A better representative that provides the opportunity for rescue...

This week we have been looking at the third statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church where I serve. This third statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to the human condition. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Where did humanity come from? Who am I? And what went wrong? Why does the world seem so messed up?”

And it is in this statement that we discovered the timeless answer to these questions in that what we believe about humanity really matters because all of humanity has been separated from God as a result of our rebellion against God. We talked about the reality that just like our first parents, all humanity throughout history has had this selfish and rebellious bent within us that has driven us to reject the relationship with God that we were created for. And just like our first parents, that selfish and rebellious bent leads us to do things out of that selfishness and rebellion that hurt God and others. And it is that selfishness, rebellion and sin that separates us from God.

And ultimately, it is because of this principle of Adam as our representative that we can have hope that God would provide another representative that could represent us and live the life that we were created for in relationship with God and one another. And as the Apostle Paul continues in this section of this letter, we will discover a timeless truth that provides hope of the possibility of rescue from our rebellion against God as a result of this second Adam, this second representative. So let’s discover this timeless truth together, beginning in Romans 5:15:

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

I  this verse we see Paul reveal for us the reality that while Adam’s action of selfish rebellion and sin was credited to our account in a way that separated us from the relationship with God that we were created for, the transformational actions of Jesus Christ provided all humanity the opportunity to be rescued. Jesus entered into humanity in order to live the life we refused to live and die the death that we deserved to die for our selfishness and rebellion.

And it was in Jesus willingness to be our representative and His actions here on earth that overcame the actions of our original representative, Adam. And as Paul continues to compare Adam and Jesus, we see a second comparison between Adam and Jesus, beginning in verse 16:

The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

In these verses, we see the Apostle Paul continue to compare and contrast the implications that the lives of Adam and Jesus have as our representatives. First, in verse 16, Paul explains that unlike the first Adam who brought judgment, guilt, and condemnation, Jesus brought the free gift of rescue that declares us not guilty of having a problem with God.

Second, in verse 17, Paul reveals for us the reality that unlike the first Adam, who brought humanity death, Jesus Christ brought humanity the opportunity to experience life. Third, in verse 18, Paul reminds us that through Adam’s one act of selfishness and rebellion, all of humanity was condemned as being guilty of having a huge problem with God; a problem that resulted in physical, spiritual, and eternal separation from God.  However, through Jesus one act righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. Paul’s point here is that Jesus death on the cross satisfied God’s absolute justice by paying the penalty that all humanity faced as a result of the act of our first representative, Adam.

And because of this one act by Jesus, justification is available to all humanity. All of humanity has the opportunity to be declared not guilty and experiencing the eternal life that they were created for with God. And in case the members of the church at Rome missed his point, the Apostle Paul reminds the readers of his letter of this timeless truth again in verse 19. Paul here is revealing for us the reality that while Adam brought all humanity at odds with God in a way that resulted in us being treated as outsiders when it came to a relationship with God, Jesus Christ brought all humanity the opportunity to be right with God so that we could be treated as though we were insiders with God.

And you can respond to the opportunity that Jesus brought to all humanity to be rescued, reconciled and renewed. Jesus offers all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God so that we can be reconciled, or to exchange hostility against God for a relationship with God.

Jesus offers all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God so that we can be renewed from being a sinner who sinners to being a saint who sometimes sins. And we experience the forgiveness and the relationship with God that we were created for when we respond to all that God has done for us through Jesus life death and resurrection by believing, trusting and following Jesus as our Lord and Leader.

And it is to Jesus that we will turn our attention to next week...

What we believe about humanity really matters because all of humanity has been separated from God as a result of our rebellion against God...

This week we are looking at the third statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This third statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to the human condition. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Where did humanity come from? Who am I? And what went wrong? Why does the world seem so messed up?"

Yesterday, we talked about the reality that we believe God created Adam and Eve as the first human beings who inhabited the earth. We also talked about the reality that every human being bears the thumbprint of God. We were created in God’s relational image. We were created for a relationship with God vertically and for relationships with one another horizontally.

But not only were we divinely designed for relationships. Here we also see that we were divinely designed to rule over the earth as God’s representative. We have been divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility over the earth as His representative here on earth.

However, during the life of Adam and Eve here on earth, an event from history occurred that sent shock waves through history. Adam and Eve responded to Satan’s temptation by buying into the deception that they could become like God. And it was Adam and Eve’s response that led to sin entering into the world. And as sin entered the world, we see the consequences immediately affect the world. The relationship between Adam and Eve and humanity throughout history was drastically changed.

We talked about the reality that as a result of Adam and act of selfishness and rebellion, all humanity acquired a natural bent toward selfishness and rebellion against God. Through Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, all humanity through history has acted on that selfish and rebellious bent to do things that hurt God and others. And it is this selfishness and rebellion that alienates, or separates us from the relationship with God that we were created for.

And in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans, we see the Apostle Paul unpack this reality for us in great detail. So let’s look at this section of this letter together, beginning in Romans 5:12:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of a first century church located in Rome by explaining that through one man sin entered into the world. When Paul talks about sin here, he is not referring to individual acts of sin. Instead Paul is referring to the evil and destructive power of selfishness and rebellion that causes us to do things that hurt God and others.

Paul’s point here is that selfishness and sin made its entrance into the world through a single human being; and that single human being was Adam. Paul then reveals for us two timeless consequences that the entrance of the evil power of selfishness and rebellion had on all humanity.

First, Paul explains that death entered the world as a consequence of the entrance of the evil power of selfishness and rebellion. It is important for us to understand that, in the letters that make up the Bible, the word death conveys the concept of separation. As a result of sin’s entrance into the world we experience physical death, which is the separation of our soul from our body. But not only do we experience physical death as a result of sin; we also experience spiritual death, which is the separation of us from God.

Now if we physically die while being spiritually dead, we experience eternal death, or eternal separation from God. The evil power of selfishness and rebellion which entered the world upon Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion resulted in a separation from God and the relationship with God that we were created to experience for all eternity.

Second, Paul explains that death spread to all men, because all men sinned. As a result of Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, sin began to move across the landscape of all humanity throughout all of history, because all of humanity followed in the footsteps of Adam.  All humanity throughout history has willingly engaged in acts of commission and omission that are committed against God and others that flow from our selfish rebellion against God and the word of God.

Now a natural question that arises here would be “but Adam and Eve did not have the Ten Commandments. As a matter of fact, the Ten Commandments did not even appear until hundreds of years later, so how could they have been said to sin. This is a great question that the Apostle Paul answers in the very next verse, in Romans 5:13:

for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Now to full understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand what the word imputed means. The word imputed, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is an accounting term that means to charge to one’s account. When Paul refers to the Law, he is referring to the first five books in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or Torah.

Paul’s point here is that while sin was present in the world, while selfishness and rebellion was alive and well in the time before the Law appeared on the scene, this selfishness and rebellion was not charged to one’s account. However, in verse 14, Paul makes it abundantly clear that just because sin was not credited to the accounts of those who lived before the Law was given, that does not mean that they did not suffer the consequences for their selfishness and rebellion.

Instead, Paul explains that nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses. Now Moses was the person who received the Ten Commandments from God and who wrote the Law or the first five books in our Bibles today. Paul here is revealing for us the reality that death was large and in charge of the lives of all humanity after Adam’s first act of selfishness and rebellion.

When Paul uses the phrase “even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam”  he is revealing the reality that even those who did not selfishly rebel against God in the exact same way as Adam, but still selfishly rebelled and rejected God, still experienced the separation from God that comes as a consequence of selfishness, sin and rebellion.

And it is in these verses that we find the answer to the question “where does this selfishness and rebellion come from?” And the answer to that question is this: Our selfishness and rebellion comes from Adam, who functions as our representative.

You see, as a result of Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, sin not only entered the world; sin totally corrupted the world. Sin totally corrupted the world because we bear the consequences of Adam’s selfishness. You see, prior to eating the forbidden fruit Adam was able to either sin or not sin. But as a result of his selfishness and rebellion against God, sin entered and corrupted the world, resulting in Adam being no longer able not to sin.

Now the church mumbo jumbo talk phrase that refers to Adams decision to selfishly rebel against God is the phrase original sin. And the church mumbo jumbo talk phrase for the consequences that we bear as a result of Adam’s selfishness and rebellion is the phrase total depravity. In other words, like Adam, we are not able not to sin. Total depravity does not mean that humanity is as bad as they can be. Instead total depravity means humanity no longer can meet God’s standard when it comes to having a relationship with Him.

In addition, total depravity places humanity in a position that is hostile to God in a way that is universal and insurmountable apart from the grace of God. That is what is referred to in the statement that we are looking at this morning by the phrase “Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed."

Now you might be thinking to yourself “But Dave, that doesn’t seem fair? Why should I be punished for what someone else has done?” Those are fair questions. As many of you know that I am a huge fan of Michigan football. And when I am watching a Michigan game, nothing frustrates me more than when we are driving toward the end zone for a score and the left tackle gets a penalty for a false start.

Do you notice that when there is a penalty in a football game that the whole team is penalized, not just the left tackle. The whole team is credited with the left tackles offense. It is the same with sin; Adam’s sin is credited to our account and we suffer as a result of Adams’ sin.

We see this concept throughout the letters that make up the Bible. It is also important to see that Paul clearly states in verse 12 that we face separation from God not because of Adam’s selfishness, rebellion, and sin; we face separation from God because of our own acts of selfishness, rebellion, and sin.

Now this leads us back to the question that will run throughout this series, which is “Dave does what we believe about humanity really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to a timeless truth about why it really matters. And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about humanity really matters because all of humanity has been separated from God as a result of our rebellion against God.

You see, just like our first parents, all humanity throughout history has had this selfish and rebellious bent within us that has driven us to reject the relationship with God that we were created for. And just like our first parents, that selfish and rebellious bent leads us to do things out of that selfishness and rebellion that hurt God and others. And it is that selfishness, rebellion and sin that separates us from God.

Think of it this way “Parents did you have to teach your kids to be selfish? Did anyone sit down and teach you how to be selfish? No, no one taught you to be selfish because that selfishness has been there.” Because we are just like our first parents. And because of this reality, we are in need of rescue because we reflect our original representative. You see, Adam served as our representative, and because of that we are credited with Adam’s sin. Ane we follow in the footsteps of our first parents to do things that hurt God and hurt others out of our selfishness and rebellion.

And ultimately, it is because of this principle of Adam as our representative that we can have hope that God would provide another representative that could represent us and live the life that we were created for in relationship with God and one another. And as the Apostle Paul continues in this section of this letter, we will discover a timeless truth that provides hope of the possibility of rescue from our rebellion against God as a result of this second Adam, this second representative.

We will meet that representative Friday...

Where Did Humanity Come From?

At the church where I serve we are spending our time looking at what we believe as a church as it is contained in the doctrinal statement of our church. This week, I would like for us to look at the third statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This third statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to the human condition.

This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Where did humanity come from? Who am I? And what went wrong? Why does the world seem so messed up?” So let’s look at this third statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

Now, as we have talked about throughout this series, you might be here this morning and right about now you are thinking “Well Dave, I mean that sounds great, but what does all that mean?” So, what I would like for us to do is to break down this statement into parts so that we can come to a better understanding of what is being said here. First, let’s take a minute and unpack the phrase “We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image”.

With this phrase, we are saying that we believe God created Adam and Eve as the first human beings who inhabited the earth. We are saying that humanity started with Adam and Eve. Now a natural objection to this would be “Well Dave how do you really know that Adam and Eve are historical figures? How do you know that the story of Adam and Eve is not some fictitious story about the origins of humanity?”

There are several reasons why we can have confidence that Adam and Eve were historical figures. First, the account of creation in the first letter in the Bible called the book of Genesis presents Adam and Eve as actual persons and even records the important events in their lives. Second, Adam and Eve gave birth to literal children who did the same.

Third, the letters of the Old Testament that record the family tree of humanity place Adam at the top of the list. Fourth, the accounts of Jesus life that are recorded for us in the Bible place Adam at the beginning of Jesus’ literal ancestors. Fifth, Jesus referred to Adam and Eve as being historical figures and made their physical union the basis of marriage.

Sixth, as we will see in a few minutes, Paul referred to Adam as a historical figure and compared the life of Adam and the life of Jesus as being literal human beings. And seventh, from logic, there had to be a first real set of human beings, male and female, or else the race would have had no way to get going. The Bible calls this literal couple “Adam and Eve,” and there is no reason to doubt their real existence.

Now that leads us to another question that arises here, which is “What do you mean when you say that God created Adam and Eve in His image? What does it mean to be created in the image of God? We discover the answer to these questions in the very first letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Genesis. So let’s discover that answer together beginning in Genesis 1:26-27:

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."?

Here we see the Triune God’s design and desire for the creation of humanity: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”. To be created in the image of God means that every human being bears the thumbprint of God. We were created in God’s relational image. We were created for relationships. Just as God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit live in relationship with one another, we were created for relationships. We were created for a relationship with God vertically and for relationships with one another horizontally. That is why the most devastating feeling is that of loneliness, because we are living outside of God’s design for our lives.

But not only were we divinely designed for relationships. Here we also see that we were divinely designed to rule over the earth as God’s representative. When God uses the phrase “let them rule” this phrase literally means to have rule or dominion. God created humanity and placed humanity on earth as His representative on earth.

You see, we have been divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility over the earth as His representative here on earth. However, during the life of Adam and Eve here on earth, an event from history occurred that sent shock waves through history. A event from history that is recorded for us in Genesis 3:1:

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Here we are given a glimpse into an encounter that Adam and Eve would have with the serpent. Now a natural question that arises here is “are you saying that Adam and Eve are talking with a snake? Because, Dave, that seems pretty weird”. So who are Adam and Eve talking to?

The serpent who Adam and Eve are encountering is Satan, who had disguised himself as a serpent. Satan begins this encounter by asking Eve a question: "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" The Bible then records what happens next in verse 2:

“The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."?

Satan tempts Eve by challenging God’s character and God’s motives. Satan basically tells Eve “Don’t believe God because God lied to you. You are not going to die if you eat the fruit. God lied to Adam when He told him that. Instead, God knows that if you eat the fruit you will become like Him. You will be like God and God does not want that. Eve, God is trying to keep you from being all you can be. Eve don’t you want to be like God?” We see the decision of Adam and Eve and its consequences in verse 6:

“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”?

Adam and Eve responded to Satan’s temptation by buying into the deception that they could become like God. And it was Adam and Eve’s response that led to sin entering into the world. It is this event from history that is referenced by the next part of the statement “but they sinned when tempted by Satan”. 

And as sin entered the world, we see the consequences immediately affect the world. The relationship between Adam and Eve and humanity throughout history was drastically changed. Now the church mumbo jumbo talk phrase for this event from history and the consequences from this event from history is “The Fall of Man”.

That is what is meant by the very next sentence of the statement, which says “In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath.” This phrase simply means that all of humanity became separated from God and the relationship with God that they were created for as a result of Adam and Eve’s act of selfishness and rebellion.

You see, while Adam and Eve had the freedom and capacity to choose obedience, they instead chose disobedience. And as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin all humanity became separated from God. Through Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, all humanity acquired a natural bent toward selfishness and rebellion against God. Through Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, all humanity through history has acted on that selfish and rebellious bent to do things that hurt God and others.

And it is this selfishness and rebellion that alienates, or separates us from the relationship with God that we were created for. All humanity is also united with Adam in that all humanity suffers with the consequences that come as a result of Adam’s selfish decision.  That is what is referred to by the word wrath. The word wrath refers to God’s right and just response to selfish rebellion and sin.

Now it is important to understand that God’s wrath is not a selfish passionate emotional response. It is not God blowing a head gasket, so to speak. Instead, it is God’s perfect justice resulting in a rightful response to the wrongdoing and injustice of others.

And in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans, we see the Apostle Paul unpack this reality for us in great detail. Tomorrow, we will begin to look at this section of this letter…

What we believe about the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives...

This week we are looking at the second statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This second statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to Bible. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “How did the Bible come into being? How do we know that the Bible is from God? And is the Bible true and trustworthy?”

So far we have seen that that the Bible is a collection of letters that were written by men who were inspired by God to write the very words of God to humanity. We also talked about the reality that the letters that make up what we call the Bible are without error. We also looked at the reality that the 66 letters in the Bible comprise God’s total written revelation to us, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the Canon. In other words, the Holy Spirit not only guided the authors of the letters that make up the Bible, but also guided the letters inclusion into the Bible.

Today, I would like for us to answer the question “How did they know and choose which letters were inspired and which were not?” There were three criteria, or tests, used to determine which letters were placed into what we know as our Bible today. The first test was one of the authority of the human writer.

For the Old Testament, the writer had to be a lawgiver, prophet, or leader. For the New Testament, the book had to be written or backed by someone who had seen the risen Lord, who was known as an Apostle. For example, the Gospel of Mark was written by Mark for Peter. The gospel of Luke was written by Luke for Paul.

The second test was the internal evidence of the letter itself. The content of the letter needed to provide evidence that it was inspired by God and agreed with the rule of faith. For example, a letter that claimed that Jesus and Satan were brothers, for example, would not agree with the rule of faith and would not be inspired. The third test was the verdict of the church. For the Old Testament, there was little debate. Jesus Himself verified the 39 letters of the Old Testament in Matthew 5:17:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

In terms of the New Testament, the vast majority of the New Testament was affirmed as being inspired by God.  As early as 140 A.D., there was evidence that the early church had already selected the letters that make up The New Testament of our Bibles. By the end of the second century, most of the 27 letters that make up the New Testament had already gained widespread acceptance, especially the four gospels and the letters that were written by the Apostle Paul.

The delay in approving James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, Hebrews and Revelation was caused primarily due to questions about authorship and reveals the care and concern with which the early church dealt with the issue of which letters should be preserved and contained as part of the Bible.

And the timeless truth for us today is that we can follow the example of men and women throughout history and place our confident trust in the Bible as being without error as we seek guidance and direction to follow the standards that it sets for us as followers of Jesus. This is what is conveyed in the final section of the doctrinal statement, which states that the Bible is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises."

We see this reality revealed for us by the Apostle Paul in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Timothy. We see Paul say the following in 2 Timothy 3:14:

"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

In these verses we see Paul reveal for us four different ways that the letters that make up our Bible are useful when it comes to living our day to day lives in a way that follows Jesus. First, Paul explains that the letters that make up the Bible are useful to teach us. In other words, the letters that make up the Bible show us the path that we are to take in our lives as we strive to follow Jesus.

Second, Paul states that the letters that make up the Bible are useful to reproof us. Paul’s point here is that the letters that make up the Bible show us where we have gotten off track and off the path that we are supposed to take in our lives as we strive to follow Jesus. Third, Paul explains that the letters that make up the Bible are useful to correct us. In other words, the letters that make up the Bible show us how to get back on the path of following Jesus after we got off track and off the path that we are supposed to be following as followers of Jesus.

And fourth, Paul states that the letters that make up the Bible are useful for training in righteousness. Paul’s point here is that the letters that make up the Bible show us how to stay and remain on the path when it comes to following Jesus. Paul’s here is revealing for us the reality that, like a Garmin or a navigation app on our cell phone, the Bible provides us the guidance necessary to stay on the path and continue towards the destination of a growing relationship with Jesus that reveals and reflects Jesus to the world.

Now this leads us back to the question that will run throughout this series, which is “Dave does what we believe about the Bible really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to this timeless truth about why it really matters. And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives. What we believe about the Bible really matters because the Bible is totally true and totally trustworthy.

What we really believe the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives when it comes to living in relationship with Jesus. What we really believe the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives when it comes to our relationship with one another. What we really believe the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives when it comes to how we can come to know Jesus.

What we really believe the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives when it comes to how we can come to live like Jesus. And what we really believe the Bible really matters because the Bible sets the standard for our lives when it comes to how we are to live in community with one another.

Does the Bible have errors in it?

This week we are looking at the second statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This second statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to Bible. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “How did the Bible come into being? How do we know that the Bible is from God? And is the Bible true and trustworthy?”

Yesterday, we discovered that the Bible actually is not a book. Instead the Bible is a collection of letters that were written by more than 40 authors from every walk of life over a 1,600 year span that have been preserved and collected together in what we refer to today as the Bible. These letters were written in three different languages over the span of over 60 generations and are divided up into two main sections, which we refer to as the Old and New Testament.

God spoke through these human authors throughout history to communicate His message to humanity throughout history. We also talked about the reality that not only do we believe that the Bible is a collection of letters that were written by men who were inspired by God to write the very words of God to humanity. We also believe that the letters that make up what we call the Bible are without error. We believe that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the thoughts of the writers who wrote the letters that make up the Bible, but that the Holy Spirit also led the writers of these letters to use the very word structure into which these letters were written so that the original documents were inerrant as to fact and infallible as to truth. In other words, the letters that make up the Bible are totally true and are totally trustworthy.  

Today, we are going to address the objection that often sound something like this: “Well, Dave while that sounds great, are you trying to tell me that these writers knew that what they were writing was totally true and trustworthy? I mean, what did Jesus think of the Scriptures? Did He believe that they were without error?” That’s a great question. And fortunately for us, Jesus provides the answer to that question in an account of His life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. Here is what Jesus had to say about the Old Testament in Matthew 5:17-19:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Here we see Jesus explain that He did not come to earth in order to get rid of the Old Testament. Instead, Jesus came to earth to fulfill all the promises and the predictions that were made in the Old Testament. Jesus came to earth to demonstrate that the Old Testament was about Him and pointed to Him. Jesus came to earth to follow and show that the Old Testament was true and trustworthy. Jesus came to earth to follow and show that the Old Testament was to be followed. Well, What about Paul? Did he believe that the Scriptures were without error? Let’s look at Galatians 3:16:

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.

Here we see that Paul took the reality that Scripture was without error to the very letter when He wrote to the Galatians about who was the fulfillment of God’ promise to Abraham. “It is not seeds, but seed”. Well what about Peter. Did Peter think that what Paul wrote was inspired by God and without error? This is what Peter said about Paul’s writings in 2 Peter 3:15-16:

and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul,   according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Now I don’t’ know about you, but I find this very encouraging. I mean if Peter read some of Paul’s letters and walked away saying “Wow this is pretty deep stuff. Some of this is pretty hard to understand” then that gives us the freedom to feel the same way. But did you notice how Peter referred to Paul’s letters?

Did you notice that Peter placed Paul’s writings as inspired by God and without error? Did you notice that Peter referred to Paul’s letters as the rest of the Scriptures? Peter wrote his letters in 64 A.D., which was within 35 years of Jesus death and resurrection, which means that at an early stage, these letters were being circulated amongst the churches.

Now some of you may be thinking, or have heard others say “Well what about all the contradictions in the Bible, what about the differences in some of the stories of Jesus in the gospels?” Just like the witnesses to a car accident, the letters that make up the Bible record events from the perspectives of the writers observing a scene in the life of Jesus. Now while each writer may describe different aspects of the scene they had witnessed, everything that they write about that scene is without error.

Another objection that you have heard about the Bible is “Well Dave, what about the polygamy in the Old Testament and the adultery of David, or what about Stephen and how he screws up what he says in Acts 7?”  It is important to understand that while the letters of the Bible are true in all that they affirm to be true, the letters of the Bible also records historic events, while not affirming them as true or right. The letters of the Bible records the flaws and the brokenness of the people and of the writers of the Bible. It gives us the brutal and harsh truth of the reality of our selfishness and sin right alongside the grace, mercy, and faithful devotion of God as He pursues us.

Another common objection or pushback to this idea of God inspiring human writers to write the letters that make up the Bible is often made by asking “Well Dave, how do we know that we have all of God’s truth? Who and how did they decide to have 66 books?” What about other books like the gospel of Thomas, and the Apocrypha in Catholic Bibles? What about the books that the Mormon Church views as being equal to the Old and New Testament?” Good questions.

We believe that the 66 books in the Bible comprise God’s total written revelation to us, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the Canon.

In other words, the Holy Spirit not only guided the authors of the letters that make up the Bible, but also guided the letters inclusion into the Bible. This is what is meant by the next section of the doctrinal statement, which states the Bible is “the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.”

Now you might have heard people say that we cannot be sure about whether or not the 66 letters we have in the Bible are the only letters that we should have in the Bible because the church did not establish what letters were to be in the Bible until a bunch of men got together because of the Roman Emperor Constantine hundreds of years after these letters were written.

You see, the Council of Carthage, which occurred in 397, merely approved what was already an accomplished fact generally accepted by the early church for a long period of time. As we have already seen, the letters that make up the New Testament of the Bible were already widely circulated and had been collected together within 50 years after their original writing. Other books, like the apocrypha, provide us with historical information, but we do not believe that they were inspired by God. The Bible talks about the concept of an inspired canon in Jude 1:3:

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

Now you may be asking “How did they know and choose which letters were inspired and which were not?” We will address that question on Friday…

Who actually wrote the Bible?

At the church where I serve we are spending our time looking at what we believe as a church as it is contained in the doctrinal statement of our church. This week I would like for us to look at the second statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This second statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to Bible.

This statement summarizes the answer to the question “How did the Bible come into being? How do we know that the Bible is from God? And is the Bible true and trustworthy?” So let’s look at this second statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

Now you might be here this morning and right about now you are thinking “Well Dave that is a mouthful. I mean that sounds great, but what does all that mean?” So, what I would like for us to do is to break down this statement into parts so that we can come to a better understanding of what is being said here. First, let’s take a minute and unpack the phrase "We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors.”

To fully understand what this phrase is communicating, we first need to understand a few things about what the Bible actually is. The first thing that we need to understand is that the word Bible is not found in the Bible. As we will see in a minute, the word Scripture, or the scriptures, is in the Bible. The word Bible simply means “book”. So the phase Holy Bible, just means “Holy Book”.

The second thing that we need to understand is that the Bible actually is not a book. Instead the Bible is a collection of letters that were written by more than 40 authors from every walk of life over a 1,600 year span that have been preserved and collected together in what we refer to today as the Bible. These letters were written in three different languages over the span of over 60 generations and are divided up into two main sections, which we refer to as the Old and New Testament.

The Old Testament, which records events of God’s activity in history from creation of the universe until the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, is comprised of letters written by prophets, who individuals who were messengers from God who were sent from God to deliver God’s message to humanity. For example, Moses was a prophet who wrote the Law, which are the first five books that are recorded for us in the Bible today. Another whole section of letters in the Bibles were written by various prophets. And other letters in the Old Testament were written by prophets were prophets by gift, such as Daniel, King David and King Solomon.

Similarly, the New Testament, which records events of God’s activity in history from the events surrounding the birth of Jesus through the birth and expansion of the early church, is comprised of letters written by “Apostles and Prophets.” These Apostles and prophets were individuals who had received specific spiritual gifts that enabled them to communicate God’s message to humanity and help lay the foundation for God’s new movement in history called the church.

We believe that God spoke through these human authors throughout history to communicate His message to humanity throughout history. We see this reality revealed for us in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bible called the book of 2 Peter. Here is what Peter, who was one of Jesus closest followers, had to say about this whole concept of the God speaking through human authors to communicate His message to humanity in 2 Peter 1:20:

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Now when Peter uses the word prophecy here, this word refers to new verbal revelation from God. This word refers to God speaking something that was new to humanity that had not been previously revealed to humanity. Now if Peter was writing these verses in the language we use in our culture today, these verses would sound something like this: “You should know first and foremost that the words that make up the letters that you have in the Bible and that we are writing to you was not something that we decided to explain to you on our own. The words that make up the letters that you have in the Bible and that we are writing to you are not something that we just woke up one morning and decided to write on our own. Instead the words that make up the letters that you have in the Bible and that we are writing to you are the result of the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives that drove us to write these letters to you”.

Now the big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for what Peter is referring to here is the word inspiration, which we see in the next phrase of the doctrinal statement “As the verbally inspired Word of God”. When we talk about inspiration, we are talking about a dynamic process that was led by the Holy Spirit where God worked through the personalities and life experiences of the writers of the letters that make up the Bible to place His timeless truths on paper.

We see this dynamic process most clearly in the gospels, which are the accounts of Jesus life that are found in the Bible. We see a tax collector, a doctor, and two fisherman moved by the Holy Spirit to write about Jesus life. Each one of the gospel writers had different levels of education and experiences that God used while inspiring, or moving them, to choose and write His timeless truth of His story of the rescue and redemption of selfish and rebellious humanity through Jesus life, death, and resurrection. One of the best ways to summarize this idea of inspiration is to think of inspiration as the process by which God worked to ensure that what God says the Bible says and what the Bible says God says.

But not only do we believe that the Bible is a collection of letters that were written by men who were inspired by God to write the very words of God to humanity. We also believe that the letters that make up what we call the Bible are without error. That is what is referred to in the next phrase of the doctrinal statement “the Bible is without error in the original writings”.

Now the big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for this belief is the word inerrancy. The word inerrancy simply means without error. In other words, we believe that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the thoughts of the writers who wrote the letters that make up the Bible, but that the Holy Spirit also led the writers of these letters to use the very word structure into which these letters were written so that the original documents were inerrant as to fact and infallible as to truth. In other words, the letters that make up the Bible are totally true and are totally trustworthy.  

Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave why did you say that the Bible is without error in the original writings? What about the English Bibles today? Are the English translations of the Bible without error? ” If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that is a great question to be asking.

And my answer to that question is this: Modern English translations of the Bible are inerrant and infallible to the extent that they correspond to the accuracy of the original manuscripts. In other words, the English Bible that you are reading today is as totally true and is as totally trustworthy to the extent that it was accurately translated from the original languages and letters that they were translated from.  

And the really good news is that we have so many accurate copies of the original letters and have so many individuals who have dedicated their lives to accurately translating these letters into English that you can have confidence that the Bibles that you are reading today are very accurate to what the original letters actually said.

Now maybe right about now you might be thinking to yourself “Well, Dave while that sounds great, I’m not sure that I am buying what you are saying here. Are you trying to tell me that these writers knew that what they were writing was totally true and trustworthy? I mean, what did Jesus think of the Scriptures? Did He believe that they were without error?”

That’s a great question. And fortunately for us, Jesus provides the answer to that question, which we will look at tomorrow…

What we believe about God really matters because God is uniquely above all else and is uniquely present with us...

This week we are looking at the first statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This first statement addresses the starting point when it comes to what we believe as a church when it comes to the nature and character of God. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Is there a God? And if, there is a God then who is God and how is God?”

So far this week, we have discovered there are not many gods. Instead there is only one God who is the Creator who created all that has been created.

We also talked about the reality is that God is distinctly different in His character and conduct from any other being. There is the Creator and there is the creation. God is set apart and separate from everything else that exists. In addition, God always has been and always will be perfect. There never has been, or never will be, a flaw in God or a mistake made by God.

Then Wednesday, we talked about the reality that God the Father is God, Jesus Christ is God and the Holy Spirit is God. God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparably related. In other words, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are distinct when it comes to their personhood, but inseparably related when it comes to their nature or essence as God. The distinction between members of the Trinity is based upon their roles, function, and administration, not their nature or essence.

In addition, we discovered that God is not an interpreter of the future; God is the sovereign shaper of the future. And as the sovereign shaper of the future, as a church we believe that God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory. In other words, from before there was time, God had a purpose and plan.

And that purpose and plan was to rescue people whom He had created to worship Him but had rejected Him from their selfishness and rebellion. A purpose and plan designed to bring rebellious humanity back to relationship with Him in a way that would bring Him maximum glory. A plan that Isaiah reveals in Isaiah 42:5: 

Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison. "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.

In Isaiah 42:5-7, we see Isaiah proclaim to the Jewish people God’s plan for the future of all humanity. Isaiah proclaimed that God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, the One who is right and just, the One who gives life to all of humanity, would send and rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah, who would come to provide all humanity the opportunity for rescue and deliverance from the darkness and prison of the worship of false gods so that they could experience the forgiveness and the relationship with the One True God that they were created for.

And some 600 years after making this proclamation, God put His plan into action by sending His Son Jesus to enter into humanity so as to live the life we were created to live but refused to live and to willingly allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.

Then, in verse 8 Isaiah reveals the reason behind God’s plan of sending Jesus as our rescuer and Messiah. God proclaimed through Isaiah that, as the Lord who is large and in charge over all things, He will not allow the honor and worship that belongs to Him to be given to another. You see God is all about His glory. God is all about His glory and His glory is most clearly seen by His activity in History to rescue rebellious humanity through Jesus Christ.

God recues rebellious humanity for His names sake and to reinforce the reality that He alone is God. But while God is all about His glory, God is not aloof in His glory. While God is high above His creation, God is actively engaged with His creation. We see Isaiah reveal this reality for us in Isaiah 57:15:

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Now, occasionally I will hear a criticism that my preaching is not deep. However, when I hear that criticism, what that usually means is that a person views deep as being confusing. What “Oh that was a deep sermon” in many cases means “I have no idea what he just said, it was confusing.”

So, for those who want to hear something deep, what Isaiah is communicating here is that God is transcendent in His immanence and immanent in His transcendence. Now isn’t that deep? God is transcendent in His immanence and immanent in His transcendence. God is transcendent, which means that He is uniquely other than everything else. And God is imminent, which means He is uniquely present and active in the world.

If God was only transcendent, we would be consumed by His holiness and greatness. If God was only transcendent, He would be distant and disengaged from us. However, if God is only immanent, then He would only be viewed by us as our spiritual Santa Claus. If God was only immanent, we would miss His greatness, His power, and His glory.

Now this leads us back to the question that will run throughout this series, which is “Dave what we believe about the nature and character of God really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to this timeless truth about why it really matters. And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about God really matters because God is uniquely above all else and is uniquely present with us. What we really believe about God really matters because God is uniquely above all else.

God is uniquely above all else because there is only one God who is the Creator who created all that has been created.  God is uniquely above all else because there never has been, or never will be, a flaw in God or a mistake made by God. God is uniquely above all else because God’s knowledge cannot be exhausted. God is uniquely above all else because God is not an interpreter of the future; God is the sovereign shaper of the future. God is uniquely above all else because God is all about His glory and His glory is most clearly seen by His activity in History to rescue rebellious humanity through Jesus Christ.

And what we believe about God really matters because God is uniquely present with us. God is uniquely present with us because God has a purpose and plan designed to bring flawed, fallen, broken, and rebellious humanity back to relationship with Him. God is uniquely present with us because God is not distant and disinterested in us. God is uniquely present with us because God is actively at work in the world to reveal Himself to us.

And because of that reality, what we believe about God really matters because God is uniquely above all else and is uniquely present with us.