This article appeared in the June 2009 edition of Broadway Christian Church's newspaper, The Harbinger.
Last month’s article concluded by listing four criteria commonly used to explain how early church fathers decided which books would be admitted into the Canon of Scripture. No matter how much one studies the history behind the composition of the Bible, one will realize that, men decided which books belonged. The pedestal on which Christians place the Bible goes a very long way in determining what kind of relationship they will have with God. Either all of the Bible is the Word of God or all of it comes into question because different people can then decide which parts of the Bible they believe are “God-breathed” and which parts are not.
For a moment, consider the possibility that the Bible is the unadulterated Word of God and consider that God wanted the Bible to develop exactly as it has throughout history. With those two ideas in mind, is it possible that God worked through the early church fathers to see that the Bible was compiled in the manner that it exists today? Many people have difficulty accepting the Canon of Scripture as being comprehensive. The ground can appear shaky on this subject, but remember this: the most brilliant of scholars cannot prove that the 66 books that make up the Bible are not the complete Word of God; so, ultimately, it comes down to a question of personal faith anyway. One must accept on faith that the 66 books of the Bible are the Word of God.
In affirming Paul’s writings as Scripture, Peter said that Paul’s wisdom came from God (II Peter 3:15-16). Jesus affirmed the Old Testament as Scripture when he mentioned that everything in the “Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” would be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). Scripture does authenticate itself, but in the end people want more than that. However, with matters of faith one must have just that—faith.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
What is the Bible?
This article appeared in the May 2009 edition of Broadway Christian Church's newspaper, The Harbinger:
Churches read from it every Sunday all over the world. It has been translated into more languages than any other written work and more has been written about it than any other subject. People have bought more copies of it than any other book ever written. When listing elements of popular culture, few if any aficionados on the matter would list the Bible, yet God’s Word has managed to reach people on a level that is second to none in the history of the world. Is it merely a coincidence that the Bible has merited and continues to merit so much attention? What makes the Bible so special?
Physically speaking the Bible is a collection of 66 books, likely written over a period spanning 1500 years by some 40 different authors on three different continents. From a literary standpoint the Bible consists of several distinctive literary genres. For example, there are books of history, prophecy, poetry and epistles. The Bible even has genres unique to itself such as the gospels. A scholar could list tens of different types literature found within God’s Word, but these are the basic categories.
Spiritually speaking there is significant debate over how much weight Scripture should be given in the contemporary world. Different churches hold the Bible at differing levels of esteem. Churches created out of the Protestant Reformation hold the view of sola Scriptura, which, when translated, reads “the Bible alone.” Protestants hold the Bible in the highest esteem, labeling it the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Inerrant means, “without error,” and infallible means, “incapable of error.” While these words are not used in Scripture, the principle for which they stand is sound.
Here at Broadway, we like to reference II Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Godbreathed is a better way of saying the words, “inspired by God.” While many Christians believe as we do, there are many who question the integrity of Scripture. These arguments come from many different fronts.
One such front is that the Bible was compiled by men, meaning that the books were selected by men. These naysayers argue that other period writings were left out of the biblical canon. The Bible, accepted by the Christians of today, came into being as a result of books being accepted as inspired by God over the early centuries of church history. Criteria that led to the finalization of the New Testament Canon include: apostolic authorship, doctrinal consistency, universal acceptance and a self -authenticating divine nature. More to come!
Churches read from it every Sunday all over the world. It has been translated into more languages than any other written work and more has been written about it than any other subject. People have bought more copies of it than any other book ever written. When listing elements of popular culture, few if any aficionados on the matter would list the Bible, yet God’s Word has managed to reach people on a level that is second to none in the history of the world. Is it merely a coincidence that the Bible has merited and continues to merit so much attention? What makes the Bible so special?
Physically speaking the Bible is a collection of 66 books, likely written over a period spanning 1500 years by some 40 different authors on three different continents. From a literary standpoint the Bible consists of several distinctive literary genres. For example, there are books of history, prophecy, poetry and epistles. The Bible even has genres unique to itself such as the gospels. A scholar could list tens of different types literature found within God’s Word, but these are the basic categories.
Spiritually speaking there is significant debate over how much weight Scripture should be given in the contemporary world. Different churches hold the Bible at differing levels of esteem. Churches created out of the Protestant Reformation hold the view of sola Scriptura, which, when translated, reads “the Bible alone.” Protestants hold the Bible in the highest esteem, labeling it the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Inerrant means, “without error,” and infallible means, “incapable of error.” While these words are not used in Scripture, the principle for which they stand is sound.
Here at Broadway, we like to reference II Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Godbreathed is a better way of saying the words, “inspired by God.” While many Christians believe as we do, there are many who question the integrity of Scripture. These arguments come from many different fronts.
One such front is that the Bible was compiled by men, meaning that the books were selected by men. These naysayers argue that other period writings were left out of the biblical canon. The Bible, accepted by the Christians of today, came into being as a result of books being accepted as inspired by God over the early centuries of church history. Criteria that led to the finalization of the New Testament Canon include: apostolic authorship, doctrinal consistency, universal acceptance and a self -authenticating divine nature. More to come!
Why is Friday so Good?
This was published in the April 2009 edition of Broadway Christian Church's newspaper, The Harbinger:
With so much focus on Easter, it seems worthwhile to write a little expose about what happened on Good Friday. Christians recognize Good Friday as being the day on which Jesus Christ gave his life for all mankind so that they might have the opportunity of spending eternity with both their Creator and their Savior. Christians also understand that Jesus Christ had to go to the cross because of sin, mine, yours, etc.
Jesus Christ died in our place at the cross, but what exactly did God accomplish through Jesus Christ on Good Friday? In theological circles, scholars enjoy debating and answering questions such as these; basically what it amounts to is an argument over the application of words to ascribe significance to something biblical. On this topic, one popular debate centers around the words propitiation and expiation.
Since these are not words used in the everyday vernacular, prudence demands that they be defined before going any further. Theologian Leon Morris defines propitiation to mean, “the turning away of anger.” Another theologian, John Stott defines it to mean, “appeasing or pacifying one’s anger.” Expiation, on the other hand, according to Morris, means, “making amends for a wrong.” Webster’s defines it, “extinguishing the guilt incurred.”
Some argue that sinners were propitiated at the cross. While others argue that sinners were expiated at the cross. When one argues that Christians are propitiated, this argument focuses on the believers being spared God’s wrath as a result of the cross. When one argues that Christians are expiated at the cross, they are saying that the sins of mankind were removed at the cross.
Both propitiation and expiation apply to the cross; though propitiation applies more directly than does expiation. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was a propitiatory offering on our behalf. We learn from the Old Testament, illustrated best in the Passover story, that the turning away of God’s wrath required the shedding of blood. That was never more true than at the cross. Jesus’ death at the cross pacified God’s anger; however, people are not made righteous until they accept what Jesus achieved at Calvary as the only road into eternity with the divine. Our sins are not expiated until our justification, which occurs at baptism. The propitiation made the expiation of our sins possible and that is why Friday was so good for us.
With so much focus on Easter, it seems worthwhile to write a little expose about what happened on Good Friday. Christians recognize Good Friday as being the day on which Jesus Christ gave his life for all mankind so that they might have the opportunity of spending eternity with both their Creator and their Savior. Christians also understand that Jesus Christ had to go to the cross because of sin, mine, yours, etc.
Jesus Christ died in our place at the cross, but what exactly did God accomplish through Jesus Christ on Good Friday? In theological circles, scholars enjoy debating and answering questions such as these; basically what it amounts to is an argument over the application of words to ascribe significance to something biblical. On this topic, one popular debate centers around the words propitiation and expiation.
Since these are not words used in the everyday vernacular, prudence demands that they be defined before going any further. Theologian Leon Morris defines propitiation to mean, “the turning away of anger.” Another theologian, John Stott defines it to mean, “appeasing or pacifying one’s anger.” Expiation, on the other hand, according to Morris, means, “making amends for a wrong.” Webster’s defines it, “extinguishing the guilt incurred.”
Some argue that sinners were propitiated at the cross. While others argue that sinners were expiated at the cross. When one argues that Christians are propitiated, this argument focuses on the believers being spared God’s wrath as a result of the cross. When one argues that Christians are expiated at the cross, they are saying that the sins of mankind were removed at the cross.
Both propitiation and expiation apply to the cross; though propitiation applies more directly than does expiation. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was a propitiatory offering on our behalf. We learn from the Old Testament, illustrated best in the Passover story, that the turning away of God’s wrath required the shedding of blood. That was never more true than at the cross. Jesus’ death at the cross pacified God’s anger; however, people are not made righteous until they accept what Jesus achieved at Calvary as the only road into eternity with the divine. Our sins are not expiated until our justification, which occurs at baptism. The propitiation made the expiation of our sins possible and that is why Friday was so good for us.
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