WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES

ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES

II TIMOTHY 3:14-17

Some times it is easier to say what we don’t believe than it is to say what we do believe. The Bible is still the best seller among books, but it is also the most widely rejected book of all. Many have a Bible but do not believe what it says.

A characteristic of Baptists throughout history is that they take the Bible alone as their rule of faith and practice.

Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Psa 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Psa 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Psa 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Psa 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psa 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Psa 119:140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.

Psa 119:169 TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.

1

1. WHAT THE BIBLE IS.

1. The word “Bible” comes from the Greek “Biblia” meaning books.

2. It is a Divinely given library of sixty-six books, divided into Old and New Testaments, twenty-seven books in the New and thirty-nine books in the Old Testament.

3. It was written by about forty different writers on three continents, in three languages over a period of about 1500 years with an interval of about 400 years between the last of the Old Testament books and the coming of John the Baptist. The first five books were written about 1400 B.C. Revelation was written about 100 A.D.

4. Languages: Ancient Hebrew, Syriac-Chaldee (Aramaic in minor portions), and Koine Greek (language of the common people).

5. Translations:

1. The Old Testament was translated from ancient Hebrew into Greek about 280 B.C.

2. The Latin Vulgate was translated by Jerome from originals, 385-405 A.D.

3. The First English translation was by John Wycliffe, 1324-1384.

4. The King James (Authorized Version) was completed in 1611 by 47 scholars of the Church of England.

Note: Most modern translations contain much bias, skepticism, and infidelity. The Revised Standard Version was brought out in 1952 by the National Council of Churches. Many believe it discredits, (1) the Virgin Birth, (2) the Deity of Christ, and (3) the Inspiration of the Bible.)

2

2. HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE.

It is reasonable that God would not leave men with no revelation of Himself. The Bible declares: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:21). When we say the Bible is inspired of God, what do we mean? There are several theories held by men. Examine them:

1. THE DICTATION THEORY makes the writer as a recording machine, such as a tape recorder.

2. THE IDEATION THEORY is that God gave to men the idea and left them to write as best that they could (naturally they would make some mistakes).

3. THE ASPIRATION THEORY teaches that God inspired the writers in the same manner in which Poe, Longfellow, Shakespeare, and others were inspired. They saw things in their daily activities that caused them to concentrate, speculate, and aspire to write of high morals and truth.

4. THE SCRIPTURAL POSITION holds that God revealed by the Holy Spirit the exact words the writers were to write. The Holy Spirit guided the writers and guarded them from recording error. This is VERBAL INSPIRATION. The writer was permitted to use his own vocabulary, but the Holy Spirit restrained him from the use of any word that would not state exactly what God wanted written (I Peter 1:10-12: John 14:24-26; 16:13).

3. ALL OF THE BIBLE IS TRUE.

The Bible tells the truth about evil men, about God, about the past and about the future (II Timothy 3:15-17).

3

4. HOW ARE WE TO KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES?

Many just open it and start reading, applying all to themselves. Understanding of the Scriptures mus come:

1. By right division (II Timothy 2:15).

2. By comparing scripture with scripture (I Corinthians 2:13; II Peter 1:20).

An example of contradiction unless there is right division is: I John 1:8; 3:9.

3. Men can wrest the scriptures to their own destruction (II Peter 3:16).

4. Rules to go by in studying the Bible.

1. WHO is speaking?

2. ABOUT WHAT is he speaking? What is the SUBJECT.

3. TO WHOM is he speaking?

4. WHEN WAS he speaking?

5. WHY was he speaking?

6. Use as much wisdom in studying the Bible as you would in reading a newspaper.

5. THE BIBLE REVEALS THE PRINCIPLES BY WHICH GOD SHALL JUDGE US (JOHN 12:47,48; ROMANS 2:1-6).

6. THE BIBLE REVEALS ITSELF TO BE THE STANDARD BY WHICH ALL HUMAN CONDUCT, CREEDS, AND OPINIONS SHOULD BE JUDGED.

Does it measure up to God’s Word? Is it confirmed by God’s Word? (I John 4:1).

4

7. THE BIBLE REVEALS HOW MAN CAN COME INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD UNCONDEMNED.

(See John 3:3, 16-18; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:8-13; John 1:11,12.)

1. If the Bible is not the Word of God, then man is groping in darkness, helpless and without hope for the future.

2. If the Bible is not true, those who have believed it are none the worse for having believed it.

3. They are as well off as those who have refused to believe it.

4. But if it is true, we are better off than they are.

5

6

Technorati Tags: word, God, light, path, light

HOME CHURCHS AND THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

onenewsnow has a story out of Dallas about home churches also called organic church or simple church.

The lack of knowledge of the primary character is this news article is simply astounding. This man left a church where he was a missions committee chairman. This man reached a position in a church that would indicate that he should have some knowledge of God’s word, yet it is evident that he missed Paul’s passage to Timothy – “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. II Timothy 2:15,16.”

The first comment I want to make is that from the time of Christ there have been house churches. Almost every missionary has started in some ones home. Often this home was the missionary pastor’s home. Take a look at Philemon verse 2 – “And to our beloved Appia and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the Church in thy house.“ Home churches were known from the time of Christ until this very day. May I offer a phrase given to us by the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes – There is nothing new under the sun. House churches were mentioned several times by Paul. Now if these people were real sincere about getting to the most simplistic style recorded by God’s word, they would be a traveling church like the one Jesus called from the seashore of Galilee.

They brag about not having a pastor. How pompous can this be to deny the very office given to the Church in a shepherd capacity. God calls pastor for a reason.
Note that Paul instructed Timothy to not neglect the Gift of God. “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. II Timothy 1:6.” Paul left Timothy at different churches to help them. Acts 14:23 says that Barnabas and Paul ordained elders in every church. Elders comes from the Greek word presbuteros and Thayer says – among the Christians, those who presided over the assemblies (or Churches). The New Testament uses the term bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably according to Thayer. Paul and Barnabas were ordained and sent with authority to begin Churches.

If I understand this article correctly, they have no right to observe the Lord’s Supper but yet they go through the motions by pinching off pieces of sour dough bread and drink wine and give the kids grape juice. They have no authority to baptise and I saw no mention of baptism. This indicates to me that they feel baptism is unimportant. It is amazing that Christ walked about 60 miles to be baptized by the only one that had authority, John the Baptist.

Take a close look at this quote – “In general, house churches consist of 12 to 15 people who share what’s going on in their live, often turning to Scriptures for guidance. They rely on the Holy Spirit or spontaneity to lead the direction of their weekly gatherings. Now we find that the Scripture is not their sole guide but a guide often. This is perplexing in it’s implication of the importance they place on Scripture. Is this a situation where we apply Scripture when it is convenient and thereby only use that part that we are in agreement with? What about the Holy Spirit they speak of? For the individual, the Holy Spirit convicts and draws and seals those that are saved. For the Church the Holy Spirit impowers to do the work that Christ has given it to do.

Now let us look at the Church that Jesus built upon Himself. To begin with it was a traveling Church that met on the side of a hill and received what we call the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew chapter 5,6, and 7. Every one of His Church members had been saved and baptized by John the Baptist (Acts 1:21.) We see Jesus and His Church as a traveling Church, a Church that met in upper rooms and homes. They were organized and had a pastor (shepherd) Jesus Christ. They even had a Church treasurer (Judas Iscariot). Matthew 28:19-20 gave this Church 3 things to do. Proclaim the Gospel. Baptise those that were saved. Teach them all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

In the 8th chapter of Acts great persecution came upon the Church and it was scattered. Follow Philip into Samaria and see the great work he did in preaching the gospel. Many were saved and baptised. Acts 8:14-17 tells us of Peter and John coming to examine the work that Philip had done and approved it and organized a Church there in Samaria by laying hands on the people and they “…received the Holy Ghost.” What a great example of mission work and Church organisation. O yes, the Church at Jerusalem gained about 3,000 souls in one day.

One more thing if I may. This house church was not about worshipping God. The statement, “… share what’s going on in their lives…”. Worship is all about God and not about us. God has called us to worship. This day everything is back wards. The terminology – I Think, I feel, indicates to me that it is about the people and not God. These people have come together and done something that they believe is religious and now they are satisfied with themselves. They can go home happy. No baptisms because no authority to baptise. The supper they observe does not honour Jesus because of wrong elements and they are not commanded to observe the Lord’s Supper. No doubt those that are saved will go to heaven but standing before the Bema seat and not have any rewards will not be good.

Understand, I have been part of house churches and they have been given authority and they baptised and scripturally observed the Lord’s Supper and grew and bought property and built church building because they needed a place to meet and a house was too small.

Zeal without knowledge is not good. A selfish inward turning of attention to do what pleases us is just as bad as misdirected zeal.Technorati Tags: house, church, organic, Jesus, John the Baptis, baptise, baptism, The Lord’s Supper

THE ROAD IS NOT STRAIGHT

“The road to success and happiness is not straight.

There’s a curve called failure,

A loop called confusion,

Speed bumps called friends,

Caution lights called family,

Red lights called enemies, and

Jobs that go flat.

But with a spare called determination,

An engine called perseverance,

Insurance called faith, and

A driver called God,

You will make it to a place called

Success and happiness.”

UnknownTHE

THE GIRL THAT SAVED A NATION

Esther was a Jew girl,
she learned her lessons well,
with cousin Mordecai, she did dwell.

She learned lessons of virtue,
and they served her well,
into the castle, she was propelled.

Ugly Mr. Haman with pride did swell,
and wanted to kill God’s people,
God’s Word does tell.

God’s plan is not thwarted,
this we can tell,
God had a virtuous maiden that heard so well.

She saved God’s chosen people,
by planning well.
She’s honored as a heroine Jews do tell.

And for such a time as this as this,
I was raised for a time such as this.

And if I Perish, I Perish for God,
For such a time as this!

By James Candler

Technorati Tags: Jew, God, perish, virtue, Haman

Is That Right?

Let me see if I can work through this problem, with help from you, of course.

You are getting married. You have found the girl of your dreams. She has auburn hair and hazel eyes. When she smiles it is dazzling white with prefect teeth. You have wooed her and she has said yes.

That grand and wonderful day is here. You are standing at the altar in your wedding cloths, looking grander than you have ever looked in your life. The wedding march is playing and you turn to see the lovely lady that has said she would be your wife. As you look to her grand entrance you see a blonde haired, blue eye (because one eye is missing), with a smile that is missing some teeth and are very dull. This is not the woman you selected to be your bride. What do you do? Marry her any way, turn and run, search for your bride to be?

This is the situation many would put Jesus in if they had their way. He walked the shores of Galilee and called out His bride to be. He endowed this future bride with certain things that distinguish her from all the others. He gave her a form, that is local and visible. He gave her function, congregational rule. There are identifying marks that He gave her – baptism by scriptural authority to a scriptural candidate and – the Lord’s Supper which is closed and almost every Landmarker would agree with that.

So where is the problem? There are those that insist upon changing the bride. They do this when they accept alien immersion. They do this when they alter the Lord’s Supper to make it a communal supper. So now we have a blonde instead of a brunette strolling down the isle. We are making Jesus into a Jacob and marrying Leah instead of His beloved Rachel.

Do you really believe that Jesus will be satisfied with anything less than His beloved? Can some one explain this to me?Technorati Tags: Jesus, church, bride, beloved, Landmark

Woe

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet, for bitter. Isaiah 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

This is a condemnation upon those that get things backwards. The thought I will pursue here is; God does not accept everything man thinks He ought to accept. God has set forth the principles that He wants us to observe. God does not say a negative – no on everything man can dream up but gives us principles to abide by that is a guide line for us. For example – the Bible does not say a thing about street drugs yet not one preacher or church member would say it is okay to consume these drugs. This a principle that God has established.

When we get to the worship that is God’s, everything goes out the window. God established with Moses and Israel what was accepted. Isaiah 9:6 – Moses said to Israel, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do:” and in their obedience, “and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.” Isaiah 9:23 “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people.
24. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

What God proscribes, He accepts. Isaiah 10:1 we see what was unacceptable to God. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded then not.” No doubt they had the attitude that people have today – I am doing this for the Lord so He should accept it. God has never said He would accept as worship what we decide He should accept. My belief is the Old Testament has laid out an example of the attitude we should have and the method we should use.

Where does self-will in worship take us? How about the tele-evangelist that says GIVE GOD A HAND! Well the solemness of worship has already been disrupted with the clapping for individual performance so why not clap for God, He deserves it. God deserves everything and all of us. Exodus 19:5 God speaking to Israel “if ye will obey my voice,” and this is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament. I Samuel 15:22 Samuel said to the people “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” The result of disobedience was death to Nadab and Abihu. Israel disobeyed many times and were punished many different ways for this disobedience. Even Peter in Acts 5:29 makes a statement about obedience – Then Peter and the other apostles answered an said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Where is the line of demarcation between acceptable worship and unacceptable worship. I don’t know and I haven’t found anyone else that really knows. Wouldn’t it be terrible to stand before the Lord and hear, “my child, when did you worship me? Those were not the principles of worship that I gave you. You were not worshipping me, you were doing things of the world that pleased You.”

I have no desire to be in that position. I have enough to answer for. My neglect in evangelism. My hard heartedness and other things.

May we worship God His way and not our way which pleases us.Technorati Tags: Worship, God, Moses, Peter, clap, clapping

THE NEXT GREAT THING

THE nest great thing after clapping; after hand waving and all the past things that have become acceptable in our worship services is – HUING.  I know what you are saying – what is that! And you will know in a minute. We Baptists take a lot of things from other denominations that we know are not scriptural. Sixty years ago we never saw upraised hands, we never experienced clapping or dancing in our services. We never accepted alien immersion or practised open communion. We sang hymns and songs that uplifted Christ and God and spoke of their greatness and other attributes. My how times have changed. We have brought into our worship the Warrens of the world – throw out the old, the hymn books, the cross, the mourners bench, and the old timers that object to these new fangled ideas. Bring in the new that makes me feel comfortable and the lost easy resting in their lostness. Make our songs more upbeat and more about my confusion and being picked on.

Now how pathetic is this picture. Their will be more. We waffle and waver and say will I do feel uncomfortable with clapping BUT. Because we are so mealy mouthed about this imported practice, I predict that Huing will enter our churches with very little fuss. So What is Huing?

Marsha West has an article in “NewsWithViews.com.” Her statement is “People all over the globe are singing or chanting the HU. Not hoo, as in whoohoo! It’s pronounced Hue as in Hugh Grant. HUers say it is an “amazing love song to God.” The benefits of HUing are: It takes less than an hour to HU, It is a form of prayer, a form of contemplation. Anyone can do it. One can HU alone, with a small group, or a large group, even while driving.
The statement is that HU will put you in contact with “divine spirit,” and keep you centered, focused, and clear.

Where does HUing come from? Eckankar which is allegedly “the oldest and most original religion in the world.” We know better. Sounds as if this would fit splendidly with the emergent church group. Don’t be surprised if someone in your service starts HUing one Sunday.

Let me give you their argument for being okay to do. 1. The Bible does not specifically command not to do it. 2. This is my form of prayer. I am communing with God and certainly you would not forbid me to commune with God when the Bible says to talk to God and your messages say we need to pray more.

Now preacher, church leader, are you going to waffle or take a stand?Technorati Tags: HU, Eckankar, divine, spirit, preacher

Bearing Life

Life was so hard to bear,
I was burdened with every care.
Then Jesus said to me,
on this cross I’ll die for thee,
and these burdens that you bear,
…I will gladly share.

James Candler

Technorati Tags: Life, bear, Jesus, cross, burden, share

THE WONDER OF GOD

THE WONDER OF GOD

How often we stand in

slack-jawed wonder as we see the con-trails

of God’s love in our lives.

The overwhelming display

of His power and might in lightning and thunderstorm

brings out fearful respect.

How our hearts melt,

as God releases the gentle rejuvenating rain of

summer that removes all things.

How energetic we become,

when the healing Sunshine spreads it bright rays

into our world and life is just right.

How comparable to our spiritual lives

which should infuse our mind and actions and exude

to others whose lives we touch.

Our lives should be lived in slack-jawed wonder

that Jesus could ever love us. We are so unlovely

covered in sin. For us to be lovely He came and died,

and shed His blood to cover our sins. What Great Love.

This overwhelming display of might and power in

lightning and storm should remind us that He is in control of

nature and the creator of all things and we are His creation and

should fearfully respect Who He is and what He can do in our lives.

There are times we need refreshing. God brings gentle

rain and soft winds to bring growth and strength in our spiritual

lives. We experience the rain of trials and temptations and feel the breeze

of adversity and in our resistance we experience spiritual and mental growth.

Then from heaven the rays of the Son beams into our lives and embraces

us with a love all encompassing. We can’t find the height nor depth, nor width

nor length of it. The words “well done” opens up the well springs of our hearts

and our eyes are brimmed with tears of compassion. Then this life is worth it all.

James Candler

Technorati Tags: wonder, God, love, encompass, height, depth, length

Joyful Noise

I will give a few random thoughts and then make a few comments that might upset some.

I enjoyed the fellowship of the ABA this year. The feeling of harmony was all around. Those that I met, I truly enjoyed. I have come back to my Church (not the one I own, mind you, but the one I pester and that is not a misspelling.) with renewed purpose and a desire to change some things and get about the Masters business. Now there may be some that felt the new Missionary Committee overstepped their authority. I believe that they simply communicated with the sponsoring Church and Missionary what was occuring financially. The Church and Missionary had to make the decision to not recommend.

NOW: the fly in the ointment is the clapping. I have read and studied the worship of the Old Testament and have read where the Word calls them a Solemn assembly and have read the New Testament where Paul refers to the music and I am led to wonder about the appropriateness of the clapping phenomenon. I do believe it has been borrowed from the SBC and Indepedents who borrowed it from the Pentecostals and Chrismatics. Why do we feel we have to borrow things from unscriptural sources. Go ahead and borrow their doctrine if we are in the borrowing position. Some may get in a twitter – not the phone type – over these statements. Please keep it together to have a rational discussion on this issue.

I have never seen a theological, Biblical argument that has been rationally laid out in a systematic manner that could possibly prove that clapping in a solemn assembly, which is our worship service, is appropriate or would even be acceptable to God.

While thinking on these things I did provide my self with an argument for and an argument against clapping. They are both very simple. If the Bible does not specifically state a command against, then the practice is okay. That is my argument for. This opens the door for liturgical dance which I consider to be the dance of the prostitutes in pagan temples and many other things that clapping proponents would be against. This argument fails for obvious reasons.

I would like one wise in the word and with the ability, to put forth a reasoned systematic theological based argument with scripture that supports clapping in worship.

Understand: this leaves out the verses that refer to trees and hills clapping. It is hard to lug these into our houses of worship.