Before examining what the doctrine of creation proves about God, consider what it proves about man.
A. Man Was Created in the Image of God, a Little Lower than the Angels.
The teaching of creation
Genesis 1:26,27 - Man was created by God in the likeness and image of God.
Psalm 8:3-5 - God made man a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor.
Failure to appreciate this leads to mistreatment of other people.
Genesis 9:5,6 - Murder of humans is forbidden, because humans were made in the image of God.
James 3:9,10 - Cursing man is wrong, because men were made in the likeness of God.
The reason is it wrong to mistreat another human is because they are in the image of God. They are just as important to God as we are. To mistreat them is to mistreat one who is like God.
This is why Jesus often said that how we treat other people is how we treat Him (Matt. 25:31-46).
Failure to understand this leads to practicing such evolutionary concepts as "survival of the fittest," so "might makes right." People believe if they are able to overpower others, then they have the right to do so: they are more "fit." Extreme manifestations of this were the holocaust and Communist massacres: eliminate those who are "unfit"!
When we understand the Bible doctrine of creation, we learn why it is wrong to mistreat other humans. We did not make them. They don't belong to us. They belong to God - the same God who made us and to whom we belong. In many ways they partake of His nature, so we must not mistreat them.
[Malachi 2:10; Job 31:13-15; Prov. 14:31; 17:5; 22:2]
B. Man Was Created to Have Authority over the Animals and the Earth.
The teaching of creation
Genesis 2:7 - Contrary to evolution, man was not made from the animals. We are fundamentally different from animals. We were made directly from the earth in the image of God.
Genesis 1:26,28 - God created man to have dominion over all other living things and to subdue the earth.
Psalm 8:6-8 - God made man to have dominion over the things God made. All livings things are under our feet (subject to us).
Psalm 115:14-16 - The God who made heaven and earth then gave the earth to man. That is, it is subject to our control to use for our purposes. God had the right to give us this control, because He made both us and the earth.
Failure to understand this leads to devaluing people and overvaluing animals and the earth.
Evolutionists, animal rights groups, the New Age Movement, and pagans all fail to see the proper dominion of man over animals and the earth.
Some view the earth as a living thing, a goddess named Gaia, so we must try to please it and take care of it. Some even worship the earth.
Others view killing animals as morally similar to killing people, so we should not eat meat or wear fur clothing, etc. An Internet student recently said his wife objects to his hunting, because she doesn't want him to kill animals. She wants to buy meat at the store!
Genesis 9:2-6 - Animals are given into our hand (control) and can be used for food. Animals were not made in God's image, but people were.
1 Timothy 4:3,4 - Some people forbid eating meats, but God created them to be received with thanksgiving.
Killing an animal is not the moral equivalent of killing a man. Why? Because of the doctrine of creation! Animals and the earth were made by God to be subject to our control. This does not justify cruelty or waste or other forms of poor stewardship, but it does justify using them for our good.
Failure to understand and believe the Bible doctrine of creation leads to failure to understand our own position in the universe. What could be more basic than that?!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Bible Doctrine of Creation:How Essential Is It to the Faith of a Christian?
How important is the doctrine of creation to the Christian faith? May a believer accept theistic or organic evolution? Is the Genesis account of creation literal history and fact, or is it figurative myth and legend? May we believe the days of creation were long ages, or must we accept them as literal days? How does creation relate to the wisdom, power, Deity, and eternal nature of God? How fundamental is creation as evidence for the existence of the one true God and for the Bible as God's word?
Introduction:
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The Bible clearly and repeatedly claims that God made the heavens and the earth and everything in nature.
Some doubt the significance of this doctrine to the faith of a Christian.
Some teach that the days of creation may be long ages of thousands or millions of years, or that such long ages may have occurred between the days of Genesis 1. In attempting to defend such folks, other people have said that we should tolerate such beliefs, because creation is not a fundamental doctrine anyway. Some see significance in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection and our baptism and imitation of Him. They say the creation account is not so essential, so it should not be viewed as fundamental to our faith.
The purpose of this study is to consider the significance and importance of the doctrine of Creation to Christianity.
Is it really essential to believe it? Why or why not?
We will see that understanding and accepting creation is fundamental to our faith that God exists and the Bible is His will.
These issues must be resolved before we even consider the significance of Jesus' death. If we do not believe in God and the Bible, why would we even consider believing in Jesus' sacrifice?
New Testament teachers sometimes dealt with idol worshippers, who did not believe in the true God. Before they ever discussed Jesus' death, they began by giving evidence that such folks should believe in God (Acts 14 & 17). This evidence included the doctrine of creation. Creation is definitely fundamental to a Christians' faith.
Any belief that undermines, belittles, or weakens the Bible doctrine of creation thereby undermines, belittles, or weakens faith in the existence and nature of God and the Bible as God's word.
This is true, not just of evolution, but of any view that weakens the doctrine of creation.
Consider the Bible evidence for the importance of the doctrine of creation to our faith in God and His word.
Introduction:
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The Bible clearly and repeatedly claims that God made the heavens and the earth and everything in nature.
Some doubt the significance of this doctrine to the faith of a Christian.
Some teach that the days of creation may be long ages of thousands or millions of years, or that such long ages may have occurred between the days of Genesis 1. In attempting to defend such folks, other people have said that we should tolerate such beliefs, because creation is not a fundamental doctrine anyway. Some see significance in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection and our baptism and imitation of Him. They say the creation account is not so essential, so it should not be viewed as fundamental to our faith.
The purpose of this study is to consider the significance and importance of the doctrine of Creation to Christianity.
Is it really essential to believe it? Why or why not?
We will see that understanding and accepting creation is fundamental to our faith that God exists and the Bible is His will.
These issues must be resolved before we even consider the significance of Jesus' death. If we do not believe in God and the Bible, why would we even consider believing in Jesus' sacrifice?
New Testament teachers sometimes dealt with idol worshippers, who did not believe in the true God. Before they ever discussed Jesus' death, they began by giving evidence that such folks should believe in God (Acts 14 & 17). This evidence included the doctrine of creation. Creation is definitely fundamental to a Christians' faith.
Any belief that undermines, belittles, or weakens the Bible doctrine of creation thereby undermines, belittles, or weakens faith in the existence and nature of God and the Bible as God's word.
This is true, not just of evolution, but of any view that weakens the doctrine of creation.
Consider the Bible evidence for the importance of the doctrine of creation to our faith in God and His word.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Part IV. Can Infant Baptism Be Scripturally Defended?
Remember that practices displease God unless they are authorized in His word (see our introduction). We now know that the gospel clearly teaches conditions regarding baptism that babies cannot possibly meet. Yet some folks still claim that infant baptism is Scriptural. We have briefly answered several such efforts already. Let us notice some more.
A. Babies with Faith
Some people claim that babies can have faith, and therefore they should be baptized (note Matt. 18:6). But remember that denominations typically baptize babies as young as a few days or a few weeks old. Can anyone seriously believe that babies, at this age, can have the kind of faith the Bible requires before baptism?
Romans 10:13-17 - Faith comes by hearing God's word.
The only way anyone can have faith is by being taught God's word. Do churches that baptize babies teach them before baptizing them? Of course not. So they are baptizing people who have no faith.
They do, however, try to instill faith in these children later in life in "confirmation." Why is this necessary, if the child had faith and knowledge from infancy? The practices of these churches prove of themselves that they know babies do not have knowledge and faith.
And remember that 1 Cor. 14:20 expressly states that babies are not capable of having sufficient understanding to be baptized and be members of Jesus' church.
What about repenting and confessing?
We have shown that these are also required before baptism. Can babies do these? And remember that the confession must be understandable so that other people know the candidate has sufficient faith to be baptized.
And what about the responsibilities that are involved in church membership?
Can babies do these too? Remember, all baptized people are in the church and must learn to fulfill these duties. Even if babies had faith, that would only be part of what God requires. Other things are required, both before and after baptism, that babies cannot possibly accomplish.
Just suppose babies could believe. Logically, then, babies could also DISbelieve.
But the Bible says to baptize the ones that believe and not the ones that do not believe (Mark. 16:16; Acts 8:12,36,37; etc.). Do folks who practice infant baptism make a distinction between the babies that believe and those that don't? If so, how?
The Bible describes different degrees of faith (Heb. 10:39; cf. Jas. 2:19; John 12:42,43; Matt. 14:31). Children gradually grow in understanding and in faith, but they do not have "saving" faith, sufficient to be baptized, until they are old enough to repent, confess, and fully accept the responsibility of living the Christian life, as we have already studied.
B. Household Conversions
Some people refer to Bible examples where whole households were baptized. They claim that these households must have included babies, so infant baptism is authorized. But notice:
None of these examples actually say that babies were included.
Many households do not include babies or even small children. If the Bible does not mention babies, then to claim there were babies in the household would simply be an unproved assumption. The simple fact that households were converted proves nothing by itself. Unless these passages themselves show us that babies were included, then we must settle the issue on the basis of other passages on the subject.
We have cited clear, specific evidence that people who were baptized must always first hear, believe, repent, and confess, and that they must be baptized for the right reason, and that they must be able to accept the responsibilities of church membership. Babies can do none of these things. It is a misuse of Scripture to assume without proof that babies were included in the household conversions, in contradiction to this evidence.
The contexts of the household conversions actually imply those who were baptized included no babies.
Notice each of the Bible examples of household conversions:
Cornelius' household - Acts 10:1-11:18; 15:7-11
Peter taught these people that God is no respecter of persons (10:34). So whatever anyone in the household did to be baptized, all the rest must have done the same things. Peter did not give two sets of rules, one for babies and another for adults.
Notice some things that people in this household did that babies cannot do: all in the household feared God (10:2,35); all came together to hear and receive what God had commanded (10:33,44; 11:1,14); they heard and believed (15:7,9; 10:43), they repented (11:18), and they were told to work righteousness (10:35). No babies baptized here!
Furthermore, since God is no respecter of persons, we are not going to find any examples of conversion in which less was required of people than in the examples we have already studied. Some examples may give fewer details, but no one in any household was baptized without faith, repentance, confession, etc. If such a case existed, God would be a respecter of persons.
Lydia's household - Acts 16:13-15,40
In this case there is no reason to believe that Lydia was even married, let alone that she had little children. The Bible teaches that, if a woman has a husband, he should be the head of the household (Eph. 5:22-25). So whenever the Bible refers to the activity of a household, if the husband is included in that activity, if the wife is mentioned by name then the man is also mentioned. (Notice how the other household conversions demonstrate this. Genealogies also followed this rule.)
Since Lydia's household was baptized, the fact that no man is mentioned would imply that she was the head of the household. Her household may have included relatives, especially older relatives, and perhaps servants, but no husband is implied, let alone children.
Paul later "encouraged" those who were brethren (NKJV), including Lydia's house (v40). Did this include babies?
The Jailer's household - Acts 16:23-34
Before this household was baptized, Paul spoke the word to all in the house (v32), and they believed (v31,34). Again, babies can't do these things, so no babies were included in the number baptized here.
Stephanas' household - 1 Corinthians 1:16; 16:15
Again, what verse says there were babies in this household? Note that Stephanas' house ministered to the saints. Again, people who are baptized must be old enough to be active in God's work as members of the church. This does not include babies.
The household conversions do not disprove what we have learned elsewhere. Instead they harmonize with it. All who are baptized must do things that babies cannot do. Therefore, the command to be baptized does not include babies. When people baptize babies, they follow human authority, and they displease God.
Conclusion
Infant baptism is objectionable for several reasons. By examining the problems in infant baptism, we have also shown how people should be baptized properly.
First, infant baptism is an unauthorized change in God's pattern for baptism. God tells us whom to baptize. He tells the conditions people must meet in order to be baptized, but babies do not fit. To baptize babies is to act by human authority without divine authority.
Second, infant baptism leads people to believe they are saved when they are not. God requires people to be baptized for the remission of sins when they are old enough to make their own decision about the matter. But many people have been baptized as babies. Then, when they are old enough to be responsible for their conduct so they should be baptized, they refuse because they believe they have already done so. But their infant baptism was not Scriptural. So the person goes through his whole life never having been Scripturally baptized, and therefore he never has received forgiveness of his sins!
A final objection to infant baptism is that it is almost always done by sprinkling or pouring, not by immersion. But the Bible says that baptism is a burial (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). A person must go down into the water and come up out of it (Acts 8:38,39; Mark 1:9,10). Bible baptism requires much water (John 3:23). Infant baptism does not fit God's pattern on any of these points. The evidence clearly shows that Bible baptism is an immersion, not a sprinkling or pouring.
What should a person do if his baptism was not done the way the Bible teaches? He should realize that he simply has not yet obeyed God, and he needs to obey God by being baptized according to the Bible (Acts 19:1-6). If this is your need, we urge you to find a faithful local church belonging to Christ and be baptized Scripturally today!
A. Babies with Faith
Some people claim that babies can have faith, and therefore they should be baptized (note Matt. 18:6). But remember that denominations typically baptize babies as young as a few days or a few weeks old. Can anyone seriously believe that babies, at this age, can have the kind of faith the Bible requires before baptism?
Romans 10:13-17 - Faith comes by hearing God's word.
The only way anyone can have faith is by being taught God's word. Do churches that baptize babies teach them before baptizing them? Of course not. So they are baptizing people who have no faith.
They do, however, try to instill faith in these children later in life in "confirmation." Why is this necessary, if the child had faith and knowledge from infancy? The practices of these churches prove of themselves that they know babies do not have knowledge and faith.
And remember that 1 Cor. 14:20 expressly states that babies are not capable of having sufficient understanding to be baptized and be members of Jesus' church.
What about repenting and confessing?
We have shown that these are also required before baptism. Can babies do these? And remember that the confession must be understandable so that other people know the candidate has sufficient faith to be baptized.
And what about the responsibilities that are involved in church membership?
Can babies do these too? Remember, all baptized people are in the church and must learn to fulfill these duties. Even if babies had faith, that would only be part of what God requires. Other things are required, both before and after baptism, that babies cannot possibly accomplish.
Just suppose babies could believe. Logically, then, babies could also DISbelieve.
But the Bible says to baptize the ones that believe and not the ones that do not believe (Mark. 16:16; Acts 8:12,36,37; etc.). Do folks who practice infant baptism make a distinction between the babies that believe and those that don't? If so, how?
The Bible describes different degrees of faith (Heb. 10:39; cf. Jas. 2:19; John 12:42,43; Matt. 14:31). Children gradually grow in understanding and in faith, but they do not have "saving" faith, sufficient to be baptized, until they are old enough to repent, confess, and fully accept the responsibility of living the Christian life, as we have already studied.
B. Household Conversions
Some people refer to Bible examples where whole households were baptized. They claim that these households must have included babies, so infant baptism is authorized. But notice:
None of these examples actually say that babies were included.
Many households do not include babies or even small children. If the Bible does not mention babies, then to claim there were babies in the household would simply be an unproved assumption. The simple fact that households were converted proves nothing by itself. Unless these passages themselves show us that babies were included, then we must settle the issue on the basis of other passages on the subject.
We have cited clear, specific evidence that people who were baptized must always first hear, believe, repent, and confess, and that they must be baptized for the right reason, and that they must be able to accept the responsibilities of church membership. Babies can do none of these things. It is a misuse of Scripture to assume without proof that babies were included in the household conversions, in contradiction to this evidence.
The contexts of the household conversions actually imply those who were baptized included no babies.
Notice each of the Bible examples of household conversions:
Cornelius' household - Acts 10:1-11:18; 15:7-11
Peter taught these people that God is no respecter of persons (10:34). So whatever anyone in the household did to be baptized, all the rest must have done the same things. Peter did not give two sets of rules, one for babies and another for adults.
Notice some things that people in this household did that babies cannot do: all in the household feared God (10:2,35); all came together to hear and receive what God had commanded (10:33,44; 11:1,14); they heard and believed (15:7,9; 10:43), they repented (11:18), and they were told to work righteousness (10:35). No babies baptized here!
Furthermore, since God is no respecter of persons, we are not going to find any examples of conversion in which less was required of people than in the examples we have already studied. Some examples may give fewer details, but no one in any household was baptized without faith, repentance, confession, etc. If such a case existed, God would be a respecter of persons.
Lydia's household - Acts 16:13-15,40
In this case there is no reason to believe that Lydia was even married, let alone that she had little children. The Bible teaches that, if a woman has a husband, he should be the head of the household (Eph. 5:22-25). So whenever the Bible refers to the activity of a household, if the husband is included in that activity, if the wife is mentioned by name then the man is also mentioned. (Notice how the other household conversions demonstrate this. Genealogies also followed this rule.)
Since Lydia's household was baptized, the fact that no man is mentioned would imply that she was the head of the household. Her household may have included relatives, especially older relatives, and perhaps servants, but no husband is implied, let alone children.
Paul later "encouraged" those who were brethren (NKJV), including Lydia's house (v40). Did this include babies?
The Jailer's household - Acts 16:23-34
Before this household was baptized, Paul spoke the word to all in the house (v32), and they believed (v31,34). Again, babies can't do these things, so no babies were included in the number baptized here.
Stephanas' household - 1 Corinthians 1:16; 16:15
Again, what verse says there were babies in this household? Note that Stephanas' house ministered to the saints. Again, people who are baptized must be old enough to be active in God's work as members of the church. This does not include babies.
The household conversions do not disprove what we have learned elsewhere. Instead they harmonize with it. All who are baptized must do things that babies cannot do. Therefore, the command to be baptized does not include babies. When people baptize babies, they follow human authority, and they displease God.
Conclusion
Infant baptism is objectionable for several reasons. By examining the problems in infant baptism, we have also shown how people should be baptized properly.
First, infant baptism is an unauthorized change in God's pattern for baptism. God tells us whom to baptize. He tells the conditions people must meet in order to be baptized, but babies do not fit. To baptize babies is to act by human authority without divine authority.
Second, infant baptism leads people to believe they are saved when they are not. God requires people to be baptized for the remission of sins when they are old enough to make their own decision about the matter. But many people have been baptized as babies. Then, when they are old enough to be responsible for their conduct so they should be baptized, they refuse because they believe they have already done so. But their infant baptism was not Scriptural. So the person goes through his whole life never having been Scripturally baptized, and therefore he never has received forgiveness of his sins!
A final objection to infant baptism is that it is almost always done by sprinkling or pouring, not by immersion. But the Bible says that baptism is a burial (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). A person must go down into the water and come up out of it (Acts 8:38,39; Mark 1:9,10). Bible baptism requires much water (John 3:23). Infant baptism does not fit God's pattern on any of these points. The evidence clearly shows that Bible baptism is an immersion, not a sprinkling or pouring.
What should a person do if his baptism was not done the way the Bible teaches? He should realize that he simply has not yet obeyed God, and he needs to obey God by being baptized according to the Bible (Acts 19:1-6). If this is your need, we urge you to find a faithful local church belonging to Christ and be baptized Scripturally today!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Letter From God
My Child ~
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1 I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2 I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3 Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31 For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27 In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28 For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28 I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5 I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12 You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16 I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26 You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14 I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13 And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6 I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44 I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16 And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1 Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1 I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11 For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48 Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17 For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33 My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11 Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3 thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18 And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17 I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40 For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5 I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41 And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3 If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29 Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4 For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13 I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20 For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18 As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11 One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4 And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4 I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23 For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26 He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3 He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31 And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10 I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32 If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23 And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39 Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7 I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15 My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13 I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad, Almighty God
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1 I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2 I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3 Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31 For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27 In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28 For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28 I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5 I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12 You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16 I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26 You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14 I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13 And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6 I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44 I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16 And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1 Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1 I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11 For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48 Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17 For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33 My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11 Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3 thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18 And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17 I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40 For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5 I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41 And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3 If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29 Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4 For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13 I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20 For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18 As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11 One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4 And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4 I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23 For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26 He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3 He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31 And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10 I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32 If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23 And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39 Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7 I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15 My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13 I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad, Almighty God
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Part III. Can Babies Make the Commitment that Baptism Requires?
When a person is baptized, he is making a commitment to live all the rest of his life according to the Bible. He automatically and immediately becomes subject to certain responsibilities that the Bible requires of all baptized people. A person should not be baptized unless he understands this commitment and makes it freely of his own choice.
Here are a few of the responsibilities that God requires baptized people to learn to fulfill. Can babies understand this commitment and make it freely of their own choice?
A. Baptized People Should Learn to Exhort and Encourage Other Christians.
1 Corinthians 12:13,25,26 - Note first that baptism makes people members of Jesus' body, which is the church (Eph. 1:22,23; 5:23). Some people baptize babies, but still do not consider them to be members of the church. God's word says that, when one has been Scripturally baptized, he is automatically in the church. Then all members in the church should care for, suffer with, and rejoice with other members. Can a baby learn to do this? [cf. Heb. 10:22-25]
Ephesians 4:16 - In the body (the church) every joint and each part is to work to edify and build up the body. Can babies understand this responsibility and commit themselves to learn to fulfill it? If not, then they should not be baptized into the body.
B. Baptized People Should Learn to Worship God.
Acts 2:38-42,47 - Note again that, when people were baptized, the Lord added them to His church (v41,47). To baptize people and yet consider them not fully members of the church would be unscriptural. These baptized people then continued in the acts of worship named: breaking bread, prayer, the apostles' doctrine, etc. Can babies do this?
1 Corinthians 14:15-20 - Members of the church (this includes all baptized people - 1 Cor. 12:13) are to assemble with other Christians to sing, pray, and teach. All this should be done with understanding. But the Scripture expressly says that babies cannot do these things with the understanding that God requires (v20).
Notice the passage carefully: Members of the church should understand what is done in worship. Babies cannot understand. Therefore, babies should not be baptized into the church!
1 Corinthians 10:16,17; 11:23-29 - All members of the body (i.e., all people who are baptized - 12:13) should eat the bread and drink the cup in communion (10:16,17). Do churches that baptize babies have them partake of communion?
When members partake, they must remember Jesus' death and discern the meaning of it. If they eat without understanding, they eat and drink damnation to themselves (11:23-29). Can babies remember and discern this? If not, they should not partake. But all members of the body should partake, therefore babies should not be baptized into the body!
Clearly, God requires all members of the church to make a commitment that babies cannot make. Therefore, the command to be baptized is not addressed to babies and does not include them.
C. Baptized People Should Put God First in Their Lives.
Romans 6:3,4,11-18 - When people are baptized, they come into Christ and should walk in newness of life. They are made alive to God (newness of life), so they must not let sin reign in their bodies, but must use their members as instruments of righteousness. Obeying the gospel makes us free from sin and slaves to righteousness. But babies cannot make such choices and commitments. They should not be baptized until they are able to accept this responsibility from their own hearts.
Romans 12:1,2 - This passage is addressed to "brethren" - i.e., children of God, members of God's family, the church. But people become children of God, born again as brethren in the family, when by faith they are baptized (Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Tim. 3:15). Such people should present their bodies as living sacrifices to God, not being conformed to the world. This commitment must be accepted by one who is baptized. Can babies make such a commitment?
1 Corinthians 15:58 - Brethren (i.e., people who became children of God at the point of baptism) should be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work. If one is not able to understand this commitment and make it freely, he should not be baptized. Can babies understand and make this commitment?
Matthew 28:19,20 - Baptized people should be taught to obey all Jesus' commands. This shows that it is not necessary, at the very point of baptism, for people to know all the specific commands they must obey after baptism. But they must be capable of learning those commands. And they must have a heart willing to accept by their own free will everything Jesus says.
This is the commitment that a person makes when he repents and is baptized. No one should be baptized unless he has made such a commitment. A baby cannot do this, so he should not be baptized until he is old enough to choose for himself to do so.
Note carefully that we have learned what God says people must do before they can be baptized, during baptism (the proper purpose), and after baptism. And babies do not qualify in any of these areas. To baptize babies, then, would be to act by human authority without God's authority, thereby violating the will of God.
And, by studying what Scriptural baptism involves, we have not only shown why babies should not be baptized, but we have also show how people should be baptized properly.
Here are a few of the responsibilities that God requires baptized people to learn to fulfill. Can babies understand this commitment and make it freely of their own choice?
A. Baptized People Should Learn to Exhort and Encourage Other Christians.
1 Corinthians 12:13,25,26 - Note first that baptism makes people members of Jesus' body, which is the church (Eph. 1:22,23; 5:23). Some people baptize babies, but still do not consider them to be members of the church. God's word says that, when one has been Scripturally baptized, he is automatically in the church. Then all members in the church should care for, suffer with, and rejoice with other members. Can a baby learn to do this? [cf. Heb. 10:22-25]
Ephesians 4:16 - In the body (the church) every joint and each part is to work to edify and build up the body. Can babies understand this responsibility and commit themselves to learn to fulfill it? If not, then they should not be baptized into the body.
B. Baptized People Should Learn to Worship God.
Acts 2:38-42,47 - Note again that, when people were baptized, the Lord added them to His church (v41,47). To baptize people and yet consider them not fully members of the church would be unscriptural. These baptized people then continued in the acts of worship named: breaking bread, prayer, the apostles' doctrine, etc. Can babies do this?
1 Corinthians 14:15-20 - Members of the church (this includes all baptized people - 1 Cor. 12:13) are to assemble with other Christians to sing, pray, and teach. All this should be done with understanding. But the Scripture expressly says that babies cannot do these things with the understanding that God requires (v20).
Notice the passage carefully: Members of the church should understand what is done in worship. Babies cannot understand. Therefore, babies should not be baptized into the church!
1 Corinthians 10:16,17; 11:23-29 - All members of the body (i.e., all people who are baptized - 12:13) should eat the bread and drink the cup in communion (10:16,17). Do churches that baptize babies have them partake of communion?
When members partake, they must remember Jesus' death and discern the meaning of it. If they eat without understanding, they eat and drink damnation to themselves (11:23-29). Can babies remember and discern this? If not, they should not partake. But all members of the body should partake, therefore babies should not be baptized into the body!
Clearly, God requires all members of the church to make a commitment that babies cannot make. Therefore, the command to be baptized is not addressed to babies and does not include them.
C. Baptized People Should Put God First in Their Lives.
Romans 6:3,4,11-18 - When people are baptized, they come into Christ and should walk in newness of life. They are made alive to God (newness of life), so they must not let sin reign in their bodies, but must use their members as instruments of righteousness. Obeying the gospel makes us free from sin and slaves to righteousness. But babies cannot make such choices and commitments. They should not be baptized until they are able to accept this responsibility from their own hearts.
Romans 12:1,2 - This passage is addressed to "brethren" - i.e., children of God, members of God's family, the church. But people become children of God, born again as brethren in the family, when by faith they are baptized (Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Tim. 3:15). Such people should present their bodies as living sacrifices to God, not being conformed to the world. This commitment must be accepted by one who is baptized. Can babies make such a commitment?
1 Corinthians 15:58 - Brethren (i.e., people who became children of God at the point of baptism) should be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work. If one is not able to understand this commitment and make it freely, he should not be baptized. Can babies understand and make this commitment?
Matthew 28:19,20 - Baptized people should be taught to obey all Jesus' commands. This shows that it is not necessary, at the very point of baptism, for people to know all the specific commands they must obey after baptism. But they must be capable of learning those commands. And they must have a heart willing to accept by their own free will everything Jesus says.
This is the commitment that a person makes when he repents and is baptized. No one should be baptized unless he has made such a commitment. A baby cannot do this, so he should not be baptized until he is old enough to choose for himself to do so.
Note carefully that we have learned what God says people must do before they can be baptized, during baptism (the proper purpose), and after baptism. And babies do not qualify in any of these areas. To baptize babies, then, would be to act by human authority without God's authority, thereby violating the will of God.
And, by studying what Scriptural baptism involves, we have not only shown why babies should not be baptized, but we have also show how people should be baptized properly.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Part II. Can Babies Be Baptized for the Right Reason?
A. Each Individual Is Responsible to Serve God from Proper Motives.
Romans 6:17,18 - To be freed from sin, one must obey from the heart the teaching delivered. This includes obedience in baptism (v3,4). God is pleased only when we serve Him from the willing choice of our own hearts. Our acts of service are valueless if someone else forces them upon us against our will or without our consent.
Acts 2:40,41 - People were commanded to be saved, and they responded by being baptized. Each individual personally made his own decision. No one else can obey God for us, and no one else can make that choice for us.
Other people may teach and encourage us to obey God, but they cannot decide for us whether or not we will obey. This includes obedience in baptism. Since a baby cannot possibly make this decision and cannot communicate any such decision to us, to baptize it anyway would violate God's law of personal responsibility.
[See also the notes below on Ezek. 18:20 and 2 Cor. 5:10. Cf. Rom. 2:28,29; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:21; 2 Cor. 8:5; Rev. 22:17; Phil. 2:12; 1 Cor. 13:1-3.]
B. Each Person Should Be Baptized for the Purpose of Receiving Forgiveness of Sins.
Again, since God is no respecter of persons, the purpose of baptism must be the same for all who are baptized. He did not give two different purposes, one for adults and another for babies. What are the proper purposes for which all must be baptized?
Mark 16:16 - He who believes and is baptized will be saved.
Acts 2:38 - Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.
Acts 22:16 - Be baptized and wash away your sins.
1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism also now saves us.
As shown above, our service to God pleases Him only if it is offered from the right motive and purpose. So the person who is baptized must do it for the purpose of being forgiven or saved from his sins.
Consider the Lord's Supper as an illustration. Even if a person does the right actions, but if his reasons are wrong, he displeases God (1 Cor. 11:23-29). Likewise, if a person is baptized, but if he does not do it to receive forgiveness of sins, then the baptism is not Scriptural. But a baby cannot understand the meaning of baptism, so how can he be baptized from a proper motive?
(See the links at the end of this study for further information about the purpose of baptism.)
C. A Baby Cannot Be Baptized to Receive Forgiveness, because It Has No Sins to Be Forgiven.
Since baptism must be done for the purpose of receiving forgiveness of sins, a baby could Scripturally be baptized only if it was guilty of sins and needed forgiveness. But is a baby guilty of sin?
How could a baby become guilty of sin?
We become sinners when we transgress God's law (1 John 3:4; James 1:13-15; Isa. 59:1,2). But a baby cannot understand God's law, so how could it be held accountable for violating it?
Some people believe that babies need baptism because they have inherited guilt from Adam. But consider:
Ezekiel 18:20 - The child does not bear the iniquity of the father, but the wickedness of the wicked is upon himself. The only person held accountable for Adam's sin is Adam, not his descendants.
2 Corinthians 5:10 - Each one will be judged according to what he has done in the body, good or bad. This means no one will be condemned for Adam's sin, except Adam!
Note that this also confirms that no one will be justified because someone else decided to do good. Specifically babies are not held accountable for a parent's decision to have a child baptized.
Each person will be judged for what he chooses to do, not for what others choose to do.
Further, the Bible says that Jesus was without sin (Heb. 2:14,17; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:5). How could He have been without sin if babies inherit the guilt of Adam's sin?
If a baby is guilty of sin, what happens if it dies before it is baptized, or if its parents refuse to baptize it?
If babies are guilty of sin, if one dies without baptism, then wouldn't it follow that he is eternally lost? Almost no one will accept this conclusion, yet to deny the conclusion is to admit that babies really are not guilty of sin.
Further, since baptism is essential to salvation, if a baby is a sinner, then its salvation from sin must depend entirely on the actions of others. It must rely entirely on its parents to choose to baptize it. It has no choice in the matter, and cannot possibly influence its own destiny. This contradicts all the scriptures we have quoted showing that salvation is a matter of individual choice (2 Cor. 5:10; etc.).
Since salvation is a matter of individual choice, and since a baby cannot choose or express a choice to be baptized, we conclude that the baby is not lost to begin with. Therefore it does not need baptism.
What condition is a baby in?
Since we now know that babies have committed no sin and have inherited no sin, it follows that they must be innocent. Notice other Scriptures that confirm this conclusion:
Psalms 106:37,38; Jeremiah 19:4,5 - Babies sacrificed to idols were "innocent."
Hebrews 12:9 - God is the Father of our spirits, in contrast to human fathers (fathers of our flesh). Adam was a father of our flesh, but not of our spirit. God is the Father of our spirits.
Would God give us sinful spirits? [Zech. 12:1; Ecc. 12:7]
Matthew 19:14; 18:3 - The kingdom is for those who are like little children. To enter the kingdom, we must be converted and become like little children. If children are sinners, would this not mean that we must be converted and become like little sinners?
Yet other passages show that to enter the kingdom we must become innocent or cleansed of sin (Col. 1:13,14). Therefore, becoming like little children must mean, among other things, that children are innocent.
But since Jesus said to let little children come to Him, some people say this means we should baptize babies so they can come to Him. But Jesus did not baptize the babies who came to Him. They came into His physical presence so He could touch them and pray for them (Matt. 19:13; Mark 10:13-16), not so He could baptize them. They were already acceptable to Him just as they were, without baptism.
A baby does not need forgiveness because he is not guilty. He is in a safe condition, not accountable for sin until he is old enough to be able to understand and accept the responsibility to obey God. Since baptism is for the remission of sins, and since a baby has no sins, it follows that babies do not need baptism.
Some people admit that babies have no sin, but they baptize them anyway as a "dedication" to encourage parents to train the child properly. But where does the Bible say this is the purpose of baptism? The purpose of baptism is to receive remission of sins. And furthermore, we have learned that no one can decide that another person will be dedicated to God. Each person must decide that for himself.
So no matter how you look at it, infant baptism perverts the purpose of baptism.
Romans 6:17,18 - To be freed from sin, one must obey from the heart the teaching delivered. This includes obedience in baptism (v3,4). God is pleased only when we serve Him from the willing choice of our own hearts. Our acts of service are valueless if someone else forces them upon us against our will or without our consent.
Acts 2:40,41 - People were commanded to be saved, and they responded by being baptized. Each individual personally made his own decision. No one else can obey God for us, and no one else can make that choice for us.
Other people may teach and encourage us to obey God, but they cannot decide for us whether or not we will obey. This includes obedience in baptism. Since a baby cannot possibly make this decision and cannot communicate any such decision to us, to baptize it anyway would violate God's law of personal responsibility.
[See also the notes below on Ezek. 18:20 and 2 Cor. 5:10. Cf. Rom. 2:28,29; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:21; 2 Cor. 8:5; Rev. 22:17; Phil. 2:12; 1 Cor. 13:1-3.]
B. Each Person Should Be Baptized for the Purpose of Receiving Forgiveness of Sins.
Again, since God is no respecter of persons, the purpose of baptism must be the same for all who are baptized. He did not give two different purposes, one for adults and another for babies. What are the proper purposes for which all must be baptized?
Mark 16:16 - He who believes and is baptized will be saved.
Acts 2:38 - Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.
Acts 22:16 - Be baptized and wash away your sins.
1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism also now saves us.
As shown above, our service to God pleases Him only if it is offered from the right motive and purpose. So the person who is baptized must do it for the purpose of being forgiven or saved from his sins.
Consider the Lord's Supper as an illustration. Even if a person does the right actions, but if his reasons are wrong, he displeases God (1 Cor. 11:23-29). Likewise, if a person is baptized, but if he does not do it to receive forgiveness of sins, then the baptism is not Scriptural. But a baby cannot understand the meaning of baptism, so how can he be baptized from a proper motive?
(See the links at the end of this study for further information about the purpose of baptism.)
C. A Baby Cannot Be Baptized to Receive Forgiveness, because It Has No Sins to Be Forgiven.
Since baptism must be done for the purpose of receiving forgiveness of sins, a baby could Scripturally be baptized only if it was guilty of sins and needed forgiveness. But is a baby guilty of sin?
How could a baby become guilty of sin?
We become sinners when we transgress God's law (1 John 3:4; James 1:13-15; Isa. 59:1,2). But a baby cannot understand God's law, so how could it be held accountable for violating it?
Some people believe that babies need baptism because they have inherited guilt from Adam. But consider:
Ezekiel 18:20 - The child does not bear the iniquity of the father, but the wickedness of the wicked is upon himself. The only person held accountable for Adam's sin is Adam, not his descendants.
2 Corinthians 5:10 - Each one will be judged according to what he has done in the body, good or bad. This means no one will be condemned for Adam's sin, except Adam!
Note that this also confirms that no one will be justified because someone else decided to do good. Specifically babies are not held accountable for a parent's decision to have a child baptized.
Each person will be judged for what he chooses to do, not for what others choose to do.
Further, the Bible says that Jesus was without sin (Heb. 2:14,17; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:5). How could He have been without sin if babies inherit the guilt of Adam's sin?
If a baby is guilty of sin, what happens if it dies before it is baptized, or if its parents refuse to baptize it?
If babies are guilty of sin, if one dies without baptism, then wouldn't it follow that he is eternally lost? Almost no one will accept this conclusion, yet to deny the conclusion is to admit that babies really are not guilty of sin.
Further, since baptism is essential to salvation, if a baby is a sinner, then its salvation from sin must depend entirely on the actions of others. It must rely entirely on its parents to choose to baptize it. It has no choice in the matter, and cannot possibly influence its own destiny. This contradicts all the scriptures we have quoted showing that salvation is a matter of individual choice (2 Cor. 5:10; etc.).
Since salvation is a matter of individual choice, and since a baby cannot choose or express a choice to be baptized, we conclude that the baby is not lost to begin with. Therefore it does not need baptism.
What condition is a baby in?
Since we now know that babies have committed no sin and have inherited no sin, it follows that they must be innocent. Notice other Scriptures that confirm this conclusion:
Psalms 106:37,38; Jeremiah 19:4,5 - Babies sacrificed to idols were "innocent."
Hebrews 12:9 - God is the Father of our spirits, in contrast to human fathers (fathers of our flesh). Adam was a father of our flesh, but not of our spirit. God is the Father of our spirits.
Would God give us sinful spirits? [Zech. 12:1; Ecc. 12:7]
Matthew 19:14; 18:3 - The kingdom is for those who are like little children. To enter the kingdom, we must be converted and become like little children. If children are sinners, would this not mean that we must be converted and become like little sinners?
Yet other passages show that to enter the kingdom we must become innocent or cleansed of sin (Col. 1:13,14). Therefore, becoming like little children must mean, among other things, that children are innocent.
But since Jesus said to let little children come to Him, some people say this means we should baptize babies so they can come to Him. But Jesus did not baptize the babies who came to Him. They came into His physical presence so He could touch them and pray for them (Matt. 19:13; Mark 10:13-16), not so He could baptize them. They were already acceptable to Him just as they were, without baptism.
A baby does not need forgiveness because he is not guilty. He is in a safe condition, not accountable for sin until he is old enough to be able to understand and accept the responsibility to obey God. Since baptism is for the remission of sins, and since a baby has no sins, it follows that babies do not need baptism.
Some people admit that babies have no sin, but they baptize them anyway as a "dedication" to encourage parents to train the child properly. But where does the Bible say this is the purpose of baptism? The purpose of baptism is to receive remission of sins. And furthermore, we have learned that no one can decide that another person will be dedicated to God. Each person must decide that for himself.
So no matter how you look at it, infant baptism perverts the purpose of baptism.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Part I: Can Babies Meet the Conditions that Must Precede Baptism?
The Bible reveals that a person must do certain things before he can be baptized. If these things are not done, then the baptism would not be Scriptural. So we ask whether or not a baby can fulfill the Scriptural prerequisites of baptism.
Note that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34,35; Rom. 2:11), so there are not two sets of prerequisites for baptism - one for babies and one for adults. Whatever the Bible requires of some people to be baptized, it requires the same of all people.
A. Before Baptism One Must Hear and Understand the Gospel.
Mark 16:15,16 - All who are baptized, must first have the gospel preached to them. But what good would be done by preaching to a baby?
John 6:44,45 - No one can come to Jesus without being taught from the Father. This does not just mean simply hearing sounds. One must "learn"; he must understand the meaning of what is being taught. Can babies do this (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20)?
Acts 2:36,41 - This example shows what it means for people to learn the gospel before they are baptized. The people were given evidence that Jesus is God's Son (v14-36). They were told that, on the basis of this evidence, they must "know assuredly" that Jesus is Lord and Christ (v36).
Those who were baptized were those who gladly received this message (v41). Can babies hear and learn in this way?
B. Before Baptism One Must Believe the Gospel.
Mark 16:15,16 - Every creature who is baptized must first believe the gospel which they have been taught. Baptism is only for those who are capable of hearing and believing the gospel. No one is included in the command if they cannot first hear, understand, and believe the gospel. Can a baby do these things?
Galatians 3:26,27 - However many people are baptized, all of them must do so by faith.
Everyone who is baptized must first understand the gospel well enough to believe it.
Acts 8:12 - When the people of Samaria gave heed to the gospel that was preached (v5,6), both men and women were baptized. When were they baptized? When they believed, not before. Can babies believe? If not, they should not be baptized until they do believe.
In all Bible examples of baptism, people were baptized only when they personally had full faith, based on their own understanding of the gospel. Never were they baptized on the basis of someone else's faith, such as their parents. No one else can believe for us, just like no one can be baptized for us.
[See also Acts 8:36-39; 18:8; Rom. 1:16; 10:13-17.]
C. Before Baptism One Must Repent of Sins.
Acts 2:38 - Every person who is baptized ("every one of you") must first repent. Repentance is a change of mind - a decision to turn from sin and begin to live for God (cf. Matt. 21:28,29). This decision involves a commitment to put God first, and to live all our lives faithfully serving Him.
Note that the person who is baptized is the same person who must first repent. This is a personal choice. No one else can make this decision for us. Can a baby make this choice? (Note that we will see later that babies do not even have any sins to repent of.)
Some people claim that "children" in v39 means babies are included in those to whom this "promise" was made. But "children" simply means offspring, regardless of age (note Matt. 3:9; 10:21; 21:28; John 8:39). The "promise" here is for those who repent and are baptized (v38); but babies cannot repent, nor can they do other things required in the context (v36,40,41,42). The "promise" to the "children" was fulfilled when they were old enough to do what God requires, not while they were babies.
[See also 2 Cor. 7:10; Mk. 1:4,5.]
D. Before Baptism One Must Confess Christ.
Romans 10:9,10 - To be saved, one must believe in his heart and confess Christ with his mouth. How can a baby confess Christ when it cannot even speak?
Acts 8:35-39 - Here is an example of confession before baptism. The candidate for baptism must make an understandable statement, so that the one who does the baptizing knows they are baptizing someone who has faith. Babies cannot communicate regarding their faith in any understandable way, therefore it is not Scriptural to baptize them.
Churches that baptize babies often have a practice called "confirmation." People are baptized as babies, but later when they get old enough to understand and make their own choice about serving God, they are taught and are asked to publicly "confirm" their faith and their desire to live for God. The very existence of such a practice is an admission that the child did not understand, believe, and repent before he was baptized.
We have now learned four things which the Bible says every person must personally do before he can be baptized. God is no respecter of persons, so the plan is the same for everyone. Before anyone can be baptized, he must hear and understand the gospel, believe it, repent of sins, and confess Christ. Little babies cannot do any of these things. Therefore, the command to be baptized is not addressed to them. To baptize them anyway would be to act without God's authority. It would be doing something different from what God says must be done.
Note that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34,35; Rom. 2:11), so there are not two sets of prerequisites for baptism - one for babies and one for adults. Whatever the Bible requires of some people to be baptized, it requires the same of all people.
A. Before Baptism One Must Hear and Understand the Gospel.
Mark 16:15,16 - All who are baptized, must first have the gospel preached to them. But what good would be done by preaching to a baby?
John 6:44,45 - No one can come to Jesus without being taught from the Father. This does not just mean simply hearing sounds. One must "learn"; he must understand the meaning of what is being taught. Can babies do this (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20)?
Acts 2:36,41 - This example shows what it means for people to learn the gospel before they are baptized. The people were given evidence that Jesus is God's Son (v14-36). They were told that, on the basis of this evidence, they must "know assuredly" that Jesus is Lord and Christ (v36).
Those who were baptized were those who gladly received this message (v41). Can babies hear and learn in this way?
B. Before Baptism One Must Believe the Gospel.
Mark 16:15,16 - Every creature who is baptized must first believe the gospel which they have been taught. Baptism is only for those who are capable of hearing and believing the gospel. No one is included in the command if they cannot first hear, understand, and believe the gospel. Can a baby do these things?
Galatians 3:26,27 - However many people are baptized, all of them must do so by faith.
Everyone who is baptized must first understand the gospel well enough to believe it.
Acts 8:12 - When the people of Samaria gave heed to the gospel that was preached (v5,6), both men and women were baptized. When were they baptized? When they believed, not before. Can babies believe? If not, they should not be baptized until they do believe.
In all Bible examples of baptism, people were baptized only when they personally had full faith, based on their own understanding of the gospel. Never were they baptized on the basis of someone else's faith, such as their parents. No one else can believe for us, just like no one can be baptized for us.
[See also Acts 8:36-39; 18:8; Rom. 1:16; 10:13-17.]
C. Before Baptism One Must Repent of Sins.
Acts 2:38 - Every person who is baptized ("every one of you") must first repent. Repentance is a change of mind - a decision to turn from sin and begin to live for God (cf. Matt. 21:28,29). This decision involves a commitment to put God first, and to live all our lives faithfully serving Him.
Note that the person who is baptized is the same person who must first repent. This is a personal choice. No one else can make this decision for us. Can a baby make this choice? (Note that we will see later that babies do not even have any sins to repent of.)
Some people claim that "children" in v39 means babies are included in those to whom this "promise" was made. But "children" simply means offspring, regardless of age (note Matt. 3:9; 10:21; 21:28; John 8:39). The "promise" here is for those who repent and are baptized (v38); but babies cannot repent, nor can they do other things required in the context (v36,40,41,42). The "promise" to the "children" was fulfilled when they were old enough to do what God requires, not while they were babies.
[See also 2 Cor. 7:10; Mk. 1:4,5.]
D. Before Baptism One Must Confess Christ.
Romans 10:9,10 - To be saved, one must believe in his heart and confess Christ with his mouth. How can a baby confess Christ when it cannot even speak?
Acts 8:35-39 - Here is an example of confession before baptism. The candidate for baptism must make an understandable statement, so that the one who does the baptizing knows they are baptizing someone who has faith. Babies cannot communicate regarding their faith in any understandable way, therefore it is not Scriptural to baptize them.
Churches that baptize babies often have a practice called "confirmation." People are baptized as babies, but later when they get old enough to understand and make their own choice about serving God, they are taught and are asked to publicly "confirm" their faith and their desire to live for God. The very existence of such a practice is an admission that the child did not understand, believe, and repent before he was baptized.
We have now learned four things which the Bible says every person must personally do before he can be baptized. God is no respecter of persons, so the plan is the same for everyone. Before anyone can be baptized, he must hear and understand the gospel, believe it, repent of sins, and confess Christ. Little babies cannot do any of these things. Therefore, the command to be baptized is not addressed to them. To baptize them anyway would be to act without God's authority. It would be doing something different from what God says must be done.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Infant Baptism and the Bible:Should Babies Be Baptized?
Some denominations baptize babies, but other groups teach that baptism is only for those who are old enough to make a personal choice based on their own faith and repentance. Does the Bible authorize infant baptism or does it teach personal responsibility and individual accountability? Are infants born guilty of original sin and inherited depravity? What does the gospel of Jesus Christ teach?
Introduction:
Jesus clearly commanded people to be baptized (Matt. 28:18-20), yet there is much disagreement about who should be baptized.
Some religious groups baptize babies. But other people say that, before one is baptized, a person should be old enough to accept the responsibility to make his own decision whether or not to be baptized and to live the Christian life. That is, they teach individual responsibility and personal accountability. The purpose of this study is to learn what the Bible says about infant baptism.
We begin with an important basic principle: In order to participate in a religious practice with God's approval, we must find New Testament teaching authorizing that practice.
Everything we do in religion must be done by Jesus' authority (Col. 3:17). The Scriptures provide us to all good works (2 Tim. 3:16,17), so if a practice is not included in God's word, it must not be a good work. If a practice is not authorized in the New Testament, then it must be human in origin and therefore not pleasing to God (2 John 9; Gal. 1:6-9; Matt. 15:9; Prov. 14:12; etc.)
According to these Scriptures babies should be baptized only if we can find statements in the New Testament that show that God wants us to practice this. To prove infant baptism is unacceptable, we do not have to find a passage that expressly forbids the practice. Rather, if the Bible tells us specifically who to baptize, and if infants are not included in those instructions - i.e., if the gospel teaches individual responsibility and personal accountability - then the practice of baptizing babies should be abandoned.
Please consider the following Bible teaching: Continue tomorrow
Introduction:
Jesus clearly commanded people to be baptized (Matt. 28:18-20), yet there is much disagreement about who should be baptized.
Some religious groups baptize babies. But other people say that, before one is baptized, a person should be old enough to accept the responsibility to make his own decision whether or not to be baptized and to live the Christian life. That is, they teach individual responsibility and personal accountability. The purpose of this study is to learn what the Bible says about infant baptism.
We begin with an important basic principle: In order to participate in a religious practice with God's approval, we must find New Testament teaching authorizing that practice.
Everything we do in religion must be done by Jesus' authority (Col. 3:17). The Scriptures provide us to all good works (2 Tim. 3:16,17), so if a practice is not included in God's word, it must not be a good work. If a practice is not authorized in the New Testament, then it must be human in origin and therefore not pleasing to God (2 John 9; Gal. 1:6-9; Matt. 15:9; Prov. 14:12; etc.)
According to these Scriptures babies should be baptized only if we can find statements in the New Testament that show that God wants us to practice this. To prove infant baptism is unacceptable, we do not have to find a passage that expressly forbids the practice. Rather, if the Bible tells us specifically who to baptize, and if infants are not included in those instructions - i.e., if the gospel teaches individual responsibility and personal accountability - then the practice of baptizing babies should be abandoned.
Please consider the following Bible teaching: Continue tomorrow
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
III. Effects
What is the fruit or the result that occurs if we follow these guides?
A. The Bible Produces True Christians, Members of the One True Church.
The gospel reproduces like seed.
Luke 8:11,15 - The seed is the word of God. When good hearts receive this seed, it grows and produces fruit. Note the connection between the seed and the fruit.
All doctrines are like plants. The plant bears fruit, which produces a seed. The seed produces more plants, which bear fruit, etc.
In religion, when teachings are planted in a man's heart, if his heart is receptive (good soil), the seed will produce fruit in that person's life. He will become the kind of person the teaching says he should be.
1 Peter 1:22-25 - We are born again into God's family by obeying the incorruptible seed, which is God's word, the gospel.
Notice this procedure in conversion.
Romans 1:16 - The gospel (seed) is God's power to salvation.
Romans 10:17 - Hearing the gospel produces faith.
Mark 16:15,16 - Faith leads to obedience - i.e., baptism. The person is thereby forgiven of sins. He is born again as a child of God.
Acts 2:47 - The Lord then adds him to His church, which is God's family.
Galatians 5:22-24 - He must then bring forth fruit as God teaches - a faithful life. If he remains faithful, he will receive the inheritance, which has been promised to family members.
God's word is the seed that produces Christians, members of God's family. This is how the seed worked in the first century; and the same seed will always produce the same results when planted in receptive hearts, even today. If we just follow God's guide, we become simply Christians, members of Jesus' church. We are not members of any denomination, just like people in first century were not.
[Acts 2:38; John 3:3,5; Galatians 3:26,27; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Cor. 12:13; 1 Tim 3:15; 1 Peter 1:3,4; Romans 8:14-17]
B. Other Standards Produce Denominations and Division,
False doctrine also produces fruit.
Galatians 6:7 - Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Seed reproduces after its own kind. The fruit of an apple tree is apples. The fruit of a corn plant is corn. Since man-made standards are a different seed from the Bible, we must expect it to produce different fruit.
Matthew 7:15-20 - Regarding false teachers Jesus warned, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Consider the "fruit" of man-made religious guides.
What fruit do denominational creeds produce?
Some years ago a poll was taken of six denominational leaders regarding their creeds (Gospel Digest, 6/61 - slightly reworded.)
Two questions were asked:
(1) If I refuse to follow the creed of your denomination and follow only the Bible, can I be a member of your denomination? All six denominational preachers answered, "No"!
(2) If I refuse to follow the creed of your denomination and follow only the Bible, can I still be a Christian and go to heaven? All said, "Yes."
Conclusions:
* No human denomination is essential to salvation. All admitted you can be saved outside their denomination.
* No human creed is essential to salvation. All admitted you can be saved without following their creed.
* Human standards result in denominational division. Each denomination has its own creed, and the peculiar doctrines stated in those creeds, are what separate them from one another. And since they admit we need not follow their creeds to be saved, they are admitting they are divided from one another over things that make no difference regarding ones salvation.
* Simply following the Bible will not make you a member of a denomination. In fact, in you insist on following only the Bible, you can't be a member of a denomination. They will not accept you if you refuse to follow their creeds!
What does God think about these facts?
1 Corinthians 1:10,13 - Paul taught there should be no division among Christians. We must firmly oppose error, but denominational division is not the result of people standing firm for what God requires. They admit people in other denominations are still pleasing to God! They are divided over man-made doctrines. Surely God is displeased.
Ephesians 4:4-6 - There is one body and one faith, just as surely as there is one God. God will not accept many different faiths, any more than He will accept many different gods.
John 17:20,21 - Jesus prayed for unity among believers. But the result of man-made guides is division.
If all people would really obey the Bible, the result would be unity: all people would be Christians, members of the one true church. The fruit of following man-made standards is division: people are divided into many different denominations, contrary to God's will.
Conclusion
We have learned why we should not follow man-made religious creeds: They are human in origin, they are imperfect, and they lead to denominational division.
But we have also learned how we can please God in spite of all the man-made denominations, creeds, and division. We can be simply Christians, members of Jesus one true church, without being members of any denomination. How? Just like people in the first century were: by rejecting all man-made teachings and following only the pure teachings of the New Testament!
In the survey described earlier, a preacher in the church of Christ was also asked the questions. The substance of his answers was: The church of Christ is not a denomination and we do not have any creed besides the Bible. If someone followed only the Bible, that person not only could be a member of the church of Christ, he would be a member, because that is exactly what one must do to become a member!
What about you? Are you following the undenominational creed?
A. The Bible Produces True Christians, Members of the One True Church.
The gospel reproduces like seed.
Luke 8:11,15 - The seed is the word of God. When good hearts receive this seed, it grows and produces fruit. Note the connection between the seed and the fruit.
All doctrines are like plants. The plant bears fruit, which produces a seed. The seed produces more plants, which bear fruit, etc.
In religion, when teachings are planted in a man's heart, if his heart is receptive (good soil), the seed will produce fruit in that person's life. He will become the kind of person the teaching says he should be.
1 Peter 1:22-25 - We are born again into God's family by obeying the incorruptible seed, which is God's word, the gospel.
Notice this procedure in conversion.
Romans 1:16 - The gospel (seed) is God's power to salvation.
Romans 10:17 - Hearing the gospel produces faith.
Mark 16:15,16 - Faith leads to obedience - i.e., baptism. The person is thereby forgiven of sins. He is born again as a child of God.
Acts 2:47 - The Lord then adds him to His church, which is God's family.
Galatians 5:22-24 - He must then bring forth fruit as God teaches - a faithful life. If he remains faithful, he will receive the inheritance, which has been promised to family members.
God's word is the seed that produces Christians, members of God's family. This is how the seed worked in the first century; and the same seed will always produce the same results when planted in receptive hearts, even today. If we just follow God's guide, we become simply Christians, members of Jesus' church. We are not members of any denomination, just like people in first century were not.
[Acts 2:38; John 3:3,5; Galatians 3:26,27; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Cor. 12:13; 1 Tim 3:15; 1 Peter 1:3,4; Romans 8:14-17]
B. Other Standards Produce Denominations and Division,
False doctrine also produces fruit.
Galatians 6:7 - Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Seed reproduces after its own kind. The fruit of an apple tree is apples. The fruit of a corn plant is corn. Since man-made standards are a different seed from the Bible, we must expect it to produce different fruit.
Matthew 7:15-20 - Regarding false teachers Jesus warned, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Consider the "fruit" of man-made religious guides.
What fruit do denominational creeds produce?
Some years ago a poll was taken of six denominational leaders regarding their creeds (Gospel Digest, 6/61 - slightly reworded.)
Two questions were asked:
(1) If I refuse to follow the creed of your denomination and follow only the Bible, can I be a member of your denomination? All six denominational preachers answered, "No"!
(2) If I refuse to follow the creed of your denomination and follow only the Bible, can I still be a Christian and go to heaven? All said, "Yes."
Conclusions:
* No human denomination is essential to salvation. All admitted you can be saved outside their denomination.
* No human creed is essential to salvation. All admitted you can be saved without following their creed.
* Human standards result in denominational division. Each denomination has its own creed, and the peculiar doctrines stated in those creeds, are what separate them from one another. And since they admit we need not follow their creeds to be saved, they are admitting they are divided from one another over things that make no difference regarding ones salvation.
* Simply following the Bible will not make you a member of a denomination. In fact, in you insist on following only the Bible, you can't be a member of a denomination. They will not accept you if you refuse to follow their creeds!
What does God think about these facts?
1 Corinthians 1:10,13 - Paul taught there should be no division among Christians. We must firmly oppose error, but denominational division is not the result of people standing firm for what God requires. They admit people in other denominations are still pleasing to God! They are divided over man-made doctrines. Surely God is displeased.
Ephesians 4:4-6 - There is one body and one faith, just as surely as there is one God. God will not accept many different faiths, any more than He will accept many different gods.
John 17:20,21 - Jesus prayed for unity among believers. But the result of man-made guides is division.
If all people would really obey the Bible, the result would be unity: all people would be Christians, members of the one true church. The fruit of following man-made standards is division: people are divided into many different denominations, contrary to God's will.
Conclusion
We have learned why we should not follow man-made religious creeds: They are human in origin, they are imperfect, and they lead to denominational division.
But we have also learned how we can please God in spite of all the man-made denominations, creeds, and division. We can be simply Christians, members of Jesus one true church, without being members of any denomination. How? Just like people in the first century were: by rejecting all man-made teachings and following only the pure teachings of the New Testament!
In the survey described earlier, a preacher in the church of Christ was also asked the questions. The substance of his answers was: The church of Christ is not a denomination and we do not have any creed besides the Bible. If someone followed only the Bible, that person not only could be a member of the church of Christ, he would be a member, because that is exactly what one must do to become a member!
What about you? Are you following the undenominational creed?
Monday, March 16, 2009
II. Adequacy
How adequate are these standards in meeting our needs? How sufficient and reliable are they as religious guides?
A. The Bible Is a Perfect Standard of Authority.
It completely satisfies everything we need is a standard of religious guidance.
It is complete.
If the Bible did not answer some question that was essential for us to answer to be saved, then we might need some other guide. But the Bible contains all the information we need to please God and be saved.
John 16:13; [14:26] - The Holy Spirit guided apostles to all truth. They wrote in the Scriptures what they received from the Spirit.
2 Timothy 3:16,17 - The Scriptures furnish us perfectly or completely to all good works. They answer every essential religious question.
2 Peter 1:3 - God has granted all things that pertain to life and godliness.
Any information which is not provided in the Bible is information which is not essential to our salvation (Deut. 29:29).
[Acts 20:20,27; Jude 3]
It is understandable.
If the Bible was written in such a way that men could not understand it, then we might need some other standard. But the Bible can be understood by every honest person of normal intelligence, sufficient to receive salvation.
Mark 7:14 - Jesus instructed the multitudes of common people. He said every one of them should understand what He spoke.
2 Timothy 3:15,16 - The Scriptures are able to make men wise to salvation, and are profitable for doctrine, reproof, and instruction in righteousness. But they can so profit us only if we can understand.
1 Corinthians 14:33 - God is not the author of confusion. But if, as some claim, the Bible cannot be understood, then God would be the author of confusion. Since He is not the author of confusion, the Bible must be understandable.
[Eph. 3:3-5; Isaiah 55:11; John 8:31,32; Proverbs 2:1-9]
It is eternal (indestructible).
If the Bible has been so corrupted since it was written that it no longer contains the truth, then we would need a new standard. But the Word of God is eternal.
2 Peter 1:12-15 - The Scriptures were written so people would have the message of inspired men even after those men were dead. It was intended for future generations.
1 Peter 1:22-25 - The word lives and abides forever. It is not like plants that spring up and then die.
2 John 2 - The truth will be with us forever.
John 12:48 - Jesus' words will be present even at the Judgment as the standard by which our destinies will be determined.
Psalm 119:152,160; Isaiah 40:8; 30:8 - These same promises were made regarding the Old Testament. The promises were fulfilled so completely that the message was preserved hundreds of years till Jesus' lifetime. It was so perfect then that He and His apostles repeatedly cited Scripture as Divine authority without ever once implying anything was missing or inaccurate.
These same promises have now been made regarding the entire written word, so we can be sure that God, by His power has likewise kept this promise. The record written by the inspired men will always exist and be available to guide honest people.
[Jude 3; Matthew 24:35; Psalm 12:6,7]
It is infallible (inerrant).
If there was any possibility of mistakes being in the Bible, we might need another guide. But there is no mistake because it is the word of God.
John 17:17 - God's word is truth.
Psalm 33:4 - God's word is right. You and I may be wrong, but God's word is never wrong.
God cannot lie or make mistakes. Since the Bible is the word of God, it must be right in everything it teaches.
James 1:25 - The Gospel is "the perfect law of liberty." We need no guide but the Bible.
[Psalm 119:160,142,128; 19:8; 147:4,5; Romans 3:4; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18; Job 33:16; Num. 23:19]
B. Other Standards Are Imperfect.
The very fact these standards are human in origin proves they are imperfect. What does man ever do perfectly? Further, by comparing them to the Bible, we see they are different.
Whenever men take something that is perfect and then change it, they make it imperfect.
There are three possible ways for a man-made standard to be different from the Bible.
1) It may contain more than the Bible. It may teach us to practice something which is not authorized in the Bible. This would be "adding to" God's word.
2) It may contain less than the Bible. It may release men from practicing something which God's word teaches us to practice. This is "taking from" God's word.
3) It may substitute for what the Bible says. This is both taking away what God says and then replacing it by adding something else God did not say.
What does God think about guides that are different from His word?
Galatians 1:8,9 - If anyone, even an angel, preaches a gospel different from what inspired men taught, He is accursed of God.
2 John 9 - Whoever fails to abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. But following human standards - whether by failing to practice what Jesus teaches, or by practicing things He never authorized - is a failure to abide in the teachings of Jesus.
Revelation 22:18,19 - Whoever adds to Jesus' words, God will add to him the plagues in the book. Whoever takes from God's words, his part will be removed from the holy city.
Again, the basic error of human standards is that they show a lack of respect for the teachings of Jesus. All human standards are written on the presumption that weak, imperfect human beings can write a better standard than what was written by the all-wise, infallible God. This is why God refuses to allow His people to follow any other standard but the Bible. When we truly respect the teachings of Jesus, then we will not seek any other religious standards of authority.
[Col. 3:17; Acts 3:22,23; Matthew 28:20; 4:4-7; 15:1-14; 7:2l-27; 1 Corinthians 4:6; Lev. 10:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:16,17.]
A. The Bible Is a Perfect Standard of Authority.
It completely satisfies everything we need is a standard of religious guidance.
It is complete.
If the Bible did not answer some question that was essential for us to answer to be saved, then we might need some other guide. But the Bible contains all the information we need to please God and be saved.
John 16:13; [14:26] - The Holy Spirit guided apostles to all truth. They wrote in the Scriptures what they received from the Spirit.
2 Timothy 3:16,17 - The Scriptures furnish us perfectly or completely to all good works. They answer every essential religious question.
2 Peter 1:3 - God has granted all things that pertain to life and godliness.
Any information which is not provided in the Bible is information which is not essential to our salvation (Deut. 29:29).
[Acts 20:20,27; Jude 3]
It is understandable.
If the Bible was written in such a way that men could not understand it, then we might need some other standard. But the Bible can be understood by every honest person of normal intelligence, sufficient to receive salvation.
Mark 7:14 - Jesus instructed the multitudes of common people. He said every one of them should understand what He spoke.
2 Timothy 3:15,16 - The Scriptures are able to make men wise to salvation, and are profitable for doctrine, reproof, and instruction in righteousness. But they can so profit us only if we can understand.
1 Corinthians 14:33 - God is not the author of confusion. But if, as some claim, the Bible cannot be understood, then God would be the author of confusion. Since He is not the author of confusion, the Bible must be understandable.
[Eph. 3:3-5; Isaiah 55:11; John 8:31,32; Proverbs 2:1-9]
It is eternal (indestructible).
If the Bible has been so corrupted since it was written that it no longer contains the truth, then we would need a new standard. But the Word of God is eternal.
2 Peter 1:12-15 - The Scriptures were written so people would have the message of inspired men even after those men were dead. It was intended for future generations.
1 Peter 1:22-25 - The word lives and abides forever. It is not like plants that spring up and then die.
2 John 2 - The truth will be with us forever.
John 12:48 - Jesus' words will be present even at the Judgment as the standard by which our destinies will be determined.
Psalm 119:152,160; Isaiah 40:8; 30:8 - These same promises were made regarding the Old Testament. The promises were fulfilled so completely that the message was preserved hundreds of years till Jesus' lifetime. It was so perfect then that He and His apostles repeatedly cited Scripture as Divine authority without ever once implying anything was missing or inaccurate.
These same promises have now been made regarding the entire written word, so we can be sure that God, by His power has likewise kept this promise. The record written by the inspired men will always exist and be available to guide honest people.
[Jude 3; Matthew 24:35; Psalm 12:6,7]
It is infallible (inerrant).
If there was any possibility of mistakes being in the Bible, we might need another guide. But there is no mistake because it is the word of God.
John 17:17 - God's word is truth.
Psalm 33:4 - God's word is right. You and I may be wrong, but God's word is never wrong.
God cannot lie or make mistakes. Since the Bible is the word of God, it must be right in everything it teaches.
James 1:25 - The Gospel is "the perfect law of liberty." We need no guide but the Bible.
[Psalm 119:160,142,128; 19:8; 147:4,5; Romans 3:4; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18; Job 33:16; Num. 23:19]
B. Other Standards Are Imperfect.
The very fact these standards are human in origin proves they are imperfect. What does man ever do perfectly? Further, by comparing them to the Bible, we see they are different.
Whenever men take something that is perfect and then change it, they make it imperfect.
There are three possible ways for a man-made standard to be different from the Bible.
1) It may contain more than the Bible. It may teach us to practice something which is not authorized in the Bible. This would be "adding to" God's word.
2) It may contain less than the Bible. It may release men from practicing something which God's word teaches us to practice. This is "taking from" God's word.
3) It may substitute for what the Bible says. This is both taking away what God says and then replacing it by adding something else God did not say.
What does God think about guides that are different from His word?
Galatians 1:8,9 - If anyone, even an angel, preaches a gospel different from what inspired men taught, He is accursed of God.
2 John 9 - Whoever fails to abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. But following human standards - whether by failing to practice what Jesus teaches, or by practicing things He never authorized - is a failure to abide in the teachings of Jesus.
Revelation 22:18,19 - Whoever adds to Jesus' words, God will add to him the plagues in the book. Whoever takes from God's words, his part will be removed from the holy city.
Again, the basic error of human standards is that they show a lack of respect for the teachings of Jesus. All human standards are written on the presumption that weak, imperfect human beings can write a better standard than what was written by the all-wise, infallible God. This is why God refuses to allow His people to follow any other standard but the Bible. When we truly respect the teachings of Jesus, then we will not seek any other religious standards of authority.
[Col. 3:17; Acts 3:22,23; Matthew 28:20; 4:4-7; 15:1-14; 7:2l-27; 1 Corinthians 4:6; Lev. 10:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:16,17.]
Saturday, March 14, 2009
I. Origin
Every standard must be originated by someone. We here ask who is the originator of these various standards? What is their source?
A. The Bible Came from God.
Its origin is Divine. It is a message from God to man.
John 16:13; [14:26] - Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles into all truth. As these men spoke and wrote, the teachings they revealed were not human in origin, but were the very will of God.
1 Corinthians 14:37 - The things Paul wrote were the commandment of the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
When we follow the Bible, we are following God's will for man, not human ideas.
[1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Ephesians 3:3-5; John 16:13; Matthew 10:19,20; Galatians 1:8-12; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Luke 10:16]
B. Other Standards Came from Men.
They are human in origin. The writers were not inspired or guided by the Holy Spirit. Generally they do not even claim such. Nevertheless, denominations recognize these writings as authority - rule or law - which the group uses in determining what it should or should not teach and practice.
Examples
Methodist Discipline, p. v:
Traditionally United Methodists have not only been happy to be guided by the Discipline as a book of church law, but they have also usually regarded it with a certain degree of reverence... -- 1973 edition
Nazarene Manual, p. 27:
...we, the ministers and lay members of the Church of the Nazarene ... do hereby ordain, adopt, and set forth as the fundamental law or constitution of the Church of the Nazarene the Articles of Faith, the General Rules, and the Articles of Organization and Government here following... - 1972 Edition.
Page 44 tells how this Constitution may be repealed or amended by 2/3 vote.
Presbyterian Book Of Confessions, section 9.04:
The United Presbyterian Church ... is guided by the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds from the time of the early church; the Scots Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Second Helvetic Confession from the era of the Reformation; the Westminster Confession and Shorter Catechism from the seventeenth century; and the Theological Declaration of Barmen from the twentieth century" - 1967 edition
Note that they claim these creeds are founded on the Old and New Testaments; but they are not the Old and New Testaments - they are man-made creeds in addition to the Bible.
Roman Catholic Catechism
Page 9: Do we get from the Bible alone all our knowledge and certainty about what God has told us? No, there is also Sacred Tradition ... What is tradition? The Word of God handed on to us by the Apostles in their preaching and by their successors in the Church to the present day...
Page 51: Did God intend that the Bible alone should be the guide to salvation? No, because certain things in the Bible can be misunderstood, and because the Bible does not have everything God taught.
Page 56 - Does Jesus require us to follow the Pope in matters of religion? Yes, because obedience and loyalty to the Pope are among the chief requirements of Our Lord's plan for unity in His church - A Catechism for Adults, 1975 edition.
Many other examples could be cited. Sometimes members of these groups will affirm that they do not recognize these writings as authority. Nevertheless, the denomination they are a member of does recognize and follow them. These are human standards in addition to the Bible. Men wrote them and men can change them.
What is God's attitude toward such human authority in religion?
Human authority has never been acceptable to God in spiritual matters.
Isaiah 55:8,9 - Our ways are not God's ways. His ways are higher than ours as Heaven is higher than earth. Men by our own wisdom are not able to know what pleases God. We cannot invent doctrine and expect Him to be pleased.
Jeremiah 10:23 - It is not in man that walks to direct His path.
Matthew 15:9,13 - For this reason, Jesus forbids our following man-made teachings. It makes our service to God vain. Such doctrines will be rooted up, and those who follow teachers of these doctrines will fall into the ditch (v13,14).
[Galatians 1:8,9; 2 John 9-11; Colossians 3:17; Proverbs 14:12; 3:5,6; Revelation 22:18,19; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:13; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 1 Peter 4:11]
Jesus is the only law-giver for His church.
Matthew 28:18-20 - He had all authority in heaven and on earth, so men should observe all things He commands.
Ephesians 1:22,23 - He is head over all things to His church. What is left for men to rule or make laws over? [James 4:12]
The fundamental error of all man-made religious authority is that it puts man in the place of God. It says that men are wise enough to make rules about how to serve God, whereas God says men do not have this wisdom. Only God has the right to make religious laws, and those laws have all been made and revealed in the Bible.
People who respect the authority of Jesus will not make or follow laws other than those He has revealed. To follow man-made laws is to show lack of respect for Jesus!
A. The Bible Came from God.
Its origin is Divine. It is a message from God to man.
John 16:13; [14:26] - Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles into all truth. As these men spoke and wrote, the teachings they revealed were not human in origin, but were the very will of God.
1 Corinthians 14:37 - The things Paul wrote were the commandment of the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
When we follow the Bible, we are following God's will for man, not human ideas.
[1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Ephesians 3:3-5; John 16:13; Matthew 10:19,20; Galatians 1:8-12; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Luke 10:16]
B. Other Standards Came from Men.
They are human in origin. The writers were not inspired or guided by the Holy Spirit. Generally they do not even claim such. Nevertheless, denominations recognize these writings as authority - rule or law - which the group uses in determining what it should or should not teach and practice.
Examples
Methodist Discipline, p. v:
Traditionally United Methodists have not only been happy to be guided by the Discipline as a book of church law, but they have also usually regarded it with a certain degree of reverence... -- 1973 edition
Nazarene Manual, p. 27:
...we, the ministers and lay members of the Church of the Nazarene ... do hereby ordain, adopt, and set forth as the fundamental law or constitution of the Church of the Nazarene the Articles of Faith, the General Rules, and the Articles of Organization and Government here following... - 1972 Edition.
Page 44 tells how this Constitution may be repealed or amended by 2/3 vote.
Presbyterian Book Of Confessions, section 9.04:
The United Presbyterian Church ... is guided by the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds from the time of the early church; the Scots Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Second Helvetic Confession from the era of the Reformation; the Westminster Confession and Shorter Catechism from the seventeenth century; and the Theological Declaration of Barmen from the twentieth century" - 1967 edition
Note that they claim these creeds are founded on the Old and New Testaments; but they are not the Old and New Testaments - they are man-made creeds in addition to the Bible.
Roman Catholic Catechism
Page 9: Do we get from the Bible alone all our knowledge and certainty about what God has told us? No, there is also Sacred Tradition ... What is tradition? The Word of God handed on to us by the Apostles in their preaching and by their successors in the Church to the present day...
Page 51: Did God intend that the Bible alone should be the guide to salvation? No, because certain things in the Bible can be misunderstood, and because the Bible does not have everything God taught.
Page 56 - Does Jesus require us to follow the Pope in matters of religion? Yes, because obedience and loyalty to the Pope are among the chief requirements of Our Lord's plan for unity in His church - A Catechism for Adults, 1975 edition.
Many other examples could be cited. Sometimes members of these groups will affirm that they do not recognize these writings as authority. Nevertheless, the denomination they are a member of does recognize and follow them. These are human standards in addition to the Bible. Men wrote them and men can change them.
What is God's attitude toward such human authority in religion?
Human authority has never been acceptable to God in spiritual matters.
Isaiah 55:8,9 - Our ways are not God's ways. His ways are higher than ours as Heaven is higher than earth. Men by our own wisdom are not able to know what pleases God. We cannot invent doctrine and expect Him to be pleased.
Jeremiah 10:23 - It is not in man that walks to direct His path.
Matthew 15:9,13 - For this reason, Jesus forbids our following man-made teachings. It makes our service to God vain. Such doctrines will be rooted up, and those who follow teachers of these doctrines will fall into the ditch (v13,14).
[Galatians 1:8,9; 2 John 9-11; Colossians 3:17; Proverbs 14:12; 3:5,6; Revelation 22:18,19; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:13; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 1 Peter 4:11]
Jesus is the only law-giver for His church.
Matthew 28:18-20 - He had all authority in heaven and on earth, so men should observe all things He commands.
Ephesians 1:22,23 - He is head over all things to His church. What is left for men to rule or make laws over? [James 4:12]
The fundamental error of all man-made religious authority is that it puts man in the place of God. It says that men are wise enough to make rules about how to serve God, whereas God says men do not have this wisdom. Only God has the right to make religious laws, and those laws have all been made and revealed in the Bible.
People who respect the authority of Jesus will not make or follow laws other than those He has revealed. To follow man-made laws is to show lack of respect for Jesus!
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Bible vs. Denominational Creeds: Man-made religious authority vs. Divine Wisdom
What guide or standard of authority should we follow in religion: the Bible or man-made denominational creeds and creed books? Different denominations have different creeds and church laws, thereby contributing to religious division and confusion. Should we follow human religious laws or the inspired Scriptures?
Introduction:
Every responsible person realizes that religious people are divided into various different groups. Those who claim to believe in Jesus have formed contradictory, disagreeing denominations.
People often wonder about the cause of this division.
One reason people are divided is that they follow different religious guides or standards of authority: creeds, creed books, church laws, etc. They use different ways to decide what they will believe and practice. When different religious guides disagree with one another, then the people who follow those creeds will necessarily disagree with one another. But, if all people would follow one and only one guide, this would be a major step toward unity.
The purpose of this lesson is to examine the human creeds of various denominations and compare them to the one truly undenominational guide, the Bible.
By a "creed" I refer to a source of authority which a group recognizes as a standard of guidance by which it determines church doctrine. Should we accept as authority in religion the various creeds, creed books, and church laws written by men according to their human wisdom, or should we follow the Divine wisdom revealed in Scripture?
In this study, we will document our statements by quoting from the creeds of various groups. Jesus and His apostles often examined the beliefs of various groups of their day. We will simply follow their example, but we do not seek to hurt anyone. Rather, we are concerned about souls. We seek to help people know truth and receive eternal life.
Notice how the Bible compares to other standards of authority in the following ways:
Introduction:
Every responsible person realizes that religious people are divided into various different groups. Those who claim to believe in Jesus have formed contradictory, disagreeing denominations.
People often wonder about the cause of this division.
One reason people are divided is that they follow different religious guides or standards of authority: creeds, creed books, church laws, etc. They use different ways to decide what they will believe and practice. When different religious guides disagree with one another, then the people who follow those creeds will necessarily disagree with one another. But, if all people would follow one and only one guide, this would be a major step toward unity.
The purpose of this lesson is to examine the human creeds of various denominations and compare them to the one truly undenominational guide, the Bible.
By a "creed" I refer to a source of authority which a group recognizes as a standard of guidance by which it determines church doctrine. Should we accept as authority in religion the various creeds, creed books, and church laws written by men according to their human wisdom, or should we follow the Divine wisdom revealed in Scripture?
In this study, we will document our statements by quoting from the creeds of various groups. Jesus and His apostles often examined the beliefs of various groups of their day. We will simply follow their example, but we do not seek to hurt anyone. Rather, we are concerned about souls. We seek to help people know truth and receive eternal life.
Notice how the Bible compares to other standards of authority in the following ways:
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Affair-Proof Your Marriage
According to Peggy Vaughan, the author of "The Monogamy Myth," 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an affair at some point in their marriage. In other words, the person who stays monogamous within her marriage is among a growing minority.
1. Nurture Safe Friendships This is the most important affair-preventer in my life. No marriage can give you everything. A husband is going to have interests that his wife will never care about like fishing, hunting, or golfing. So he's less likely to stray if he can find some good guy buddies with whom to fish, hunt, and golf.
2. Recognize the Drug Depressives and addicts are especially prone to affairs because of the head rush that comes with infatuation. The spikes in dopamine and norepinephrine we experience upon connecting with someone new fools us into thinking that the sexy man or attractive woman at the bar holds the key to our nirvana and the end to our problems. This is the same as, say, the high from cocaine. Recognizing that that rush is not real, meaningful, or lasting, can help a married person to "just say no."
3. Keep Dating I'm serious here. Visiting with your spouse with some regularity--just the two of you and no one else--will bring some very definite rewards to a marriage. By dating, you will learn how to TALK to each other again. In her book, "Mating in Captivity," Esther Perel urges a client to imagine her spouse as if she has just met him, to put him into that mysterious category again. This is really hard when you got a little one screaming, "Wipe me!" from the bathroom. However, when you can pull it off, I find her theory very effective.
Here are a few rules for date night:* No kid talk * No eavesdropping * No fighting * No flirting (with other people) * No whining or crying * No flatulence * No technology (cellphones, BlackBerries, iPhones, or iPods) * No interrupting * No belching, spitting, or vomiting * No heavy boozing * No blogging about it * No Christmas sweaters, polyester dresses, or ratty underwear.
4. Pray Together I know how those two words sound: just like the instructions of a couple leading a Catholic marriage preparation program (Pre-Cana) who told the engaged couples to "hold hands while they fight." Yeah right. Thanks for that advice!
I can't help but think there is some truth to what my high school teacher said about the braid of a marriage: you need God as that third strand to create the beautiful bond between a man and a woman. And that Fr. Peyton really knew what he was talking about when he coined the phrase, "a family that prays together stays together."
5. Find a Creative Outlet People get lured into emotional and physical affairs because the infatuation provides an exciting, stimulating place where they are energized.
So to stay affair-proof, you have to find other sources of stimulation and excitement. For me, my blog is that outlet. I can't wait to log on each day to see what all of my dear readers have to say. When I get overwhelmed by the domestic chaos of our lives, Beyond Blue provides me that outlet where I can create something new, where I can run away, however temporarily, from the stress.
"The desire to give oneself completely and purposefully pursues us always, and has its part in pushing us into more and more distractions, illusory love affairs, or the haven of hospitals and doctors' offices," writes Anne Morrow Lindbergh in "Gift From the Sea." In order to not be torn into pieces by all of life's distraction--and affairs fit into this category--Lindbergh urges women (and I add men) to seek a creative outlet, something of her own, in which to pour that energy that could so quickly shatter her marriage.
6. Hang Out with Happy Couples According to the latest studies, the risk for obesity increased 171 percent among persons with obese friends. The risk only increased 37 percent for persons with an obese spouse, and 40 percent for folks with obese siblings.
That says to me that peer pressure never really goes away, and that your friends influence you more than you think. So if you're hanging with a bunch of guys (or girls) that see nothing wrong with sleeping around, you are much more likely to do it yourself.
The good news is that the opposite is also true. If you have a set of friends committed to their marriages, you will be less likely to cheat on your spouse.
7. Learn How to Fight I'm not going to tell you to hold hands, like that woman at the Pre-Cana (Catholic marriage preparation) session. But this good advice did actually come from the couple who facilitated Eric's and my Pre-Cana obligation. They told us to wait before saying something really ugly, and make sure you weren't tired or hungry, or in a stressful situation.
I'm not saying that you can't confront your spouse if you're tired, hungry, or stressed, because then we'd live in a silent world. BUT it's a good idea to recognize situations that tend to accelerate arguments. For Eric and me, that's two places: in the car (because I'm a nervous passenger, and so is he), and on a sailboat (where we argue about which one of us is a more capable skipper and can better read the wind).
8. Be Nice and Listen "Duh," you're saying to yourself. But think about it. This is the hardest part about marriage. Listening. Keeping your mouth closed when the other person is talking. And then, at the appropriate time, saying something like, "I'm so sorry you're feeling that way" as you rub his back, instead of "If you would have done it this way, then you could have prevented that, Butthead."
In my conversations with men and women who have had affairs, the number one reason for pursuing the affair was this: "She listened to me. I mattered to him."
9. Remember These Tools Never forget that you have a toolbox of resources to draw on when you feel tempted by an extramarital affair. Here are some tools offered to me by those healing from affairs, insights to keep in mind when you feel that familiar head rush and are tempted to abandon logic for a thrill:
Don't go there: Don't put yourself in a threatening situation. Skip the conference in Hawaii with the colleague who flirts with you. If you absolutely have to go, avoid all opportunities to be alone with him.
You've got mail: When you don't know if your email crosses the line into appropriate language, send it to yourself first. Read it again, and ask yourself: would I feel comfortable showing this to my husband?
Dress with intentions: One woman told me that she saved her lingerie for her husband, and wore the ratty old underwear to the high-school reunion where she'd see a flame from the past.
Talk about your spouse: A guy friend told me that whenever he is alone with a woman he finds attractive and things are getting uncomfortable, he'll start talking about his wife--what her hobbies are, and how much he loves her. It immediately kills the mood.
1. Nurture Safe Friendships This is the most important affair-preventer in my life. No marriage can give you everything. A husband is going to have interests that his wife will never care about like fishing, hunting, or golfing. So he's less likely to stray if he can find some good guy buddies with whom to fish, hunt, and golf.
2. Recognize the Drug Depressives and addicts are especially prone to affairs because of the head rush that comes with infatuation. The spikes in dopamine and norepinephrine we experience upon connecting with someone new fools us into thinking that the sexy man or attractive woman at the bar holds the key to our nirvana and the end to our problems. This is the same as, say, the high from cocaine. Recognizing that that rush is not real, meaningful, or lasting, can help a married person to "just say no."
3. Keep Dating I'm serious here. Visiting with your spouse with some regularity--just the two of you and no one else--will bring some very definite rewards to a marriage. By dating, you will learn how to TALK to each other again. In her book, "Mating in Captivity," Esther Perel urges a client to imagine her spouse as if she has just met him, to put him into that mysterious category again. This is really hard when you got a little one screaming, "Wipe me!" from the bathroom. However, when you can pull it off, I find her theory very effective.
Here are a few rules for date night:* No kid talk * No eavesdropping * No fighting * No flirting (with other people) * No whining or crying * No flatulence * No technology (cellphones, BlackBerries, iPhones, or iPods) * No interrupting * No belching, spitting, or vomiting * No heavy boozing * No blogging about it * No Christmas sweaters, polyester dresses, or ratty underwear.
4. Pray Together I know how those two words sound: just like the instructions of a couple leading a Catholic marriage preparation program (Pre-Cana) who told the engaged couples to "hold hands while they fight." Yeah right. Thanks for that advice!
I can't help but think there is some truth to what my high school teacher said about the braid of a marriage: you need God as that third strand to create the beautiful bond between a man and a woman. And that Fr. Peyton really knew what he was talking about when he coined the phrase, "a family that prays together stays together."
5. Find a Creative Outlet People get lured into emotional and physical affairs because the infatuation provides an exciting, stimulating place where they are energized.
So to stay affair-proof, you have to find other sources of stimulation and excitement. For me, my blog is that outlet. I can't wait to log on each day to see what all of my dear readers have to say. When I get overwhelmed by the domestic chaos of our lives, Beyond Blue provides me that outlet where I can create something new, where I can run away, however temporarily, from the stress.
"The desire to give oneself completely and purposefully pursues us always, and has its part in pushing us into more and more distractions, illusory love affairs, or the haven of hospitals and doctors' offices," writes Anne Morrow Lindbergh in "Gift From the Sea." In order to not be torn into pieces by all of life's distraction--and affairs fit into this category--Lindbergh urges women (and I add men) to seek a creative outlet, something of her own, in which to pour that energy that could so quickly shatter her marriage.
6. Hang Out with Happy Couples According to the latest studies, the risk for obesity increased 171 percent among persons with obese friends. The risk only increased 37 percent for persons with an obese spouse, and 40 percent for folks with obese siblings.
That says to me that peer pressure never really goes away, and that your friends influence you more than you think. So if you're hanging with a bunch of guys (or girls) that see nothing wrong with sleeping around, you are much more likely to do it yourself.
The good news is that the opposite is also true. If you have a set of friends committed to their marriages, you will be less likely to cheat on your spouse.
7. Learn How to Fight I'm not going to tell you to hold hands, like that woman at the Pre-Cana (Catholic marriage preparation) session. But this good advice did actually come from the couple who facilitated Eric's and my Pre-Cana obligation. They told us to wait before saying something really ugly, and make sure you weren't tired or hungry, or in a stressful situation.
I'm not saying that you can't confront your spouse if you're tired, hungry, or stressed, because then we'd live in a silent world. BUT it's a good idea to recognize situations that tend to accelerate arguments. For Eric and me, that's two places: in the car (because I'm a nervous passenger, and so is he), and on a sailboat (where we argue about which one of us is a more capable skipper and can better read the wind).
8. Be Nice and Listen "Duh," you're saying to yourself. But think about it. This is the hardest part about marriage. Listening. Keeping your mouth closed when the other person is talking. And then, at the appropriate time, saying something like, "I'm so sorry you're feeling that way" as you rub his back, instead of "If you would have done it this way, then you could have prevented that, Butthead."
In my conversations with men and women who have had affairs, the number one reason for pursuing the affair was this: "She listened to me. I mattered to him."
9. Remember These Tools Never forget that you have a toolbox of resources to draw on when you feel tempted by an extramarital affair. Here are some tools offered to me by those healing from affairs, insights to keep in mind when you feel that familiar head rush and are tempted to abandon logic for a thrill:
Don't go there: Don't put yourself in a threatening situation. Skip the conference in Hawaii with the colleague who flirts with you. If you absolutely have to go, avoid all opportunities to be alone with him.
You've got mail: When you don't know if your email crosses the line into appropriate language, send it to yourself first. Read it again, and ask yourself: would I feel comfortable showing this to my husband?
Dress with intentions: One woman told me that she saved her lingerie for her husband, and wore the ratty old underwear to the high-school reunion where she'd see a flame from the past.
Talk about your spouse: A guy friend told me that whenever he is alone with a woman he finds attractive and things are getting uncomfortable, he'll start talking about his wife--what her hobbies are, and how much he loves her. It immediately kills the mood.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
C. The Apocrypha
The Apocrypha refers to 7 Old Testament books plus portions of other books, that are accepted by the Roman Catholic Church as being inspired, but are rejected as uninspired by non-Catholics. Consider these observations regarding the inspiration of the Apocrypha.
There is no disagreement as to which books belong in the New Testament.
The disagreement concerns only Old Testament books. But God’s commands for today are in the New Testament, not in the Old. So the Apocrypha are of little doctrinal significance. A person can surely learn the truth about how to be saved by studying the Catholic Bible, provided he obeys the text of the New Testament, not the Old Testament (and certainly not the uninspired footnotes that the Catholic church has added.)
The Hebrew Old Testament, as accepted by Jews both today and in Jesus' day, rejects the inspiration of the Apocrypha.
This fact is also undisputed. For example, Catholic Bibles plainly admit the following in the introduction to the apocryphal book of 1 Machabees: “Jews and Protestants do not regard these books as Sacred Scripture…” (quoted from the St. Joseph New Catholic Edition).
But remember that Jesus and His apostles used the Old Testament as the Jews of Palestine accepted it. They taught Jews from the Jewish Scriptures and corrected the Jews on every point in which the Jews erred, but they never once disagreed with them about what books they accepted in the Scriptures. Clearly Jesus and His apostles agreed with the Jews about which books to accept in the Old Testament. And the Apocrypha were not included.
Jesus and His apostles repeatedly quoted Old Testament books, but they never quoted nor appealed to the authority of any of the apocryphal books.
Even the Catholic Church did not officially require Catholics to accept the Apocrypha as canonical until the Council of Trent in 1546 AD.
The Catholic Dictionary by Addis and Arnold (pp. 107-110), while claiming that the books are canonical, yet admits the following facts: (1) The tradition of Palestinian Jews in Jesus' time did not accept the Apocrypha (remember, Jesus was a Palestinian Jew who lived and taught among Palestinian Jews). (2) Church "fathers" held various views on the issue, and at least one Catholic council held the books to be non-canonical. (3) Finally the Council of Trent declared the books must be accepted as "sacred and canonical" under penalty of anathema.
Much more evidence exists, but this is sufficient to show that the Apocrypha should not be viewed as true Scripture. And again there is no question about what books should be included in the New Testament, which we must obey to be saved.
Conclusion
God’s word has been preserved for us today in a form that is complete and reliable. Our faith in the preservation of the Bible should be based on the promise of God that He would preserve His word. He has demonstrated throughout history that He has kept His promises and will continue to do so.
We should appeal to the Scriptures as our only infallible source of God’s will. We ought to study them diligently, obey their precepts, and teach others to do the same. If this has not been your attitude toward the Bible, we urge you to begin now to study and obey it.
There is no disagreement as to which books belong in the New Testament.
The disagreement concerns only Old Testament books. But God’s commands for today are in the New Testament, not in the Old. So the Apocrypha are of little doctrinal significance. A person can surely learn the truth about how to be saved by studying the Catholic Bible, provided he obeys the text of the New Testament, not the Old Testament (and certainly not the uninspired footnotes that the Catholic church has added.)
The Hebrew Old Testament, as accepted by Jews both today and in Jesus' day, rejects the inspiration of the Apocrypha.
This fact is also undisputed. For example, Catholic Bibles plainly admit the following in the introduction to the apocryphal book of 1 Machabees: “Jews and Protestants do not regard these books as Sacred Scripture…” (quoted from the St. Joseph New Catholic Edition).
But remember that Jesus and His apostles used the Old Testament as the Jews of Palestine accepted it. They taught Jews from the Jewish Scriptures and corrected the Jews on every point in which the Jews erred, but they never once disagreed with them about what books they accepted in the Scriptures. Clearly Jesus and His apostles agreed with the Jews about which books to accept in the Old Testament. And the Apocrypha were not included.
Jesus and His apostles repeatedly quoted Old Testament books, but they never quoted nor appealed to the authority of any of the apocryphal books.
Even the Catholic Church did not officially require Catholics to accept the Apocrypha as canonical until the Council of Trent in 1546 AD.
The Catholic Dictionary by Addis and Arnold (pp. 107-110), while claiming that the books are canonical, yet admits the following facts: (1) The tradition of Palestinian Jews in Jesus' time did not accept the Apocrypha (remember, Jesus was a Palestinian Jew who lived and taught among Palestinian Jews). (2) Church "fathers" held various views on the issue, and at least one Catholic council held the books to be non-canonical. (3) Finally the Council of Trent declared the books must be accepted as "sacred and canonical" under penalty of anathema.
Much more evidence exists, but this is sufficient to show that the Apocrypha should not be viewed as true Scripture. And again there is no question about what books should be included in the New Testament, which we must obey to be saved.
Conclusion
God’s word has been preserved for us today in a form that is complete and reliable. Our faith in the preservation of the Bible should be based on the promise of God that He would preserve His word. He has demonstrated throughout history that He has kept His promises and will continue to do so.
We should appeal to the Scriptures as our only infallible source of God’s will. We ought to study them diligently, obey their precepts, and teach others to do the same. If this has not been your attitude toward the Bible, we urge you to begin now to study and obey it.
Monday, February 23, 2009
B. Variations in the Manuscripts
But what are the “thousands of errors” critics claim exist in the text? These are differences or variations that can be found when ancient manuscripts are compared to one another. With all these hand-written copies, one would naturally expect some variations to have crept into the text, despite the copyists’ best efforts.
But the main reason we have so many variations is that we have so many manuscripts to work with. For example, if 2000 manuscripts spell a word one way and 2000 others spell the word a little differently, that is counted as “thousands of variations.”
So the very volume of evidence we have is what leads to the large number of variations. This should be taken as evidence supporting the preservation of the Bible, instead of evidence against it. Would critics be better satisfied if we had far fewer manuscripts and therefore far fewer variations?
What is the nature of these variant readings?
1. Different spellings which in no way affect the meaning of the text
These account for fully one half of the variant readings! This would be like the difference between “Elias” and “Elijah” in our English versions. No diligent student could ever misunderstand God’s word because of such variations.
2. Differences in word order which in no way affect the meaning
Examples might be “the Lord Jesus Christ” as compared to “Jesus Christ the Lord.” No one could be misled by such instances. And due to the grammatical structure of the languages, such variations in word order are of enormously less significance in Hebrew or Greek than they are in English.
3. Insertion or omission of a word, or use of a different word, but the meaning is not affected
Examples might be "God your Father" compared to "God the Father," or simply "the Father."
4. Variations in which whole phrases or sentences are inserted or omitted.
These may seem to be real problems. But in fact none of these variations affect our understanding of God's word, because the teaching in the questionable texts can be found clearly taught in other passages which are unquestioned. Often a questionable phrase (for example, perhaps a phrase in Matthew's account) can be found word-for-word in a parallel account which is beyond question (such as perhaps in Mark's account).
In other cases, the teaching may not be found word-for-word elsewhere, but the concept is unquestionably taught elsewhere. Men who study these problems say these "significant variations" make up less than 1/1000 of the text of the New Testament. If all of them were put together, they would take up less than half a page. And none of them affect the total content of teaching of God's word!
Sir Frederic Kenyon, who served 21 years as Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum (which houses many significant ancient manuscripts of the Bible) said: "The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries." Many similar statements can be quoted from other such men.
(Material in this section is gathered mainly from: How We Got the Bible, by Neil Lightfoot; The Theme of the Bible, by Ferrell Jenkins; and A Book about the Book, by John Jarrett.)
But the main reason we have so many variations is that we have so many manuscripts to work with. For example, if 2000 manuscripts spell a word one way and 2000 others spell the word a little differently, that is counted as “thousands of variations.”
So the very volume of evidence we have is what leads to the large number of variations. This should be taken as evidence supporting the preservation of the Bible, instead of evidence against it. Would critics be better satisfied if we had far fewer manuscripts and therefore far fewer variations?
What is the nature of these variant readings?
1. Different spellings which in no way affect the meaning of the text
These account for fully one half of the variant readings! This would be like the difference between “Elias” and “Elijah” in our English versions. No diligent student could ever misunderstand God’s word because of such variations.
2. Differences in word order which in no way affect the meaning
Examples might be “the Lord Jesus Christ” as compared to “Jesus Christ the Lord.” No one could be misled by such instances. And due to the grammatical structure of the languages, such variations in word order are of enormously less significance in Hebrew or Greek than they are in English.
3. Insertion or omission of a word, or use of a different word, but the meaning is not affected
Examples might be "God your Father" compared to "God the Father," or simply "the Father."
4. Variations in which whole phrases or sentences are inserted or omitted.
These may seem to be real problems. But in fact none of these variations affect our understanding of God's word, because the teaching in the questionable texts can be found clearly taught in other passages which are unquestioned. Often a questionable phrase (for example, perhaps a phrase in Matthew's account) can be found word-for-word in a parallel account which is beyond question (such as perhaps in Mark's account).
In other cases, the teaching may not be found word-for-word elsewhere, but the concept is unquestionably taught elsewhere. Men who study these problems say these "significant variations" make up less than 1/1000 of the text of the New Testament. If all of them were put together, they would take up less than half a page. And none of them affect the total content of teaching of God's word!
Sir Frederic Kenyon, who served 21 years as Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum (which houses many significant ancient manuscripts of the Bible) said: "The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries." Many similar statements can be quoted from other such men.
(Material in this section is gathered mainly from: How We Got the Bible, by Neil Lightfoot; The Theme of the Bible, by Ferrell Jenkins; and A Book about the Book, by John Jarrett.)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Part 3: The Fulfillment of God's Promise to Preserve His Word.
We accept our modern Bible as being an accurate record of God’s word because of our faith in God’s power and His promises to preserve His word. The actual fulfillment of these promises regarding the New Testament, however, had to occur after the New Testament was completed.
By examining ancient copies of the Scriptures, we can appreciate how thoroughly God has fulfilled His promise to preserve His word.
A. Modern Evidence for the Original Text of Scripture
We today do not have any of the “autographs” — the original manuscripts of the Bible in the very hand-writing of the authors. But as mentioned earlier, men carefully copied, quoted, circulated, and translated God’s word through the years. As a result, we today have volumes of evidence to establish what the original texts said.
1. We have more than 4500 hand-written copies of the Bible in the original languages.
Some of these manuscripts are complete, others are partial or fragments. Some of them are dated to within a few centuries of the time of the New Testament writers, and a few are dated to within a few decades of their time.
2. We have many ancient translations of the Bible into other languages.
3. We have thousands of Scripture quotations found in ancient non-inspired writings.
In fact, all but a few verses of the New Testament could be reproduced just from these uninspired quotations.
Compared to the writings of other ancient authors, our evidence for the Bible’s content is overwhelming. For other writings, “convincing evidence” may consist of just a few manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when the men lived. But with the Bible we have thousands of manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when Jesus lived, and many manuscripts dated within just a few centuries.
These manuscripts were copied by men such as the “Scribes” of Jesus’ day, who were fanatically precise in their work. They checked their work by counting number of letters and words per line, per page, etc. No errors were tolerated. Remember that Jesus often disagreed with these men about their explanations of the Scriptures, but He never criticized the accuracy of their copies of the Scriptures.
By examining ancient copies of the Scriptures, we can appreciate how thoroughly God has fulfilled His promise to preserve His word.
A. Modern Evidence for the Original Text of Scripture
We today do not have any of the “autographs” — the original manuscripts of the Bible in the very hand-writing of the authors. But as mentioned earlier, men carefully copied, quoted, circulated, and translated God’s word through the years. As a result, we today have volumes of evidence to establish what the original texts said.
1. We have more than 4500 hand-written copies of the Bible in the original languages.
Some of these manuscripts are complete, others are partial or fragments. Some of them are dated to within a few centuries of the time of the New Testament writers, and a few are dated to within a few decades of their time.
2. We have many ancient translations of the Bible into other languages.
3. We have thousands of Scripture quotations found in ancient non-inspired writings.
In fact, all but a few verses of the New Testament could be reproduced just from these uninspired quotations.
Compared to the writings of other ancient authors, our evidence for the Bible’s content is overwhelming. For other writings, “convincing evidence” may consist of just a few manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when the men lived. But with the Bible we have thousands of manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when Jesus lived, and many manuscripts dated within just a few centuries.
These manuscripts were copied by men such as the “Scribes” of Jesus’ day, who were fanatically precise in their work. They checked their work by counting number of letters and words per line, per page, etc. No errors were tolerated. Remember that Jesus often disagreed with these men about their explanations of the Scriptures, but He never criticized the accuracy of their copies of the Scriptures.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
C. The Attitude of Jesus and His Disciples toward Old Testament Scripture
Now we come to the lifetime of Jesus and His disciples. This was about 1400 years after Moses began to write, and over 400 years since the last Old Testament Scripture had been recorded. These men were themselves inspired by the Holy Spirit. They clearly rebuked the Jews of their day regarding any error of which they were guilty. Surely they would have pointed out any problems in the Jewish Scriptures, if such problems existed.
What do we find? Did they say some necessary portions of Old Testament Scripture were missing or uninspired parts had been added? Did they say the Scriptures could no longer be trusted as an accurate revelation of God’s will?
1. In the first century, copies of the Old Testament were widely circulated and studied as revelation from God.
Luke 4:16-21 - In the synagogue in Nazareth Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, and said the passage was fulfilled in Jesus Himself.
Acts 8:28-35 - The Ethiopian treasurer was reading Isaiah. Philip used it as authority to teach about Jesus.
Acts 15:21 - For many generations, every city had a copy of the Scriptures (of Moses), and they were read in the synagogue every sabbath. The message was still preserved, had been copied and circulated, and was being studied and cited as authority. Did Jesus and His apostles believe this was proper treatment of Scripture?
2. Inspired men quoted Old Testament Scriptures, and expected people to study and respect them as accurate, authoritative revelation from God.
Matthew 4:4,7,10 - Jesus quoted Scripture to defeat Satan's temptations.
Matthew 15:1-9 - Jesus quoted the Old Testament as being the commandment of God, and He rebuked those who did not obey it.
Matthew 22:29-33 - Jesus rebuked people for not knowing the Scriptures. He then quoted Moses, saying that God said this “to you” (to the people in Jesus’ day). Though this passage had been written perhaps 1400 years earlier, Jesus still expected people in His day to understand it and respect it as God’s message to them.
1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4 — Paul said the Old Testament Scriptures were written for the learning and admonition of people in his day, even though they lived many centuries after the passages were written.
Acts 17:11 - The Bereans were noble-minded, because they were willing to search the Scriptures to determine whether or not they were being taught the truth.
Clearly Jesus and His apostles expected people to view the Scripture as authority to be studied and respected as revelation from God, even though it had been in existence for as much as 1400 years. This necessarily implies that the Scriptures had been accurately preserved. All of this is exactly how we are saying that the Scriptures should still be viewed and used today.
3. Inspired men appealed to Old Testament authority to confirm their own teaching.
Luke 24:27,44-46 - Jesus claimed He fulfilled Moses, all the prophets, and the psalms. Here Jesus appeals to the whole Old Testament as being authoritative.
Acts 17:2,3 - Paul demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ by reasoning with people from the Scriptures.
John 5:39,45-47 - Jesus said that Moses and the Scriptures testify of Him.
(Note that Jesus and His apostles taught that the gospel would replace the Old Testament as God's commandments for His people, but this was because the Old Law had fulfilled its purpose and God had intended all along to replace it - Heb. 8:6-13; 10:1-10; Rom. 7:2-7; Col. 2:14,16; Gal. 3:23,24; etc. At no point did they imply that the reason the law should be replaced was that the written record of it had become lost or perverted in content.)
4. Inspired men used evidence based on minute details of the Scriptures.
Matthew 22:31,32 — Having rebuked men for being ignorant of the Scriptures, Jesus proved the resurrection because God said, “I am the God of Abraham …” [Cf. Gal. 3:16.]
Jesus’ proof was based on a quotation from Moses — the oldest part of the Scriptures. It depended on the accuracy of the written word in verb tense and would have meant nothing had there been any possibility the written word had become inaccurate.
Clearly inspired men viewed the Scriptures as accurate revelation from God, and they expected other people in their day to do likewise. But remember, these men rebuked every point in which the Jews of their day were in error. Had there been any error in the Jews’ Scriptures, these inspired men would surely have told them so. Instead, they quoted the Scriptures and respected them as authority from God.
But the New Testament was written, copied, circulated, collected, translated, and preserved in exactly the same way as the Old Testament had been. God described the New Testament as “Scripture,” just like He did the Old Testament. He clearly stated that the New Testament should be used as written proof of His will for man, just as the Old Testament had been. He promised to preserve the New Testament, exactly as He had promised to preserve the Old Testament.
If God accurately preserved the Old Testament multiplied centuries till Jesus’ day, in fulfillment of His promises, who can doubt that God has likewise preserved the whole Bible through the centuries till today? All who believe in God’s power ought to accept the Bible as God’s word today and ought to use it as the absolute and infallible standard of authority to learn God’s will for our lives.
What do we find? Did they say some necessary portions of Old Testament Scripture were missing or uninspired parts had been added? Did they say the Scriptures could no longer be trusted as an accurate revelation of God’s will?
1. In the first century, copies of the Old Testament were widely circulated and studied as revelation from God.
Luke 4:16-21 - In the synagogue in Nazareth Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, and said the passage was fulfilled in Jesus Himself.
Acts 8:28-35 - The Ethiopian treasurer was reading Isaiah. Philip used it as authority to teach about Jesus.
Acts 15:21 - For many generations, every city had a copy of the Scriptures (of Moses), and they were read in the synagogue every sabbath. The message was still preserved, had been copied and circulated, and was being studied and cited as authority. Did Jesus and His apostles believe this was proper treatment of Scripture?
2. Inspired men quoted Old Testament Scriptures, and expected people to study and respect them as accurate, authoritative revelation from God.
Matthew 4:4,7,10 - Jesus quoted Scripture to defeat Satan's temptations.
Matthew 15:1-9 - Jesus quoted the Old Testament as being the commandment of God, and He rebuked those who did not obey it.
Matthew 22:29-33 - Jesus rebuked people for not knowing the Scriptures. He then quoted Moses, saying that God said this “to you” (to the people in Jesus’ day). Though this passage had been written perhaps 1400 years earlier, Jesus still expected people in His day to understand it and respect it as God’s message to them.
1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4 — Paul said the Old Testament Scriptures were written for the learning and admonition of people in his day, even though they lived many centuries after the passages were written.
Acts 17:11 - The Bereans were noble-minded, because they were willing to search the Scriptures to determine whether or not they were being taught the truth.
Clearly Jesus and His apostles expected people to view the Scripture as authority to be studied and respected as revelation from God, even though it had been in existence for as much as 1400 years. This necessarily implies that the Scriptures had been accurately preserved. All of this is exactly how we are saying that the Scriptures should still be viewed and used today.
3. Inspired men appealed to Old Testament authority to confirm their own teaching.
Luke 24:27,44-46 - Jesus claimed He fulfilled Moses, all the prophets, and the psalms. Here Jesus appeals to the whole Old Testament as being authoritative.
Acts 17:2,3 - Paul demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ by reasoning with people from the Scriptures.
John 5:39,45-47 - Jesus said that Moses and the Scriptures testify of Him.
(Note that Jesus and His apostles taught that the gospel would replace the Old Testament as God's commandments for His people, but this was because the Old Law had fulfilled its purpose and God had intended all along to replace it - Heb. 8:6-13; 10:1-10; Rom. 7:2-7; Col. 2:14,16; Gal. 3:23,24; etc. At no point did they imply that the reason the law should be replaced was that the written record of it had become lost or perverted in content.)
4. Inspired men used evidence based on minute details of the Scriptures.
Matthew 22:31,32 — Having rebuked men for being ignorant of the Scriptures, Jesus proved the resurrection because God said, “I am the God of Abraham …” [Cf. Gal. 3:16.]
Jesus’ proof was based on a quotation from Moses — the oldest part of the Scriptures. It depended on the accuracy of the written word in verb tense and would have meant nothing had there been any possibility the written word had become inaccurate.
Clearly inspired men viewed the Scriptures as accurate revelation from God, and they expected other people in their day to do likewise. But remember, these men rebuked every point in which the Jews of their day were in error. Had there been any error in the Jews’ Scriptures, these inspired men would surely have told them so. Instead, they quoted the Scriptures and respected them as authority from God.
But the New Testament was written, copied, circulated, collected, translated, and preserved in exactly the same way as the Old Testament had been. God described the New Testament as “Scripture,” just like He did the Old Testament. He clearly stated that the New Testament should be used as written proof of His will for man, just as the Old Testament had been. He promised to preserve the New Testament, exactly as He had promised to preserve the Old Testament.
If God accurately preserved the Old Testament multiplied centuries till Jesus’ day, in fulfillment of His promises, who can doubt that God has likewise preserved the whole Bible through the centuries till today? All who believe in God’s power ought to accept the Bible as God’s word today and ought to use it as the absolute and infallible standard of authority to learn God’s will for our lives.
Friday, February 13, 2009
B. The History of the Old Testament Prior to Jesus' Birth
The Old Testament writings began approximately 1400 years BC. (all dates in this section are approximate). We can trace the history of these Scriptures throughout the rest of the Old Testament period and into the time of Christ and His apostles. We can see whether or not they were accurately preserved, and whether or not people were expected to continue to use them as inspired authority.
Joshua 1:7,8 — About 40 years after Moses wrote, God commanded Joshua to meditate day and night on Moses’ words, and to observe and obey them without variation. The writings had been preserved accurately, and should be studied and obeyed as an authoritative standard.
Joshua 23:2,6 — About 60 years after Moses wrote, Joshua died. But just before he died, he charged Israel to exactly keep all Moses wrote. The Scriptures still were accurately preserved and were to be studied and obeyed as God’s law.
1 Kings 2:3 (about 960 B.C.) — About 400 years after Moses wrote, David charged Solomon to keep God’s commands as written in the law of Moses. The Scriptures were still accurate and authoritative.
2 Chronicles 34:14-19,29-31 (about 605 B.C.) — About 800 years after Moses, Josiah found Moses’ book of the law. He restored the worship and service of God by performing the commands he found written there.
Note that the Scripture was still accurate and authoritative, even though it had been preserved for centuries and though God’s people had neglected it and been in apostasy for years. Yet all that was needed to restore faithful service to God was simply to practice what was written in the book. [Cf. chap. 35; 2 Kings 22,23.]
Nehemiah 8:1-3,8 (about 450 B.C.) — Perhaps some 900 years or more after Moses, the people of Israel again re-established the service of God in Palestine. This occurred following an apostasy so great that it led to the Babylonian captivity. Yet the Scripture was still so accurately preserved that it could be understood and obeyed as authority [cf. v13-18; 9:3].
Clearly God was keeping His promise to preserve the written word. Furthermore, He continued to expect people to study it and honor it as an inspired revelation showing how they should pattern their lives.
Joshua 1:7,8 — About 40 years after Moses wrote, God commanded Joshua to meditate day and night on Moses’ words, and to observe and obey them without variation. The writings had been preserved accurately, and should be studied and obeyed as an authoritative standard.
Joshua 23:2,6 — About 60 years after Moses wrote, Joshua died. But just before he died, he charged Israel to exactly keep all Moses wrote. The Scriptures still were accurately preserved and were to be studied and obeyed as God’s law.
1 Kings 2:3 (about 960 B.C.) — About 400 years after Moses wrote, David charged Solomon to keep God’s commands as written in the law of Moses. The Scriptures were still accurate and authoritative.
2 Chronicles 34:14-19,29-31 (about 605 B.C.) — About 800 years after Moses, Josiah found Moses’ book of the law. He restored the worship and service of God by performing the commands he found written there.
Note that the Scripture was still accurate and authoritative, even though it had been preserved for centuries and though God’s people had neglected it and been in apostasy for years. Yet all that was needed to restore faithful service to God was simply to practice what was written in the book. [Cf. chap. 35; 2 Kings 22,23.]
Nehemiah 8:1-3,8 (about 450 B.C.) — Perhaps some 900 years or more after Moses, the people of Israel again re-established the service of God in Palestine. This occurred following an apostasy so great that it led to the Babylonian captivity. Yet the Scripture was still so accurately preserved that it could be understood and obeyed as authority [cf. v13-18; 9:3].
Clearly God was keeping His promise to preserve the written word. Furthermore, He continued to expect people to study it and honor it as an inspired revelation showing how they should pattern their lives.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Part 2: The Old Testament Demonstrates God's Preservation of His Word.
God has not just promised to preserve the Scriptures for future generations, He has also given a convincing demonstration to prove that He has kept and will keep this promise. This demonstration is the Old Testament.
A. Note the Parallels in the Background of the Two Testaments.
1. Both testaments were given by inspiration of God.
For both Old and New Testaments, we have already cited Scriptures showing that the Holy Spirit gave inspired men the very words they should write down.
2. Both testaments were collected, copied, circulated, studied, and translated over a period of year.
Some critics have questioned the accuracy of the New Testament, because it was written by different men in different places. The writings were gradually collected and determined to be canonical, then they were translated to other languages. Some say we cannot be confident all this was done accurately, since uninspired men were involved.
But the same can be said for the Old Testament as for the New. Both testaments were gradually written, collected, copied, and lists of canonical books were developed. Both were translated so people of other languages could know them. For example, the Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, which was made several centuries before Jesus' time.
If it turns out that the Old Testament was accurately preserved though these methods were used, who can doubt that the New Testament has been accurately preserved when the same methods were used for it?
3. Both testaments were intended to serve as a standard of authority even for future generations.
We have cited Scriptures showing that God intended for people to keep the inspired writings, study them, obey them, and pass them on to future generations. The very reason why people copied, circulated, and translated the Scriptures was so that they would be available to the people who needed them.
4. Both testaments passed through generations in which no new revelations were added, and generations in which people neglected the Scriptures.
Some people say we cannot be sure we today have accurate New Testaments, because it has been so long since inspired men were alive to confirm it. Others claim that parts of the New Testament may have been perverted or lost during the generations when people generally neglected the Bible or were guilty of widespread apostasy.
But the Old Testament also passed through many generations when God’s people neglected it and were guilty of wholesale apostasy. Many generations passed in which no prophets lived and no new Scriptures were written. Specifically, there were over 400 years from the time the last Old Testament book was written till the birth of Jesus.
If it can be shown that the Old Testament was accurately preserved despite these problems, who can doubt that the same would be true of the New Testament?
5. Both testaments contain promises that God would preserve them.
We have already cited passages where God promised, both for the Old Testament and for the New Testament Scriptures, that He would preserve them forever. What He promised for one Testament, He also promised for the other. In this sense, the New Testament is as fully “Scripture” as is the Old Testament.
Now if we can clearly demonstrate that God did in fact keep His promise and accurately preserved the Old Testament for multiplied centuries, surely we must conclude that He has and will likewise keep His promise to preserve the whole Bible, including the New Testament. So let us consider the evidence for God’s preservation of the Old Testament.
A. Note the Parallels in the Background of the Two Testaments.
1. Both testaments were given by inspiration of God.
For both Old and New Testaments, we have already cited Scriptures showing that the Holy Spirit gave inspired men the very words they should write down.
2. Both testaments were collected, copied, circulated, studied, and translated over a period of year.
Some critics have questioned the accuracy of the New Testament, because it was written by different men in different places. The writings were gradually collected and determined to be canonical, then they were translated to other languages. Some say we cannot be confident all this was done accurately, since uninspired men were involved.
But the same can be said for the Old Testament as for the New. Both testaments were gradually written, collected, copied, and lists of canonical books were developed. Both were translated so people of other languages could know them. For example, the Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, which was made several centuries before Jesus' time.
If it turns out that the Old Testament was accurately preserved though these methods were used, who can doubt that the New Testament has been accurately preserved when the same methods were used for it?
3. Both testaments were intended to serve as a standard of authority even for future generations.
We have cited Scriptures showing that God intended for people to keep the inspired writings, study them, obey them, and pass them on to future generations. The very reason why people copied, circulated, and translated the Scriptures was so that they would be available to the people who needed them.
4. Both testaments passed through generations in which no new revelations were added, and generations in which people neglected the Scriptures.
Some people say we cannot be sure we today have accurate New Testaments, because it has been so long since inspired men were alive to confirm it. Others claim that parts of the New Testament may have been perverted or lost during the generations when people generally neglected the Bible or were guilty of widespread apostasy.
But the Old Testament also passed through many generations when God’s people neglected it and were guilty of wholesale apostasy. Many generations passed in which no prophets lived and no new Scriptures were written. Specifically, there were over 400 years from the time the last Old Testament book was written till the birth of Jesus.
If it can be shown that the Old Testament was accurately preserved despite these problems, who can doubt that the same would be true of the New Testament?
5. Both testaments contain promises that God would preserve them.
We have already cited passages where God promised, both for the Old Testament and for the New Testament Scriptures, that He would preserve them forever. What He promised for one Testament, He also promised for the other. In this sense, the New Testament is as fully “Scripture” as is the Old Testament.
Now if we can clearly demonstrate that God did in fact keep His promise and accurately preserved the Old Testament for multiplied centuries, surely we must conclude that He has and will likewise keep His promise to preserve the whole Bible, including the New Testament. So let us consider the evidence for God’s preservation of the Old Testament.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
E. God Promised to Preserve His Word for People of All Ages.
By studying God’s purpose for the Scriptures, we have concluded that God must have intended to preserve His written word as an accurate revelation of His will for future generations. Now consider some passages that directly state that indeed this was His intent.
God intended to preserve the Old Testament Scriptures.
Psalm 119:160,152 - Everyone of God's ordinances endures forever.
Isaiah 40:8 - God's word is not like a flower that blooms and then dies. God's word will stand forever.
Isaiah 30:8 - God's words were to be written in a book that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.
God also intended to preserve the New Testament Scriptures.
John 12:48 - Jesus' words will judge us at the last day. It necessarily follows that they must endure till the judgment and must be available to men, so we can know what to do to prepare for the judgment. But the Scriptures are the only inspired source of Jesus’ words today. Hence, God’s justice and His desire to see men saved require Him to preserve the Scriptures throughout all ages till the judgment.
2 John 2 - The truth will be with us forever.
2 Peter 1:15 - Peter wrote so that, after he died, people would be able to remember these teachings "always" (KJV, NKJV) or "at every time" (ASV).
1 Peter 1:22-25 - We must obey the truth in order to be cleansed from our sins and be born again. That truth will live, abide, and endure forever. It will not be like grass or a flower that springs forth then dies. This is exactly what Isa. 40:8 said, but it is here applied to the gospel. God will preserve the New Testament just like He did the Old Testament.
2 Timothy 3:16,17 - We have seen that the New Testament constitutes “Scripture,” just like the Old Testament (2 Pet. 3:15,16; 1 Tim. 5:18). Just as God preserved the Old Testament Scriptures so they could guide people to know God’s will, so He must preserve the New Testament Scriptures, if they is to provide men to “all good works.”
If we believe that God is an all-powerful Supreme Being who always keeps His promises, then we must believe that He has accurately preserved His will for man in the Scriptures. It is clear that this is what He intended to do. To deny that He has done it is to deny either His power or else His faithfulness to His promises.
God intended to preserve the Old Testament Scriptures.
Psalm 119:160,152 - Everyone of God's ordinances endures forever.
Isaiah 40:8 - God's word is not like a flower that blooms and then dies. God's word will stand forever.
Isaiah 30:8 - God's words were to be written in a book that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.
God also intended to preserve the New Testament Scriptures.
John 12:48 - Jesus' words will judge us at the last day. It necessarily follows that they must endure till the judgment and must be available to men, so we can know what to do to prepare for the judgment. But the Scriptures are the only inspired source of Jesus’ words today. Hence, God’s justice and His desire to see men saved require Him to preserve the Scriptures throughout all ages till the judgment.
2 John 2 - The truth will be with us forever.
2 Peter 1:15 - Peter wrote so that, after he died, people would be able to remember these teachings "always" (KJV, NKJV) or "at every time" (ASV).
1 Peter 1:22-25 - We must obey the truth in order to be cleansed from our sins and be born again. That truth will live, abide, and endure forever. It will not be like grass or a flower that springs forth then dies. This is exactly what Isa. 40:8 said, but it is here applied to the gospel. God will preserve the New Testament just like He did the Old Testament.
2 Timothy 3:16,17 - We have seen that the New Testament constitutes “Scripture,” just like the Old Testament (2 Pet. 3:15,16; 1 Tim. 5:18). Just as God preserved the Old Testament Scriptures so they could guide people to know God’s will, so He must preserve the New Testament Scriptures, if they is to provide men to “all good works.”
If we believe that God is an all-powerful Supreme Being who always keeps His promises, then we must believe that He has accurately preserved His will for man in the Scriptures. It is clear that this is what He intended to do. To deny that He has done it is to deny either His power or else His faithfulness to His promises.
Monday, February 9, 2009
D. Other Inspired Sources of Revelation Have Ceased.
God chose to reveal His will, not all at once, but gradually over a period of 1500 years from Moses to the end of the first century. During that time, certain men were guided directly by the Holy Spirit, as we have studied, to both speak and write God's will.
But it was God's plan that, when all His will had been revealed and recorded, He would bring to an end the miraculous powers by which the Holy Spirit delivered the message. At that time, the written word would become the only inspired means the people would have to know God's message.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10 - Spiritual gifts would cease.
Prophecies, tongues, and miraculous knowledge are three of the miraculous gifts that the Holy Spirit used to deliver God's will to men (12:7-11). But there is something more important or "more excellent" than these gifts (12:31), and that is love (chap. 13). Love is greater than the spiritual gifts because love, faith, and hope would continue to abide (v13) even after the spiritual, miraculous gifts had ceased (v8).
These gifts would cease because they were “in part” (v9), and they would cease when that which is perfect or complete would come (v10). Note: “that which is perfect” is contrasted to the gifts that were “in part.” In some sense the gifts were partial and would cease when their partial nature was made complete or was replaced by that which was not partial.
In what sense were the gifts "in part"? The only explanation that harmonizes with Scripture is that the gifts, at the time Paul wrote, had only partially completed their purpose of revealing God's will. The revelation was delivered by means of these gifts, and that work was not yet completed. But when the work was completed, the gifts would have fully accomplished their task and would no longer be needed, so they would cease.
"That which is perfect" must, therefore, refer to the completed revelation of God's will, and when it had all been completely and adequately revealed, the spiritual gifts would cease. But we have already learned from verses previously listed that all the truth was revealed to the apostles in the first century, and they recorded it in the Bible.
The whole will of God ("the perfect law of liberty" - Jas. 1:25) had been recorded in writing before the end of the first century. When that happened, all other means of revelation from the Holy Spirit ceased, and the Scriptures or written word became the only inspired means men had to learn God's will.
Jude 3 - The faith was once for all delivered.
Jude instructs us to contend for "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (NKJV, ASV, etc.; KJV just says "once"). The phrase "once for all" refers to "what is so done as to be of perpetual validity and never need repetition" (Thayer).
The same word is used to refer to Jesus' death, which occurred only one time, in contrast to the Old Testament animal sacrifices which had to continually be repeated (Heb. 9:26,28; 10:10; 7:26,27; I Pet. 3:18). Jesus' sacrifice was done so perfectly it did not need repeated - "once for all".
Likewise, the gospel needed to be delivered to God's people only "once." When it had been completed, it did not need to be repeated. We may as well affirm that Jesus' sacrifice needs to be repeated as to affirm that the gospel needs to be delivered by inspiration to men again.
So if God wants people to have the gospel, but it is not to be delivered to people again, then it necessarily follows that God intended to preserve that written message, which He originally delivered, so people in all ages could have it available.
There are not apostles today to deliver the message again.
Apostles were always involved whenever anyone received the power to deliver the gospel message by the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. The apostles themselves received that power on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:2-8; 2:1-11). Others received such power when apostles personally laid their hands on them (Acts 8:14-21; 19:1-7). Cornelius’ household received power to speak in tongues when Peter was teaching them, so the Jews would know Gentiles could receive the gospel (Acts 10:1-11:18). But in every case, without exception, apostles were involved whenever anyone received this power. [Cf. John 14:26; 16:13.]
But to be an apostle, one had to be an eyewitness of Jesus after His resurrection (Acts 1:21,22; 26:16; I Cor. 9:1; 15:1-8; John 15:27). One also had to have miraculous powers to confirm his apostleship (2 Cor. 12:12). But no one today can be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ, and no one can do miraculous signs like the apostles could do.
Therefore, there are no apostles today, nor is there anyone today that the apostles have laid their hands on. So there is no means by which people could receive miraculous, spiritual powers of direct guidance from the Holy Spirit.
(For more information, see the links at the end of this study.)
All of these facts lead us to the necessary conclusion that the only inspired source from which people today can receive the will of God is the Bible. But people still need the truth, and God still wants people to have the truth, so it must follow that He has accurately preserved the Scriptures to our day so people can know the truth.
But it was God's plan that, when all His will had been revealed and recorded, He would bring to an end the miraculous powers by which the Holy Spirit delivered the message. At that time, the written word would become the only inspired means the people would have to know God's message.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10 - Spiritual gifts would cease.
Prophecies, tongues, and miraculous knowledge are three of the miraculous gifts that the Holy Spirit used to deliver God's will to men (12:7-11). But there is something more important or "more excellent" than these gifts (12:31), and that is love (chap. 13). Love is greater than the spiritual gifts because love, faith, and hope would continue to abide (v13) even after the spiritual, miraculous gifts had ceased (v8).
These gifts would cease because they were “in part” (v9), and they would cease when that which is perfect or complete would come (v10). Note: “that which is perfect” is contrasted to the gifts that were “in part.” In some sense the gifts were partial and would cease when their partial nature was made complete or was replaced by that which was not partial.
In what sense were the gifts "in part"? The only explanation that harmonizes with Scripture is that the gifts, at the time Paul wrote, had only partially completed their purpose of revealing God's will. The revelation was delivered by means of these gifts, and that work was not yet completed. But when the work was completed, the gifts would have fully accomplished their task and would no longer be needed, so they would cease.
"That which is perfect" must, therefore, refer to the completed revelation of God's will, and when it had all been completely and adequately revealed, the spiritual gifts would cease. But we have already learned from verses previously listed that all the truth was revealed to the apostles in the first century, and they recorded it in the Bible.
The whole will of God ("the perfect law of liberty" - Jas. 1:25) had been recorded in writing before the end of the first century. When that happened, all other means of revelation from the Holy Spirit ceased, and the Scriptures or written word became the only inspired means men had to learn God's will.
Jude 3 - The faith was once for all delivered.
Jude instructs us to contend for "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (NKJV, ASV, etc.; KJV just says "once"). The phrase "once for all" refers to "what is so done as to be of perpetual validity and never need repetition" (Thayer).
The same word is used to refer to Jesus' death, which occurred only one time, in contrast to the Old Testament animal sacrifices which had to continually be repeated (Heb. 9:26,28; 10:10; 7:26,27; I Pet. 3:18). Jesus' sacrifice was done so perfectly it did not need repeated - "once for all".
Likewise, the gospel needed to be delivered to God's people only "once." When it had been completed, it did not need to be repeated. We may as well affirm that Jesus' sacrifice needs to be repeated as to affirm that the gospel needs to be delivered by inspiration to men again.
So if God wants people to have the gospel, but it is not to be delivered to people again, then it necessarily follows that God intended to preserve that written message, which He originally delivered, so people in all ages could have it available.
There are not apostles today to deliver the message again.
Apostles were always involved whenever anyone received the power to deliver the gospel message by the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. The apostles themselves received that power on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:2-8; 2:1-11). Others received such power when apostles personally laid their hands on them (Acts 8:14-21; 19:1-7). Cornelius’ household received power to speak in tongues when Peter was teaching them, so the Jews would know Gentiles could receive the gospel (Acts 10:1-11:18). But in every case, without exception, apostles were involved whenever anyone received this power. [Cf. John 14:26; 16:13.]
But to be an apostle, one had to be an eyewitness of Jesus after His resurrection (Acts 1:21,22; 26:16; I Cor. 9:1; 15:1-8; John 15:27). One also had to have miraculous powers to confirm his apostleship (2 Cor. 12:12). But no one today can be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ, and no one can do miraculous signs like the apostles could do.
Therefore, there are no apostles today, nor is there anyone today that the apostles have laid their hands on. So there is no means by which people could receive miraculous, spiritual powers of direct guidance from the Holy Spirit.
(For more information, see the links at the end of this study.)
All of these facts lead us to the necessary conclusion that the only inspired source from which people today can receive the will of God is the Bible. But people still need the truth, and God still wants people to have the truth, so it must follow that He has accurately preserved the Scriptures to our day so people can know the truth.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
C. God Intended the Scriptures to Guide People of Future Generations
The spoken word benefits only people who immediately hear it. It cannot be repeated to others except by memory (with all the fallibility and weaknesses that the human memory involves).
One reason God had the Scriptures recorded as written word was so the message could be copied, circulated, and made available to other people in addition to those to whom it was immediately addressed.
In particular, God intended for the written word to be used to guide and instruct future generations of people, even after the generation in which it was written. This made it necessary to preserve the word in an accurate form.
Old Testament Scriptures were to benefit future generations.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 - Future kings of Israel were to copy God's law, study it, and obey it strictly without variation. But note that Israel did not even have a king until several generations after this was spoken (v14).
Deuteronomy 31:9-13,24-29 - The words of the law were written down and placed where they would be available to the people. Every seven years, after Moses died, the laws should be read to the people so they could remember them, their children (who did not know the laws) could learn them, and all would obey.
Psalm 102:18 - The psalmist wrote "for the generation to come."
Clearly, the Old Law was intended to be a pattern or standard of authority for future generations. We will see later that this law was preserved and was still being followed as law and authority hundreds of years later, just as God intended.
New Testament Scriptures were also to benefit future generations.
John 20:29-31 - John wrote so people, who had not seen Jesus or witnessed His miracles, could read the eyewitness record of them and so could believe on Jesus and have eternal life. But this means that the record was written especially for people like us today.
2 Peter 1:12-15 - Peter expressly states that he wrote what he did so that people could have the written record of his teachings to remind them in the future, even after Peter was dead.
2 Peter 3:1,2 - Specifically, he wrote so people would be reminded of the commandments revealed by Jesus' apostles.
2 Peter 3:15,16; 1 Timothy 5:18 - Even in the first century people were studying the New Testament writings of inspired men and were citing them as authority. In particular, the writings of Paul and Luke were known to the people to whom other men wrote.
Further, these writings are classified right along with other "Scripture," which shows why they were being circulated and studied. They were recognized as authoritative statements of God's will that people should study in order to obey God, even as the Old Testament had been (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16,17; Col. 4:16; Acts 2:39; Mark 14:9; I Thess 5:27.)
When God inspired men to write the Scriptures, He intended that those sacred writings would be used to teach people His will in other places and future times. This was done with the Old Testament, and He clearly intended the New Testament to be used as the Old had been in this regard. In order to accomplish this purpose, it follows that the Scriptures would have to be preserved accurately for future generations.
One reason God had the Scriptures recorded as written word was so the message could be copied, circulated, and made available to other people in addition to those to whom it was immediately addressed.
In particular, God intended for the written word to be used to guide and instruct future generations of people, even after the generation in which it was written. This made it necessary to preserve the word in an accurate form.
Old Testament Scriptures were to benefit future generations.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 - Future kings of Israel were to copy God's law, study it, and obey it strictly without variation. But note that Israel did not even have a king until several generations after this was spoken (v14).
Deuteronomy 31:9-13,24-29 - The words of the law were written down and placed where they would be available to the people. Every seven years, after Moses died, the laws should be read to the people so they could remember them, their children (who did not know the laws) could learn them, and all would obey.
Psalm 102:18 - The psalmist wrote "for the generation to come."
Clearly, the Old Law was intended to be a pattern or standard of authority for future generations. We will see later that this law was preserved and was still being followed as law and authority hundreds of years later, just as God intended.
New Testament Scriptures were also to benefit future generations.
John 20:29-31 - John wrote so people, who had not seen Jesus or witnessed His miracles, could read the eyewitness record of them and so could believe on Jesus and have eternal life. But this means that the record was written especially for people like us today.
2 Peter 1:12-15 - Peter expressly states that he wrote what he did so that people could have the written record of his teachings to remind them in the future, even after Peter was dead.
2 Peter 3:1,2 - Specifically, he wrote so people would be reminded of the commandments revealed by Jesus' apostles.
2 Peter 3:15,16; 1 Timothy 5:18 - Even in the first century people were studying the New Testament writings of inspired men and were citing them as authority. In particular, the writings of Paul and Luke were known to the people to whom other men wrote.
Further, these writings are classified right along with other "Scripture," which shows why they were being circulated and studied. They were recognized as authoritative statements of God's will that people should study in order to obey God, even as the Old Testament had been (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16,17; Col. 4:16; Acts 2:39; Mark 14:9; I Thess 5:27.)
When God inspired men to write the Scriptures, He intended that those sacred writings would be used to teach people His will in other places and future times. This was done with the Old Testament, and He clearly intended the New Testament to be used as the Old had been in this regard. In order to accomplish this purpose, it follows that the Scriptures would have to be preserved accurately for future generations.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Part 1: God's Plan and Purpose Require that He Preserve the Scriptures
The Bible teaches that God is all-powerful and can do anything He chooses to do (Jer. 32:17,27; Matt. 19:26; Mark 14:36; Job 42:2). If He therefore chooses to preserve the Scriptures so that man cannot destroy them, He is completely able to do so. The question then is whether or not He has chosen to preserve the Scriptures.
A. God Desires All Men to Know, Believe, & Obey His Will.
Consider the following principles:
All men are guilty of sin and need forgiveness - Rom. 3:23; 6:23; I John 1:8,10.
God desires to have all men turn from sin and be saved - I Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; Tit. 2:11,12.
Jesus died to make salvation available to all men - I Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9; John 3:16; Matt. 11:28-30.
To be saved, men must hear, believe, and obey the gospel - John 6:44,45; 8:24,32; Heb. 5:9; 2 Thess. 1:8,9; I Pet. 1:22; Rom. 6:17,18; 1:16; 10:14,17.
So God desires to have all men learn the gospel so they have the opportunity to believe and obey it - I Tim. 2:4; Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38,29; 17:30,31; Lk. 24:47; Col. 1:28.
The gospel, revealed in the first century to the apostles, is complete, providing all that is good and all that we need to please God - John 14:26; 16:13; 2 Pet. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16,17; Acts 20:20,27; Matt. 28:18-20; Jas. 1:25.
From these passages we conclude that all people need the gospel, God wants all to have the gospel, so the gospel was completely, accurately, and adequately revealed in the first century.
Since all men need that gospel, people today need it too. And since God wants all to know it, we can be sure He will make it available to people today. The question then is: how does the gospel come to us today?
B. God Revealed the Scriptures So Men Could Know His Will.
The Old Testament was inspired by God to teach men his will.
Exodus 24:3,4,7 - Moses wrote in a book all the words and ordinances of God that the people were to obey.
Deuteronomy 28:58,59; 30:9,10 - If the people obeyed the commands written in the book, they would be blessed. If not, they would suffer.
Deuteronomy 31:9-13,24-29 - Moses wrote the law and placed it where the people could read it in the future and learn to fear God and to observe all the words of that law.
Jeremiah 36:1-4 - God commanded Jeremiah to write in a book all the words God gave him to teach Israel to repent.
2 Peter 1:21 - Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament was likewise inspired by God to teach men His will.
1 Corinthians 14:37 - What Paul wrote were commands of the Lord.
John 20:29-31 - John wrote so people would have an eyewitness record of Jesus' miracles and thereby could believe in Jesus and have life in His name, even though they did not personally see Him (cf. 21:24,25).
1 John 1:1-4; 2:1-17 - John wrote so people could have his eyewitness testimony regarding Jesus, could have fellowship with God, could know we should not sin, and could be told God's commands we should obey.
Revelation 1:1,2,10,11,19; chap. 2 & 3 - John was instructed by Jesus to write a message from Jesus and the Spirit to instruct the churches of Asia regarding Jesus' will for them (cf. 14:13; 19:9; 21:5).
Ephesians 3:3-5 - What Paul received by revelation from the Spirit, he wrote so others could understand what he had received.
Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1,2 - Luke wrote so the reader might know the certainty of the things he had been taught about Jesus' life and the early church.
Jude 3 - Jude wrote about salvation and exhorted people to earnestly contend for the faith despite the danger of false teachers.
1 Timothy 5:18 - That which is properly called "Scripture" includes quotes from New Testament writing (Luke 10:7) right along with Old Testament writings.
2 Peter 3:15,16 - Peter classifies Paul's epistles right along with "other Scripture." Hence, they should be treated with the same respect as any other Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 - All Scripture (both old and new) is inspired by God and was given to teach and instruct men so they could know all good works. Just as Old Testament writings were given to be a guide that people must follow to please God in their day, so the New Testament serves as an inspired guide in this age.
All men, we have learned, need to know God's will, and God desires all men to have that opportunity. To meet this need, God inspired men to record His message in writing in the Scriptures.
A. God Desires All Men to Know, Believe, & Obey His Will.
Consider the following principles:
All men are guilty of sin and need forgiveness - Rom. 3:23; 6:23; I John 1:8,10.
God desires to have all men turn from sin and be saved - I Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; Tit. 2:11,12.
Jesus died to make salvation available to all men - I Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9; John 3:16; Matt. 11:28-30.
To be saved, men must hear, believe, and obey the gospel - John 6:44,45; 8:24,32; Heb. 5:9; 2 Thess. 1:8,9; I Pet. 1:22; Rom. 6:17,18; 1:16; 10:14,17.
So God desires to have all men learn the gospel so they have the opportunity to believe and obey it - I Tim. 2:4; Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38,29; 17:30,31; Lk. 24:47; Col. 1:28.
The gospel, revealed in the first century to the apostles, is complete, providing all that is good and all that we need to please God - John 14:26; 16:13; 2 Pet. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16,17; Acts 20:20,27; Matt. 28:18-20; Jas. 1:25.
From these passages we conclude that all people need the gospel, God wants all to have the gospel, so the gospel was completely, accurately, and adequately revealed in the first century.
Since all men need that gospel, people today need it too. And since God wants all to know it, we can be sure He will make it available to people today. The question then is: how does the gospel come to us today?
B. God Revealed the Scriptures So Men Could Know His Will.
The Old Testament was inspired by God to teach men his will.
Exodus 24:3,4,7 - Moses wrote in a book all the words and ordinances of God that the people were to obey.
Deuteronomy 28:58,59; 30:9,10 - If the people obeyed the commands written in the book, they would be blessed. If not, they would suffer.
Deuteronomy 31:9-13,24-29 - Moses wrote the law and placed it where the people could read it in the future and learn to fear God and to observe all the words of that law.
Jeremiah 36:1-4 - God commanded Jeremiah to write in a book all the words God gave him to teach Israel to repent.
2 Peter 1:21 - Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament was likewise inspired by God to teach men His will.
1 Corinthians 14:37 - What Paul wrote were commands of the Lord.
John 20:29-31 - John wrote so people would have an eyewitness record of Jesus' miracles and thereby could believe in Jesus and have life in His name, even though they did not personally see Him (cf. 21:24,25).
1 John 1:1-4; 2:1-17 - John wrote so people could have his eyewitness testimony regarding Jesus, could have fellowship with God, could know we should not sin, and could be told God's commands we should obey.
Revelation 1:1,2,10,11,19; chap. 2 & 3 - John was instructed by Jesus to write a message from Jesus and the Spirit to instruct the churches of Asia regarding Jesus' will for them (cf. 14:13; 19:9; 21:5).
Ephesians 3:3-5 - What Paul received by revelation from the Spirit, he wrote so others could understand what he had received.
Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1,2 - Luke wrote so the reader might know the certainty of the things he had been taught about Jesus' life and the early church.
Jude 3 - Jude wrote about salvation and exhorted people to earnestly contend for the faith despite the danger of false teachers.
1 Timothy 5:18 - That which is properly called "Scripture" includes quotes from New Testament writing (Luke 10:7) right along with Old Testament writings.
2 Peter 3:15,16 - Peter classifies Paul's epistles right along with "other Scripture." Hence, they should be treated with the same respect as any other Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 - All Scripture (both old and new) is inspired by God and was given to teach and instruct men so they could know all good works. Just as Old Testament writings were given to be a guide that people must follow to please God in their day, so the New Testament serves as an inspired guide in this age.
All men, we have learned, need to know God's will, and God desires all men to have that opportunity. To meet this need, God inspired men to record His message in writing in the Scriptures.
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