Although Christians may point to historical and scientific evidence, as well as arguments from logic to defend the faith, it is still imperative that we defend God's word with God's word; just as we must interpret Scripture with Scripture. Ignorant mockers will scoff at us for doing so, but there are a couple of reasons for using the Bible to defend the Bible.
For one thing, how can one defend a position if they do not know what the position is? One can not. One must know what the Bible actually says and teaches; one must have a firm understanding of biblical teaching and context, context, context in order to be an effective defender of God's honest, gospel truth. The apostle Paul, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, refers to "rightly dividing the word of truth", being diligent to learn from the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). I hear and read comments from foolish scoffers all the time, misrepresenting the Scriptures which they so vehemently oppose. They take passages out of context and twist them like pretzels. Or they attribute words to the Bible which are not even found anywhere in the Bible. It's disgusting. At the same time, there are people who genuinely don't know what the Scriptures teach and honestly want to learn. So those of use who have poured over the God's word are responsible to answer the questions that they ask.
Yet there are even people in the Church who do not rightly divide the word of truth, but misrepresent what the Bible teaches as well. At times, I post things that are geared toward theistic evolutionists in the Church, to confirm Genesis as a literal historical narrative. Some atheists are unable to understand this and they will mock me for using the Bible to defend the Bible, but I wasn't even talking to the atheists. I was talking to the theistic evolutionists who already claim that they believe in Christianity.
Another reason for using the Scriptures to defend the Scriptures is because they have been given to us by the Holy Spirit; and it is the work of the Spirit to bring conviction of the truth into a sinner's heart and mind. God's word is mighty to speak from the mind and Spirit of God to the mind and spirits of human beings. And Jesus said, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." (John 6:45).
God is not desperate to convince anyone of the truth. His word is truth, and He has sent it forth into the world. And we become His servants when we speak His word from our hearts, where we have laid it up as a priceless treasure. And whoever is taught by God will hear and believe the truth. Our living Friend, Jesus Christ, says all the time; "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22).
As the Spirit says through Paul, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17). By the hearing of the word of God, sinners believe and repent; and are reconciled to God who is love, and who created humanity in His own image for the purpose of loving and being loved by Him and each other (2 Corinthians 5:20, Genesis 1:26-27, 1 John 4:8, Matthew 22:37-40).
Showing posts with label Apologetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apologetics. Show all posts
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Thursday, August 8, 2013
A Mindful Love
"What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8:4 NKJV; emphasis added).
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind'. This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38 NKJV; emphasis added).
Why is sound doctrine important? What difference do theology and apologetics make to Christian living? The apostle Paul certainly placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of these things. The fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians is devoted to the importance of believing in the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And in his letters to Timothy and Titus he also urged them to teach sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:9-10, 2 Timothy 4:2-4, Titus 2:1).
There are at least a few reasons why sound doctrine is important. For one thing, if the Church strays from teaching the truth, we will no longer be presenting the gospel that is able to save souls. The distortion of the gospel makes it ineffective. It loses its, shall we say, structural integrity. Then if anyone does believe what is taught, they will not believe the truth that leads to eternal life. But they will be less likely to believe in Christ, or God, or the Scriptures at all.
And as Paul often showed in his letters to all the churches, there is a correlation between what we believe and what we do. His letter to the Colossians is a good example. In that letter, Paul stresses the importance of sound teachings about Christ. Then, in the third chapter he says, in effect, "Now because of these truths concerning Jesus, set your mind on Him, and live this way instead of that way".
The bottom line is that love is a mindful thing. God is mindful of us because He loves us. He doesn't sit on His throne and say to Himself, "Oh, I don't believe in the literal human being. I don't interpret prayers as literal petitions and supplications. Humanity is just a metaphor for stuff that I like. So as long as I'm feeling good that's all that matters."
You know, God doesn't construct stupid, careless, false ideas about who and what we are. It is true that He does all things for His own glory. But His glory is in His love and goodness toward us as well as in His power, His wisdom, His knowledge, and His eternal, holy nature.
And if we love our heavenly Father, we will be mindful of Him. We will think honestly about Him as He has revealed Himself to us through the Old Testament prophets, the apostles, and His Son - Jesus Christ. We will recognize who and what He is - The Creator and Owner of the universe, and of our lives. And so we will honor Him and seek His glory in our lives. And a part of what that means is using the mind He has given us, to the best of the ability He has given us.
God is love. So why not love the One who is love? He has made us in His image to love and be loved by Him.
And the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8:4 NKJV; emphasis added).
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind'. This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38 NKJV; emphasis added).
Why is sound doctrine important? What difference do theology and apologetics make to Christian living? The apostle Paul certainly placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of these things. The fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians is devoted to the importance of believing in the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And in his letters to Timothy and Titus he also urged them to teach sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:9-10, 2 Timothy 4:2-4, Titus 2:1).
There are at least a few reasons why sound doctrine is important. For one thing, if the Church strays from teaching the truth, we will no longer be presenting the gospel that is able to save souls. The distortion of the gospel makes it ineffective. It loses its, shall we say, structural integrity. Then if anyone does believe what is taught, they will not believe the truth that leads to eternal life. But they will be less likely to believe in Christ, or God, or the Scriptures at all.
And as Paul often showed in his letters to all the churches, there is a correlation between what we believe and what we do. His letter to the Colossians is a good example. In that letter, Paul stresses the importance of sound teachings about Christ. Then, in the third chapter he says, in effect, "Now because of these truths concerning Jesus, set your mind on Him, and live this way instead of that way".
The bottom line is that love is a mindful thing. God is mindful of us because He loves us. He doesn't sit on His throne and say to Himself, "Oh, I don't believe in the literal human being. I don't interpret prayers as literal petitions and supplications. Humanity is just a metaphor for stuff that I like. So as long as I'm feeling good that's all that matters."
You know, God doesn't construct stupid, careless, false ideas about who and what we are. It is true that He does all things for His own glory. But His glory is in His love and goodness toward us as well as in His power, His wisdom, His knowledge, and His eternal, holy nature.
And if we love our heavenly Father, we will be mindful of Him. We will think honestly about Him as He has revealed Himself to us through the Old Testament prophets, the apostles, and His Son - Jesus Christ. We will recognize who and what He is - The Creator and Owner of the universe, and of our lives. And so we will honor Him and seek His glory in our lives. And a part of what that means is using the mind He has given us, to the best of the ability He has given us.
God is love. So why not love the One who is love? He has made us in His image to love and be loved by Him.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
The Head and the Heart
Suppose two people are debating which part of the body is most important. Imagine that one of them insists the head is the most important part, while the other firmly defends the heart as being the most important. But isn't it true that the body must have both a head and a heart to live, and can not dispense with either one?
The literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus the Messiah is the heart of Christian doctrine and apologia, and the Genesis creation/fall is the head. It hardly seems reasonable to believe the one and not the other.
And actually, the resurrection is a validation of the history recorded in Genesis. Jesus constantly made statements that validate both the Divine inspiration and the historicity of the Old Testament narrative. (For examples, see John 5:46, John 8:56, Luke 24:25-27, Mark 10:6, Matthew 5:18, Matthew 23:31-35, and Matthew 26:52-56). And His resurrection gives assurance that Jesus is the Son of God, so that His statements possess Divine authority.
But Jesus' resurrection from the dead was not merely to prove that He is the Son of God. Jesus arose from the dead to conquer death. God considers death to be an enemy to be destroyed (1st Corinthians 15:21-26). Death is not a part of the original created order. It was introduced into the world by sin. (Romans 5:12).
For theistic evolutionism to be true, there would have to be billions of years of death, disease, and suffering before humans even appeared on the earth.
If the sedimentary rock layers of the geological column were laid down slowly over 4.5 billion years, the fossils inside them would show this to be the case. Death would be a part of the original created order. And so it would be silly for God to view death as an enemy to be destroyed.
However, if the rock layers were laid down slowly, there would be no fossils in them. Those organic things would have decayed in open air, being reduced to dust before the sediment could cover them. This is especially obvious in the case of polystrate fossils.
Those layers were laid down after the Genesis fall. And they were laid down swiftly, by the flood that God sent to judge sin during Noah's lifetime. And truly, all scientific data can be best interpreted and understood within the framework of the Genesis creation/fall/flood scenario.
When Paul the apostle addressed a pagan audience at the Areopagus in Athens, he gave a message that centered on creation (Acts 17:24-30). Note the sweet affirmation that all nations are descended from one man (verse 26). So far, Paul's audience listened.
It's a rum thing because at the end of his speech he mentioned the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. And it was at that part that some in his audience mocked him (verses 31 & 32). This is the opposite of what often happens in contemporary Christian apologetics.
Nowadays, it is common for people to believe in the resurrection and yet scoff at Genesis. It is as though Paul's generation viewed the head as the most important part, and saw no use for the heart. And the current generation views the heart as most important, and sees no use for the head.
Visit:
www.answersingenesis.org
www.icr.org
and http://creation.com/
The literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus the Messiah is the heart of Christian doctrine and apologia, and the Genesis creation/fall is the head. It hardly seems reasonable to believe the one and not the other.
And actually, the resurrection is a validation of the history recorded in Genesis. Jesus constantly made statements that validate both the Divine inspiration and the historicity of the Old Testament narrative. (For examples, see John 5:46, John 8:56, Luke 24:25-27, Mark 10:6, Matthew 5:18, Matthew 23:31-35, and Matthew 26:52-56). And His resurrection gives assurance that Jesus is the Son of God, so that His statements possess Divine authority.
But Jesus' resurrection from the dead was not merely to prove that He is the Son of God. Jesus arose from the dead to conquer death. God considers death to be an enemy to be destroyed (1st Corinthians 15:21-26). Death is not a part of the original created order. It was introduced into the world by sin. (Romans 5:12).
For theistic evolutionism to be true, there would have to be billions of years of death, disease, and suffering before humans even appeared on the earth.
If the sedimentary rock layers of the geological column were laid down slowly over 4.5 billion years, the fossils inside them would show this to be the case. Death would be a part of the original created order. And so it would be silly for God to view death as an enemy to be destroyed.
However, if the rock layers were laid down slowly, there would be no fossils in them. Those organic things would have decayed in open air, being reduced to dust before the sediment could cover them. This is especially obvious in the case of polystrate fossils.
Those layers were laid down after the Genesis fall. And they were laid down swiftly, by the flood that God sent to judge sin during Noah's lifetime. And truly, all scientific data can be best interpreted and understood within the framework of the Genesis creation/fall/flood scenario.
When Paul the apostle addressed a pagan audience at the Areopagus in Athens, he gave a message that centered on creation (Acts 17:24-30). Note the sweet affirmation that all nations are descended from one man (verse 26). So far, Paul's audience listened.
It's a rum thing because at the end of his speech he mentioned the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. And it was at that part that some in his audience mocked him (verses 31 & 32). This is the opposite of what often happens in contemporary Christian apologetics.
Nowadays, it is common for people to believe in the resurrection and yet scoff at Genesis. It is as though Paul's generation viewed the head as the most important part, and saw no use for the heart. And the current generation views the heart as most important, and sees no use for the head.
Visit:
www.answersingenesis.org
www.icr.org
and http://creation.com/
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