The sense of Scripture

"[...]There is a wide-spread desire to appear charitable and liberal-minded: many seem half ashamed of saying that anybody can be in the wrong. There is a quantity of half-truth
taught by the modern false teachers: they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense.[...]"

"[...]True faith is not a mere “mental assent” to certain theological propositions—but a living, burning, active principle—which works by love, purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and brings forth much fruit of holiness and good works. Let us live as if we really believed every jot and tittle of Scripture—and as if a dying, risen, interceding, and coming Christ, were continually before our eyes![...]"

- J.C. Ryle

1816 – 1900  [These quotes were taken from Defending Contending.]

Although these words were written over 100 years ago they sound as though they could have been written yesterday. So much of what we hear and say in church and out, seems to be specifically chosen to somehow resonate with the lost from a human perspective. I don't believe this is intentional all the time, I just believe it is a result of folks repeating what they think sounds religious and profound.

The older I get the more I believe our words to the unsaved (and saved as well) should be either God's Words quoted or at least we should give them the contextual sense of His meaning. As fallen creatures we are capable of so little understanding about our Triune God and His Truth we place ourselves on dangerous ground when we attempt to interpret what we think He meant from our own limited understanding. "Half-truths," are not helpful.

Somewhere this morning I read a church sign which quotes Luke 4:7 as though these words were a positive benefit for mankind. The sign reads: (Luke 4:7) "If thou wilt therefore worship me, all shall be thine."

The problem of course, is that the quote is Satan tempting Christ in the wilderness. Christ answered with a rebuke in the form of "It is written...." I believe that should be the model for all Christians: But then to respond as Jesus did we have to actually read our Bibles and I'm sure, as the church sign quote makes clear, even some of our teachers are lacking in that department.

Ryle's statement still rings true today. "[...]There is a quantity of half-truth taught by the modern false teachers: they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense."

The challenge for the Christian is to know his Bible so that when the "half-truths" are taught those that teach them can be made aware of their error. I wonder what the American Church would be like today if Christians had been doing that all along?

Application of Scripture

"[T]he Bible is primarily about God, not you. The essential subject matter is the triune Redeemer Lord, culminating in Jesus Christ. When Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45), he showed how everything written—creation, promises, commands, history, sacrificial system, psalms, proverbs—reveals him. We are reading someone else’s biography. Yet that very story demonstrates how he includes us within his story. Jesus is the Word of God applied, all-wisdom embodied. As his disciples, we learn to similarly apply the Bible, growing up into his image. Application today experiences how the Spirit “rescripts” our lives by teaching us who God is and what he is doing."

I came across the above while reading the blog Creed or Chaos. A chord was struck with me as I read because of certain conversations and events in my life recently. Just this morning I responded to a letter from a friend in which I commented that I am slowly learning (Yes! I still am capable of learning.) to simply tell others what God has said and then just sit back and enjoy watching His Spirit do what He is going to do.

However, that's hard for me to do. My pride wants to have me stick my nose in whatever is going on and "make things happen." But, then I guess that's the American way isn't it? We plan, set agendas, think up programs, set goals, achieve, seek success in everything we do. Then what? As near as I can tell the only way to convince ourselves or anyone else that we have achieved any of this is by doing what Americans do: Consume. We buy new cars, second homes, boats, stuff and things. When we have purchased all our credit cards or cash will allow we begin telling ourselves and others how God has blessed us, that is until reality or bankruptcy sets in.

God's biography, which as stated in the quote above does include you and I personally, but in a much different way than Americanized Christianity has taught so many of us. Little by little I'm learning to accept the Holy Spirits' rescripting of my life. I ain't easy, and often it ain't fun. But, I've never been more at ease or at home in my Christianity than I am when I simply accept the fact that He is the Potter and I am the clay.

My church preaches a form of salvation known generally as "decisional" regeneration. Church leadership believes men have the power and ability in and of themselves to choose, or not, to "accept" Christ as savior.

I have believed for several years now, after much study, this form of belief is flawed in that it does not recognize the Biblical declaration that mankind when born are born "dead in trespasses and sins." To my mind this statement from Scripture is clear, unambiguous, and leaves no wiggle room for the concept of an autonomous free will. My argument is that we choose all kinds of things but those choices are limited by the nature with which we are born and that nature is fallen or spiritually dead. I don't often appeal to science in my arguments but in this case genetics has proven we are what we are as a result of the DNA inherited from our parents regressively back to the first pair of man and woman. Therefore, our natures are derivative of Adam and Eve (if you believe Scripture, as I do) and God said they died spiritually the day they ate of the fruit forbidden to them. Therefore, it is pretty difficult for dead people to choose to something of which they are unaware or even argue coherently from Scripture that they have this capacity.

Scripture teaches than unless and until God "regenerates" our fallen natures we cannot hear, understand or choose to respond to Him.

Because of my beliefs I have found, and am going to begin studying, the writings of Cornelius VanTil. He is the late Westminster Theological Seminary professor who wrote about and taught  Presuppositional Apologetics. VanTil said:

This is, in the last analysis, the question as to what are one's ultimate presuppositions. When man became a sinner he made of himself instead of God the ultimate or final reference point. And it is precisely this presupposition, as it controls without exception all forms of non-Christian philosophy, that must be brought into question. ...In not challenging this basic presupposition with respect to himself as the final reference point in predication the natural man may accept the "theistic proofs" as fully valid. He may construct such proofs. He has constructed such proofs. But the god whose existence he proves to himself in this way is always a god that is always something other than the self-contained ontological trinity of Scripture. (Quote)

 Thinking about the construction of a god who is not God led me to the conclusion that if we are of the belief that we do in fact choose from an autonomous free-will to follow Christ, we have by a faulty world view, subordinated God in our thinking to something that is subject to our whims. It is this world view that asks questions of God such as, in the case of tragedy, "why me?," or in the case of doubt, "how can I know for certain I am born again."

The Sovereign God in whom I believe will not accept, any form of these kinds of questions from me. The only thing I can find in Scripture that even remotely relates to my questioning God are the verses about the Clay's inability to question the Potter. So, I enjoy His presence and rest in the knowledge that there is indeed a life after human death and I am "elected" to be in Heaven with Him and not in Hell when my time here is up.

I don't have to remember anything about "dates of salvation," or "dates of Baptism," all I have to remember while able,  is that even if Alzheimer's eventually eats my brain I am still secure and safe in the Palm of the Saviors hand. If anything should make those who believe a walk down the aisle and a memory jogger written in the front of a Bible is of little comfort if the mind is gone,  it should be that most horrible of brain-eating diseases Alzheimer's.

The good news of the Bible, (the Gospel) is that Christ will care for those the Father has given Him no matter what happens.

Scripture has meaning

The Pyromaniac in Chief has come up with a novel idea:

Remember: Scripture meant one thing before you were born, means the same now, and will mean the same, should you die.

Preach that meaning.

Peggy Rosenthal wrote a book a long time ago declaring that "words have meaning." Richard Weaver wrote one declaring "ideas have consequences." Now Dan Phillips declares "Scripture has meaning."

I think these learned folks are trying to tell us something.