Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part VII

In a typical read through the Bible plan, I know I struggle with the big chunk of material in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers that are filled with various minute details of the tabernacle, the garments, the sacrifices, and the numerous codes of conduct. 

#1

I think one perspective to keep in mind as we wade through these sections is the holiness of God. God is perfectly holy, and we are not. The laws are there to hold up a mirror to us to show us we are not holy. We not only fail to keep the letter of the law we fail to even uphold a fraction of the spirit of the law. These laws are in regard to our relationship to God. These laws are in regard to our relationship to each other. And we fall short on both fronts.

#2

Mixed in with all these laws that are a megaphone announcing the holiness of God are the provisions for us to be made right before God. We can’t be made right using our own methods, we need to follow the way set forth by God. Thus, the over-arching theme is God is holy, we are not, God has made a way to be restored, and we need to trust and obey God’s way of restoration. 

#3 

As such, we need to be careful as New Testament Christians how we talk about the Old Covenant. We should not talk down upon the Old Covenant. The stories of God's people who lived and walked in the Old Covenant like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others are illustrative of the human condition. They stumbled around a lot (we do to) and it was God's mercy and grace that picks them (and us) up!

So yes, the Old Covenant was well ... a certain way at a particular time. And, yes, the New Covenant is well … new! But the message is still the same: God is holy, we are not, God has made a way to be restored, and we need to trust and obey God’s way of restoration. In the New Covenant, the way is through trust and obedience to our Lord and King Jesus! The grace of God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Abraham needed grace. We need grace.

Jesus’ critique of the religious leaders of the time was that they missed the point of the Old Covenant. These religious leaders thought they kept the letter of the Law and that their birthright as the children of Abraham was enough. Regarding the letter of the Law, they under-estimated just how holy God actually is and thought more highly of their own holiness than actually warranted. As such, they also missed the spirit of the law:  God is holy, we are not, God has made a way to be restored, and we need to trust and obey God’s way of restoration. 

Anyway, these handholds have been a helpful 30,000 feet perspective for me. 

Keep reading!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part VI

A large part of the “End Times” teaching from Jesus can be found in Matthew 24-25 with parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21. Suffice to say there are differences in opinion about how to interpret these sections of the Gospels known as the Olivet Discourse. Additionally, Christians through the ages have tried to explain these verses along with discrete portions of teaching in the Apostolic letters that address these concerns. And, of course, there is the unusual book of Revelation that needs to be taken into account. 

#1 The one thing we can say about these teachings is that the timing is in God’s hands and people making claims about knowing when it is going to happen should be ignored. The notion of “signs of the times” that enable prediction needs to be view with skepticism. When taken in the scope of history, one could see these “signs of the times” at many times in human history. The spiritual reality is that the kingdom of God is breaking into the kingdoms of this world and when two geologic plates strike there will be seismic activity along that fault - signs of the times.

Another thing to consider is that while in some parts of the world, Christianity can be above ground, there are parts of the world where Christianity must survive underground. Which part of the world is seeing the “signs of the times” in terms of persecution? 

The reality is that spiritual struggles are happening everywhere. One could say in places where Christianity is above ground face different kinds of spiritual challenges compared to a place with outright persecution. The spiritual indifference due to materialism must be resisted as much as spiritual despair due to persecution. 

#2 When reading these Gospel passages, keep in mind not only the “end of times” perspective but also AD 70 which had not yet occurred when the disciples heard these teachings. In AD 70, Rome destroying the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was a tremendous spiritual earthquake. Thus, when you read these verses, many of them would “fit” in the understanding of a Christian living in AD 71 having heard about or lived through the trauma of AD 70. 

One school of Bible interpretation (Preterist) says that all these verses were fulfilled in AD 70 while others (Partial Preterist) say some but not all were fulfilled by AD 70. Yet another school of thought (Futurist) says most of the verses haven’t been fulfilled yet. My view is that the Partial Preterists are onto something here. 

On a side note, in the USA, the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture is popular. In brief, this is the belief that Christians will depart from the earth into the presence of God prior to a terrible time of disaster on earth. There are honest and vigorous discussions over this point among committed Christians who take the Bible seriously. If one holds this view, one can read it into the Olivet teachings. However, if one does not hold this view, it isn’t at all clear one would come to that conclusion from reading Matthew 24-25 and related passages. 

 #3 Finally, the key thing to remember is that the ultimate victory belongs to God! God is on the move accomplishing His work in this world and we have the blessing and challenge to join into what God is doing. Our call is faithful endurance despite difficulties and generous love to all the people God brings into our lives. I think that is a message we could all agree upon when reading the Olivet teachings from Jesus. 

 Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part V

As we proceed through the Old Testament in the reading plan, all of Genesis and the first half of Exodus are narrative. These are the stories of great pathos and the stuff of movies! When we hit Exodus 20 and the giving of the 10 Commandments, much of the remainder is what is known broadly as “the Law.” 

 #1 We need to start by defining our terms when we think about “the Law.” This concept is used to describe several different things, so we need to understand its different meanings. The various definitions are: 1) it is the 613 commandments as tallied by Jewish scholars; 2) it is the five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy; 3) it is the theology of the Old Testament; and 4) it can also refer to how the Jewish religious leaders at the time of Jesus and the early church interpreted and sometimes mis-interpreted the Law as mentioned in the first sense previously. When we are reading through Exodus and eventually Leviticus and so forth, we are largely thinking of meaning 1 and 3. 

#2 What are the Laws in the 613-commandment sense? They fall into three broad categories: moral law, civil law, and ritual law. For current day Jewish people, the ritual laws that pertain to Temple sacrifice are moot since as there is no longer a Temple and the civil laws don’t apply since whatever country a Jewish person lives in has its civil laws. The Jewish people who are very committed still observe some of the ritual laws. And, of course, the moral law still applies. Likewise, as Christians, the moral law is authoritative since they are largely restated in some form or another in the New Testament while the civil law and ritual law don’t apply. 

#3 What is the purpose of the Law? There are a number of them: 1) they make clear the the holiness of God; 2) they describe the provision of God for restoration and forgiveness when we inevitably fail to live up to the standards set by God; and 3) they point toward Jesus. 

Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part IV

In a “read through the Bible in a year plan,” for the New Testament, we will likely be reading in the Gospels. 

#1 Each Gospel is about Jesus. Note how each Gospel starts by turning the spotlight onto Jesus in its own distinctive way. Matthew 1:1, “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Luke 1:1-3 “Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.” John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” 

So right off the bat, when reading in the Gospel, a good question to ask is who is Jesus in the portion I just read? 

#2 There are Four Gospels. Many analogies have been made for the idea of Four Gospels but one Jesus: one musical score but different instruments playing, or one piece of music but four stereo speakers. There will be something we read in one Gospel, and it will move us in a particular way. We may run into that same teaching in another Gospel, and it will impact us in a different way as it is told in a slightly different way. Over repeated readings of the Gospels, we will be drawn to it in different ways. Using an art analogy, repeated viewing of a masterpiece will reveal new beauty each time. Using a music analogy, repeated listening of a masterpiece will reveal new beauty each time. 

#3 In Matthew, the kingdom of heaven (kingdom of God in other gospels) is a big feature of Matthew. On one hand, the kingdom of God is at hand but also, Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, “thy kingdom come.” From this, we get the idea of the kingdom is “already and not yet.” The kingdom teachings are particularly given in the five extended teaching sections of Jesus:

1. The Sermon on the Mount as the constitution of the kingdom of God (Mt. 5-7) 
2. The kingdom personnel on mission (Mt. 10) 
3. The parables describing the kingdom (Mt. 13) 
4. The relationships in the kingdom (Mt. 18) 
5. The near future (probably fulfilled in AD 70) and final future of the kingdom (Mt. 24-25) 

Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part III

As part of “read the Bible in one year,” the New Testament part will likely begin with the Gospels. And, of course, with Matthew. Thus, what are some features to be alert to as we read the Gospels? 

#1 Take note of the way the Gospels point out that Jesus is the Messiah rooted in the work of God through the Jewish people. Recall that the earliest believers were Jewish; therefore, it was important to establish that Jesus was in accord with the Scriptures of what we now call the Old Testament. This “Jewishness” of Jesus is most noticeable in Matthew, but it is an aspect of the other three as well. Since many of us are Gentiles, this might not have as big an impact upon us. Nonetheless, this “Jewishness” shows the faithfulness of God as it traces back to God’s intention when He promised Abraham “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” back in Genesis 12:2. God is faithful to accomplish his plans!

#2 Jesus is our life! Perhaps, one of the most well-known parts of the Bible is Matthew 5:3-12. One might ask how are those who “are poor in spirit,” “mourn,” “are gentle,” “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” “are merciful,” “are pure in heart,” “are the peacemakers,” ”are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,” and “are insulted and persecuted” in any way “blessed?” They are blessed because they belong to Jesus! While those who are self-righteous, self-reliant, and self-interested will not follow. 

#3 As such, in light of item 2 above, take note of the encounters that Jesus has with people and how they respond. Some reject him and some accept him. What is quite striking is that the people who accept him were often the “outsiders” of that time. And the people who reject him were often the “insiders” of the time, in particular the religious authorities. These encounters basically ask the reader, are you going to accept Jesus or not? And they also ask, if I’m a follower of Jesus, how am I going to look at people who don’t know Him yet? Am I going to be like the religious authorities who trust their “insider-ness” looking down on others failing to see the grace of God is available to all who trust Him?

Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part II

If you are following a “read through the Bible in one-year” plan, it is likely you have spent some time in Genesis! Genesis is “narrative” and there are certain things to keep in mind. By the way, scholars estimate that about 40% of the Bible is narrative. Narrative is a fancy SAT word for “story.” Stories are composed of plot (sequence of events/dialog), character(s), and setting(s). Examine the plot, characters, and settings and you can usually glean its significance and meaning. 

Thus, advice #1 as Greg Koukl (Stand to Reason) says, “Don’t read just a Bible verse.” 

The chapter and verse markings in the Bible according to Wikipedia were first put into Bibles back in the Sixteenth century. It is better to be reading discreet passages of the Bible. And in the case of Genesis and other narrative portions of the Bible, read the distinct collection of verses that form the story. For example, the Cain and Abel story is from Genesis 4:1-16. From this story you can get significance and meaning; for example, the challenge of facing temptation and cost of yielding to it. And if you read all the way to the end of it, do you get a hint of God’s mercy on Cain?

#2 The discreet stories sometimes point to a LARGER story. In the case of the Hebrew Bible, there is the larger story of what God was doing with his people (Abraham and his descendants). 

For example, you might wonder what to make of the lists of people in Genesis 10 and then in Genesis 11:10-32? What significance and meaning do the story of these two lists of people tell us?

Perhaps, two things. One is God’s timing. Looking at the list of Genesis 11, Shem is the first person on the list and Abram is the tenth in the genealogical sequence. 10 is the number of completion. Thus, perhaps, it is a way of saying in the plans of God, it was time to intervene by calling Abram. By the way, Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus is patterned on 14 generations where 7 is the number of perfection and completion multiplied by 2. Second, is it obvious from the list of people in Genesis 10, which line leads to Abram? His ancestors were buried in a list of names. Were you able to track them down? Perhaps, this is a way for the story to emphasis that God’s choice is totally grace!

#3 The discreet stories sometimes point to the EVEN LARGER story of God’s redemption plan to be fulfilled through Jesus. What to make of the story of Genesis 14? A bunch of tribal warlords fight with each other! I suppose one significance is don’t mess with God’s chosen people as Abram got his 318 guys together and became the first Army Ranger unit! The aftermath of the battle is the story of Abram meeting the mysterious Melchizedek. Does Melchizedek appear again in the Bible? He is referred to in Psalm 110, a Messianic Psalm that is the most frequently quoted in the New Testament! And Melchizedek forms the argument in the Book of Hebrews about Jesus as the ultimate perfect King-Priest. Thus, what at first glance appears to be an obscure cul-de-sac of a story is a big pointer to Jesus. 

Keep reading! 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Read through the Bible in one-year, reflections part I

Some of you may be giving the “Read through the Bible in a Year” resolution a try. Truth be told I have read through the whole Bible but never in one year! It is a challenge have taken up a handful of times and have run out of gas at various points during the year. 8-) 

Wanted to offer a few quick reflections on this spiritual discipline. 

#1 - Remember the goal is to be present with God. Reading and meditating on the Bible helps with our desire to focus on God. And so sometimes the Bible will be quite clear in what it is saying in terms of an encouragement or something that pokes our conscience. But sometimes, things might not be so clear and that is okay to - chew on it a bit, make a note of it, keep it in mind and come back to it another time. Whatever you come across in the reading, pray it back to God as prompted.

#2 -Consider listening to the Bible in addition to reading it. Remember, the experience of reading a personal copy of the Bible (printed or digital) is a very new innovation in human history. At one time, we had no digital Bibles on a phone or a tablet! At one time, a printed Bible was a luxury item. At one time, most people could NOT even read. For most of human history, Christians HEARD the Bible read to them. 

#3 - Talk to other believers about what you have read. Share what was comforting. Share what was awe inspiring. Share what was thought provoking. Share what was confusing. 

# # #

A quick share from reading so far: Genesis 4:26, "To Seth also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” 

The “big story line” of the Bible is: Creation - Fall - Redemption. Along the way, especially in Genesis, there is a LOT of falling down and messing up! But along the way there are little glimmers of restoration. Have to say have probably read Genesis 4:26 any number of times over the years but for some reason it stuck out in this recent re-read. Yes, things were going bad with the Fall in Genesis 3 and the Cain and Abel story in Genesis 4 and Lamech’s brazen actions and words in Genesis 4 and the Flood is coming soon. But here in Genesis 4:26 some people were calling upon the name of the Lord. And so even when things were bleak, God was still working in some people and a remnant trusted Him even if many did not. Take heart and keep calling upon the name of the Lord!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Christianity 101: Part III, Jesus, the Christ

image source: http://chipneal.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/an-old-wooden-cross-photographic-print-c12040086.jpeg

Sooner rather than later, any series of essays on the meaning of Christianity has to address the question of who was Jesus?

Christians claim Jesus is the Christ. It should be noted that Christ is a title not that Jesus was his first name and Christ was his last name.

But if Christians claim Jesus is the Christ, everyone else says, Jesus is ... something else.

That something else could be as respectable as a good teacher, a prophet, a miracle worker, a wise man, a great leader, etc. And of course, some will argue, he never existed and if he did, he bears little resemblance to the New Testament Scriptures.

There is evidence in other historical works beyond the writings of the Christian Scriptures that Jesus existed so the view that he did not exist at all is held by very few people. As to the reliability of the New Testament, that is a source of scholarly debate. The situation is that the large number, wide geographical distribution, antiquity and high degree of similarity of the ancient documents that comprise the New Testament is very striking in comparison to any other ancient texts. Additionally, there is no getting around the reality that an entire community of faith grew up around the Jesus described there. This isn't proof but it is suggestive evidence.

When one reads the New Testament, various titles are given to Jesus, the most notable being: Christ, Messiah, Lord, Son of God and Son of Man.

Thus, Christians, of course, proclaim Jesus as the Christ. What does that mean? Christ is the Greek word for "the anointed one." The Hebrew word for "the anointed one" is Messiah. The NT uses Christ much more frequently but the two words refer to the same concept. Quoting directly from the dictionary entries, "It denotes that he was anointed or consecrated to his great redemptive work as Prophet, Priest, and King of his people."

When Christians accept Jesus as the Christ, we are also accepting that human beings need to be redeemed. Not everyone buys the idea that human beings are separated from God and imprisoned in our sins. But if one does, God has provided a solution through Jesus as the Christ.

From what I have heard, one theological debate has been whether the Jewish people of that time, in their anticipation of the Christ, were expecting the Christ to be divine and thus, God? Would that be necessary? Could that mission have been accomplished without the Messiah being divine? I don't know. But the idea that the Messiah, the redeemer, would be God himself is amazingly wonderful to contemplate.

In the NT, Jesus is often referred to as Lord, a title of divinity in some cases. In fairness, in some cases, it might be that the speaker was saying something akin to, "sir" or "your honor" or some other designation of respect short of a statement of divinity. Thus, one has to look at the context of how it is used to decide whether it is an attribution of divinity. Certainly, in the non-Gospel sections of the New Testament, the Lord title, in context, is often a strong statement of divinity.

Son of God is the most obvious title of divinity applied to Jesus. Yet ... in the Gospels ... many people who met Jesus didn't recognize his divinity because he was not a booming voice from the sky though I'm sure when he preached he got at least some people's attention! He wasn't a bright blinding light or a burning bush... rather he was God come in the flesh who dwelt among us as one of us (John 1:14). He was both divine and human.

Son of Man is the title Jesus probably used most often for himself and it is believed Jesus used that title because his Jewish listeners would think of Daniel 7:13-14. Thus, the title, which on its face sounds like a claim to the humanity, has a theological claim to a divine messiah who claims authority and victory in Daniel 7.

Yet, when Jesus used the claim "son of man" it was sometimes in the context of suffering and servanthood (ex. Matthew 20:26-28). Thus, it would seem that Jesus claimed a title that would be recognized by his listeners to have a certain meaning (Daniel 7) and he adds additional meaning to it!

The multifaceted reality of Jesus claims became more striking to me when I was reading about the earthy scene of the disciples eating grain that provoked Jesus' teaching on the Sabbath. In that passage, Jesus claimed his authority as the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath to correct misunderstanding about the practice of Sabbath. As mentioned above, the Son of Man is a claim to messiahship. Lord of the Sabbath is a divine claim recalling the institution of Sabbath in Genesis. Jesus claims BOTH titles.

Indeed, the fullness of Jesus identity is a great mystery!

But we have to come back to his mission and the bottom line is this: Jesus, by his life on earth, death on the Cross, resurrection from the dead and future return, has made reconciliation with God possible to those who would trust in Him!

Jesus, the Christ, fully human, fully divine, of two natures yet one person within the one great and gracious God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit has made reconciliation with God possible to those who would trust in Him!

There have been many statements about Jesus and this blog post stands as yet another believer's feeble attempt to give a glimpse of the wonder of who Jesus is. I previously posted a summary of a lecture I heard from Prof. Fred Sanders on the identity of Jesus. As you can see some of what I wrote here was influenced by that presentation.

Looking to history, the most famous "creed" pertaining to the identity of Jesus is the middle portion of the Fourth Century Nicene Creed.

Of the passages in the Bible itself, be sure to read John 1:1-14 and Philippians 2:1-11.

Bask in the wonder of Jesus! Fall down in worship!

Christianity 101: Part II, In the beginning God ...

The incredibly obvious place to start, of course, is at the beginning! 8-)

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The world view options are: there is a god and there is no god.

Within the "no god perspective" there is the stronger claim (atheism) and the weaker claim (agnosticism).

Within the "there is a god perspective," one could broadly designate those who believe god is in the creation (pantheism) and those who believe god is separate from the creation (theism).

Genesis One tells us that God approached creating in a fairly systematic way and is separate from it.

There is a long running argument about whether aspects of evolution are compatible with Genesis. I think trying to read Genesis One as a scientific textbook is not necessary and not the original intent. I think of the creation account of Genesis as an impressionist painting. There are limits to using analogies but I do find the idea of this analogy helpful.


image source: http://www.toffsworld.com/art_artists_painters/impressionist_impressionism_art_movement.htm

One could have a photograph of the same scene. But in the case of the painting, the details are important only up to a certain point; there are enough details for the viewer to know what the scene is about in a general sense. But beyond those details, the painting hints at mood, emotion, beauty and narrative ... various, if you will, pun intended, "impressions" about the scene.

And so one impression we can pick up from Genesis One is that God is orderly as each day something happens.

There is a current mode of thinking that places science and religion on opposing sides. However, upon reflection, the theological premise of God creating the physical world in an orderly manner may have driven the rise of science. This idea is explored in one of sociologist Rodney Stark's best selling books.

The other idea we can gain from Genesis One is that the physical world is good from the refrain (verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) "God saw that it was good."

Whenever I get the chance to stop and contemplate the wonders of the natural world ...

hearing birds sing
observing the color of flowers
reflecting on the ginormousness of whales
marveling at the intricacy of the molecular biology and biochemistry happening in each cell
enjoying the taste of fruits
add your own favorite experiences here ...

I recognize the goodness of God and the power of God in the extravagant beauty in the creation of the physical world.

Finally, we find out from Genesis 1:27 that humans have a special relationship to God.

So God created human beings in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

The restoration of this special bond runs as a thread throughout the story of the Scriptures and is the heart of the Christian faith. This bond was broken in Genesis Three. The various dramatic stories of the Bible thereafter are about the efforts of God to reconcile us to himself.

Christianity 101: Part I, Is defining Christianity possible?

image source: http://granitegrok.com/blog/2007/08/last_day_help_pick_nhs_power_players.html

How does one define Christianity or being a Christian?

Someone might self-describe themselves as a Christian. And for some people, self-attribution is enough to substantiate the claim.

But does that make sense?

For example, if I claim to be a Dodger fan but never go to see them play, don't listen to them on the radio, can't name any of the players on the team and fail to check their scores in the sports page, is it a reasonable claim for me to say I'm a Dodger fan?

Thus, is it possible to define Christianity and who is a Christian?

Jesus will certainly know and won't be fooled!

However, for the sake of discussion, I think for anyone to claim a certain designation, in particular, a religious one, there are some things that should be in place in order for that claim to be a reasonable one.

Religions have some body of beliefs, a code of ethics, common practices and a community of the like-minded.

Thus, what are they for Christians?

I realize there isn't going to be 100% agreement on each element. However, in order for this enterprise to be meaningful, I would suggest a starting point would be to identify where there is substantial agreement with those practicing the faith today and consistency with prior generations of believers.

What I hope to do with this series of posts is to explore the Christian faith. I admit it is from my perspective with the limitations that imposes. Thus, other voices are welcomed to chime in to express their thoughts. We may have disagreements but at least we could aim for clarity and civility!