Carried Along

 

When it comes to how we understand the Bible, there are several different opinions. Some believe that the Bible is nothing more than the words of a handful of people who were starting a man made religion, while others believe the words of the Bible are nothing less than the words of God Himself. The latter position holds to the idea of inerrancy, that the Bible is absolutely free from errors (there are varying degrees of belief in inerrancy, but I am a firm believer that what is inspired is surely inerrant). 

 

Perhaps the best clue we have to the claim for inerrancy is found in II Peter 1. There we read “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (v.20-21).” The King James Version says these men spoke as they “were moved by” the Spirit. I want to focus on that word moved or “carried along” in the English Standard Version. 

 

One of the best ways to get an understanding of what a word means in this situation is to see how the same Greek word was used elsewhere. A good help to us is the word’s appearance in Acts 27:15 where Luke described their shipwreck: “And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.” The “driven along” at the end of the verse is the same verb Peter used to describe the process by which men wrote the Bible. Derek Thomas wrote about this word, saying, “These men…were not simply prompted or led by Him, but by carried by Him. When someone is carried, he is set down at the destination of the carrier.” 

 

Benjamin Warfield added, “What is ‘borne’ (carried along) is taken up by the bearer and conveyed by the bearer’s power, not its own, to the bearer’s goal, not its own.” Luke and everyone else in the ship were completely at the mercy of the wind. They lost all control of themselves and would wind up only where the wind sent them (interestingly, the same word for wind gives us the Holy Spirit). 

 

Peter’s point, then, is that the men God used to write the Bible were the instrument in the hand of the Holy Spirit. Yes, their human hands physically penned the words on the paper, but the message came from God. The men who wrote knew they were writing; they were not in a trance or mere secretaries transcribing a dictation. But the finished product was exactly what God wanted recorded. It was not Paul’s opinions, Micah’s musings, or David’s daydreams. It is Holy Scripture, something breathed out by Almighty God, written by men, and preserved by the church for thousands of years. We can trust what we read because what we read was written by our Lord. 

 

The Sun and Moon

Which is bigger—the sun or the moon? I’m sure you know the answer: the sun is much larger than the moon. But let me ask you another question. How did you know that? You would not come to that conclusion with the naked eye because the moon often appears to be larger than the sun. This is a fact we have learned in school as a result of science. 

The moon is big. It has a diameter of more than 2,100 miles, making it about twenty-five percent of the Earth’s diameter. While the moon is big, it is dwarfed by the sun, which has a diameter of almost 865,000 miles. Our sun is so massive that if it were a cookie jar and the moon were cookies, it could hold 6 million moons! 

When Moses was writing down the history of how God created the world, he described the fourth day in this manner: “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also (Genesis 1:16).” I cannot help but wonder how Moses knew the sun was larger than the moon. In the book Exploring Genesis, John Phillips wrote, “Ordinary observation would lead to the opposite conclusion. We have all seen the giant harvest moon, seemingly eight feet in diameter, hovering over the skyline, dominating the evening sky. We have never seen the sun look as large as that. Ancient peoples thought the moon was far greater than the sun, and accounted for its lack of light and heat, as compared with the sun, by assuming it was very much farther away from the earth than the sun.” 

In truth, the moon appears to be larger than the sun because it is much closer to Earth than the sun is. While the sun is 93 million miles away, the moon is fewer than 240,000 miles away. By the way, the precise location of the sun and moon in relation to the Earth is optimal for life, proving God’s intelligent design of the universe. 

The only way Moses could have known that the sun is larger than the moon is if God told him that was the case. The prevailing thought for thousands of years was the exact opposite, and when the Bible appeared to be incorrect, it was later justified by science. Not only can we trust God’s Word, we can be reminded that we never have to altar our interpretations of it just because the prevailing thoughts today say the Bible is wrong. When there is a contradiction between God’s Word and man’s, just hold on; soon we’ll find out that man was wrong once again, and God is always right.  

Alexa

I have never been too good at using technology, but it recently occurred to me that I have robots doing my bidding. About a year ago we brought Amazon’s Alexa into our house. Alexa is there at a second’s notice to answer any question, remind us of things, set alarms, play music, and a host of other things. Depending on how much a person wants, Alexa can turn on your lights, coffee makers, or even lock your doors, all at your command. I was laying in bed on Sunday afternoon, and not wanting to get up to let the dog out, I said, “Alexa, drop in on Reagan.” At that point I basically had an intercom system where I can hear my daughter and she can hear me (and the government can hear us both, I’m sure). Before I could ask her to let the dog out, I could hear her saying, “Alexa, what time is it?”

It struck me how much we rely on technology to do things we can easily do ourselves. My children don’t even appreciate how new this all is, how quickly our world is changing. Remember telephones? We used to use them to call people. If you had a question, you dialed a person’s number and if they answered, you talked over the phone. Now we text or use some other messaging service. With my iPad open I can just say, “Hey Siri, send a text.” Once I dictate the message, it is sent and I just wait on a reply. I heard a radio host recently talk about how rude it is to call people. There is nothing worse, she said, then the sound of a phone ringing, because the only people who call are unsolicited telemarketers. 

Language is also changing. Every day there is a new list of words we can’t say. If you said it last week, no problem; if you say it today, your show is cancelled. The world is changing at an alarming rate. Some of this change is good, some is bad, and some is neutral, but it is changing quickly. 

If all this change unsettles you, I have a good reminder: God’s Word is eternally unchanging. While some liberals may try to reinterpret this or remove that, the Bible is settled and the canon is closed. I love Psalm 119:89, which succinctly says, “Forever, Oh Lord, your Word is settled in heaven” We can trust its timeless truths because it is settled and sealed in heaven. God’s Word is unchanging because He is unchanging. Of Himself God says, “I am the Lord, I do not change (Malachi 3:6),” and the author of Hebrews adds that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (13:8).” 

Our constantly changing world may leave us unsure of how to speak or how to act in society, but God’s unchanging Word gives us assurance on how to speak and how to act. If we build our lives upon the foundation of the Bible, we are going to be just fine. Though all other ground may be sinking sand, on Christ and His Word—the solid rock—I will stand

Absorbing the Bible

LifeWay Research recently conducted a survey that found only thirty-seven percent of regular churchgoers said reading the Bible has made a significant impact on their lives. This was not a survey of people who merely identified as being Christian and attend church on Easter and Christmas; by regular churchgoers they mean people who attend multiple times a month. In other words, two-thirds of the people who attend on an average Sunday morning are reading their Bible, but they do not see a benefit from it. 

That number is troubling. It isn’t the Bible’s fault if people are reading it and not gaining from it. The Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than a double-edged sword; it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. It contains the answers to life’s dilemmas; it introduces us to God, and like a mirror, it reflects who we really are. The Bible should be read, but those who read it should find that it is always making a difference in the lives of the readers. 

I believe the problem is that many people merely read the Bible. That is important, but it is not enough. Reading gives us exposure. That which we have not been exposed to cannot impact us. However, I propose that we need to move from exposure to absorption. We do this through meditation, not just reading. 

I could give you a paper with the words to something familiar, like the pledge of allegiance, and you can read the words in your head while your mind wanders. If we can do that with the pledge, can we not do that with the Twenty-third Psalm? In some cases we have the “problem” of over-exposure, so we need to force our minds to engage the text through meditation. Ask questions: Who said that? Who is he talking to? How can I avoid that mistake? Am I guilty of that same sin? Is that a promise for me too, or just that person? These types of questions move us from mundane reading to beneficial meditation. We must continue to read God’s Word, but we should also take a verse, thought, or phrase and meditate on it throughout the day. Chew on it. Mull it over. Become intimately familiar with the idea, and you will find that reading the Bible does make a significant impact because you remember it longer, understand it better, and apply it properly. 

The Bible never says to read it, but we often see the idea of meditation:

“Blessed is the man…[whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2).”

“I will also meditate on all your work, and talk of your deeds (Psalm 77:12).”

“I will meditate on your precepts, and contemplate your ways…for your testimonies are my meditation (Psalm 119:15, 99).”

If you want the Bible to impact your life, then don’t just read it, but absorb it. 

What Can That Boy Tell Me?

When H.B. Charles, Jr. was just seventeen years old his Los Angeles church called him to succeed his father as the senior pastor. The younger Charles had been called into the ministry and been preaching locally for several years, but when his father died unexpectedly, he was little prepared for the task at hand. To be sure, the church wasn’t exactly unanimous on handing the reins to this boy so wet behind the ears. He was, in fact, too young to even cast a vote for himself since only members at least eighteen years of age could vote.

At his installation service the man who brought the message titled his sermon, “What can that boy tell me?” He said he had heard whispers around town and around the church that Charles was too young to be able to tell them anything about marriage, parenting, or a host of things he had not personally experienced. In his book On Pastoring, Charles describes the message that night, and how it laid a solid foundation for his future in the ministry. Here is how he describes that landmark morning: 

“Pastor Hill methodically worked through several passages of Scripture, arguing for authority from God’s Word for each one. After preaching for an hour, he climactically stated, ‘So what can that boy tell me? He can tell you whatever the Word of God tells him to tell you!’” 

There is so much truth in that statement. When I spoke at my first marriage conference I had only been married for two years. I jokingly told the attendees that if they put what I said into practice, maybe they could make it as long as we had. But the reality is that I was not there to speak on the authority of my experiences and successes, but to speak from the authority of the Word of God. I haven’t yet had the joy of raising teenagers, but that doesn’t mean that I cannot give biblical advice to those parents who are. We need to have a high view of the supremacy and inerrancy of Scripture, and that will lead us to find God’s truth, not man’s opinion. 

I want to be clear: we can absolutely gain help and insight by listening to the testimony of others. Part of our story involves sharing what God has done through us, or how we have learned from our mistakes and triumphs. At the end of the day, though, our experiences are only that. One does not need to be a licensed counselor or ordained minister to be able to learn and apply the Bible, and to be able to pass that truth along to others.  We must always be people of the Good Book, letting its timeless truths govern our modern problems. It isn’t about you or me, or who has the most recognizable name; if a person is rightly dividing the Word of Truth, we should all listen. 

Something New

Wise King Solomon famously said, “There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).” He continued by adding, “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us (v.10).” 

There is nothing new under the sun, and that applies to theology as well. It troubles me when I hear people talking about their church or their pastor who always have a “new” message. I have heard people say things like, “At that church, its always the same old thing.” Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not talking about preaching timeless truth in a fresh way, for that should be our goal. Neither am I talking about bringing something to light, such as a cultural nuance that may help 21^stCentury Westerners understand 1^stCentury Middle Eastern life. That information may be new to us when we first hear it, but the truth of the message is not new. It is dangerous when we become bored with the gospel and go out searching for something new. 

Sermons on grace, mercy, love, the Golden Rule, heaven, sin, repentance, the cross, or the empty tomb should never get old to us. According to the Talmud, “One who repeats his lesson a hundred times is not like him who repeats it a hundred and one times (Hagigah).” In other words, the more we study the Bible, the more sermons we hear on the same topic, the better we will become. The Talmud continues: “He who studies the Torah but does not review it is like one who plants and does not harvest.” In the Jewish culture, the Bible was committed to memory by constant recitation. 

The Shemah of Deuteronomy 6 (that God is one, and we should love Him with all of our heart, soul, and might) is to be spoken of when we lie down and rise up, when we sit down and walk. The truths of God’s Word produce a harvest in our lives when we not just read them, but when we constantly review them. That is the idea behind Psalm 1, which says the blessed man is one who meditates on God’s law both day and night. We need to chew on God’s Word just as a cow chews the cud. Have you ever seen a cow that was not chewing? Every time I see one she is chomping on a bite of food. That is the picture the psalmist was painting, and it is how we are to reflect on the things of God. 

The Greeks loved to hear something new (Acts 17), but they did not give the words much reflection. Any new message or deity would tickle their ears, but it would go in one and right out the other. We need to reject any ear-tickling “new” doctrine, and instead constantly reflect on the timeless theology that God recorded for us in His Word. 

Church and the Bible

Churches should be all about the Bible. Unfortunately some churches treat God’s Word like it is an afterthought; some read a token passage, and some never reference it at all. While it should go without saying, a church that is not built on the Bible is no church at all. Ligon Duncan, Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary, wrote an article called “Foundations for Biblically Directed Worship” in which he said the motto of the church should be, “Read the Bible, preach the Bible, pray the Bible, sing the Bible, and see the Bible.”  

Many of those elements are obvious; the Bible should be preached from the pulpit and taught in classrooms, it should be read aloud in various formats, and prayers should be biblically based. The Bible is sung when the message of the music teaches biblical truth and lifts up the name of Jesus. It doesn’t matter if the song was written three months ago or three centuries ago; it doesn’t matter if the song has drums or a banjo; if the song honors Christ, it can be used to praise the Lord. How is the Bible seen? Duncan went on to explain that the gospel is made visible through the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and biblical baptism.

When the communion cracker and the fruit of the vine are properly observed, everyone present can see a picture of the broken body and poured out blood of Christ. When a new believer is baptized, everyone present can see what it looks like to die to sin and rise up to walk in a new kind of life.

Every element of the church service should in some way present the Bible; anything that is not Bible-centered should be removed from the order of service. You may not be the pastor, but you have a duty to make sure the church you attend is built on the firm foundation of Scripture. The Bible should be read, preached, prayed, sung, and seen.

And God Said

Most of us are familiar with the Bible’s account of the fall of man as recorded in Genesis 3. We know about the sneaky serpent and the forbidden fruit, how Adam and Eve chose to treat themselves instead of trust in God. Last week I wrote about how the doctrine of separation is found in Genesis 1, and now I want to show you how the doctrine of inerrancy also has its roots in the opening chapter of Scripture.

Have you noticed how Satan chose to tempt Eve? He twisted God’s words. In Genesis 3:4 the serpent said, “You shall not surely die.” He added a single word to God’s earlier warning (“You shall surely die”)that greatly changed the message. You may have also noticed that Eve herself got the words of God wrong. In verse 3 Eve told the devil, “God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” She added the clause “neither shall you touch it,” which is not recorded in Scripture. Eve added to God’s words and Satan subtracted from them. Both were in error (Deuteronomy 4, Revelation 22), although Eve’s was unintentional. 

If we turn the page back to Genesis 1 we see no fewer than ten instances of “and God said…” Just as this chapter established the idea of separation, we also see Moses laying the foundation for the importance of the spoken word of God. The author connects God’s words, spoken ten times, with perfection, then contrasts the manipulation of His words with sin and the curse.

God’s Word, preserved for us as the Bible, is infallible and innerant. We may have differences of opinion among ourselves as to how to interpet a certain piece of Scripture, but if we agree that the Bible is from God, then we must agree that it is free from any error. What is inspired is surely inerrant. 

The original sin in the Garden of Eden came as a result of not trusting God’s word, and we repeat that sin as often as we choose to live outside of it. Christians, as people of the Good Book, let us determine to make this our creed. The opening chapter of the Bible establishes God’s words as perfect, so every succeeding chapter is likewise perfect. We can and should trust it.

When Satan Quotes God

Often times our caricatures of the devil involve a pitchfork wielding red imp, or some scary monster from a horror film wreaking havoc on his prey. To be fair, he is characterized as a roaring lion seeking his next victim, but the lion is only one simile associated with the devil. It should not be overlooked that he is also depicted as a cunning serpent.

We might conjure up images of the devil hating God’s Word and seeking to destroy the Bible, but there are at least two instances in Scripture when he attempted to use it to his own advantage. Yes, Satan quoted God’s Word. These accounts are found in Genesis 3 and Matthew 4.

In the Genesis account, Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. We could rightly call this an example of misquoting rather than quoting because the snake changed God’s command. He turned “You shall surely die” into “You shall not surely die.” Adding a single word to God’s settled word has brought disastrous consequences for the last 6,000 years.

In the Matthew account Satan is tempting Jesus after His forty-day fast. In verse six Lucifer quotes Psalm 91:11-12 verbatim (“He shall give His angels charge over you…in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”). He doesn’t add or subtract a word; in fact, his use of the perfect Greek tense in “it is written” rightly indicates that God’s Word will stand forever. However, he took the verse out of context, using it to do something that God’s Word forbade, namely tempting the Lord (Matthew 4:7, Deuteronomy 6:16).

Satan no doubt hates the Bible, but he is not afraid to quote it. He will tweak it or take it out of context, but he will certainly use it. Just because someone may be quoting the Bible, their doctrine may still be corrupt. We must be careful to rightly divide the word of truth so that we can be on guard against Satan’s oldest trick.

Healthy Honey

Last week I wrote about the complexity of honeycombs and the process by which bees make honey. Honey is a topic that frequently comes up in the Bible, appearing more than two dozens times. When speaking of honey, the Bible always indicates that it is good to eat in moderation. Consider these verses:

My son, eat honey, for it is good, yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

Proverbs 24:13

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the body.

Proverbs 16:24

It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one's own glory.

Proverbs 25:27

This concept has caused people to scoff at the Bible for many years. After all, honey is fructose and sucrose, and contains more calories per teaspoon than white sugar (22 to 16). Is the Bible wrong or unscientific? Not at all. Honey was once frowned upon because it contains simple sugars, but nutritionists now reject their former notion that food is only the sum of the ingredients it contains. Those ingredients can work together in different ways. So while honey can raise A1C, it can actually regulate blood sugar and reduce body weight. Furthermore, honey can be used as a probiotic, it fights viruses and infections, suppresses coughs, soothes sore throats, boosts the immune system, reduces ulcers, increases athletic performance, and fights against certain cancers, among other things.

With all those benefits in mind, it is important not to overindulge in the sweet substance. Too much honey is unhealthy, just as consuming sugar brings undesired consequences.

In other words, honey is good for the body (Proverbs 16:24) so long as we do not eat too much (Proverbs 25:27). The amazing thing about this is not just that the Bible was right all along, but that it was right long before anyone could have known it scientifically. Not only can we trust God’s word, we can also enjoy the tasty sweetness our Creator gives us through the magnificent design of bees and honeycombs.