The Trinity

Talking about the Trinity can sound a bit like explaining the chart above. It's common for people outside the church to mock it, while those in the church often ask, "Does it Matter?" I believe it does, and I hope to briefly explain what you need to know and how it relates to trusting the Bible.

Trinity is simply a word that means "three in oneness." Saying that God is Trinity is to describe God as one being existing in three persons. You can break this into three simple statements:

1. God is three persons.
2. Each person is fully God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
3. There is one God.

Some people object to the Trinity on the grounds that the word never appears in the Bible. This is true. However, the word "trinity" simply expresses the three concepts above. The concepts are in the Bible. The word just helps us talk about them. Using the word is not important, accepting the concepts that it refers to is.

Why does it matter? First, if you cannot accept the concept of the Trinity, than you cannot accept the Bible. Since the Bible teaches the Trinity (see below), then trusting the Bible will be impossible if you cannot accept the Trinity. Since the Bible teaches that there is one God and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each individual persons and are fully God, a denial of the Trinity means one must reject the Bible outright or pick and choose which teachings in the Bible are good and which are bad.

Second, if you deny the Trinity, you will almost certainly deny other key teachings in the Bible as well. This is why many cults like Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses deny the Trinity and also differ from Christianity in many other ways. For example, many churches reject the idea that Jesus' death pays for sins, even though this is clearly taught throughout the Bible. If you find a church that rejects this, you will probably soon find that they have some confusion about the Trinity as well. Why is this? One example is that if Jesus is merely a created being, how could he possibly suffer the full weight of God's wrath and pay for the sins of the world? This only makes since if Jesus is fully God.

Third, the Trinity clearly separates the Christian God from all other gods. People often claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Yet, Muslims are greatly offended at the concept of Trinity. They fully reject the God that Christians believe in. According to the Bible, if you are not worshipping a Triune God, then you are not worshipping the true and real God.

Does the Bible really teach this?
Yes. Consider Genesis 1:26. "God said, 'Let us make...'" Here "said" is in the singular form and "us" is in the plural form. The same is true in Isaiah 6:8 "I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'" God is a unity and yet a tri-unity.
Matthew 3:16-17 shows the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all acting distinctly of one another at the same time. God doesn't simply change forms from one to another, like an actor changing costumes.
God is clearly one (Deuteronomy 6:4, Romans 3:30, Isaiah 45:5).
Look at Romans 8:9-11, where the Holy Spirit is said to be the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ interchangeably. And yet the Spirit himself is described as a unique person.
There are plenty of more Scriptures that I could list here, but they are easy to find in other places.

But some will object that it is impossible to believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each God and yet believe there is only one God. Here we must admit that it may be impossible to understand the Trinity. However, that is entirely different from seeing that it is logically possible. We should expect a lot of things about God will be difficult if not impossible to understand. I don't understand how my iPhone works, how should I expect to understand the Triune nature of God?

However, if the Trinity is logically impossible, then that would be a problem for the Bible. Therefore, what I hope to do is demonstrate the logical possibility of the Trinity. The Bible is not saying that God is one person and that he is three persons. That would be a contradiction. The Bible says God is one being in three persons.

Let me use several illustrations to show how this is possible. An illustration is different from an analogy. Some people use analogies to show how God is like something else. All analogies fail. For instance, it is popular to explain the Trinity by saying, "God is like water. Water can be ice, liquid, or steam." But this is not what God is like. Water changes from one state to another. God is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously. Every analogy must take something from creation and try to compare it to the Creator. They all fail, but that is not surprising. The Creator is different from His creation.

Yet illustrations can help us to see the logical possibility of a three person being. Take the soul, for instance. A human being has one soul. The soul is what continues to exist after death. An animal is a being with no soul. (Now you may disagree with either of these points, but hopefully you can see how they could be true.) So you can see how there could be beings with differing numbers of souls. Humans with one, animals with none. Could there not be another type of being with two or three souls? Again, this is not to say that God is like a three-souled being, only that the concept of a three-in-one kind of being is not impossible.

Cerberus is another example. In Greek mythology he was an animal with three heads. There was only one Cerberus. Yet, he had three distinct minds and personalities in the three heads. God is clearly different from this on many levels, but there is nothing impossible about a three-person being.

The Bible gives us good news that God loves us. He offers us salvation by sending his Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins. The Bible also says that God can give us life through his Spirit (Romans 8:11). This beautiful message of the Gospel only comes together and makes sense in the context of a Triune God.


 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Forgetting What Is Behind

New Year's Resolutions may reveal that we know we really aren't good people. We want to forget the "imperfections" of our life up to this point, and a new year offers hope that we can finally live up to our potential. The fact is that we are all flawed. Well, "flawed" is the nice way of putting it. The Bible says we all sin, meaning, we fall short of God's standards. We do not meet his reasonable expectations, and therefore we deserve his condemnation. We are separated from Him because of our actions. The changing of a number on a calendar really doesn't help things, even if we renew our commitment to try harder at being better.

However, the good news is that God offers us a real chance at a fresh start. If we turn to Jesus, we find in him a righteousness that is freely available to us. We cannot earn it or get there ourselves, he gives it to us! Our lives suddenly have a perfect score in God's sight, and nothing we ever do can subtract or add to it.

This doesn't mean we stop sinning. But Jesus also walks with us to help us overcome sin. Really, as a Christian, every day is like New Year's Day. We truly can forget what is behind and start every new day fresh. Without Christ, this is just pretend, a fantasy that will be proven false in time. With Christ, it is real, every new day we are perfectly clean and righteous in his sight. This is why Paul is able to write: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3:13-14.

How do we go about straining toward what is ahead? Let's say I want to get better at forgiving others from now on. How do I do that? Do I simply focus my mental powers on the problem, thinking in my mind repeatedly "Forgive more, forgive more, forgive more...." Of course, that won't work.

The Bible gives us the key in Joshua 1:8:"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Let's use this verse and work backwards.
1. I want to be prosperous and successful, particularly in the area of forgiveness.
2. Therefore, I must be careful to obey everything the Bible says about forgiveness. I need to have a clear understanding about what forgiveness is according to the Bible, why we need to do it, and what God has done to enable us to do it.
3. In order to do that, I must not let the Book of the Law depart from my mouth, I need to meditate on it day and night.

The key to success in life then is to have a steady focus on the Bible. We must read it and memorize key verses. We can read in our personal life and by attending church and listening to good Bible teaching. I recommend everyone also have a personal plan to read and memorize. Without a plan, you may not develop or maintain the right habits.

I highly recommend two apps:
Scripture Typer: https://scripturetyper.com/
and ReadingPlan: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/readingplan/id336984707?mt=8
I also think Megaverses, http://www.megaverses.com/ provides a great way to memorize and meditate on the Bible through music.

These can help you stay organized and hold you accountable. I pray God's blessings for you in the New Year!
 

What's Wrong with "It's a Wonderful Life?"

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. -Proverbs 14:12.

What could possibly be wrong with this Christmas classic? To put it quite simply, it teaches a message contrary to the Bible, and on a very important issue. If we are to "Trust the Bible" as our source of truth, as Jesus taught, then anything contrary to the Bible's message is false. And no, I'm not talking about what the movie teaches about angels. While bells obviously have nothing to do with angels getting wings, that's pretty harmless fiction compared to the real message of the movie.

Nor would I say that everything in the movie is wrong. We could say that George Bailey is an example of the principle of Proverbs 11:25, "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." George was generous with others throughout his life, and they came through and helped him out when he was in trouble in the end.

However, consider the main teaching of the movie on the purpose of life. George Bailey was questioning whether he should continue living because of a financial mess he was in. Clarence the angel teaches George that he is not correct. He shows him what the world would be like if George had never been born. George then learns how much worse the world would be without him. This gives him a new love for life and a feel good ending to the movie. He learns that he really is a hero and the world needs him. The movie encourages viewers to have "Christmas spirit" and help others out.

Not that there's anything wrong with helping others out, but the Bible teaches something very different about the purpose of life. Notice that George never turns to Jesus in his crisis, nor does Clarence point him in that direction. Our satisfaction in life should not come from the pleasure of knowing we have helped others, but from our desire to glorify God. We are not to be the hero in the script of our life story, God is. The first and primary prayer on our lips should be, "Hallowed by Thy name." We are not good. We have all sinned against a holy God. If the purpose of life is to be a good person like George, we will fail. My encouragement to George as he contemplated suicide would not be primarily, "Think how much worse the world would be without you." Rather, it would be, "Think how much your life is worth to God, because he sent his Son to die on the cross in your place, paying for your sins. Now go live to bring glory to Him."

Ultimate success in life is not determined by you and your abilities. God tells us we must place our faith in what Jesus has already done. We must count on His good works, not our own, to begin a relationship with God. Then He will empower us to live for Him, love others, and find true joy and satisfaction in Him. Only a God-centered, Christ glorifying life of faith in Christ will matter.

Clarence summarizes the message of "It's a Wonderful Life," at the very end of the movie. He writes a note to George saying, "Remember no man is a failure who has friends." But Jesus says, "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Not that we don't have friends among believers or that we aren't friendly with unbelievers, but Jesus says that a relationship with Him is more important than anything else. You could say, "No man is a failure who has Jesus as a friend." That comes through repentance and faith in Jesus, not through a life of trying to do good works.

 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

The Bible and Santa

I am not talking about Santa on the radio program because of who may be listening :), but it is probably the most important Christmas tradition to know some things about. I believe Christmas as a whole can be a wonderful application of the Biblical commands to celebrate the great acts of God each year, and to create traditions that give an opportunity to teach children about God (see Exodus 12:26-27). Some Christmas traditions help do this. Other Christmas traditions fall into the category of harmless fun. When it comes to Santa, I believe he can fall into the category of harmless fun, but there is potential for some harm as well. I will explain what we do with our children in our home as it relates to Santa, but I recognize there is plenty of room for Christians who believe the Bible to disagree about things like this. My hope is to encourage some thoughtfulness in how you do Santa. You don't have to do things my way, but you don't have to do Santa the way everyone else does either.

First, let's look at the background of our Santa traditions. Saint Nicholas lived in the early 300s AD. He was a Bishop in modern Turkey. For many centuries, the church celebrated him on December 6th. Some have said he gave gifts to children, or helped the poor, but little is known for sure. Many countries in Europe still celebrate him on December 6th with a bigger celebration than Christmas. By the 1500s, the Dutch were saying that Saint Nicholas came by boat on December 5th and traveled on a flying horse to bring treats to children. This was probably related to an older tradition about the pagan god Odin, who was said to go on a hunting party each December. He had a horse that could leap incredible distances. Children would leave boots with treats for Odin's horse near the chimney and would get treats in exchange.

In America, few thought much of Saint Nicholas. Those who did were a small group of social elites in New York City who celebrated him on December 6th. Up until 1822, no one thought of "Santa Claus" as having ties to Christmas. That is when Clement Moore wrote, "Twas the Night Before Christmas." The origins of the Santa tradition in America are this poem. He was not writing about traditions observed in America at the time, but wrote the poem in order to begin a new tradition. He borrowed from and recreated the Dutch traditions and moved his day from December 6th to Christmas Eve. Over time, other elements were added to the "Santa Claus" story, but the main parts were an invention of Moore's poem.

One interesting fact is that Moore's poem sounds a lot like an earlier poem written by a preacher about Jesus coming to judge the world. In 1662 Michael Wigglesworth published, "The Day of Doom." The opening lines read:

Still was the night, Serene and Bright, when all Men sleeping lay;
Calm was the season, and carnal reason thought so 'twould last for ay

Whereas Moore's poem reads:
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

There are many other similarities throughout the poem. I will not go into all of them. The point is that the real origin of Santa Claus seems to be a remaking of the coming of Christ into a story about the coming of Santa.

Think of the comparisons between Jesus and Santa. Like Jesus, Santa knows if your are being good or bad, he is omniscient. Like Jesus, he can be everywhere at once (omnipresent). He has a book with wish lists and one for who is naughty and nice. Revelation talks about books with the names of the righteous in it. Santa seems capable of receiving wish lists almost like Jesus can hear prayers. Both come in judgment. Santa rewards good children and puts others on the naughty list.

I don't think these things naturally arose over time, they were intentionally created this way. The trouble is there are key differences. Jesus offers his righteousness as a gift. He gives grace. Santa, on the other hand, rewards only the good kids. The Bible says "There is no one righteous, no not one." Santa offers gifts to fulfill the material desires of children, Jesus offers himself as the one we should desire.

So Santa really is a being similar to Christ, but with key differences. Is it really helpful to present someone like this to our children? Many young children have a more developed faith in Santa than they do in Jesus. Should it be any surprise that their view of Santa will in time influence the way they see Jesus? I suggest that however you do Santa, don't emphasize that a divine being will reward only good children. Rather, teach children that all of us deserve to be on God's "naughty" list but that God gives goodness to those who trust in Jesus. Jesus is the one we should desire above all material things.

Then there is the issue of tricking our children into belief. Our children trust us as parents. If we tell them Santa can do certain things, they will usually believe it. But should we take advantage of their trust? I'm all for pretending. I go on rocket adventures to Mars under the blankets on my bed with my children all the time. But they know we are pretending. If we go to great lengths to make our children think everything about Santa is really true, does that really benefit them? I'm not saying that if you did or are doing Santa with your children that it will greatly harm them. Obviously almost all children growing up in our country have believed in Santa and many are fine. However, is it not possible that for some children who have grown up they have a distorted view of God now in part because of their view of Santa then? For those who no longer believe in Jesus, could the seeds of doubt have begun when they realized they were foolish to believe in Santa?

I'm not against all things Santa. We watch movies with Santa in our home. I have no problem getting a picture of my kids with Santa. At Christmas time, we joke around about what Santa is going to bring or if we will see him in the sky. I often say, "It's Santa!" When a UPS truck shows up at our door with a delivery during the month of December. But I also know my kids are aware he's not real, and I don't tell them they have to be good to get presents. I don't tell them he's not real, we've just never tried to convince them that he is. And I repeatedly urge them not to talk to other children about Santa. That's what we do in our house.

 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Forgiveness

Luke 17:3-4: "So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

Imagine if everyone put this into practice with every wrongdoing. Broken relationship would be restored. Divorce rates would be a thing of the past. Life would be marked by strong friendships and rewarding family relationships.

The Bible gives us the teaching we need to make this possible. The key is repentance and forgiveness. Clearly these words mean more than simply voicing "I am sorry," or, "I forgive you." They represent deep promises that are difficult to make.

So, what are these promises? A person who repents admits they were wrong. They wish that they hadn't done what they did. They are pledging to make changes so that they do not repeat the behavior, and they will even take steps to make up for the hurt they have caused if it is possible.

If someone carelessly speeds down the road in your little neighborhood and hits your cat, killing him, they should repent. Simply saying, "I'm sorry," in a casual way and then continuing as if nothing has happened (including continuing to speed) would not be true repentance. Neither would saying, "I'm sorry I killed your cat, but you shouldn't have let him wander around in the road like that." Using words like "but," and "if," in an apology turn your confession into an opportunity to excuse your behavior. True repentance says, "I'm sorry I was careless when I was driving and I killed your cat. I was wrong, and will make sure it doesn't happen again. Please forgive me. Is there anything I can do to help you in any way, such as pay for vet and adaption bills for a new cat?

Repentance is hard because we feel shame when we do wrong. Shame makes us want to avoid the person we have offended or excuse our behavior because of pride. We don't want to acknowledge that we aren't the good people we want to believe we are. Repentance requires humility.

Similarly, forgiveness is hard. It costs the one forgiving. It is a promise to let go of angry thoughts and actions against the one who has sinned. It is a promise to no longer hold the hurtful thing they have done against them. You now want to have a good relationship that is not damaged by the thing they have done. You will not bring it up again with others, or them, or even yourself in your thoughts. Forgiveness does not merely say, "I forgive you for running over my cat," and then complain to the other neighbors about the person's hazardous driving. Nor does it say, "I forgive you, but I don't really want to see you or talk with you anymore, I'm going to start avoiding you." Forgiveness is a gift to the other person that stops the offense from hurting your relationship.

How can we give forgiveness again and again, when it is so costly to the one forgiving? The Bible says this is where we must focus on the cross. God offers us forgiveness for every sin, if we repent. Since we have been given so much, we must happily give some of that forgiveness to others. In other words, we don't give out of our own resources or generosity, but out of what we have been freely given by God. Jesus taught us to pray, "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Although it is hard, imagine how much better your life would be if you had already been doing this- repenting when you do wrong and forgiving when someone wrongs you. God asks you first to repent of your own sins and ask for his forgiveness. He gladly gives it and the cost is paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. Once you have experienced God's forgiveness, go and forgive those who have sinned against you.

For more information on these topics visit, http://peacemaker.net/.

 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Did Jesus Claim to Be God?

 

This issue matters. It matters because the number of people in our country who believe Jesus is God is declining to near 50%, (https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/714-what-do-americans-believe-about-jesus-5-popular-beliefs). Clearly, more than half of Americans believe they are Christians.

 

Why is that an issue? Because Jesus claimed to be God. That means he either is God, or he was lying and his whole ministry was aimed at taking advantage of people for his own gain, or he was insane. No one should follow Jesus if he was either the second or third. On the other hand, if he really is God, everyone should follow him.

 

It also matters when it comes to trusting the Bible. The single best reason to trust that the Bible is God's Word is that Jesus told us so. If Jesus is God, then we know he was right. If he was lying or insane, then we know he was wrong about the Bible, because the Bible would be wrong about what it claims about Jesus.

 

So, did Jesus really claim he was God? Jesus did not run around routinely proclaiming "I am God!"However, in the first century Jewish world, it was shocking to think of the one true God taking on human form. In fact, during much of his ministry Jesus did not even want people proclaiming him to be the Messiah, the divinely appointed Savior and future ruler of Israel, because he knew that would bring about his crucifixion before the appointed time. So we should expect him to avoid public and direct declarations of being God.

 

What Jesus did do in many instances was to indirectly or subtly make claims to deity. In a strict monotheistic religion (belief in only one God), this was to claim full equality with God, and the point was not lost by his followers or opponents.

 

Consider Mark 2, when Jesus heals the paralytic, he says, "My son, your sins are forgiven." The religious leaders who were there reacted by thinking, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

 

Indeed, people can forgive sins committed against themselves, but who can forgive someone else's sins against someone else- except God?

 

In John 20:28, Jesus' disciple Thomas exclaims, "My Lord and my God!" Rather than correcting Thomas, Jesus expresses a blessing on those who will reach the same conclusion in the future.

 

In John 8:58, Jesus proclaimed, "Before Abraham was born, I am." "I am" was a reference to the very name of God in the Old Testament. His statement was so offensive that the people tried to stone him to death on the spot.

 

This happened again in John 10:33. After Jesus said, "I and the Father are one," the religious leaders tried to stone him saying, "because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

 

In John 10:11 Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd." The good shepherd is a description given to God in Psalm 23, the Jewish hymn book of the day. John also records Jesus saying things like "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).

 

Jesus tells his disciples they will "be his witnesses...to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In the Old Testament God said that his followers were his witnesses (Isaiah 43:10).

 

Jesus also accepted the worship of other individuals, at a time when worship was strictly reserved for God alone. Examples include the leper in Matthew 8:2 and the disciples in Matthew 14:33.

 

These are a few examples of many of Jesus' statements and actions that, when understood in the context of his day, must be taken not only a claim to some sort of divine status, but to be equal with the one true God.

 

The disciples also clearly understood that the mission Jesus gave them was to preach a message that included the divinity of Jesus. Examples in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the writings of Paul are too numerous to list here. However, the point is that Jesus' claim to deity was unmistakable to the people who knew him and lived in his day.

 

Jesus did claim to be God, and he was not lying or insane. He proved this through the resurrection. Jesus, who is God, has told us that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, all of it, we can trust it.

 

 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

 

 

 

 

 



Hard Bible Verses: "Do Not Judge"

From time to time we will examine challenging Bible verses, verses that can challenge our trust in the Bible. The first one in this series will be Matthew 7:1, "Do not judge," which is almost certainly the most well known verse in all of the Bible in our nation today.

How does this verse challenge trusting the Bible? Their are two reasons. First, it is not understood correctly. Second, it is applied inconsistently. Here is an example of what I mean. If a Christian and a liberal atheist are talking about politics, and the Christian says that he sees global warming as a real threat to the well being of our children, and that the government should take much stronger action to force people and companies to make changes to their lifestyle in order to fix the problem, the liberal atheist is likely to nod his head and agree. But if the same Christian then says that he believes abortion is the killing of a human being, is wrong, and should be stopped, suddenly the atheist may stop him by saying, "Doesn't the Bible say, 'Do not judge?'"

This type of argument, which is repeated over and over again, illustrates the two problems with how this verse is used. First, it is not using it the way Jesus intended at all, as we shall soon see. Second, it is used selectively, only when it is helpful in silencing a biblical position that someone disagrees with. It puts different biblical statements against each other. It suggests that, while the Bible may teach that all human life is valuable and worth protecting, the Bible also says, "Do not judge," and everyone has to pick which biblical principle to follow, and which to ignore. It is really an argument that the Bible cannot be trusted, that our own judgement must be used to evaluate which parts of the Bible to keep, and which ones to throw out.

Jesus gave this command in the context of a culture that was very different from our own. Our culture views judging as expressing a different belief on a moral issue, or that you think someone was wrong to do something, even if they disagree. In our culture this is one of the only things that it is acceptable to condemn someone for doing. It is not okay to judge, but it is okay to judge someone for judging. Therefore, many people assume Jesus is agreeing with them when Jesus says, "Do not judge."

However, in Jesus day, judging did not have anything to do with differences of moral beliefs. There were different interpretations of the Bible, but Jewish leaders agreed that morality was based on the Bible and there really was a right and a wrong. They enjoyed debating these things! Jesus himself taught all sorts of moral principles. He taught that adultery was wrong, because the Law of Moses said so. But not only that, he taught that looking at a woman with lust was adultery of the heart. A sin because of the wrong thoughts, even if the act was not committed. He did this in part to prove to everyone that we have all sinned and need a Savior.

In fact, in Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns people to "Watch out for false prophets!" That comes just after his command not to judge earlier in the chapter. Here he calls on people to listen carefully to what teachers say and determine that some are false teachers because they differ from the Scriptures.  Was Jesus breaking his own rule to not judge, certainly not!

No, when Jesus talks about judging, he is talking about hypocrisy. He is teaching against having an attitude of superiority over others, when you yourself sin in the same or similar ways. Here is the whole verse:

 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5, NIV)

Notice verse five. The offender of his command is a "hypocrite." He does not say that someone should not seek to remove a speck from a brother's eye, he says that he should not do so while there is a plank in his own eye! In fact, Jesus is the one who encourages us to point out faults in others, it is the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, just before Jesus leaves his disciples to go to heaven, he commands them (and therefore all who claim to be followers of Jesus) to go to all nations and "teach them to obey everything I have commanded you." A Christian is supposed to help people see and understand the commands of Jesus.

What Christians are not supposed to do, according to Matthew 7:1, is to think that we are better than others, or that everyone else should be held to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to. Anytime we express a moral view, it should be done with a motive of love and concern for others, not to try to make ourselves look more righteous.

In the atheist example above, it is actually the atheist, not the Christian, who violated Jesus' command! The atheist is expressing his moral superiority, essentially saying, "I do not judge others like you do," when in fact, he is judging the Christian...for judging. He is holding the Christian to a higher standard than himself. "I am allowed to judge you for judging," he is essentially saying, "but you can't express your views that differ from mine." As long as the Christian was simply expressing his belief in a biblical command, and not trying to impress someone else with his own righteousness, not judging hypocritically, and not holding others to a higher standard than himself, he is not judging.  

The Bible does not have contradictory commands, rather, it has statements that must be interpreted the way they were intended to be taken. Simply explaining one of the Bible's teachings on a moral issue is not a violation of "Do not judge."


 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Parents and Anger

     The Bible says, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:1). God places the responsibility of teaching children about God and training them to obey Him on parents. Churches and children's ministries can offer some assistance in this, but they cannot do the job. Deuteronomy 6:6 instructs parents to talk about God's commands with children "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." That's not exactly something your child's Sunday School teacher can do!

     So, what about anger? Any parent can make a young child obey them by yelling, threatening, or even worse, resorting to physical abuse. Although the child may obey, inwardly they will grow up resenting you. One day, they will be too big to force obedience through intimidation. Your job as a parent is to train their heart to choose right when they are older, not simply force compliance today.

     Anger is something we must deal with as parents. Even if you are not a parent of a child in the home, there are important lessons for you to learn about anger as well. Even if you feel angry when your children disobey you, you can control it. If you frequently get angry at your children and yell, think about this: hopefully, when you are angry at a boss at work you do not talk to them the same way! You see, you can control it. The problem is you feel you can get away with expressing anger towards your children.

     But even more important than controlling anger is addressing the heart issues that cause it. James teaches that outward expressions of sin, such as outbursts of anger, begin with evil desires:

James 1:14-15, 4:1-2 "But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight."

     There are good desires. God has placed us in a position of authority and given us responsibility to teach our children to obey his commands. It is good to desire our children to obey. However, even good desires can lead to sin when they become demands that we will do anything to satisfy. When you are angry with your children (or anyone else), ask yourself, "What desire has become a demand that is now giving birth to sin?" Are you concerned that your child learns to obey God, or are you now demanding that your child obey you? Are you ready to patiently teach and discipline your children for their sake, or are you ready to use any means to get what you want now?

     After answering these questions, dealing with anger will be much the same way that we deal with addictions that was discussed on the program two weeks ago:

1. Call it what it is, sin. Confess your sin to God, and ask him to help you honor him in your behavior. Proverbs 28:13: "Whoever conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

2. Get Help from Community. James 5:16:  "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other." We need a community of other followers of Jesus who can encourage us, pray for us, and teach us how to follow God's commands, including how to overcome anger and anger towards our children. God has created the church for this task. Seek a church and a small group or Sunday School class to help.

3. Cut off the Hand. Matthew 5:29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away." This shows how seriously to take sin. By asking the questions listed above, you can identify the sinful desires or even the good desires that lead to sinful demands and lead to anger. You must identify the root of the problem to solve it.

4. Put On/Put Off Ephesians 4:22-24 "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self; created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
     You need to put off trying to get temporary obedience from your child through force (anger). You also need to put on a plan to teach your children to want to obey you. This should have two components
1. Consistently applied and appropriate punishments for misbehavior. Parents are called to discipline children, but in love, not in anger. Children need boundaries and consistent consequences.
2. Constant verbal instruction. Children need to learn why obedience is important. You can teach them Bible verses that address behavior problems. You can teach them about the life long consequences of not learning obedience. You can teach them about the purpose of life being to serve and glorify God. Remember, Deuteronomy 6 tells parents to teach their children throughout the day.

5. The Holy Spirit. Romans 8:6 "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Ask for the Holy Spirit to help you with anger.

6. Biblical Counseling. Don't be afraid to seek extra guidance in overcoming this problem. A biblical counselor can help you develop a plan of discipline, help you develop the instruction you can give to your children, and help you identify the root problems that are causing you to struggle with anger with your children. It may take an investment of your time- but your children are worth it, and so is the more peaceful home that you may have for years to come. You may also raise children that will be better parents to their children. Free biblical counseling is available at the First Baptist Church of Fairfax. Call 803-632-3228 to set up an appointment.

 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

The Telephone Game

     Has the Bible "changed" over time? This is a question that comes up frequently when people discuss if we can trust the Bible. Even if the original writings of the Bible were God's inspired Word, the argument goes, how do we know that men didn't change it to suit their interests over the centuries, or that mistakes were made as the Bible was passed along and translated. In the "telephone game," a message gets transferred repeatedly over the phone, or whispered from ear to ear, and often is unrecognizable after it is passed on a number of times. Did this happen with the Bible?

     This is a great question, and actually is another evidence that we can trust the Bible. This is because, out of all ancient religious writings and historical writings, the Bible has far more evidence to support our knowledge of the original readings. This makes sense if God worked through history to preserve his Word, but would be quite remarkable if it is just a "coincidence."

     Consider that we have 5,700 hundred handwritten Greek copies from the New Testament, about 1,000 times as many as most ancient works, and thousands more than any other ancient writing!

     About 150 of these copies were made within the first 300 years of the original writings. Typically, there is a gap of 500 to 1,000 years between an original writing and the first copy that is possessed today. Those differences are staggering!

     And the differences over time between early manuscripts and later ones are remarkably small and usually completely insignificant.

     This is true in spite of the fact that early Christians were persecuted or killed for possessing or producing copies of the Bible.

     God's Word comes to us through: 1. The original writings. 2. An abundance of copies of those writings that help us determine the original writings with great accuracy. 3. An accurate translation into English from the original Greek text.

     There are numerous English Bible translations today because: 1. The English language changes over time and new Bible translations are more in line with changes that keep occurring with English. 2. Translations have different strategies. Some try to stay very close to the words and word order of the Greek text, while others try to capture the meaning of a Greek phrase or sentence in more natural sounding English. There are positives and negatives of each approach.

     The bottom line is that most English translations accurately communicate God's Word to us. (I recommend any of the KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, NIV, Holman, and more!) We can walk into just about any store in the country and pick up a copy of God's Word in our language in an easy to carry, relatively small bound book. Considering that the Bible was written largely by outcasts from society nearly 2,000 years ago or more, in vastly different languages, and on fragile pieces of papyrus, who faced strong persecution and even death- is yet another sign of God's love for us and the fact that we can trust the Bible- make sure you are reading your copy!

Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

What does the Bible say about pain and suffering?

The Greatest Challenge to belief in God is suffering. Atheists will point out the following:

If, God is loving and good,
and, God is powerful enough to prevent anything from happening,
and, painful and terrible things happen to people all the time,
Then: God must not be good (he doesn't care), or he is not powerful enough to stop it, or both. Either way, the Christian God cannot exist.

Here are several problems with this argument.
1. It is self-defeating. Atheists acknowledge that there is something "wrong" with the world by bringing this argument up. We all know that there is real pain and suffering, and that this is not the way it is supposed to be - there really is something wrong with our present reality. However, if atheists are correct and there is no God, how can there be such a thing as a "wrong" or way things are "supposed to be," everything just is. The universe and life on it came about by chance. We would all be merely the random product of the impersonal forces of the universe acting on matter. The use of this argument is an implicit admission that there is something more to the universe than atheists are willing to admit.

2. The Bible explains the cause of suffering - sin. While suffering is not proportionate to sin, it is a result. In other words, some who sin a lot suffer relatively little. But the Bible teaches that if no one ever sinned, no one would ever suffer. Suffering is a consequence of man choosing to reject God's commands which began in the Garden of Eden and continues to today.

3. The argument assumes that there is no good purpose behind the suffering. In other words, you can care about suffering, be capable of stopping it, and still choose not to stop it in order to achieve a greater purpose. The Bible tells us there is a greater purpose (see next post).
 
4. The Bible offers hope. Suffering is temporary. God is enacting a plan to bring about a time and place where there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. Atheists offer no hope of a solution to suffering.

5. God is not unfamiliar with suffering. God became a man and suffered along with us. He even suffered beyond what any of us have suffered through his death on a cross. He did this in order to save us from suffering.

 Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Biblical Principles for Overcoming Addiction

Biblical Principles for Dealing with Addiction:
1. First, you may need medical help. Some drugs have dangerous withdrawal effects when you are coming off them. God has provided doctors for our benefit.

2. Call it what it is: Sin. Our culture has substituted biblical words like drunkenness for more neutral words like alcoholism. However, the Bible says this in Proverbs 28:13: "Whoever conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

3. Get Help in a Community. Addictions love to hide. They also create excuses. You need people who will pray for you, encourage you, and hold you accountable. According to the Bible, God created the church for this very purpose. We all need the help of others to overcome sin in our lives. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." (James 5:16), and Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom."

4. Cut off the Hand. Jesus says, "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell" (Matthew 5:29). This is not a literal command about cutting off body parts. It is saying to identify the causes of sin in your life and take radical steps to get rid of them. All addicts have things that trigger cravings many steps before the addict gives in. You must identify these triggers and make radical adjustments to your life to get rid of them. They may be harmless things in themselves- going to certain places, seeing certain people, or even being alone with a computer- but you know they lead to sin that is hurting your life.

5. Put On/Put Off. This is based on Ephesians 4:22-28. We have to "put off the old self," but also "put on the new self." We can't simply stop bad habits, we have to find and plan out good ones to replace them with.

6. The Holy Spirit. Romans 8:12-13 promises that the Holy Spirit will help believers in Jesus Christ to put sin to death in their lives. He uses Bible study and memorization to help you make the right changes in your thinking.

7. Biblical Counseling. You probably need some guidance in how to apply these biblical principles to your own life. Work through your church to find a pastor or other person who can help you. Biblical counseling is offered at First Baptist Church of Fairfax. Please call 632-3228 for more information.

Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale.
    

How Do We Know the Bible is God's Word?

There are many ways to know that the Bible is God's Word (meaning that it is completely true, the ultimate authority on any topic it addresses, and is the means by which God speaks directly to us). I am outlining one simple way of seeing this on the show and summarized below:

1. Begin without any assumptions about the Bible, examine it skeptically. We should begin here with any religious text.

2. Notice that the New Testament has many credible historical documents in it.
    A. They are written as history, not myth.
    B. They date close to the events they are describing (Most within 20 to 30 years of Christ's life. We know this from internal evidence- what's written in the documents, the dates of physical copies we have found, and quotations from other sources).
    C. They accurately record information about places, leaders, and customs, demonstrating their concern for accuracy and detail.
    D. They are consistent with each other, yet provide corroborating testimony to the events- they are told from different perspectives.
    E. They are honest- they do not withhold embarrassing details about the early followers of Christ, who are reported to be slow to learn and even abandon Jesus on the night of his trial.

3. Using this information as good history, along with other early non-Christian sources like Tacitus and Josephus, we clearly see that there was a devoted group of Jewish followers of Jesus, very near the time of his life on earth, who believed that Jesus died and rose from the dead and claimed that he was God. This is not to say that these things happened, merely that many people who lived in that time believed that they happened.

4. Search for any other plausible explanation of how this belief came about. The challenge is that these believers faced persecution for their belief and even death. Many would have known that their claims were not true. People will die for a belief but not for a lie. No suggestions that attempt to explain the belief in the resurrection are plausible. For instance, Muslims say that Jesus only appeared to die on the cross. But many eyewitnesses would have known that it was not Jesus. The disciples saw the wounds in Jesus' body. And Jesus would have been a total fraud to claim to his disciples that he rose from the dead. Nothing else about his life makes that idea credible.

5. Therefore, the only reasonable belief is that a man claiming to be God verified it by dying and rising from the dead. Through his disciples, we have an accurate record of his teachings.

6. One of Jesus' central teachings is that the Bible is the Word of God. We can believe this because of who Jesus is and the fact that this teaching comes to us through reliable historical sources.

7. Therefore, the Bible is the Word of God.

There are other ways to see that the Bible is the Word of God, namely Bible prophecy, which I will cover another time. I firmly believe that if you examine any other religious text with a skeptical starting point, it will not stand up to the examination the way that the Bible does. This is a brief outline and is not meant to answer every possible question about each step. So, if you have questions about it, please ask!