Sunday, September 3, 2011 am
“COMFORT DOCTRINES” 8
“The Bible Doesn’t Mean That!” (1)
(or the watering down of God’s word)
Today we continue our study of comfort doctrines.
We’ve noted numerous different doctrines that give false comfort
to the believer who wants to serve God but doesn’t want to give up sin
of some sort. In our last
lesson, we began to get to the heart of the matter by examining
the attitude that “It doesn’t matter what we believe.”
Today, in this lesson we will dig even a little deeper and notice
a final example of “comfort doctrines” which is often at the foundation
of many of the things we have discussed: We want to examine the far
too common assault on the authority of God’s word.
When I began assembling this lesson I called this “cheap grace”,
and it certainly is, as man oversteps the boundaries of the word of God
expecting God to look upon his conduct with shining approval even though
he has established his own standard of truth (or outright assaulted
God’s standard). He wants
God’s blessings without the work and reverence God has demanded from
each of us. I will deal with
the idea of “cheap grace” in more detail next week as I begin to bring
this study to its conclusion.
Today we want to address the assault on the authority of God’s
word.
a.
The Assault of God’s
word - Questioning the integrity of the Bible –
i.
Some deny inspiration
– as times progresses, more and more are questioning whether or not the
Bible is inspired at all.
And this is no longer exclusive to the atheist or agnostic.
ii.
Others believe it has
been corrupted.
Because we do not have the autographs (original manuscripts) it
is argued that scripture has been corrupted through the translating
process. As a result, it
might be argued that while the originals were inspired, what we have
today is not and subject to broad interpretation, especially if there is
any variants within a text.
iii.
IN May, 2011, Gallup did
a survey of Americans in which it asked if they believed 1) the Bible is
the actual word of God to be taken literally, or 2) The Bible is
inspired but not everything should be taken literally, or 3)the Bible is
an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded
by man. The following were
some of the results:[1]
1.
Only 30% believed the
Bible to be the actual word of God, while 49% believed it to be
inspired, but not to be taken literally.
17% believed it a book of stories.
2.
Based upon church
attendance, among those who attended weekly – 54% believed the Bible to
be the actual word of God, while 41% believed it to be just inspired.
Attending less than weekly, but regularly (monthly, etc.) on 22%
believed the Bible to be the actual word of God, with 66% believing it
was inspired but not always literal.
Seldom or non-attending – 16% actual, with 46% inspired & 34% book of
fables.
3.
Based upon level of
education:
High school or less – 46% believed actual word of God, 38% inspired, 13%
fables
Some college – 22% - actual word of God, 56% inspired, 19% - fables
College graduate – 15% actual word of God, 64% inspired, 19% fables
Postgraduate – 16% actual word of God, 55% inspired, 25% fables
4.
In summary, based on the
survey as it was conducted over previous years, the findings are
consistent with the past few decades, BUT respect for the Bible as the
actual word of God is down over the 70s and 80s.
5.
THESE FINDINGS ought to
be alarming as they demonstrate that the Bible does not receive the same
respect or reverence as in times past.
b.
Watering down authority
–
i.
Some say the Bible is
outdated and thus only a book of suggestions today. While totally
accurate when it was written, such cannot be said today (because of
advances in society, etc.)
ii.
No longer is there an
appeal to establish authority through tried and reliable methods (i.e.
CENI).
Over the past few decades we have seen the introduction of a “new
hermeneutic.” There are some
who are teaching that the traditional approach to authority is outdated
and no longer relevant and so they have replaced it with this “new
heremeutic”. The “new
hermeneutic” is an approach to scripture that adapts the truth to the
times in place of tried and true ways to establish authority.
It calls for subjective interpretation of scripture which, of
course leads to a more permissive lifestyle since one can simply
reinterpret what he doesn’t like.
iii.
There is increasing
reliance on the silence of scripture.
For centuries there have been many doctrines based upon what the
Bible does not specifically prohibit (i.e. instrumental music, the
observance of Christmas, etc.).
iv.
Others are appealing to
emotions over the truth of the text.
You might hear someone say, “I know that is what the Bible says,
BUT I don’t think God minds me doing it this way” or “I know God wants
me to be happy.”
v.
Per our last lesson,
some are teaching we cannot understand the Bible and that we simply
ought to “agree to disagree”.
Quite honestly, today there are far more who simply IGNORE what
the Bible teaches on a given subject in the name of unity.
We live in a “politically correct” society which affects the
attitudes and actions of far too many.
c.
Manipulating the word of
God to justify sinful conduct.
i.
In is not uncommon today
for many to take a text out of its context or to redefine what some
Biblical term means, because what the Bible says is out of character
with what they want to do or believe.
ii.
Homosexuality – rather than face a hostile government, many churches are simply
surrendering the truth on this subject or ignoring it all together.
It is unpopular and politically incorrect to teach what the Bible
says. This is one of those areas
where liberal theologians have applied many of the above techniques to
change God’s word. They
reinterpret scriptures that clearly condemn this conduct (I.e. Rom.
1:24-27 & 1 Cor. 6:9-11 –
are only describing certain types of homosexual relationships – such as
with unwilling slaves or as part of an idolatrous ceremony ,
Jude 7 – calling their sin inhospitality, etc.).
There are also the emotional arguments about being “born that way” and
how they are good people.
iii.
MDR –
because this is such an emotional subject with potentially devastating
consequences, passages such as Matthew 19:9 & 1 Cor. 7:10-11 are
reinterpreted to allow divorce and/or remarriage for any reason (or at
least more reasons other than fornication).
iv.
Fellowshipping error – as discussed in our last lesson, there are those who will
make a distinction that you do not find in scripture, which allows for
the fellowshipping of congregations, teachers and individuals who are
teaching/practicing error.
v.
Concerning discipline
- This is also applied in dealing with those who have been
properly withdrawn from within a congregation.
d.
Such arguments are
clearly “comfort doctrines” because they give cause for one to reject
any passage which calls into question or condemns one’s sinful conduct.
Furthermore, they BROADEN the boundaries of those with whom we may seek
full fellowship because they have moved the boundaries God has set in
His word to accommodate those whom God’s word would otherwise exclude.
Like the people of 2 Tim. 4:2-4 whom Paul warned Timothy to preach the
whole truth in spite of them, they have itching ears and seek to find
someone who will enable them to continue in some questionable lifestyle.
AND they serve as a comfort doctrine because you are not confronted with
the need to address such concerns in dealing with others.
a.
The answer to such
arguments is to emphasize a healthy respect for the word of God.
We must see the Bible as:
i.
The inspired word of God – IF the Bible is to be respected at all, we must recognize
its inspiration for a number of reasons:
1.
Throughout its pages we
find the expression, “Thus says the Lord” is found more than 400 times
in the Old Testament & some 13 times in the New Testament (usually
quoting the OT).
2.
The text CLAIMS
inspiration – 2 Tim. 3:16, 17 – “god breathed”, the only time the word
“inspired” is used in the New Testament.
3.
The authors claimed
inspiration – 2 Pet. 1:19-22 – holy men of God spoke as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit:
Gal. 1:6-9 – there is not another gospel (cf. vs. 12)
1 Cor. 2:10-13 – the Spirit of God revealed the message to them.
4.
The unique character of
the Bible – written over 1600 years by more than 40 authors on 3
continents and in 3 languages from men of all different backgrounds –
yet it possesses an incredible unity of message and design.
Such a work would require DEITY to oversee it.
5.
Thus we need to approach
the Bible as revealed to us DIRECTLY from God and respect its message,
both in broad concept AND in the details of the pattern!
As Peter said in 1 Peter 4:11, “If anyone speaks, let him speak
as the oracles of God.”
Paul in writing 1 Cor. 14:37 said, “If
anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge
that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.”
1 Tess. 4:8, having challenged these brethren to live sanctified lives
which were based upon them knowing
“what commandment we gave you through the Lord Jesus.” (vs. 2), Paul
said “Therefore, he who rejects
this does not reject man, but God, who has also give us His Holy Spirit.”
ii.
Without errors
– we HAVE to accept that what we have is not a forgery or filled with
mistakes. IF it is full of
errors it is totally meaningless to us and unreliable, which is what
many critics was us to believe today!
1.
Psalm 19:7 says, “The
law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
2.
James 1:25 describes it
as “the perfect law of liberty.”
3.
Jude 3 tells us it was
“once for all delivered to the saints”
4.
James 1:17 – “Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the
Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
iii.
Relevant for today as it was when it was written
–
1.
2 Tim. 3:16, 17 (again)
tells us it is profitable…to make the man of God complete.
2.
Romans 1:16, 17 – in It
the righteousness of God is revealed…
3.
As you study the Bible
it is remarkable how relevant is really is even though it was completed
some 1900+ years ago. It
deals with the nature of man that doesn’t change.
God’s plan for man’s salvation is changeless.
The standards of morality found within its pages WILL produce a godly
society.
It will build long, stable and lasting homes; godly nations (Prov.
14:13); better citizens and neighbors within society; a work environment
that will last, etc.
Usually, if one rejects the relevance of the Bible they have an agenda –
such as the very point of our lesson today.
4.
NOTE: What is the
problem with its relevance today? While many hearers simply do not
want to follow its teachings, the truth is
a substantial portion of failure
in recognizing its relevance falls at the feet of teachers, preachers
and elders who simply don’t want the word preached “in season and out of
season”. Many
“leaders” are not preaching “the whole counsel of God.”
b.
The integrity of the
scriptures is a subject we have examined in great details in times past.
For more information on why we can rely upon the text of the
Bible see our recent study on How We Got Our Bibles at,
www.roseavenue.org (http://roseavenue.org/Study-Materials/Sermon-Outlines/HowWeGotOurBible/BibleIndex.html)
In summary, every step from inspiration of the original documents
TO generating multiple copies
of these letters and distributing them throughout the churches of the
first century (and as long as they were intact)
TO the collection and
canonization of the text (those books recognized as inspired and those
rejected) TO its translation
into various languages, can be verified with great accuracy and
confidence that we have what God intended for us to have.
We have available more than 5300 Greek manuscripts with which to verify
the New Testament, plus thousands more early manuscripts in ancient
languages including Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, etc. with which we
can compare the Greek texts.
In total there are more than 24,000 ancient documents in about 15
different languages, available to help us verify the truth of God’s
word. AND there are
the thousands of quotes from early writers (i.e. the “church fathers”)
which further verify various texts.
In 1947 when the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) were discovered, they verified
how accurate our translating of scriptures actually are.
The DSS were documents dating to the centuries BEFORE Christ came
to this earth.
c.
We MUST respect its
boundaries –
i.
1 Cor. 4:6 – Paul said
this well. Do not think
beyond what is written.
ii.
Rev. 22:18-19 warns us
not to add to or take away from it.
iii.
Gal. 1:6-9 warns us that
if anyone preaches anything different he is to be accursed.
iv.
2 Tim. 1:13 tells us to
“hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me.”
v.
I recently came across a
lesson (while preparing for this one) entitled, “Turning boundaries into
barriers.” The premise of
the lesson was that we need to respect God’s boundaries so much that we
erect personal barriers that we will NOT cross regardless of what
happens. Will we determine
to NOT cross God’s boundaries and take steps to keep it from happening?
Conclusion: We will continue this study next week when we will address
how Biblical authority IS established and show why silence is NOT an
acceptable way to justify truth.
The wisdom of God is foolishness to men who are perishing. In our intellectual age, we have seen God expelled from public society as much as possible and His word assaulted, even among so-called believers of truth. It has led to much religious confusion and the explaining away of His expectations for us. While intellectual pursuits may provide “comfort” to one living in direct contradiction to God’s word, if we want to see God when this life is over, it will depend upon our willingness to respect His word – not only in word but also in deed (application). Don’t EVER try to excuse sin!