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Have you ever wielded a sword?? I don't mean a plastic toy from the Dollar Store, but at least an aluminum prop?? I once met a New England area musician who wielded a real one!! His name is Mark Shelton. He writes his own worship songs, and he's amazing!! Not sure if he's still touring around, but I highly recommend checking him out.
As a kid who grew up in Christian School, we had Bible Classes twice a week. Many of you have probably heard of the Bible referred to as a sword as part of the Armor of God. (Eph. 6:10-20) One activity we had during Bible Class was called a Sword Drill. Our teacher would have a list of references (which may or may not have existed), and the first one to find said verse had to raise their hand. This was after lowering it to seek the verse, as we started with Bibles in the air. This honed our knowledge of the Bible. Yesterday, my Pastor brought a fake metal sword on the platform with him, but didn't show it until near the end of the message.
I've said all that to say this -- Today's Big Question is Why Do we Trust the Bible??
The Bible makes 2 major points. It reveals God in the OT, and Jesus in the NT.
Today's scripture is Luke 24:13-32. Don't worry, we'll only be covering points brought out, not every verse...
The passage tells the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and how Jesus was eventually revealed to them. This happens shortly after the Resurrection, for those just tuning in... They knew there seemed to be something familiar while He walked with them, but it wasn't until they sat down to supper that He revealed His presence fully. Then they realized how their hearts had been burning the entire time He was with them.
How often do we get caught up in ourselves and our own lives and not reach the depth of intimacy with God that brings our hearts to the level of burning?? I'm as guilty of this as anyone...
When asking the question of why we trust the Bible, there are 3 points to ponder -- What the the Bible say?? What does it mean?? And finally, what does it do??
Okay, time to "nerd out" for a moment, as my Pastor would say. (we're both of us Grammarians)
Looking at what the Bible says in "black and white", as it were, we consider the following --
Manuscripts -- The historicity, or authentication. The more important a document was/is, the more copies are made of it. Homer's Illead boasts 600 original copies. That comes in at a distant second place to the New Testament which blows all other comers out of the water at a staggering 5,500+/-!!
Variables -- On average, most ancient manuscripts found have around a 10-20% margin of error in translation. The NT proudly comes in at just 1.7%!!
Dates -- This point explores the amount of time lapsed between original events and original manuscripts. The longest known lapse is records of the Gaullic Wars, which went 1,000 yrs. unrecorded!! The second shortest is Homer's Odyssey at 500 yrs. The winner of shortest lapse is... you guessed it, the New Testament!! The time lapse of NT writings after events is measly 25 at the least to not more than 100 yrs. at the outside!!*
The next point in our quest is meaning. In order to fully grasp what the messages meant to the authors and audiences, it is absolutely mandatory to look at the complete context* of the book or passage being read. It's also helpful to put things into perspective for ourselves by exploring our own context when we read. Both then and now, the Bible gives a view of the Kingdom of God.*
In order to accomplish this in reading the New Testament specifically, 3 things need to be explored. Jesus and Early Christianity, Judaism, and the Roman Empire. These give us the Historical context; only then can we fully appreciate or even discover the Biblical context.*
We often wrestle with meaning in the Bible because it rubs against our natural thoughts and desires. We don't always want it to mean what it says. We, none of us, like being wrong. I know I certainly don't, just ask my family... ;p But if we're going to mature as Christians, we need to face these uncomfortable moments head-on and pray for God to help us.
Finally, we discover what it does -- Turn to 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Most of you will be familiar with this passage. This is where we get the list of functions the Bible offers for our lives. It is given in the spirit of community and brotherhood; which is God's gift to us for the purpose of encouragement. The list runs as follows --
Salvation in Christ -- As a message that was inspired of God, or "God-breathed", the Bible as a whole points all of humanity to Jesus. In John 5:39, Jesus even speaks of Himself in light of Scripture when He says that they, "testify about me". In terms of the New Testament itself, the Gospels tell us about Jesus, and the letters talk about what our lives should look like in light of our Salvation.
Teaches Truth -- "Truth" is a word that's getting tossed around a lot these days in society. "Your truth", "My truth", "the truth of this situation", ad ad nauseam... The Bible provides the only "Truth" we need, and that is Jesus. (Jn. 14:6) He is our anchor in the storm of society's lies.*
Rebuking -- The Bible opens our eyes to right and wrong. (when properly interpreted) History is rife with those who have "cherry-picked" to fit their narratives. If we don't consider the entire Word, we will miss the mark; which is the very definition of sin* according to the writings of Paul. Rebuke, or more commonly, correction, is something none of us likes in the moment. (remember, we hate to be wrong) But we can learn to appreciate it as we realize that it re-orients us towards God.
Training in Righteousness -- God is literally shaping our spirits for daily life through His Word. At least that's His intent. As His nature is summed up in love, He desires to form and shape love in us. In Matthew 22:34-40 we find Jesus confirming this as He is in discussion with the Pharisees. (religious leaders) They have asked Him what commandment is greatest and He tells them that love for God and love for each other covers all.* If we are pouring ourselves into studying the Word, and it is not producing love, we are doing it wrong. Study of the Word should be led by the Spirit, one of the fruits of which, is love. Otherwise, our study will most likely lead to judgement, and that is God's job, not ours; at least in terms of doctrine. (Pray for me in this)
Now about that sword we talked about at the beginning -- Let's all turn to Heb. 4:12-13. Once again, a familiar bit of scripture to those who've "been around the block"... "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
I don't know about you, but to me, that's a pretty dang powerful sword!! The Word is alive, and active, revealing ALL!! That can be disconcerting at the least, and potentially disturbing and scary at the most... This is exactly why some of us tend to shy away from it. We don't want to acknowledge our deepest secrets if they don't line up with the Word.
How do we respond to all of this?? One possible answer is found in the single verse parable found in Matt. 13:44. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought the field." What are we willing to invest for the Gospel?? Jesus gave His life for us, the least we can do is live for Him. It is human nature to bargain before purchasing anything. We want to know exactly what we're getting before we shell out any money, or spend any more time on something. We want to bargain with God and know all the details before investing our lives. That's where reading the Bible comes in, because He tells us everything we need to know right there in good old black and white (and maybe red). He also tells us that our judgment of others reveals our hearts toward Him.
So what should we do first??
-- Pray for a burning hunger for the Word if you need one. Let your spirit come alive with it.
-- Engage in activities both privately in reading the Word, reflection, and meditating; then in fellowship with other believers. Fellowship is important as it provides a community for sharing and accountability.* Matthew 7:24-27 show us what happens without a solid foundation for our faith. We would do well to heed the advice. Also, as Paul tells Timothy, it is our responsibility to pass the Word on to others. Not really possible without knowing it ourselves...
In sharing about the sword, my Pastor referred to the blade as God, the handle as us, and the guard as guiding principles. You can't effectively wield a sword without all three of these in play. Are we letting the Word do it's job?? -- God Bless!!
Footnotes --
All facts presented here can also be appreciated in the movie, "God's Not Dead"
I recently purchased a Chronological New Testament presented in a book called, "Evolution of The Word", by Marcus J. Borg. It presents the books in the order they are best determined to have been written. The introductory chapters give the full historical context with which we should be reading the NT. That's where I got that list, that portion is not part of my Pastor's message as I just told him about the book after the service was dismissed.
3. "Kingdom of God" speaks of what life looks like when God is in charge.
4. Some people I've encountered online insist on only looking at the Biblical context, ignoring all else; and therefore missing the point, leading to wrong beliefs/doctrine.
5. The classic rock song, "Great Illusion", by Styx comes to mind here.
6. It's a basic truth of Christianity that; while sin itself is universal, the definitions differ culturally. (Ex. smoking in US vs playing pool in Indonesia) Totally understand the smoking, but not so much the pool playing. Both are really heart issues though, and should be left between them and God. As stated above, it's not our job to judge everything. (my personal weakness lies in judging wrong beliefs)
7. "Covers all" -- take notice of vs. 40 where Jesus literally tells them that, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." There are those online who believe we are still under the Law due to places where God says words like, "eternal" or "forever". They totally ignore every single verse in the NT where either Jesus or Paul speaks of a "NEW Covenant" or "NEW Testament". I've told them to read Hebrews...
8. "Fellowship of believers" need not involve an organized Church if we don't want it to. I read an article shared on FB this morning titled, ""I love Jesus but not the Church Just means You don't love Jesus."" In this article, the author judges people's hearts based on the legalistic beliefs he was clearly raised with. It's preposterous and over-simplified. It also claims that 2 Jn. 3:18-20 determines our Salvation. Why this man things that good works and Salvation are mutually exclusive is beyond me... Read it for yourselves -- https://www.patheos.com/blogs/chorusinthechaos/loving-jesus-not-church/?fbclid=IwAR3021BR_lndUdjEDe5osRBAm5cj_DrMZhxXnbScOjIsZmkEGeRNmpbIu6k
The handle of my Pastor's sword looked similar to this in shape, although his was all silver.
Apparently there is a famous Mark Shelton from KY who died. This is not him. This man is from VT.
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