Haiti and My Conflict

26 01 2010

Haiti and My Conflict

Like many of you, I have been watching the news updates on the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Every network from CNN to ESPN is jumping on this major story.  And when you’re looking at real-life photos and real-time video it’s easy to become tearful.  We can almost smell the stench of death as we see bodies pulled out of the cinder-block wreckage.  The chaos and pain is unfathomable.  Watching little girls and boys wandering the streets with no parents, guardians or love is heart-wrenching.

The body count has reached over 100,000 with estimates that it will exceed more than a quarter of a million by the end of the week.  This is a catastrophe of apocalyptic standards.  The pain and turmoil of this nation rips my heart apart. 

I can’t speak for others, but I’ll tell you my initial and continuous reaction to this situation is a combination of compassion and anger.  I find myself ticked off at Haiti’s leaders!  I want to march in there, find the president and his cabinet, and hang ’em all!  I know this isn’t a very “Christian” pastoral response and I’ve asked God to forgive me for my attitude, but that’s how I feel.

But, at the same time, I have to wonder how God feels? 

How could Haiti’s leaders allow their people to live in such squalor?  How could they let the presidential palace, three times bigger than the White House, become so grossly ostentatious while the hillsides surrounding it are stacked with cardboard shacks and the people are reduced to eating mud cakes?  Greed, greed, greed.  God is angry!  God weeps!  And so do I.

My heart breaks with love and compassion for the precious, image bearers of God in Haiti, especially the women and children.   I had trouble sleeping last night as I dreamed of the kids with no mommy or daddy, no support, no protection from elements or evil.  I thought about the well-financed men who will come as tools of Satan, offering them food and shelter, only to drag them into prostitution, drug addiction and a life of bondage.  I get angry when I imagine the reality that faces these Haitian children.  God is angry!  God weeps!  And so do I.

But, simultaneously, I rejoice with the surprising, even shocking miracles that are bringing hundreds of children from orphanages in Haiti to the United States to be adopted by caring families.  I praise the Lord for the nine families in our church who are now holding in their arms these precious innocent image-of-God bearers.  God’s heart bursts with joy! God’s heart spills over with love!  And so does mine!

So how do we process such conflicting emotions?  How do we deal with both the righteous anger and the overwhelming compassion that are erupting within us?  Maybe we’re not too different from Jesus.  He had a lot of anger directed at the prideful arrogant Pharisee’s, but was moved with love and compassion for the outcasts and displaced.  I’m conflicted.


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Start the New Year with Prayer and Fasting

16 12 2009

  

As we come to the end of an old year and begin a new year, I’m reminded of the power and peace that comes through prayer and fasting.  As Jesus started his public ministry with prayer and fasting we at Mountain Springs Church want to begin our new year, as a church body, with prayer and fasting.  Join us January 4th-8th at 6:30pm for our second annual “Impact 2010” in our sanctuary as we seek the Lord through my continued teaching on Luke, worship and prayer.

I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer and fasting.  In twenty-eight years of ministry, no other spiritual endeavor, outside of Bible study, has proved to have such anointing in my life.  Let me explain briefly why I believe so strongly in the power of prayer and fasting.

Throughout scripture one of the ways God has consistently shown His power in answer to prayer has been in response to the fasting and prayer of His saints.  People may not understand the power of fasting and prayer, and thus do not do it.  People may not like the discomfort of fasting and prayer, and thus do not try it.  But no one who reads the Bible can deny the fact that throughout history whenever people decided to fast and pray, God always answered their prayer in a powerful way! Joshua, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, the disciples of John the Baptist, Anna, the apostles, Paul, Barnabas, and the early church all practiced fasting and prayer.  Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days before He began His public ministry.  In Luke 5:34-35 Jesus instructed His disciples to fast after He left them.  This was taken very seriously in light of the regular use of fasting and prayer that continued throughout the early church as recorded in the book of Acts and the writing of the early church fathers.  Fasting and prayer is one of the key means by which Christians throughout the ages have received answers from God concerning the prayers of their heart.

For Westerner’s like me, fasting is often difficult to practice because it is difficult to rationally understand.  Our Western Worldview is based on a rational approach to life that often subconsciously colors and limits how we read and interpret the Bible.  I think it is important to realize that fasting, as well as prayer, and many other spiritual principles in the Bible cannot be completely understood rationally.  Prayer and fasting is a Biblical principle not a mathematical formula.

Every time I have sought God through fasting and prayer I have received an answer to my prayers!  Sometimes God has answered dramatically and sometimes quietly, but His powerful arm has always moved when I have set my heart to diligently fast and pray over an issue.  I am not surprised by this; it is only consistent with a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God.  Because God is no respecter of persons, I am confident that if anyone sets his or her heart on the things of God, God will answer.

Here is an outline for a few reasons why I believe fasting and prayer is so powerful and useful to getting answers from God.  It is borne out of scripture and experience, thus I would refer anyone interested in this subject to more learned men with far more experience than myself, for further, more in-depth study.  Many have asked my opinion on this subject, so I feel obliged to share a few thoughts.

1)       Fasting and prayer FOCUSES our prayers upon a particular need or problem by putting God first, turning our back upon everything else (including physical needs) and seeking God’s face for those things upon our heart.  Throughout scripture we see focused prayers by the saints as they cried out to God for His power and answers.  In the book of Esther, we observe Mordecai focusing his fasting and prayer for the salvation of his nation (Esther 4:1-3).  Ezra focused his prayers at one point for a safe journey through enemy territory (Ezra 8:21), and at another point he focused his prayers and fasting for revival in Israel (Ezra 9, 10).  In Acts 13 we see the church sending out missionaries as a result of fasting and prayer.  They were focused on God in a special way, and He spoke to them.  Again John R. Rice says, “Fasting, then, should mean that one determines to seek the face of God and for a time, at least, to abstain from other things in order to give the whole heart to prayer and waiting on God.  Fasting and prayer means to leave off the lesser blessings for the greater one, the lesser duty for the far more important duty”2.  The apostles said, “We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word”(Acts 6:4). Praying went before preaching!  Fasting means putting prayer first, ahead of our bodies’ most basic desires, or any other thing that would deter us, and focusing our heart toward God.

Over the years I have fasted and prayed in order to focus my prayers on church planting, revival, family matters, and financial needs.  When we FOCUS our prayers through fasting, God has promised to answer us.  Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks find, and to him who knocks it shall be opened”(Matthew 7:7, 8).

It is the experience of most who fast for more than 7 days that clarity of mind and a freedom in prayer comes after all foods in the body have been broken down.  This clarity and freedom enables one to FOCUS his or her prayer with greater intensity.

2)       Prayer with fasting binds the evil forces of Satan in a way that prayer without fasting cannot.  In Daniel 10 we see this principle at work as Daniel sought the Lord for 21 days in focused prayer and fasting.  It took 21 days of fasting and prayer before the “prince” of Persia’s power could be broken and Daniel could receive the answer he sought.  Kiel and Delitzsch’s Commentary on the Old Testament write, “The Prince of Persia was the spiritual force that guided the advancement of the next world government”3. and The New Bible Commentary Revised writes, “The spiritual power behind the gods of Persia”4. Hence, there is agreement with these noted scholars that the thing which held up the answer to Daniel’s prayer was a “spiritual force”, a “power” working against God.  Ephesians 6:12 in the New American Standard also translates these demonic beings as “world forces”.  It would seem from the Ephesians 6:12 passage that just as there are hierarchies of angels available to do the work of God, there are also corresponding hierarchies of demonic powers that constantly work to sabotage and destroy God’s work.  In the case of Daniel, the answer from God could not reach him without 21 days of fasting and prayer!  The means by which the answer came was through a higher, more powerful angel binding the demon over Persia and thus releasing God’s power to Daniel.

Again we see this principle at work as Jesus dealt with a demonically influenced boy of whom the disciples tried unsuccessfully to release from an evil spirit.  After Jesus had freed the young man from the evil spirit, he explained to his inquisitive disciples the reason why they were unable to free the boy.  Jesus said, “This kin (kind of demon-Ryries’) cannot come out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:29)  Prayer with fasting is needed to break through spiritual forces that hinder or block God’s answer to our prayers.  Thus, it is no wonder that every great revival has been preceded by great seasons of prayer and, with certain men, coupled with fasting.

I believe that there are certain problems so deep and powerful in a person, city, or nation, that the problem cannot be solved outside of great fasting and prayer.  It would seem that the fasting and prayer of Mordecai and then the Jews (Esther 4-10) were the means by which God turned tragedy into triumph against the evil forces working in and through Haman.

3)       Fasting and prayer increases our desire, which elevates our faith, which is a key component to answered prayer.  Throughout the New Testament we see Jesus speaking of the relationship of faith to healings, miracles, and the work He could do.  It is even written that Jesus was restricted in what He could do because of a lack of faith.  Faith is key in prayer.  According to Hebrews 11:6 prayer without faith does not even please God.  On the other hand, we realize from passages like Matthew 9:29; 17:20; and 21:21, that Jesus moves to answer prayer when there is faith.  So how can our faith be increased and deepened?  I believe it is through increasing our desire.  As our desire for something increases, our faith will also increase.  Fasting and prayer can be one way in which this can occur.  Paul Cho writes, “The desire for food is basic to all living creatures.  It is one of the strongest motivational forces at work in the body, even before birth.  Babies are born with the natural instinct to reach out for the mother’s breasts.  If we can combine this intense natural desire with our natural spiritual desire for communion with our spiritual source, then what results is a much greater intensity: this is the purpose of prayer and fasting.” 5

 

All of us pray for the desires of our heart.  It is natural that we also pray more intensely for our deepest desires.  Psalm 37:40 speaks of the importance God places upon desire, promising to bless us with the desires of our heart.  Prayer with fasting increases our desire and deepens our faith.

In my life almost all convictions that have stayed with me over the years came as a result of seasons of prayer and fasting.  My desires and deepest convictions have largely been molded, not through reading books or listening to sermons, but rather in the lonely closet of prayer and fasting.

4)       Prayer and Fasting humbles us.  Humility is one of the greatest character traits we can possess.  Humility allows us to more fully rely upon God.  2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear…”  If it is true that pride is the greatest hindrance to obedience, then conversely it also could be true that humility is the greatest virtue in obedience.  (See also Ezra 8:21)

As I have felt the pain of fasting I have realized my frailty, my weakness, and my general “spiritual flabbiness”.  It is quite humbling.  (I might also add that one should not even consider fasting if it is based upon some kind of prideful spiritual elitism or ascetism).  One cannot truly fast with the proper motives without a humble admission that he or she cannot find a solution or answer to a dilemma or prayer without God’s supernatural intervention.  It is in humility that one enters into prayer and fasting and it is in this closet that one is even more deeply humbled.  The most humbling experiences of my life are when God supernaturally answers my prayers!

I encourage all men and women to fast and pray and watch God move in a marvelous way.  I would caution one from jumping headlong into this area without proper preparation.  I would encourage the reading of books on fasting and starting off with only 1 – 3 day fasts.  After several of these 1-3 day fasts, one can easily increase the time and fast longer.

When one does decide to fast and pray, it is important to remember that the battle will be spiritual in nature, thus the work of the enemy will increase in proportion to ones’ faith to see God answer his or her prayer.  Be prepared mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually for battle!  God has given us many wonderful promises and as we truly begin to believe them, the enemy will realize our potential and not be destroyed without a fight.  Thus, be filled with the Holy Spirit and get ready to experience the miraculous. 

Join us the first week in January for Impact 2010 as we seek the Lord as a corporate body in the potential power of fasting and prayer.

by Steve Holt

FOOTNOTES:

  1. Prayer, Asking and Receiving by Dr. John R. Rice, Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1942, Page 17.
  2. Ibid.  Page 216.
  3. Commentary on the Old Testament by Kiel and Delitzsch.
  4. The New Bible Commentary: Revised  by Guthrie, Motyer, Stibbs, and Wiseman Erdmans Publishing Company, 1970.
  5. Prayer: The Key to Revival by Paul Cho, Word Books, 1984.  Page 115, 116.

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Paranormal Activity

19 11 2009

Many are fearful and disturbed by the “paranormal.” In the following blog, Liz, my wife shares a perspective to the supernatural that we all need to hear. May it be as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me…

 

When I told my family that I was thinking of writing a blog on Paranormal Activity, a couple of my kids said, “You can’t write on “Paranormal Activity.” You haven’t even seen the movie!” I asked them if they were sure that I hadn’t seen P.A. Then I told them that I wasn’t going to waste my time writing about a movie that is staged and fake, but I was going to write about REAL paranormal activity. The word, “paranormal” according to the wiktionary, refers to things that “cannot be explained through scientific methods.” It is supernatural phenomenon—haunted houses, ghosts, vampires, witches, Ouija boards, kabala, demons and even angels, to name a few. It is the alluring topic that has timelessly thrilled the mind—caused us to be “psycho” over Alfred Hitchcock films, made the 1973 movie, “The Exorcist,” a real head-spinner, and now has brewed this low-budget movie, Paranormal Activity, into a Blockbuster hit.

So what is it about human beings? On one day, we cling to the security of our three dimensional scientific world of knowledge and accomplishments. On the next, we go see a movie like P.A. and get freaked out about the possibility of encountering unpredictable powers greater than what our five senses can take in. What makes us mortals naturally drawn to the supernatural?

Speaking of being drawn, I couldn’t resist seeing what all the hoopla was about. While the rest of my family was watching a sweet family movie at Hollywood Theatre, I got a little bored and wandered down to where Paranormal Activity was playing. I stood in the entrance way and watched a chunk of it. I thought I was going to see a movie about a creepy, old house, but instead, I was surprised to see that it was filmed in a house that you or I might live in. As a matter of fact, I picked up a few decorating tips from Katie, and thought to myself, “How clever! The paranormal in a normal house!”—for the purpose of putting the haunting thought in our minds that it could possibly happen to you or me.

Wait a minute. Why talk about thoughts? It’s already happened to me…

Awhile back, the paranormal set foot into an apartment that my husband, Steve, and I were renting in Tokyo, Japan. We were missionaries there working with college students and studying the Japanese language at the time. We had just returned home from a four month furlough, and Steve wanted to have a few of his guys over for dinner to catch up on their lives. He asked Yoshi to come a little early, because he wanted to talk with him about the contents of a letter that he had written to us while we were in the United States. In the letter he told Steve that he was having suicidal thoughts and that he had to ask his roommate to take every sharp object out of their apartment as a safety measure.

I was cooking in a little corner we called our “kitchen” and couldn’t help overhearing Yoshi tell Steve that he was okay now and no need to worry. Steve suggested that he pray for Yoshi anyway as another safety measure. Almost immediately, after he started praying, all paranormal activity broke loose. At the mention of the name of Jesus, Yoshi reacted violently. He looked and sounded like a slithering, hissing snake on our small Japanese couch. We were stunned. Our missionary training had not prepared us for something like this.

The paranormal activity that we found ourselves in the middle of didn’t stabilize, but only escalated. During a tense moment of confrontational prayer, Yoshi took out our end table and lamp. The table was chopped in half! Fear gripped us all! We were perplexed, at the very least, as to what we should do next. While Steve kept praying, I got on the phone and called two of our missionary friends to help. Upon entering and seeing the paranormal in our living room, one of these missionaries fell to his knees, almost in tears, and looked more scared than us. Some help. We knew it was going to be a long evening.

After a few long hours of prayer, Steve decided he needed a break. As he walked around asking God what to do, he heard from the Lord, “Get their names.” As Steve commanded the demonic spirits to reveal their identity, the tide turned and eventually all of the demons were cast out of our poor friend, Yoshi. By dawn, he sat peacefully and in his right mind on our couch.

You would have thought that this experience with the paranormal would have been ranked as one of the worst things that could have ever happened to me. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was life-changing. I saw, first hand, the destroying work of demons in Yoshi’s life, which explains some of earth’s woes, and perhaps, some of our personal ones. I witnessed the cowering reaction of demons to the name of Jesus. Being a witness to these things that evening erased any previous doubts about the validity of the paranormal, the Bible, the supremacy of Christ and the power of His cross. Jesus was Yoshi’s Rescuer that night. He continues the offer to be our Rescuer today.

- Liz Holt
http://redhotopic.wordpress.com/


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Death Be Not Proud

21 10 2009

My friend Lewis died this month. Early in the morning, while studying, I received one of those dreaded phone calls telling me that Lewis had died in the early morning hours. As I drove to his home, I found myself praying for the extended family, for the girls (two precious girls of 11 and 18), and for his steadfast and unwavering wife of twenty years.  I asked the Lord for grace, peace, and faith over each person.  I asked the Lord for wisdom in what to say and how to say it.  None of us knows the right way to discuss death. 

Death, whenever it comes up in a conversation, is the show stopper.  No one wants to talk about death.  The topic has a unique way of sneaking up and surprising you.  Just when everyone is enjoying each other, someone mentions that that person just died or this person was killed in a car accident, whatever it might be, and no one can talk after that. From that point, everything else is, might I say, trivial. The jokes aren’t as funny, the story about the trip, not as interesting.  Death trumps everyone, everything, everytime.  It’s the grim reaper in the room.

Death is the specter in the night, dressed up as a kind of dark hooded medieval monk, appearing and then disappearing in the dark trees of our mind.  It is often the dreaded nightmare of fear, darkness, and aloneness.  We fear death don’t we?  Admit it.  We all have a deep dark secret…we fear dying.  We fear our loved one’s dying even more.

Death seems to be the end of everything, so conclusive, so, so, final.  Because of our finiteness and our own mental limitations we just can’t fully grasp death.  All we know is what we’ve experienced here on earth.  All we understand is what we’ve been taught, here in the three dimensional world.  Comparisons and abstract thoughts blend into the stories we’ve heard about death and dying.  What will it feel like?  Who will be there?  Is it true that there are angels in heaven? Is St. Peter really the main greeter at those pearly gates?  Are there really gates?

There is the story of Billy Graham, standing by the bedside of his maternal grandmother, who had been in and out of consciousness, when suddenly in a surprising moment of clarity, sat up and exclaimed, “I see them, they’re all there, and the angels, so beautiful…” and then she died.  What was that?  Was it one of those many supernatural moments that God gives to remind us that everything he’s been saying about eternity is true?  Could it be that God cares enough that he would want Billy Graham, arguably the greatest evangelist of the 20th century, to have a firsthand witness of the eternity he so boldly preached about? 

I think God knows that we can’t fully grasp death.  We can feel love, feel friendship, feel forgiveness, but whoever heard of feeling death? Death is not easy to understand.  It’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma.  I believe that God in His created order, never intended death for His creation.  Death wasn’t the perfect plan in the creation of Adam and Eve.  Death is not natural. Our hearts and minds were never created to fully comprehend death.

Life was the original purpose and plan. We get life.  Our minds and hearts enjoy thinking about life.  We love talking about it, experiencing it, reveling in it.  Life is cool to talk about.  Life is all about running, laughing, joking, falling in love, and friendships.  Life is three dimensional and fun.

Jesus taught us about life.  He even said, “I came that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b)  Jesus, with consummate insight, is offering wild possibilities in His invitation.  Jesus wants to give us life, His brand of life, His way of living.  He wants us to really live.  Jesus is all about living.

On another occasion Jesus also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)  Jesus seems to be saying that “the way,” and “the truth,” and “the life” are all somehow wrapped in the same package.  Could it be that Jesus has given us a “way” of living?  Could it be that Jesus has given us the “truth” about life?

Jesus understands our questions, our false hopes, our fears about death.  And he has placed himself as the ultimate anecdote for fear.  He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (John 11:25)  No grand teaching on fear.  No expansive sermon on dying.  Just a simple statement about faith and trust.  Jesus is placing himself as the answer to the sum of all our fears.  Not a theory, not an explanation, not a formula.  Jesus wants us to know that He is the resurrection from death.  He is the life. 

Do you see it?  Death has nothing to be proud of.  Death has no sting, no power, and no allure (1 Cor 15:55).  Jesus has conquered death with life (Romans 6:9-10).  Jesus is the life and he has defeated death on his terms. Jesus died on the cross, went down into hell, took the keys of death and the fear of death away from satan and has secured life (Hebrews 2:15; Ephesians 4:9).  Life is secure because Jesus secured it.

For the Jesus follower, death is now swallowed up with life!  Death means life.  Death cannot be proud for life has overtaken it.  We have nothing to fear.  Fear is ravaged by the hope of life.  Life rules in our minds if Jesus reigns in our hearts.

My friend Lewis isn’t dead.  Lewis is alive.  Lewis passed from the three dimensional world into the fourth dimension of life the way I want to pass someday.  He passed from this life in his sleep, in his bedroom, with his family nearby. Lewis passed with faith, with joy, with a purpose.  Lewis is healed of his brain tumor.  Right now Lewis is living the most active, joyful, productive life he has ever lived.  C.S. Lewis once said that death is just passing from one room to the next; from one reality to another.  My good friend Lewis got up out of his bed at 4am yesterday and walked into another room and met Jesus face to face.  Now that’s a great life!


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ELCA Misstep leading to Division

8 10 2009

Many of you have asked about the latest in the earlier “ELCA Misstep” blog that I wrote several weeks ago. Here’s the latest from the OneNewsNow.com, TheChurchReport.com, and The Associated Press, as used by permission from my dear friend and Vice President of Pastoral Ministries at Focus on the Family, H.B. London.

Conservative Lutherans Gather

More than 1,200 biblically orthodox members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination, spent last weekend in suburban Indianapolis praying and discussing what can be done about the left-leaning policies of their denomination. Just last month, for example, the ELCA dropped a long-held ban on partnered homosexual clergy. Delegates eventually approved a resolution directing its steering committee to report back in one year on whether these conservative churches should stay within the ELCA, form their own denomination or join another.

The meeting was sponsored by Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform, but changed over the weekend to Coalition for Renewal). Mark Chavez, president of Lutheran CORE, explained the need for the weekend meeting: “It’s primarily about gathering those who have had their denomination, namely the ELCA, withdraw from the Christian faith and pull away from most other Christian churches in the world.”

Chavez also commented on a letter written to denominational leaders by the presiding bishop of the ELCA, which warned of a disaster if conservative church members withhold funds: “It’s clearly an attempt to shift the responsibility for the crisis in the ELCA to those who continue to practice and believe what the ELCA says it believes — that the inspired Word of God in the Old and New Testaments [is] the authoritative source and norm for our faith.”

Lutheran CORE’s chairman, 71-year-old Rev. Paull Spring, a pastor for 44 years, received a standing ovation Friday night when he said, “God is calling us to do something. The ELCA has fallen into heresy. It is a time for confession and a time to resist. It is, please God, also a time for new life and transformation and for mission.”

“We are not dividing the church. The church is already divided,” said Rev. Paul Ulring, a member of the Lutheran CORE steering committee. “We’re just mopping up what the church did.”

“We now have two churches within one organizational structure. One church emphasizes Bible and theology; the other culture and experience,” said Rev. Kenneth Sauer in his opening remarks to the weekend convocation. “There are deep divisions over the fundamental meaning of the Gospel, the authority of Scripture and the purpose and work of the Holy Spirit. The division reaches into congregations, synods, and seminaries and agencies.” [OneNewsNow.com, TheChurchReport.com, The Associated Press]

Let’s keep the ELCA in our prayers. As predicted by many who have watched such theological charades for many years, chances are strong that this will be one of those divisively defining issues within a denomination.

There are wonderful pastors on both sides of the issue, and the breaking of fellowship will be very painful and frustrating. It’s a denominational divorce that will hurt the children more than the parents. Having grown up in the ELCA, my heart breaks for what I believe breaks the heart of God.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Steve


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ELCA Misstep leading to Division

8 10 2009

Many of you have asked about the latest in the earlier “ELCA Misstep” blog that I wrote several weeks ago.  Here’s the latest from the OneNewsNow.com, TheChurchReport.com, and The Associated Press, as used by permission from my dear friend and Vice President of Pastoral Ministries at Focus on the Family, H.B. London.

Conservative Lutherans Gather

More than 1,200 biblically orthodox members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination, spent last weekend in suburban Indianapolis praying and discussing what can be done about the left-leaning policies of their denomination. Just last month, for example, the ELCA dropped a long-held ban on partnered homosexual clergy. Delegates eventually approved a resolution directing its steering committee to report back in one year on whether these conservative churches should stay within the ELCA, form their own denomination or join another.

The meeting was sponsored by Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform, but changed over the weekend to Coalition for Renewal). Mark Chavez, president of Lutheran CORE, explained the need for the weekend meeting: “It’s primarily about gathering those who have had their denomination, namely the ELCA, withdraw from the Christian faith and pull away from most other Christian churches in the world.”

Chavez also commented on a letter written to denominational leaders by the presiding bishop of the ELCA, which warned of a disaster if conservative church members withhold funds: “It’s clearly an attempt to shift the responsibility for the crisis in the ELCA to those who continue to practice and believe what the ELCA says it believes — that the inspired Word of God in the Old and New Testaments [is] the authoritative source and norm for our faith.”

Lutheran CORE’s chairman, 71-year-old Rev. Paull Spring, a pastor for 44 years, received a standing ovation Friday night when he said, “God is calling us to do something. The ELCA has fallen into heresy. It is a time for confession and a time to resist. It is, please God, also a time for new life and transformation and for mission.”

“We are not dividing the church. The church is already divided,” said Rev. Paul Ulring, a member of the Lutheran CORE steering committee. “We’re just mopping up what the church did.”

“We now have two churches within one organizational structure. One church emphasizes Bible and theology; the other culture and experience,” said Rev. Kenneth Sauer in his opening remarks to the weekend convocation. “There are deep divisions over the fundamental meaning of the Gospel, the authority of Scripture and the purpose and work of the Holy Spirit. The division reaches into congregations, synods, and seminaries and agencies.” [OneNewsNow.com, TheChurchReport.com, The Associated Press]

Let’s keep the ELCA in our prayers.  As predicted by many who have watched such theological charades for many years, chances are strong that this will be one of those divisively defining issues within a denomination. 

There are wonderful pastors on both sides of the issue, and the breaking of fellowship will be very painful and frustrating.  It’s a denominational divorce that will hurt the children more than the parents.  Having grown up in the ELCA, my heart breaks for what I believe breaks the heart of God.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Steve


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Bible Translations: Are they really Trustworthy? Part 3

11 09 2009

 

In the first two blogs on Bible translation, I have dealt with such questions as how we got our current Bible, the translation process, revelation, and inspiration (Bible Translations I).  We then looked at how we got our current canon of 66 books, preservation of the Bible, and transmission (Bible Translations II).  In this article, I want to look at how we can get the most out of our current English translations through understanding different Bibles that are available to us today.  Choosing the Bible translation that is right for you can be difficult.  I’m hopeful that my blog will be helpful in your understanding and evaluation of our current modern translations.

 

If you were to enter any Christian bookstore today, you could be overwhelmed by the plethora of Bible translations available.  While there are literally hundreds of Bible translations, there are three versions that account for probably 90% of all the Bible sales worldwide.  They are: the New International Version (NIV), the New American Standard Version (NAS), and the much loved and respected King James Version (KJV).  These three translations are very accurate, readable, and faithful to the original languages of the Bible.

 

English Bible translations tend to be governed by one of two general translation theories. The first theory has been called “formal-equivalence,” “literal,” or “word-for-word” translation. According to this theory, the translator attempts to render each word of the original language into English and seeks to preserve the original syntax and sentence structure as much as possible in translation.  The second theory has been called “dynamic-equivalence,” “functional-equivalence,” or “thought-for-thought” translation.  The goal of this translation theory is to produce in English the closest natural equivalent of the message expressed by the original language text, both in meaning and in style.

 

Word for Word Translations

 

Word for Word translations make a special effort to translate each word from the original languages as accurately as possible.  The philosophical perspective of Bible translations through word for word translation was the guide of Bible translators up to the middle of the 20th century. 

 

These translations are excellent for word studies and accuracy, though the poetic style and nuances of the original languages can sometimes be lost.  Probably the most well loved and popular versions available today would be the New American Standard Version (NAS), the English Standard Version (ESV), and the New King James Version (NKJV), which I currently use the most often at Mountain Springs Church.

 

New American Standard Version (NAS)

 

Originally translated in 1971; updated in 1995, the NAS was produced by 54 evangelical protestant scholars sponsored by the Lockman Foundation.  This version is very literal in vocabulary and word order, although the criticism has been that the English seems a bit stilted at times.  Of all the literal word for word translations, I believe the NAS to be the most literal of all.  I like this translation and it is the favorite of my wife.

 

English Standard Version (ESV)

 

The ESV is the newest literal translation on the market today.  It is growing rapidly in popularity among the reformed crowd.  I was recently at a conference where this translation was hailed as the best word for word translation available today. This excellent translation was published in 2001 by Crossway and developed by a team of 100 scholars with the goal of accuracy and readability.

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

In 1982, the old King James Version (KJV) was updated with more modern english. Although the choice of words make it easier to read, it still maintains the beauty of language with its unique poetic style and 17th century sentence structure.  This is my personal favorite as a study and preaching Bible.  I find the word for word translations to be accurate most of the time and the ease in word studies to be on the level of the NAS.

 

Thought for Thought Translations

 

In the category of thought for thought translations, the primary purpose of scholars has been to keep the meaning of the languages of the original authors and translate it into the same pattern of thought in the readers language.  In deciding on a thought for thought Bible, you might want to consider the grade level of the reader.  The most popular thought for thought Bible would be the New International Version (NIV) which is written on an 8th grade level, the New Century Version (NCV) written on a 4th grade level, the Contemporary English Version (CEV) written on a 5th grade level, New Living Translation (NLT) on a 6th grade level, and Today’s English Version (TEV) on a 7th grade level.

 

New International Version (NIV)

 

The NIV is considered to be the most popular translation of the Bible today.  It is most admired for its straight forward and accurate style.  Completed in 1978, it was the product of 115 evangelical scholars from all over the English speaking world.  Over 150 million have been sold since 1978, making it by far the best selling translation today.  Its language is easy to read and its accuracy very well respected.

 

New Century Version (NCV)

 

The NCV reads like a newspaper.  It targets the 4th grade reading level and is an acceptable balance between literalism and paraphrase.  Some paraphrasing is used to avoid words no longer in common use.

 

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 

The CEV is a new translation published in 1995 and was originally intended to be a children’s translation.  Thus, it is quite readable and easy to understand.  It is excellent for the unchurched and non-native speakers of English.

 

New Living Translation (NLT)

 

The NLT is a completely new translation of the Bible first produced by Bible.org in 2005.  It contains more than 60,000 notes by the translators to help readers understand the process of translation.  This version seeks to retain the easy reading style of such thought for thought translations as the Living Bible and splits the difference between the paraphrase and the literal translation.

 

Today’s English Version (TEV)

 

Completed in 1976, the TEV was translated by Robert G. Bratcher and six other scholars.  Over 118 million have been sold and this translation is very free-flowing and fairly accurate.  This translation tries to avoid traditional biblical vocabulary and looks at the passages of the Bible in more nontraditional ways.  Excellent for non-christians and the unchurched. 

 

Which Translation?

 

I believe that all the translations we have looked at above are accurate, readable, and produced by fine scholarship.  I would recommend all of the above.  The question for the reader in selecting a Bible translation is one of purpose.

 

If you are interested in a serious study of the Bible, including grammar, vocabulary, and word studies, I would highly recommend one of the three word for word translations of which I have just written.  If, on the other hand, you are using your Bible for more devotional reading, or reading to your children, you may want to consider one of the mentioned thought for thought translations.

 

All of these translations are excellent.  Let me encourage you to pick up the Bible translation you love and then love it!  Love the Bible!  Read it, study it, and memorize it.  The purpose of reading the Bible about God is that we might come to discover, love, and obey the God of the Bible!  Go for it, jump in.  Have fun.

 

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Steve 

 

 

 


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The ELCA Misstep

1 09 2009

I grew up as a pastor’s kid, with my father being in the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). I have many fond memories of my formative years in the Lutheran heritage. My father and mother love Jesus and love the history and liturgy of the Lutheran Church. They taught me to love God and revere the Scriptures. Most of my deepest convictions about life, work, family, and God were formed by these two precious saints. I went to church every week and, due to the high church style of my dad’s churches, I learned by heart the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer, and Luther’s shorter treatise on baptism. Now, that’s not bad upbringing.

But the ELCA that I grew up in has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. Like a tiny leak in the upstairs bathroom that, unattended, will cause the ceiling to cave in, the ELCA has gradually and slowly been moving further and further from the Bible that Luther so loved. As of a week ago, the slow theological leak has now become a flood. A week ago the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) during its national convention in Minneapolis voted to allow practicing gay and lesbian pastors to be ordained. The following are excerpts from the Bishop Julian Gordy, the bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, explaining the new policy on homosexual clergy.

This past Friday, after hours of heart wrenching discussion and debate, our church, meeting in Assembly in Minneapolis, voted to ease limits on gay clergy and to allow congregations which wish to do so to recognize committed, life-long, publicly accountable same-sex relationships. It was a time for dancing for some, a time for mourning for others.

Some feel that they are finally included fully in the life of our church. The day for which they have worked and prayed for years has arrived.

Others find this change to be deeply troubling. They view the actions of the Assembly as contrary to the Bible and Lutheran teaching and practice.

During the weeks and months to come, I hope that both those groups and all those who find themselves somewhere in between will be able to talk with one another as we continue to discern the Spirit’s direction for us and for our church.

The implications of the Assembly’s actions will unfold more fully over time. Over the coming months, processes to implement the Assembly’s decisions will be worked out by church-wide leaders and staff, in consultation with the Conference of Bishops. This will not happen right away, but will take some months.

We know this much for sure: Whereas persons in committed same-sex relationships formerly were barred from serving on any of the official ministry rosters of our church, a way is now being opened for such persons to serve in rostered ministries, but only if they are otherwise qualified, as determined by the synod’s candidacy committee, and if a congregation chooses to call them. The call process will operate in the same way that it has since the beginning of our church, with congregations free to call that person to whom the Spirit directs them…

In Galatians, St. Paul admonishes us to “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” This mutual burden bearing is one of the things that separate the church of Jesus from the world in which we are each required and expected to bear our own burdens.

Playing on the ELCA tag line, “God’s work. Our hands,” Dr. Ishmael Noko, a Tanzanian pastor and the outgoing executive director of the Lutheran World Federation reminded the Assembly that unity is a work of God. Our hands are called to serve that unity. The church of Jesus Christ is not ours to dismember. I am convinced that no church in the world has put the gospel into practice any better than the ELCA. We are bound to do all that we can to preserve its God-given unity and health.

Thank you for your prayers and for your support.

Julian Gordy
Bishop
ELCA Southeastern Synod

I believe the ELCA has made a profound theological and missiological misstep with this decision. Like the Presbyterians and Episcopalians before them, this decision will lead to more disunity than the denomination ever bargained for. Disunity is most pronounced when churches have no plumb line for determining truth and unity. When the hermeneutic for truth, life, and vision is surrendered to majority vote, a denomination is in deep trouble.

The culture is changing. Never has a nation so quickly abandoned the ideals, foundations, and mission as America in the past 40 years. The disunity of our nation politically, spiritually, and culturally is evidence of a nation that is anchorless. Even the mainline churches that once stood strong as a “light on a hill” have now abandoned their source for truth, the Bible. The Bible has become a dusty old historical book that, like the so called “progressives” in Congress and their view of our constitution that it is a living document that is open to anyone’s interpretation based on the wants and whims of the culture. Praise God this was not Moses’ view of the Law when he returned from Mt. Sinai.

It is true that methods for proclamation of the gospel must change to fit our landscape, but our message remains rock solid, based on the foundations of truth through a literal historical hermeneutic of God’s holy writ. Contextualization means just that. We study to understand our changing context, so that we can present the ageless truths that never change. If we abandon our foundations and traditional convictions, upheld with blood through the centuries, we abandon the anchor for truth.

I’m disappointed by the ELCA’s decision but I am not surprised. I told my dad five years ago that I saw this coming to the Lutherans. Now the ELCA has joined the ranks of most of the mainline denominations who bought into Barthian, neoorthodox, slightly less liberal theology of the 40’s and 50’s that has now proverbially become the chicken that has come home to roost. I’m sad to say that God will not be mocked and the Bible is still inerrant and infallible.

So, the great heritage of biblical commitment of Luther and Melancthon will gradually fade away in the ELCA. These are the gasps of a dying denomination. It will not happen overnight because there are still many of the Builder generation and late Baby Boomers who love the liturgy and the style of Lutheranism, but the younger generation will not be impressed. They are not persuaded; and this decision will continue the trend in the ELCA of young people leaving the church. Why? Because the ELCA (and all of the more liberal denominations) are looking more and more like the culture they have grown up in. The standards being lowered only lowers the commitment and faith of the adherents, and there will be fewer and fewer to be found.

I do hope that some Bible-centered evangelicals that are left within the pastoral ranks of the ELCA will choose to stay and fight, but I would not blame them if this is the last sign on a winding theological road that spells “exit.” For many the vestiges of a biblical standard for judging culture, the nature of man and the mission of God, will seem to have faded away in a momentous vote in Minneapolis that will leave them frustrated and depressed. And they will leave in droves.

The good news is that new denominations and new relational church networks will be formed. This is already happening within the Presbyterian and Episcopal evangelical churches, and it will certainly happen within the ranks of the ELCA. And Jesus will still be Lord and He will still continue to build His church and the gates of hell will still not prevail against her!

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,
Steve


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India 2009 – An Adventure to Remember

17 08 2009

Entering into the sultry heat of Mumbai, India never prepared us for the adventure God had laid out for our team.  Over a brief five day ministry trip, the Holy Spirit gave us a full course taste of India that will be difficult to erase from our memories.  From the lecture hall of the Master’s College where we taught on church leadership four to five times daily to feeding homeless lepers in the slums at 2 am, no one had much time for rest and relaxation.

Our first night in India was the beginning of the adventure.  We exited the hotel to the screams of every taxi driver, hotel owner, and rickshaw driver in Mumbai.  Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration—but not by much.  But praise the Lord, we had prepaid hotel rooms…right?  Right.  We soon learned that nothing is guaranteed in India.  I called the hotel only to find out that our dates were off by one day and we had no rooms.   Wonderful. 

With no hotel lined up we had to negotiate, barter, and bluff our way through a people who have honed those skills way past our civilized western protocol.  I felt a little bit like Crocodile Dundee in the city as I tried a combination of kindness, “Hey I’m the dumbest guy ever” routine, and common sense (which is not as common in certain parts of the world) to figure out where we could sleep.  As we were given rides by a family of Indians who called everyone they knew to get our business, we found ourselves debating the price for our rooms in the Mumbai slums as everyone was falling asleep through sheer exhaustion.  We secured five rooms and God gave us grace and sleep after 25 hours of travel.

Each day began with Randy Welch, Rick Rupert, and myself teaching over 200 Indian church planters and 50 Bible School students at the Masters Home, College and Seminary in Vizag on such topics as leadership, discipleship, and building strong churches.  Randy is a former pastor and businessman in our church.  Rick is an old friend from California who is now serving as a missionary in Malaysia.  Each one of us taught on different topics; it was truly amazing to watch as the Holy Spirit caused our messages to weave a beautiful tapestry of themes that were powerful and used of God.

The rest of our team led a VBS to the orphanage children each day.  Nicole, Hannah, Josh, Daniel, Tawnie, Joyanne, Ian, Allison, and Naomi ministered through songs, Bible stories, and games to the children of the Master’s School.  The joy and laughter of the children was a testimony to the impact they made.  Twelve children indicated they prayed to receive Christ during the VBS.  On the final day there was a special assembly, Josh spoke to several hundred combined schools and dozens raised their hands to receive Christ.

In the midst of our 12 hour days of ministry, Rick, the radical Malaysian Missionary in our group, kept coming up with new and novel methods for evangelism in the city.  Rick, who I might add has a propensity for hip shooting, storytelling, last minute, no plan, no sleep, middle of the night ideas, kept everyone guessing…and excited.

One night as we headed back to our hotel we came across thousands of people involved in a local Hindu festival.  Stages were set up and hundreds were gathered at each stage watching dancers and singers perform.  Rick came up with the idea of a kind of Kingdom raid on the festival.  At the hotel we dressed up in our blue shirts (every mission trip at MSC has to have a free T-shirt and we were no exception), Josh grabbed his guitar, and we practiced the worship song “Rain Down,” and were ready. 

Upon crashing the party in downtown Vizag, the crowd suddenly went wild and pushed us to the stage!  We were rock stars in five minutes. And with all the skill of 11 Americans who can’t speak the language, don’t have a clue about the culture, and can barely sing one worship song, we looked really cool (?).  After a few cheesy dance moves, they realized we weren’t exactly Bruce Springsteen or Brittany Spears, and we were politely escorted off the stage.

But the adventure wasn’t over.  In the crowd, there was one India wannabe promoter who could see the latent talent and opportunity in this motley crew, and we were practically dragged, pushed, and shoved to another stage.  God opened the door and we were able to sing “Rain Down” to a crowd of several hundred.  Our prayer was that maybe just maybe, our short message of God’s love to the Indian people, might have touched a few hearts. It was fun to be His instrument.    

Our group had the opportunity to visit a Compassion Project and minister in a widow’s home and saw firsthand the ravages of poverty but the hope of the Gospel.  It was exciting to see the impact Jesus and the church can make in some of the most depressing, humiliating, and hopeless situations of our world.  All of us counted it rare privilege to show the love of Jesus in practical ways at these and other places.

One night Rick and the group came up with an idea of going into the slums and ministering to the homeless and the lepers of Vizag.  So, at 10pm the group entered some of the darkest parts of the city with food and compassion.  They encountered old men to little children who were abandoned by society and their families.  Our group moved through the abandoned apartments and alleyways giving away food, praying for people, and sharing the gospel as God opened up opportunities.

There were so many more adventures I could share: like the night several of our group stayed up till 3am sharing the gospel with a beautiful young Hindu woman who, in the end, with tears running down her face, gave her heart to Jesus.  Or, when we had the opportunity to pray over 25 Tribal Indian pastors who are literally risking their lives to preach the gospel in the remote hill country of eastern India.  Or, the countless chances we all had to share our story of Jesus to people we met in the hotel, in the airport, and on the plane.  Or, our narrow escape through armed guards in Mumbai who would not let us leave the airport.  Or, the food!  Yes the curry, curry, and more curry, and rice!  But we loved every part and won’t forget all that God did.

Thanks so much for the hundreds of people who prayed for us.  Your prayers made this a joyful, challenging, and visionary trip that none of us will forget. It was most definitely an adventure to remember. 

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Pastor Steve


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Is the Bible Trustworthy? Part 2

10 06 2009

Ever since Satan challenged God’s promises and Eve succumbed (Gen. 3:1-7), the enemy of our souls has been attacking God’s Word with his own version of what God means.  As soon as Jesus made His first move toward His mission, Lucifer was ready to challenge His every word.  During Jesus’ time of fasting and prayer for forty days, Satan came to contradict the words of Jesus with his own interpretation of Scripture.  And as a result, for thousands of years, men have been tempted to distrust, doubt, and deny the validity of God’s holy Word. 

As a missionary and pastor I have heard just about every conceivable question and interpretation of the Bible that man has to offer.  While some of them have bordered on the ridiculous, many comments are simply based out of ignorance and are sincerely asked in a search for truth.  It is with such people in mind, and the many at Mountain Springs who regularly ask me thought-provoking questions, that I write this article.

I would refer any reader to my sermon in the doctrine series, The Bible: God Speaks, given April 24th, 2009, for further elaboration on the topic of the Bible in general.

This is part two in my blog on Bible translations.  If you would like to understand the context of the last blog, let me encourage you to read part one first.

God’s Publishing Process

How did we get our current Bible? Is the English translation that you are using reliable?  Can you have confidence that the Bible you are holding is anything like the manuscripts written by the first authors?  These are excellent questions.  The Bible purports to have divine qualities.  But does it really?  And if so, how were these qualities passed down through the generations to make up our English version of the Bible?

There is a divine process that has been used by God to give us our current Bible.  This process can be summed up in a five part process:  Revelationà Inspirationà Canonicityà Preservation à Transmission. In part one, we concerned ourselves with revelation and inspiration.  In part two, we will continue our look at God’s publishing process.

Canonicity

John MacArthur writes, “We must understand that the Bible is actually one book with one Divine Author, though it was written over a period of 1,500 years through the pens of 40 human writers.  The Bible began with the creation account of Genesis 1, 2 written by Moses about 1405 B.C., and extends to the eternity future account of Revelation 21, 22, written by the Apostle John about A.D. 95.  During this time, God progressively revealed Himself and His purposes in the inspired Scriptures.” (Study Bible p. xiv)

This raises a significant question: “How did the church know which books ought to be recognized as canonical or authoritative?  Which writings should be included and excluded?”  We find three ways that the early church fathers determined the authenticity of a book for the Bible.

  1. Conformity to “the rule of faith.” Did the book in question conform with orthodoxy?  Christian truth recognized as normative in the churches?
  2. Apostolicity. Was the writer of the book an apostle or did the writer of the book have immediate contact with the apostles? For example, Mark’s gospel was tied to Peter and Luke’s to Paul.
  3. Catholicity. For a document to be considered canonical it must have had widespread and continuous acceptance and usage by churches everywhere.

Thus, when the various councils in church history met to determine the authenticity of a book, they did not vote for canonicity, rather they recognized what the churches had come to determine as authoritative.  Much like ordination in our church, we are not ordaining anyone but simply publically recognizing someone who God is already ordaining through the life they live and witness of their ministry.  In a similar way, the church fathers and theologians who came together recognized the twenty-seven books that became the New Testament as being authoritative based on the criteria above and the consensus of the church.  In simplistic form, the church already believed these books to be the canon of Scripture and the councils confirmed what was already common knowledge.

In regard to the Old Testament, MacArthur writes, “With regard to the Old Testament, by the time of Christ, all of the Old Testament had been written and accepted in the Jewish community.  The last book, Malachi, had been completed about 430 B.C.  Not only does the Old Testament canon conform to the Old Testament which has since been used throughout the centuries, but it does not contain the uninspired and spurious Apocrypha, that group of 14 rogue writings which were written after Malachi and attached to the Old Testament about 200-150 B.C. in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint (LXX), appearing to the very day in some versions of the Bible.  However, not one passage from the Apocrypha is cited by any New Testament writer, nor did Jesus affirm any of it as He recognized the Old Testament canon of His era (cf. Luke 24:27,44).” (ibid, p. xv)

Carson and Moo write, “The fact that substantially the whole church came to recognize the same twenty-seven books as canonical is remarkable when it is remembered that the result was not contrived. All that the several churches throughout the Empire could do was to witness to their own experience with the documents and share whatever knowledge they might have about their origin and character. When consideration is given to the diversity in cultural backgrounds and in orientation to the essentials of the Christian faith within the churches, their common agreement about which books belonged to the New Testament serves to suggest that this final decision did not originate solely at the human level.” (Barker, Lane, and Michaels, The New Testament Speaks, p. 29; qtd. in Carson, Moo, and Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 736).

The completed Bible was formulated early in the history of the church.  By the end of the second century all but seven books (Hebrews, 2 and 3 John, 2 Peter, Jude, James, and Revelation) were recognized as apostolic, and by the end of the fourth century all twenty-seven books in our present canon were recognized by all the churches of the West.

F. F. Bruce writes: “One thing must be emphatically stated. The New Testament books did not become authoritative for the Church because they were formally included in a canonical list; on the contrary, the Church included them in her canon because she already regarded them as divinely inspired, recognizing their innate worth and generally apostolic authority, direct or indirect. The first ecclesiastical councils to classify the canonical books were both held in North Africa—at Hippo Regius in 393 and at Carthage in 397—but what these councils did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities but to codify what was already the general practice of these communities” (F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, p. 27).


Preservation

How do we know for sure that the Bible that was first written down by the original authors has been preserved and handed down to us accurately?  How do we know for sure that the Bible you are holding is truly the inspired, written Word of God?

Critics of the accuracy of the Bible routinely claim that it is in fact a series of fables and legends that have developed over hundreds of years because there are not enough copies of ancient manuscripts to alleviate their skepticism. However, a simple shepherd boy dealt a death blow to their criticisms in 1947. He wandered into a cave in the Middle East and discovered large pottery jars filled with leather scrolls that had been wrapped in linen cloth.

Amazingly, the ancient copies of the books of the Bible were in good condition despite their age and the harsh climate.  This was due to the fact that they had been well sealed for nearly nineteen hundred years. What are now known as “The Dead Sea Scrolls” are made up of some forty thousand inscribed ancient fragments.  From these fragments, more than five hundred books have been reconstructed, including some Old Testament books such as a complete copy of Isaiah.

I have visited on several occasions the Dead Sea Museum and viewed for myself the entire book of Isaiah.  The amazing thing is that the fragments found, the book of Isaiah in particular, are word for word the same as the Old Testament that we use today.

If someone seeks to eliminate the trustworthiness of the New Testament, then to be consistent they would also have to dismiss virtually the entire canon of Western literature and pull everything from Homer to Plato to Aristotle off of bookstore shelves and out of classroom discussions. The transmission process of Scripture is, by God’s providential grace, without peer.

The Bible says thus about itself in Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”   With increased archeological discoveries, the truth of this statement become more and more clear.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  (Isaiah 55:11)

Transmission

The Bible has been translated into over 3000 languages.  How can we be sure that these translations are accurate?  How can we be confident that our English Bible reads the same as the original autographs written by Paul and Peter?  Let’s look now at transmission through the centuries. 

Transmission occurred when the autographa was carefully copied by trained scribes so that other copies could be made available for people to read. While these handwritten copies have the occasional minor error (e.g., spelling or punctuation):

  • They were accepted as accurate and authoritative by God’s people (e.g., Deuteronomy 17:18 cf. 1 Kings 2:3; Ezra 7:14; Nehemiah 8:8). For example, the apostles, who were the senior leaders in the early church, taught from copies of the books of the Bible. (Acts 17:2; 18:8)
  • The early church tested all teachings against the existing scrolls. (Acts 17:11)
  • Furthermore, Jesus Himself taught from copies of the books, not the autographa, and treated them as authoritative. (e.g., Matthew 12:3–5; 21:16, 42; Luke 4:16–21; 10:26)
  • In conclusion, God’s people have always relied on manuscripts, and these writings have proven to be accurate and trustworthy. Jesus’ own perfect example assures us of their trustworthiness.

Tragically, opponents of Scripture have attacked the Bible’s trustworthiness by falsely stating that our current English translations are built upon poorly transmitted copies. However, the bibliographical test of Scripture flatly refutes this false argument. The bibliographical test seeks to determine the historicity of an ancient text by analyzing the quantity and quality of copied manuscripts, as well as how far removed they are from the time of the originals.

The quantity of New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in ancient literature. There are more than five thousand Greek manuscripts, about eight thousand Latin manuscripts, and another one thousand manuscripts in other languages (Syriac, Coptic, etc.). Both the number of transmitted manuscripts we possess of Scripture and their proximity in date to the autographa are astounding and unparalleled in the canon of Western literature. Moreover, the Scripture quoted in the works of the early Christian writers (mostly AD 95–150) are so extensive that virtually the entire New Testament can be reconstructed, except for eleven verses, mostly from 2 and 3 John.

Our English Bible

The translation of a full English Bible began with John Wycliffe (ca. A.D. 1330-1384), who made the first translation of the whole of Scripture (Old and New Testament).  Later, William Tyndale was associated with the first New Testament translation of the Bible in A.D. 1526.  Myles Coverdale followed in A.D. 1535, by delivering the first complete Bible printed in English.  In 1611, the King James Version (KJV) had been completed.  Since then, there have been many translations printed from the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures.  In my next blog we will look at each of the major translations and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.

Carpe Diem Gloriae Dei,

Steve


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