures are able to make us “wise unto salvation” (II Timothy 3:15). Psalm 119:105 tells us that His Word is a “light unto my feet and a light unto my path”. This is either true or it is nonsense. I am writing this blog and my book because I want to “show and tell” that I have found these things to be true. The wisdom of the World immediately responds “What is truth?” and like Pilot of old, dismisses the question as unanswerable. But it is the wisdom of the World that has gotten us into the quagmire we are in. Jesus in His high priestly prayer tells us that God's Word is truth. Its worth checking out. This month I am going to be talking about this, about why its worth checking it out, and how we can know that it is all true.