Helping Relatoinships - part 6: Scripture Comes Alive

This blog post will wrap up the “Helping Relationships” counseling course we took last year. In previous posts, I've discussed the nature of the Christian life- loving God and loving people. It's a reality we must do together as the body of Christ. The New Testament has no concept of lone-ranger Christians. Our union and connection to Christ, who is the Head of the church and the life-giving vine, connects us to other Christians. That's why our love for our brothers and sisters is so important- it's the evidence that we have been loved and changed by Jesus Christ. When Christ commands us to love one another, it's not optional. When scripture tells us to speak truth in love, we must obey.

This course has given us some practical ways to speak truth in love: moving towards others, asking one more question, learning to say “we”, and praying the promises of God.

The final topic in this series will talk about how to bring scripture to life in tough situations. Basically: How do you say hard things to a peer? Maybe your friend knows as much (or more) scripture than you do. How do you share scripture without sounding like you pulled some pre-packaged theological truth off the shelf?

The answers pull us back to asking questions and learning to say “we.” Before we teach scripture, we must first be taught by scripture. At some level, scripture should be settled into the very fiber of our being because it is our living hope: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1Pe 1:23). If scripture is our living hope, it won't sound trite or cliché.

WHEN SCRIPTURE COMES ALIVE

What are some ways to tap into our living hope?

Single verses, concordance style – In this method, we look up verses on a topic (e.g. anger, pride, etc...) This is helpful but limited- the Bible is much more than a “How-to” manual. If we only pick up verses here and there, we may miss the big picture.

Themes – some images and stories are carried through all of scripture. We can use these themes and apply them directly to ourselves and others. The beauty of scripture is that it comes alive as we identify with it. Retelling stories from the perspective of scripture is powerful. Here are some examples given by Dr. Welch in our class:

• Alienation - People new to American culture often feel like they're on the outside. The Bible is filled with outcasts, starting with Adam and Eve. Like them, we are people who are cast out. Yet, God pursues outcasts and even becomes an outcast Himself by dying on the cross in ridicule and shame
  
  
• Temptation – Temptations come when something promises life but is really death. They don't take 'no' for an answer. The Bible is filled with people who are battling desires- people who feel like they will die if they don't get what they want. Have you ever been in a place where saying 'no' makes you feel like you're going to die?
  
  
• Wilderness - The wilderness is frightening and dangerous. Suffering is living in the wilderness. The LORD rescues His people from slavery in Egypt, but He tests them in the wilderness. Yet He is with His people. His presence is more obvious in the wilderness than any other place. He gives us grace for today but not for tomorrow. It's understandable if we're afraid of tomorrow because He hasn't given us grace for tomorrow. In those moments Egypt can sound awfully good.
  
  
• Shepherd (Gen. 48:15, Psalms, etc...) – God is the shepherd for His people. He moves towards us, feeds us, and leads us. Most of all, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd has laid down His life for His sheep.

Here are some other thought-provoking patterns that make scripture come alive:

2D or 3D world? - The Israelites complain to Moses and want to go back to Egypt. They forget about God and live like it's a 2D world- it's only them and Moses. In a 2D world, God doesn't exist or doesn't care. But God makes it 3D when He says, “Why do people hold me in contempt?” (Num. 14:11). We often forget that the world is really 3D. The scriptures change our 2D world into a 3D one. We always live in the presence of God, and we ultimately answer to Him.

The Psalm Sandwich– The Psalms often have a Praise-Complaint-Praise sandwich. The Psalmist praises God, voices his good complaints, and then ends with praise. In prayer, we have the privilege of bringing our complains before the God who hears. And by ending with worship, we recognize that God is God and we are not.

Cry out to the Lord – When trouble comes, we often have two options before us. We can cry on our bed or cry to the Lord.

What's Done vs. What we do - What we do to obey God should always be rooted in what God has already done. Otherwise, we fall into legalism or some kind of works-based righteousness. Before God goes into the 10 Commandments, He tells His people: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The commands of scripture sit in the context of redemption. We belong to God. As citizens of the kingdom, how do we live in response to His redemption? We have been bought with a price, so we are not our own.

Warnings and Comforts Go Hand-in-Hand – In the prophetic books such as Isaiah, we can't read the warnings too long until we see a beautiful picture of the gospel. In the midst of horrific rebellion, God keeps calling Israel to return: “Come now, let us reason together....” (Is. 1:18).

Connect everything to THE story (1 Cor.2:2, Phil.2:6-11) of the cross and the BIG story of the Kingdom. - The cross of Christ is now the hinge-point of law and history. Paul, has determined to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified. Christ lowered Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. How can we not serve others after Christ has served us? Christ died for sins – how does that guide my decisions today?

Tell THE story in 101 ways - Scripture is not dependent on one single metaphor. The people who have been redeemed are freed prisoners, adopted children, prodigal sons, forgiven and cleansed felons, restored adulterers, not-my-people who have become my-people . . .

Start from the end - In class, we were constantly bombarded with examples of tragedy: people who lost loved ones or a woman who has been sexually abused. How could a good Father let this happen? But, what if we start at the end? In the end, you and I will know our Father, God, and King face-to-face (1 Jn 3:1-3). There will be no more shame or tears. We will be glorious as we reflect His glory (Isaiah 54). There will only be peace and safety. This doesn't answer all the questions, but this is where we are going and what is pulling us along. Knowing this glorious end and having that pull us along is sanctifying.


And there are many more ways scripture comes to life! Scripture is our life-giving truth from our infinite God. We will never exhaust its depths. This list barely scratches the surface. If you are a Christian, you will spend a lifetime exploring the depths of God's word and never get bored. You will spend an eternity in the presence of God and all the people of God and never cease to be amazed at the greatness of our God.

FINAL NOTE

Reflecting on this course has been such an enriching experience for me. By the grace of God, I hope it has served you in some way as you seek to speak the truth in love.

Helping Relatoinships - part 5: Praying

This is part 5 in a series of blog posts on the “Helping Relationships” counseling class that Teresa and I took at Westminster. To love someone well, we ultimately want them to drink from the Living Water, Jesus Christ (John 4:11, 7:38). Nothing else in this world or this life can ultimately satisfy. The last post talked about learning to say “we.” The struggles of the heart are universal. Knowing that, we proceed with humility and keep asking one more question. When we can say “we”, that means we see our struggle in their life. We have entered their world, see their need, and our common need for the Savior.

By the time we can say “we”, we have some idea where to take them to Christ because we have experienced the life-giving Living Water ourselves. And if we're in a big mess as well, Christ meets us where we are. Together, we can call out to God for help.

PRAYER

So how can we pray? Whenever we see our sin, we pray for help so we can repent and turn to Christ. We pray because we are powerless to overcome sin on our own. The Holy Spirit must intervene! And that's how we can pray in a meaningful way for someone. In the midst struggles, we pray that they would experience the goodness of God and turn away from false gods. Of course, when someone is suffering, we pray for God to relive that suffering. There's nothing wrong with praying that God will provide a spouse, a job, better health, etc...

But, if we only focus on the suffering and don't address the desires of the heart, we may be missing something important. God uses suffering to discipline us: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11). God uses the trials of our life (James 1:2-4) to show us that we often love something more than we love God. The struggles show us that we need the gospel of grace even now. Christ died for our sins, and we need His grace in the day-to-day struggles. In short, we pray that others may love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength- a reality that all Christians desire.

PRAYER IN REAL LIFE

How can this work in real life? It might be helpful for me to include snapshots from a conversation I've had with a friend. I've changed some of the details, but hopefully you get the idea.

Me: What's been going on with you lately? [I'm trying to move towards my friend and go deeper]

Friend: I just got laid off from my job. I'm thankful for the severance package, and I'll have unemployment benefits for awhile. But life's hard, and I'm feeling depressed.

Me: What's been hard about getting laid off? What worries you the most? [Asking one more question....]

Friend: I'm not really worried about the bills. What bothers me is that I look around at my other friends, and all of them have jobs. I feel like God has forgotten about me.

Me: Why do you think God has forgotten about you? [I keep asking one more question until I can say, “we”]

Friend: I feel like other people have jobs, but I'm getting singled out. Why does this have to happen to me?

Me: Disappointment in life is something I've had to struggle with at times. As someone who wants to be a preacher, it can be discouraging to see other people who are more gifted or get better grades in seminary. I have desires in my heart to excel and do well. Those desires aren't wrong. But, when those desires begin to lead and control our life more than God, we know that we've crossed the line. [at this point, I see a similar struggle in my own heart....I'm able to say “we”!]

Friend: It's hard to believe that God loves me.

Me: How have you experienced God love?

Friend: I know He gave Jesus to die for me- I believe it. I know He has been faithful to me in the past. God gave me this job before, and He has provided all my needs in the past.

Me: How can I pray for you?

Friend: Pray that God would provide a new job.

Me: I will pray for that. How can I pray for your relationship with God?

Friend: I need prayer for my struggle and my doubts.

Me: I will pray that God gives you eyes to see what He is doing and helps you to trust Him. He has a plan for you, brother. I don't know what it is, but He does. He's been faithful to you before, and He's shown you His love in Christ. Can I pray for you now?

Friend: Sure.

Me: Father, I pray that you would give my brother a new job. I thank you that you have given us a great Savior, Jesus Christ, who has rescued us from our biggest problem, the problem of our sin and our eternal punishment. I thank you for providing for my brother in the past. I pray that He would look to You and that he would call out to you for help with his doubts. I pray that He would see that you are good, loving, and faithful. Amen.

Helping Relatoinships - part 4: Learning to say "We"

This is part 4 in a series of posts on the “Helping Relationships” counseling class. In previous posts, we've looked at a number of different topics: the pervasiveness of counseling (it happens whether we like it or not), the call to love one another, and the continual need to put off sin and take hold of Christ. We love others with our words by moving towards them, asking questions, and entering their world. This gives us the foundation for speaking truth in love and for praying the promises of God into someone's life. In short, the Christian walk is not just me loving Jesus, but helping one other love Jesus.

I want to pick up this post by continuing the topic of “moving towards.” This is a key part of walking alongside others so you can know them well and love them well. Knowing and loving go hand in hand- you can't love someone you don't know. But, often when we know someone, it makes us want to run away because life is messy!

How do you get to that level of knowing someone well? Or, if you do know someone well, how do you love them? It's often easy to judge another person and lack compassion when we feel self-righteous. It's easy to think, “How could they do that! (or be like that!)”

One problem is that maybe we don't know the full story and need to ask one more question. Another problem is that we might have elevated ourselves above the other person, forgetting that we share the same struggles and desires. We forget that all of us are made in God's image and that we share the same types of struggles. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” (1 Cor. 10:13). At the root of any struggle is a battle within the heart to love God more than something else (see part 2).

LEARNING TO SAY “WE”

Learning to walk alongside someone means understanding their world and their struggle to the point that you can say, “we”. It is no longer their struggle but something you can identify with. No matter how bizarre or abnormal someone may be, there is an aspect of their sin that is shared by all of us. Take for example, a struggle with sexual purity. Someone may struggle with pornography or even adultery or homosexuality. But someone may say, “How can I identify with that? I don't struggle with that- those are serious sins!” But, Jesus said whoever looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28). So, our lust is on the same level as adultery- we are really no different!

Though it may be unlikely, someone may again say, “I still can't identify with that. I don't have issues with lust- I keep my eyes pure.” Then, we continue to take another step back. Lust and desire are not just limited to sexual impulses, but they are connected to the broader category of idolatry. Even if I don't struggle with these, I have struggled with envy, coveting, and wanting something (or anything) more than God. What could that be? We have to ask, “What are the things in my heart that I treasure and love more than God Himself?”

That could be the desire

• for preserving life at any costs (think about how often we get upset when my “god” of comfort and convenience get threatened)
• for money or financial security
• for approval and acceptance in our relationships
• for power and control
• for accomplishments (think about how often our joy is disturbed if we feel like we're not getting much out of work)
• for purpose (think about how often we get discouraged if we feel like life doesn't have the purpose we think it should have).

This list covers pretty much everything! It shows how our human hearts are idol-factories that churn out an endless supply of desires that take us away from God. At one point in time or another, we've been ruled by these desires. How do we know? We know this because when God takes some of them away (either permanently or temporarily), we get upset!

When we can recognize these desires at work in us, we see that we are all alike under sin- that we have all gone astray, that no one is righteous, understands or seeks for God (Rom. 3:10-11). Christians are forgiven people, but there are still on-going struggles as we learn to follow Jesus. Therefore, even if we don't struggle with lust or sexual immorality, we still have a heart problem. We still follow our own desires sometimes. And this means we are able to walk alongside with someone. We have the ability to identify with their struggles, to enter their world, and to say “we.” I may not struggle in exactly the same way as another person, but I still struggle. And therefore, we are the same.

And the good news is that the gospel comes to heal us, not just when we were converted, but here and now. Christ died for those idols in my heart! I need the gospel just as much as my struggling brother or sister in Christ. And because we both need the gospel to bring healing and forgiveness, we are the same. I can say “we”.

Helping Relatoinships - part 3

This is part 3 in a series of blog posts on the “Helping Relationships” counseling class that Teresa and I took at Westminster. Counseling can sound like a fancy and professional activity. Yet, counseling happens everyday whether we realize it or not. The 5 minute conversation after church service or the phone call late at night from a distressed friend are all examples of ministering to others through our words. Previous posts discussed why good counseling can build a healthy church while bad counseling weakens it.

The last post ended with 3 different aspects of Biblical counseling:

• how you are doing
• how God and His promises are infinitely better than all other false gods, and
• how to pray the promises of God into your life.
  

KNOWING ANOTHER PERSON – HOW ARE YOU DOING?

Scripture calls us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15). The heart of counseling is being personal. What is our view of people? The right answer is that people have infinite worth as image-bearers of God. But truth be told, more often than not, people can be viewed as an inconvenience or hassle. We have to remember that on our own, we can't love people. I often forget that when I mess up. Thanks be to God for the Holy Spirit, who bears the fruits of love, joy, peace, etc... in our lives. We need the Spirit moment by moment if we want any hope of walking faithfully in Christ.

FOLLOW UP

One indication of our love for people is whether we follow up with them. If they share a struggle or prayer request, and we tell them that we'll pray for them, do we do it? Sometimes we forget! But, if we carry someone in our heart and they matter to us, we will remember to pray and even ask them about it later on.


MOVING TOWARDS

Another aspect of loving people is learning to move towards another person. What is moving towards? Have you ever experienced a personal connection with someone to the point where you could say, “He understands me!” It could be as simple as having the same interests or hobby or liking the same sports team. Because of that shared value or experience, there is a bond- you know them, and they know you.

To grow in loving others, we have to grow in our ability to know people. There's certainly nothing wrong with talking about the Philadelphia Eagles (or any other sports team). But, if that's all we ever talk about, we haven't gone deeper. We must learn to move one more step. For example, we can ask, “Why do you love the Eagles so much?”

Emotions get us down to who or what we really love. What moves you? What are you into? How are you feeling? What are you learning? These are the types of questions that move us towards another person so we can apply scripture into our lives and then serve them by asking, “How can I pray for you?”

WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK ONE MORE QUESTION

When moving towards another person, having humility is critical. We don't know all the answers and we haven't figured out everything. Humility should move us to ask questions to clarify and understand, avoiding the problem of jumping to conclusions. How often have we formed an opinion or a judgment, only to realize later that we were missing a critical piece of information?

Our professor shared a story in his own life about his daughter always studied in the noisiest part of the house. It was exact opposite for what he (and many other people) would do. He was tempted to judge her and look down on her, until he asked one more question: “Why do you study in the nosiest part of the house?” For her, silence was distracting, and she needed the noise to concentrate. Our temptation is to think of moral categories of right and wrong without asking one more question.

This is definitely not easy! In fact, it is impossible without God's help. If our only boast is Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10:17 and many other places), our sinful nature would rather boast in ourselves.

In future posts, I'll go into how this process of "moving towards" and "asking one more question" leads us into entering the world of another person. And when we're walking alongside with someone (as a fellow-traveler who also needs God's grace), we're in a position to make meaningful connections between our lives and scripture.

Helping Relatoinships - part 2

This series of blog posts is my attempt to capture some highlights from the “Helping Relationships” counseling class at Westminster. The class equips Christians to grow in our ability to love one another through our words. Why is this important?

In any given week, people have problems and will seek out either advice that will be either good or bad. People will pass that onto others. That advice could be life-giving medicine to the body of Christ, or corrupt the body like deadly cancer. How do we ensure the multiplication of healthy life-giving advice? In addition, we are called by Christ to love one another, which is one of the most basic commands that Christ gave us (see John 13 and John 15).

Before going into the “how-to”s of Biblical counseling, I want to lay a good foundation. Without understanding some key concepts, the principles of Biblical counseling won't make much sense.

THE GREATEST COMMAND

In the midst of people and their problems, we love others by seeking what is best for them. All of us were created for one purpose, which is to know God and enjoy Him forever. At its very core, sin is the failure to do that. God has commanded us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40). The root of our problems are traced to sin, which entered the world when man first rebelled against God. Sin is our failure to love and obey God.

AFTER THE FALL: SIN AND SUFFERING

But our problems don't just come from our sin and rebellion. Our problems also come from suffering, which were the byproducts of man's fall. When sin entered the world, so did suffering- things like thorns in the ground and things like disease, disasters, and death.

Sin and suffering have plagued the human race ever since Adam and Eve's rebellion against God. And they cause lots of problems! Thankfully, God has successfully engineered a rescue mission to restore sinful humanity and broken creation (see 2 Cor. 5:17-21 and Rom. 8:18-24).

But, Christians who are forgiven and have eternal life in Christ still struggle with temptation. Paul has almost an entire chapter of Romans (see Romans 7) detailing his struggle against his old sinful nature. As a Christian, Paul has a new nature and wants to love and obey God, but his old sinful nature wages war against his new nature. We will continue to have this struggle until we are given sinless, glorified bodies in Heaven one day.

HUMAN HEART = IDOL FACTORY

The sinful heart gravitates towards idols. John Calvin has said that the human heart is an “idol factory” Our sinful hearts run to anything and everything that isn't God. It could be obvious things like money, power, and prestige. Or, it could be more subtle things like control, comfort, and convenience. Whatever the case, our hearts don't naturally love and obey God on its own. We need a lot of help!

In the meantime, we have to engage in serious spiritual warfare against the idols of the heart. One evidence that someone is spiritually alive is that he kicks and fights against sinful idols by the power of the Holy Spirit: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom. 8:13).

PUTTING SIN TO DEATH

The Holy Spirit does this when He reveals sin in our lives, convicts us of it, and gives us the desire to repent from it. The process may not be fun- we have to call sin what it is and confess it to God and others. But, the resulting clear conscience is something we wouldn't trade for anything in this world. That process of killing our sin requires brutal honesty. We have to stop the excuses and even call ourselves out on it. Without that brutal honesty, we're simply deceiving ourselves and even covering things up: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Pro 28:13) As we continue this process, we grow in our love for God and obedience to His commands.

But, does that kind of brutal honesty work with others? How can we love others by helping them love God more? Does this mean we should call people out on their sin? Brutal honesty is needed for our sin, so isn't it needed for the sins of others?

Sin is often blinding and leads to self-deception. We often don't know that we are sinning, and our defenses often go on high-alert when someone wants to confront us. Biblical counseling gives us the tools for helping others. Often an "idol-hunt" doesn't work- we can't simply look at someone's problem, tell them they're sinning by serving a 'false god', and then tell them to start serving the true God. We often can't speak to others like we speak to ourselves. The brutal honesty we use on ourselves to confront our own sin and put it to death often doesn't work on others. That brutal honesty will just turn people away and even get us accused of being self-righteous and judgmental.

DILEMMA

This presents a real dilemma. In cases where sin needs to be exposed, how do we do it without being dismissed as insensitive or self-righteous? How do you call out sin without coming off as judgmental? How do you help someone with their idols in a way that is loving and sensitive? Jesus calls us to pull the log out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to pull the speck out of the eyes of others (Matt. 7:3-5).

Biblical counseling seeks to walk alongside another person. By walking alongside, we aim to find out:

• how they are doing
• how God and His promises are infinitely better than all other false gods, and
• how to pray the promises of God into their life.

In future posts, I'll build on this foundation and describe some of the ways we apply this knowledge in our relationships within the body.

Helping Relationships- part 1

In this next series of blog posts, I'll be writing about the first counseling class I took at Westminster. My wife and I took a class taught by Ed Welch called “Helping Relationships.” My wife Teresa is a counseling major, so it was a way for us to take a class together. The class was also a great way for me (an aspiring pastor and preacher) to get my feet wet by taking a course in Biblical counseling.

IS COUNSELING REALLY NEEDED?

All the professors at Westminster have to sign something which says that they agree with the Westminster Confession of Faith, a pretty comprehensive summary of the Christian faith. This means that all faculty agree on the nature of scripture as our highest and final authority (see post), and they also agree on how to interpret it (see post).

But, there are differences in how to apply scripture. The different departments at Westminster have different opinions on Biblical counseling. And they can be quite vocal about it. One professor told our class (which included both counseling and non-counseling students) to put down the counseling books and pick up a book on God. His point was that if we have a clear vision of our infinite, eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing God, our problems would be seen as infinitely small and insignificant. He would argue for the centrality of Biblical preaching, which helps us comprehend and know God. That's one viewpoint. At the other end of the spectrum are those who argue for the centrality of 1-on-1 Biblical counseling. Preaching is important, but it tends to be too broad (like a shotgun), while 1-on-1 Biblical counseling can dig much deeper and be much more specific.

In both cases, there is an emphasis on changing us to be like Christ. The preaching guys focus on the word to change hearts. The counseling guys focus on personal relationships to change hearts.

Which one is right? In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. I believe a healthy church needs both preaching and counseling. When Paul passes the baton to Timothy, he tells him to preach the word and be ready in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2). But, in the same verse, he also tells him to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” This could refer to 1-on-1 counseling. Elsewhere, Paul talks about teaching in public and from house to house on the necessity of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21). Teaching house-to-house may be a good example of something like 1-on-1 Biblical counseling.

So, we see that scripture gives us examples of both public and private ministry of the word in public preaching and in house-to-house ministry.

WHY IS BIBLICAL COUNSELING IMPORTANT?

Though there are probably dozens of reasons why Biblical counseling is important for churches, I will give two reasons here.

1. Advice spreads like multiplying rabbits.

This is a reason I picked up from Tim Lane, director of the counseling program at Westminster. In any given week, people have problems, such as sin, temptation, or suffering. People seek help from friends and other people they know. Here's the kicker- whatever help they receive, they will use it to help others. What kind of advice are they getting? Is it Biblical and Christ-centered? Or, does it follow the pattern of this world? It won't take long for advice (either good or bad) to spread and multiply throughout the church, much like multiplying rabbits. Good advice can reinforce a pastor's biblical preaching and strengthen faith in the life of the church. But bad advice can undermine preaching and even undo a pastor's work. How people relate to one another in times of trial and crisis can either lead to a healthy church or to a weaker church.

2. We are called to speak truth in love (Eph. 4:15).

All Christians are called by Christ to speak truth in love to one another. This is not a command given to pastors or teachers, but to everyone who is part of the body of Christ. All too often, our best attempts to help a struggling brother or sister sounds too much like the counselor in the Bob Newhart skit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE). His advice to his client is to “Stop it!” When his client looks astonished, he simply repeats by saying, "Stop it!" In other words, our advice can sound like telling someone to "just stop sinning!"

For example, if someone in your church is struggling with anger, looking up all the Bible verses on anger may not fix the problem. There's a good chance they've thought about it and have already looked up those verses. Anger may not be the main issue but simply the byproduct of some deeper issue. So, telling them to simply “stop it!” may not fix the problem. If we want to bring the truth of scripture and the hope of Christ into their lives, we will need a different method. If we want to grow in our love for one another, we should grow in our skill in speaking truth in love.

In future posts, I'll get into some of the nitty-gritty details on how the class taught us to do these two things- ensuring the multiplication of good advice and speaking the truth in love.

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 6: What do the Critics Say?

This will be the last post in a series of posts on the Old Testament Intro class I took at Westminster. Today, I'll give a summary on what modern scholars say about the OT, how we can respond, and why we shouldn't just ignore their views.

How do modern scholars view the OT? For most of them, the Bible is like any other human book and should be rejected as myth. In the 21st century, readers might find stories of a talking donkey (Numbers 22) or a talking snake (Genesis 3) a bit strange and out of date.

In the 19th century, parts of the culture invaded the Biblical studies department in many universities. The Enlightenment was in full-swing in Europe, and it exalted the human mind as the final standard and source of truth. Before the 19th century, most Christian seminaries and universities accepted God's word as truthful, authoritative, and final. With the Enlightenment, many scholars began to think that human beings could investigate the world without God. God was told to get out and stay out. This shouldn't be too surprising. In the Garden of Eden, mankind decided to play umpire between what God said and what Satan said. Rather than trusting God and His word, man decided to think and act apart from his Creator. Falling to the oldest trap in the book, Biblical scholars rejected God's word and began to view all religious (including Christianity) as man-made products of culture and experience. The Bible was rejected as a book of myths.

DEUTERONOMY: BRIDGE BETWEEN LAW AND PROPHETS

How did all of this happen? The book of Deuteronomy is a key battleground. You can think of Deuteronomy like purple states in the US Presidential Election. Certain states are consistently red (Republican) or blue (Democratic). However, some states are purple, and they are the key swing states. If a candidate can capture these, they will likely win the White House. Our understanding of Christ and God's redemptive history hinges on how we understand and interpret Deuteronomy.

Why is Deuteronomy so important? Deuteronomy is the lynchpin of the Old testament, and it's a critical link between the Law (1st 5 books of the OT) and the Prophets. Written by Moses, the Law is the foundation for the rest of the OT because it contains important things such as: God's redemption (Exodus), the moral law (10 Commandments), the sacrificial system, and God's covenant promises. The prophets consistently refer to the Law when the Israelites disobey God. The prophets are God's messengers who accuse Israel of breaking God's covenant and failing to return the love and loyalty that God had first shown to Israel.

Modern scholars have rejected Deuteronomy as a “pious fraud”. They reject Moses as the author of Deuteronomy, and have proposed alternate theories that tear the Law and the Prophets apart. They believe that somebody much later than Moses wrote Deuteronomy. They believe that the Law was written after the Prophets and wasn't originally part of Judaism. In short, they reject the Law and take the Prophets.

By rejecting the Law, these scholars redefine the OT by saying that God didn't give us the law and sacrificial system. God just wants you to be a good person. Their proof-text would be something like Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Christianity doesn't deny the need to do these things, but we deny that we can do these apart from the person and work of Christ.

Are there any good arguments for rejecting Deuteronomy? There are some difficult questions, and we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand. Here are a few examples:
Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as the most humble man on earth. Hmmm, this doesn't seem to humble. Perhaps somebody else wrote the Law?
If Moses was the author, why did he refer to himself in the 3rd person? Deuteronomy 1:1 gives us a narrator's perspective.
If Moses was the author of Deuteronomy, how could he write about his own death in Deuteronomy 34?

However, we can address these questions without giving up our key assumptions. We can still view God's word as trustworthy and true, and that we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to teach us about Christ and His word. One scholar (E. J. Young) has said that we can make a case that Moses was essentially the author of the 1st 5 books of the OT, but the actual writing could have been done by others, just like Jesus is the author of the Sermon on the Mount, but He didn't actually write it down.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

What is at stake? Does it matter if Moses wrote the Law or if we even have the Law? We might be tempted to think this is all a bunch of pointy-headed stuff for people locked up in ivory towers. But, if the OT is the foundation for understanding the NT, then we have to wrestle with these issues.

Our God claims to work through history to redeem a people for Himself. The Exodus from Egypt is a pattern of God's work that comes to completion in our deliverance from sin. Moses is a go-between for God and God's people (Deut. 5:22, Ex. 20:18-21), another pattern that comes to completion in Christ, our perfect Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). The Law of God and the sacrifices are essential for us to understand Christ and His sacrifice, which rescues us from the law of sin and death. At stake is the heart of Christianity! Modern scholars can say, “Just follow the good example of Jesus and be a nice guy like Him” because they have thrown out the Law and redefined Christianity. Many of the more liberal denominations in America take this view today. They may call themselves Christians, but they have side-lined the word of Christ given to us in the Law and the Prophets.

Jude calls us to contend for the faith (Jude 3). As we study the OT scriptures, we are fighting for God and the gospel, the things that this culture and its scholars have rejected. Yet, fighting for the faith must be done in humility. We recognize that these truths are a gift of God and an act of His grace. Without the grace of God, we would not see Christ and the beauty of OT.

With this post, I'm wrapping up this series on the Old Testament Intro class. I hope it's been as fun and informative for you as it has been for me.

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 5b: What OT Books are In/Out?

In the previous post, we looked at the relationship between salvation and scripture. When God saves, He speaks. He tells us what He does so we know how to respond with love, obedience, and worship. We see this pattern when God rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt and when He brought them into the Promised Land. We see this pattern continue until the coming of Christ, the ultimate act of salvation.

When we talk about the Old Testament (OT) canon, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT recognized by Jesus and the people of God?” What did Jesus recognize as scripture and what was rejected? Was the Apocrypha (extra books in the Catholic OT) recognized?

JESUS AND THE PHARISEES

Remember that Jesus often clashed with the Jewish leaders. Though Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed on the meaning of scripture, both sides searched, quoted, and read the same scripture, though they came to different conclusions. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because they refused to come to Him as Savior and Lord:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39)

When Jesus was defending himself against the accusation that He was breaking the Sabbath, Jesus cites a somewhat obscure passage (Psalm 82) and asserts that “scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Again, both the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus are using the same Hebrew OT as their Bible.

What was the Hebrew OT at that time? It is the OT that the Protestants have today. Neither Jesus nor the Jewish leaders recognized the Apocrypha. After the resurrection, when Jesus walks with 2 disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus opens up God's word to show them that He fulfills all the OT prophecies for the coming Messiah. Jesus actually provides the 3 broad categories for scripture, and they don't include the Apocrypha.

"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44-47).

Is there evidence that the Protestant OT is right? For evidence, we can look at the OT used by the different groups in Judaism during the time of Jesus. The groups included the Pharisees and Sadducees. But they also included a group called the Essenes (the ones who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls). The Essences quoted the Hebrew OT in their writings. The Essences never cited the books in the Apocrypha as God's word. They only recognized the books of the Hebrew OT. The same can be said about the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Samaritans. None of these groups ever recognized the extra books as scripture. And most of all, Jesus never recognized these extra books either.

JEROME'S HEBREW PRINCIPLE

In the 4th century, St. Jerome was asked by the Pope to make a new Latin translation of the Bible. His completed work was called the Latin Vulgate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Vulgate). When he worked on his translation, he had to determine which books to include and which ones to leave out.

For Jerome, the Hebrew Bible should be the OT for Christians. The books from the Apocrypha were put in the back of the Bible in a separate category. Jerome left them in because he thought they could be helpful. His decision to separate what was God's word and what wasn't is known as “Jerome's Hebrew Principle.” The Protestant Reformation followed Jerome, and their conclusion was this: Jesus' canon is our canon too. But, they went a step further by taking them out. This would eliminate any confusion on what was God's word. The reformers wanted to be absolutely clear that the Bible is true and must be obeyed, while nothing else, including the Apocrypha, has no such authority. Unfortunately, the Catholic church reversed Jerome's Hebrew Principle and added the Apocrypha into their Bible.

TAKEAWAY

What does this mean for us? We need to receive God's word as it is. Scripture warns us against adding or taking away from God's word:

"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you" (Deu 4:2)

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (Rev 22:18-19)

To change God's word by adding or removing things is nothing short of lying- those who do it claim that God has said something when He hasn't:

“Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30: 6)

The issue of the OT canon isn't something we can just brush aside as a minor point of doctrine.

On the flip side, the OT canon is a source of comfort for Christians. It is our duty and delight to meditate on God's Word day and night, that we may be careful to obey everything written in it. And, we have freedom to take or leave any other human writings because they aren't God's Word. We have clarity on our final standard of truth for our faith, a standard that we can use to evaluate everything else in this world. We do this with humility towards God and others, yet with confidence. God has spoken, and His Word is trustworthy and true!

“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” (Pro 30:5).

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 5a: What OT Books are In/Out?

This is installment number 5 in a series of posts that have hit some of the highlights from the Old Testament Intro. class I took at Westminster. Today I'll start tackling an issue that has been debated quite a bit between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The issue is the Old Testament (OT) Canon. The OT canon is the official list of books that should be included in the Old Testament. In the table of contents in your Bible, the canon is the list of books you'll see. Anything that's not there is not part of God's word. Protestants have 39 books in the OT, while Catholics have added a few extras. These extras are called the Apocrypha, and they include books such as the Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, Additions to Daniel and the Psalms, etc...)

So, who has the right list? Should Protestants include the Apocrypha? But more importantly, why does this matter?

The OT is the foundation for our faith. The canon matters because it's God's word. Something written by a human author may have interesting or useful ideas, but we can take it or leave it without eternal consequences. However, rejecting the word of God is rejecting God's message of salvation:

• “You have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:15).
• ”You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet 1:23)
  

We need some way to draw a line so we can say what is God's word and what isn't. John Frame put it well when he said this: “It is God's intention to speak personal words to us, words that have more authority than any other. These words govern our use of all other words and all other knowledge. They must be distinguished from all other words for us to know that these are God's words and not man's.”

We assume two important things when we talk about the canon:

1. God has spoken (See this post on the authority of God's word)
   
2. The Holy Spirit enables God's people to recognize God's word (1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Thess. 2:13).
   

Because God has spoken, His word is final. The authority of God's word doesn't depend on pastors, scholars, or even the church. We can be wrong! Pastors can't choose what they like and throw out what they don't like. Catholics believe that people (the church) have the final say in defining the canon. Protestants believe the reverse: no one (not even the church) is in a position to approve or disapprove God's word. There is a huge difference! Catholicism believes that God's word submits to the church. But Protestantism believes that the church submits to God's word.

This reminds us that God is the all-powerful Creator, and we are dependent creatures. When God speaks, we should humbly submit to Him and worship Him as our supreme ruler, even if we don't have all the answers. All too often, we expect God to answer to us, when we must answer to God. Humility before God means that we receive His word as truthful and trustworthy.

CANON AND REDEMPTIVE HISTORY

God's word has always come to God's people when God saves them. After God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt, Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible to record God's history and law: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me......” (Exodus 20:2-3)

At each point in redemptive history, God gives His people everything they need to know until the next act of salvation:

• "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.” (Deut. 5:22)
• "Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it. “ (Deut. 12:32 )
  

The OT doesn't stop at Deuteronomy. God continued to work among His people. After God had saved Israel from her enemies and given them the land of Canaan, Joshua did something important: “Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God.” (Jos. 24:26)
Joshua added to the first 5 books of the Bible so that God's people would remember what God did and why He did it.

So, we begin to see a pattern in scripture. Whenever God saves His people, He also gives them His Word so they will understand and respond in the right way. When God saves, God speaks.

Notice something very important. When Joshua wrote new scripture, it was added to what was already written by Moses. The first 5 books weren't thrown away- God added new words to His old ones. Scripture builds on itself.

IN THESE LAST DAYS.....

Fast forward a few thousand years from the book of Joshua to the New Testament. When Jesus Christ came, God performed the ultimate act of salvation. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Fully God and fully man, Jesus is the only mediator who can bridge the gap between man and God, the one we were created to love, serve, and obey. In this greatest act of salvation, shouldn't we expect God to bring additional revelation? He does!

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1-2)

In the past, God spoke through prophets like Moses and Joshua. In these last days, Jesus Christ speaks as God Himself. And since all scripture builds on itself, Jesus Christ isn't going to throw away the OT. He didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17).

If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. We have seen up to this point that when God saves His people, He speaks to them. And as He continues to work, He adds to His word. This process keeps moving forward until the ultimate act of salvation found in Jesus.

The history of God's salvation should lead us to humble worship. He is not only the all-powerful Creator, but in Jesus Christ, He is our loving Savior. God stooped down to save us and then speak to us so that we could know His salvation. The canon isn't some dry, boring topic for scholars to debate. The canon is what God has provided to His people so that we may know Him and worship Him. How kind and gracious of God to do that!

So, if we want to know what should be included in the OT, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT that Jesus had?” What was recognized by God's Son and God's people as the official word of God? Did the Jesus's Bible contain the Apocrypha? To answer this question, stay tuned to my next post....

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 4: Are OT Manuscripts Reliable?

If you've been reading along, you know that I've been posting articles about the Old Testament Intro class I took at Westminster. In previous posts, I've tried to answer the questions: “Why study the Old Testament?” and “Why study the geography and history of the OT?”

This post will be about manuscript reliability. The Bible translations we have today- be it NIV, ESV, NLT, etc... are based on manuscripts that were edited 1000s of years ago and then transmitted over time. None of us have the original copies written down by Moses, David, or Jeremiah. And there are known differences and changes that have crept up over time. For example, the Greek translation of the book of Jeremiah is about 15% shorter and has a different chapter sequence. So, it seems like the Greek version was originally based on a different Hebrew text and not the Hebrew text we have today.

Even though the scribes were very careful, they could not avoid making the occasional mistake. Often they were unintentional and due to human error. Physical damage by accident and decay would leave holes in the text or a scribe might leave something out or hear something incorrectly while the text was being dictated.

And yet, our faith hinges on what the Bible says. Without the Bible, we would have no knowledge of God, creation, or His redemptive work that reaches its climax in Christ.

This begs the question: Can we trust the Bible? Or, is the Bible a corrupted version of God's word- maybe only a faint witness to the original, which is now lost? A lot is at stake here. If the Bible is only partially trustworthy, then the foundation of our faith isn't completely reliable. If that's the case, we have no basis for claiming that Yahweh is the only true God and that Christ is the only way to Him. Thus, who can say that Christ is the only path to God when many other faiths proclaim many other ways?

Before we can answer this question, we need to set the boundaries of our discussion. As we examine the history and manuscripts to see if the Bible is trustworthy, we must remember our position of faith: God is active and in control of all things. Roman Catholic teaching says we should look for someone or something (church authority) to tell us the final answer. Skeptics say that we should look to human reason and our own understanding as the final standard. But, the final standard of truth is found in God Himself, and not some standard that is outside of Him. There are difficulties, and we may never find an intellectually satisfying answer to all of them. So, is our trust in our ability to reconstruct the text perfectly or in God?

CAUTIOUS CONSERVATISM

As Christians, we can take a path of cautious conservatism- God's word in its original form exists in the various manuscripts, but we may have to do some work to find it.

As mentioned earlier, a manuscript may have errors, but it is very unlikely for all manuscripts to have the same error. Bible scholars see how the different manuscripts compare/contrast. They decide which is the most reliable one as many of them usually agree while a few have differences. If most manuscripts say one thing, and only a few have a difference, scholars often go with the one with more copies. In other words, majority wins!

The work of researching the different manuscripts to get the original is called “Textual Criticism.” Scholars have been working on Textual Criticism for centuries, so its nothing new. Think of it as a kind of Bible CSI- investigative teams have to sift through the evidence to construct the original story.

The different options for the original text are placed in the footnotes or margins of the Bible if enough manuscripts have that difference. For example, in 2 Samuel 12:21, the ESV says this: "When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." The context is that David's firstborn son Amnon had just raped his half-sister Tamar. David is upset, but that's about all that David does. There's no mention of any punishment for Amnon. The footnote for this verse says, "Dead Sea Scroll, Septuigent add "But he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, since he was his firstborn." Interesting. Two other manuscript families give us a little more insight into why David seemed unwilling to do anything after this incident.

So, should we be concerned that there are multiple options? Before we start to panic, realize that the Bible is the most well attested ancient document that exists. Thousands of manuscripts are available to piece together the original text. Only a very small part of the text is in question. And the vast majority of those variations make no difference in how we understand and apply scripture. This means that no major theological point depends on whether or not scholars "got it right." Therefore, passages like Jeremiah 31 that describe and foretell the coming of Christ and the New Covenant are rock-solid:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.....For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

The prophecies about Christ, the new covenant, and the forgiveness of sins are unmistakably clear and reliable. Here are two quotes from scholars who have spent decades going through the OT in the ancient text:

“Textual criticism has established beyond reasonable doubt that no significant teaching of scripture is called into question” (Silva)

“Even if we adopted every single alternative reading, we'd largely have the same Bible” (Walke)

DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Textual criticism was given a huge boost in the 1940s with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls). The scrolls are dated to around 400 BC and include references to every single book of the OT except for one (Esther). Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest known copies of the OT were from the 10th century A.D. Before this find, it would be impossible to demonstrate that the OT prophecies about Christ as a suffering servant (e.g. Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22) were true, or if they were made up after the fact.

The Dead Sea Scrolls is a huge piece of evidence testifying to the trustworthiness of the OT. If we compare the Dead Sea scrolls with versions from the 10th century AD, they are virtually the same. This means that for over 1000 years, the OT was faithfully transmitted.

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

As mentioned earlier, we don't ultimately base our confidence on man's carefulness. Our confidence rests in God, who has spoken and graciously preserved His word for us today. This means that pastors, scholars, and all Christians can trust in God and His Word. Having some awareness of our manuscripts and their reliability helps us appreciate the roots of our faith. We don't need to fear when skeptics question the reliability of the Bible. Rather, we can be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have.

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 3: What's the Payoff In Studying the OT Background?

In this series of blog posts, I've been sharing highlights from the Old Testament Intro. class at Westminster. The first post was a summary of questions that the course sought to answer, and the second tried to answer the question: “Why study the Old Testament?” The OT isn't a bunch of boring history. The struggles against idolatry, fear of man, love of money, living for the here-and-now are given to us in the OT and apply to us today.

Today, I'll expand these thoughts a little further. The OT gives us important insight into the NT so we can more fully understand Christ and His work. We have much more in common with the NT authors than the OT authors (e.g. the same gospel call, Great Commission, and the call to stay faithful until Christ returns). But, the OT audience was quite different (e. g. they had temples, priests, daily sacrifices, and tons of rules on what to eat, drink, and wear).

So, it seems like we'll have to do some more legwork to understand the time, people, and place of the OT. It's not so easy to take the OT and just run with it, like we can for the NT. If we want to appreciate the 70% of God's word that showcases the person and work of Christ, we must study the OT, including its geography and history. If we don't have some understanding of history and geography, we are bound to get lost.

WHY STUDY THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF THE OT?

God gave us His word throughout the course of human history. The OT didn't drop out of the sky. It was written in a particular time to a particular people. Slowly over time, God gave more of His revelation, which reached its fullness in Christ. God took thousands of years of human history to work from Adam to Moses, and then from David to Jesus (with many other folks in-between!).

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:4-5)

God tell us that Christ came when “the fullness of time had come.” Though it seemed like a long time to us, God wasn't late. This period of time is like the first 10 chapters of a book that lead up to the grand climax. Even if the best part of a book starts at chapter 10, nobody picks up a novel and starts at that point. If Christ is the grand climax of God's redemptive plan, then if we want to get the full story of His work, we need the background of what God was doing before Christ came.

Our modern age isn't the only age that ever existed. We have to think beyond ourselves and understand scripture as the original audience would have understood it. As a result, little details which might seem insignificant to us are actually quite significant and purposeful. The background, setting, and geography of the OT matters!

To give you a few examples:

• LAND
  
  We know that Israel was drawn to the gods that were worshiped by her neighbors. Why? Why was it better to worship Baal and not Yahweh (the LORD)? Baal is a storm god and a fertility god. The land of Israel, unlike Egypt, didn't have the flooding of the Nile to provide water for crops. The land of Israel is dependent on rainfall so that their crops are watered:
  
  “But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” (Deut 11:11-12).
  
  Knowing this, we now see that the choice of who to worship (Baal or Yahweh) is also test of faith. Would Israel trust God to provide rain? Or, would Israel worship the storm god to make sure their crops are watered? The implications for us are huge- where do we ultimately place our hope? Throughout history, God requires faith from His people. His work and His Word are to be trusted. God expects the same for those who draw near to Christ to be saved.
  
  
  
• LOCATION
  
  In the Ancient Near East, Israel is in a strategic location. Israel is the “land between” (Jim Monson). Egypt is to the south, and the rest of the world powers are to the north. Those who want to go from one end to the other must pass through Israel. The surrounding nations want to control that land,while Israel fights to hold onto it. There are temptations for Israel to enter into alliances to secure the land. But, we know that God commands His people not to enter into alliances with the pagan nations:
  
  “When the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.” (Deut. 7:2-4)
  
  Those who draw near to Christ face the same temptations to love the world and the things of this world. The OT continually warns us of Israel's temptations to compromise and become entangled, and the disastrous consequences that happen when small compromises lead to great sin against the LORD. God's people are always tested to see if they will be covenant-keepers or covenant-breakers (Heb. 10:26-30). I often have to stop and examine my own life. What motivates me? What do I trust? Do we rely on our education, money, or experience? Who or what is my trust?
  
  
• HISTORY
  
  One thing we keep hearing at Westminster that “scripture is a product of history.” The writers of scripture spoke to a particular audience in a particular place. For instance, we would never pick up the “Gettysburg Address” given by Abraham Lincoln and completely ignore Civil War history. In fact, Civil War history(what happened before, during, and after the Gettysburg address) gives the context we need to understand what Lincoln spoke.
  
  God's work in history gives us the context to understand what God spoke. God's redemptive acts (e.g. the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the history of the judges and kings etc....) is our context and setting. If we don't understand that historical context and setting, we won't understand what God is doing.
  
  The nice thing about studying this history is that God has already given us the cliff-notes version! The Bible is not a comprehensive textbook on human history. It is selective (though sufficient, reliable, and true). The Bible's selectivity becomes its strength. God has already edited things so that we have the most important events recorded for us.
  
  Obviously, much more can be said about history, but this is already getting quite long. Here's an example that might be helpful.
  
  For instance, knowing that the Egyptians worshiped the sun and the Nile river as gods helps you understand the nature of the 10 plagues. The plagues against Egypt included blocking out the sun and turning the Nile river to blood. God's power was directed against the false gods of Egypt. God tells Pharaoh and Egypt the purpose of the plagues: “That you may know that there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).
  

RESOURCES

If you made it this far, I feel honored for your time! Don't feel overwhelmed. The study of scripture takes a lifetime, and even then, we will never exhaust the depths of our God. The faithful pursuit of God little-by-little over a long time is well worth it.

If you want to learn more, there are great resources out there! The best starting point to learn all of this is a good study Bible. There are tons that are available: NIV, Reformation, and MacArthur study Bibles. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the ESV study Bible. Like many others, this study Bible has an introduction to every book and gives background information on the author, setting, and history. It also gives a big picture on how a particular book relates with the rest of the Bible (e.g. what role does Deuteronomy play in the OT law and how does it relate to the NT?). Since it's not written for scholars, its quite readable, and yet has enough depth for those who are serve in teaching and preaching.

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 2: Why study the OT?

In this series of posts, I'm sharing some of what I learned from the Old Testament Intro. class at Westminster. The previous post introduced some important questions the course tried to answer. Many of them were very fascinating (e.g. Where did the OT come from, and how trustworthy is it?)

Before you get some high hopes that the course completely answered every question that anyone might ask about the OT, I need to clarify some expectations. One of the main takeaways from the course is summed up in this quote by John Frame:

“The strength of our positions is that we can say, 'We don't know', but we know the One who does" (John Frame).

God is the author of scripture, and He has graciously chosen to reveal Himself to a sinful and fallen people. Like Job, we may want all of our questions answered before we feel satisfied. Job earnestly sought an audience with God so he could plead his case and find out why he had to endure such terrible suffering. But God doesn't give him answers. God simply raises more questions such as: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). And, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” (Job 40:2). Basically, God was telling Job that He is God and Job is not.

And Job's response is one we can learn from: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

Today, I'll try to discuss why a Christian should study the Old Testament.

WHY STUDY THE OT?

The Old Testament (OT) is essential in light of the New Testament (NT) because it helps us more fully understand the work of Christ. It is the frame of reference without which we cannot understand the work of Christ.

Christ said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). If we want to understand why Christ came and how He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, we will need some understanding of the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

Christ said this to the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).

When Jesus was ministering, there was no NT yet. So, when He argues with the Pharisees on how to interpret scripture, both parties are referring to only the OT. Jesus is clear: the Scriptures (or just the OT) is about Him!

Augustin said that the NT is in the OT concealed. How? Our professor Chris Fantuzzo said, “The OT is good news of Christ who will come, but NT is the good news of Christ who has come.”

Thus, both the OT and NT serve as witnesses to Christ and His resurrection. God's word centers on the person and work of Christ. If we are ignorant of the OT (which makes up 70% of the Bible), this means we are ignorant of 70% of what God has to say about our redemption!

What does this look like? The OT is filled with images and symbols that point us to Christ.

For example, we see the image of shepherd all over the place. Jacob and David were both shepherds. God refers to the leaders of Israel as shepherds in Ezekiel 34. Unfortunately, they were corrupt and self-serving. Psalm 23 gives us the image of the LORD as our shepherd. All these images are introduced to shine a spotlight on Jesus Christ, who is the good shepherd and the one who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10).

We could say the same about the image of the sacrificial lamb, which is the centerpiece of the Passover in Exodus 12.

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (Exodus 12:12-13)

Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). If His blood covers you, then on the final Day of Judgment, God's judgment and anger against us because of our sin will be passed over (Revelation 20:11-15). No destruction will touch us, even though the rest of sinful humanity is cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.

There are countless symbols and images (e.g. the tabernacle, temple, covenants, sacrifices, prophets, priests, kings, etc...). All were introduced in the OT, but come to fulfillment in the NT.

How is this possible?

There is one God which means there is one God of redemptive history. Though He used different people and ways to reveal Himself, in these last days, He speaks through Christ. The God who spoke in the OT is the same God who spoke in the NT: Both the OT and NT serve as a single, unified witness to Christ.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1)

We live in the last days- a very unique time in human history. Many looked forward to the coming Messiah, but we live at a time when the Messiah has already come.

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-18).

With this privileged position comes the responsibility of knowing the whole counsel of God- all the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation.

Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 1

In the next couple of posts I'll be sharing some highlights from the “Old Testament Intro” class I took during at Westminster Theological Seminary. The class was very broad. The advantage is that we were exposed to lots of interesting topics. This included asking questions like these:

OT vs. NT: Why study the Old Testament? Isn't the New Testament more important than the Old?

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY: The Old Testament didn't drop out of the sky from heaven in its current form. How did all its various parts (Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms) come together? Christians are students of scripture, not history or archeology. Why study the history and geography of the Old Testament?

MANUSCRIPT RELIABILITY: No one has any of the original manuscripts written by Moses, David, or any other author. Manuscripts we have today contain known transmission errors. How reliable are the manuscripts that we have? Is our Bible trustworthy?

CANON: The Old Testament canon (list of books) is different for Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic canon has several extra books. Who has the right one? Who decides whether a book of the Bible should be included or excluded in the canon? Does it really matter?

MYTH AND MODERN SCHOLARS: What do scholars today have to say about the Old Testament? Are the Old Testament stories (which include a talking snake and a talking donkey and the parting of the Red Sea) just a bunch of myths? Does the latest research in history and archeology confirm or deny the truthfulness of the Old Testament?

This is quite a list! And this is just a sampling of the topics. Because the course was so broad, it was hard to go in-depth into any one of these areas. This led to some challenges (including professors feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to teach this!)

To some, these topics might seem dry and boring. Some might argue that we should have a childlike faith and accept God's word as truthful without worrying too much about it. Besides, the Holy Spirit has to reveal God and His truth to a person before he will accept it. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). I agree. Jesus did say, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Lk. 18:17). We must approach God and His Word with humility, for that is what God requires. He has exalted above all things His name and His word (Ps. 138:2).

But, on the other hand, God calls us to be ready at all times to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet 3:15). Family members, co-workers, and others will ask us why we believe in God and in His Word. Are we ready to provide a reason for why we put our life into the hands of the God of the Bible (and not Allah, Buddha, or some other person)? Eternity is a long time to make a mistake here! Does our God reveal Himself in scripture? If so, can this scripture be trusted?

I can't promise that I'll fully answer all the questions posed above, but I'll try to take a serious look at some of the more interesting ones in upcoming posts.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Sin and Grace

This is part II in my struggle with insomnia during the Fall semester of 2010. Our second major paper was to examine the role of our own sin and God's grace in our lives. Not all of us did the same topic as our suffering and refuge paper, but it happened to work out that way for me. Through His perfect timing, God used our Dynamics of Biblical Change class to show me that the original cause of my insomnia was my fear of man and pride. Below are some glimpses of my life during that time.

About the first week of November my insomnia began to happen during nights that I didn’t have a Greek test the next day. I became increasingly nervous about bedtime, and was very anxious about whether I would even fall asleep each night. At first, I was the one who tried to cure myself of my own insomnia. I tried to make my body tired so that my chances of sleeping would increase, but the insomnia continued. I even bought some sleeping pills but they wore off and were no match for my insomnia. :P

God had patience with me and was the one who ultimately delivered me by opening my eyes to my own sin and bringing me to repentance over it.

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Thursday night Dynamics class (11/4/10)

I had cried out to God for deliverance from the symptoms of anxiety and sleeplessness, but it wasn't until Dynamics class that week that God began to deliver me. Through that class, God showed me that I cried out not for His sake, but to bring comfort to myself. I wanted the pain to go away, but I didn't desire heart change. I wanted relief from my symptoms, but didn’t understand my heart.

The Lusts of the Flesh

When Dr. Powlison was describing the desires of the heart, he described the lusts of the flesh in Romans 13:

• Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The lusts of the flesh, he explained, are more than just sexual sins and coveting. They overflow to good things in life as well. It wasn't bad that I wanted to do well or that I wanted sleep, but I wanted to do well too much. I was fighting for sleep because my desire had become my master. My performance became a monster that was infecting more and more parts of my life. I found myself constantly stressed and my insomnia was becoming more frequent. The worse it got, the more I tried to gain control, which made my anxiety even worse.

The Real Cause

Through that Dynamics lecture, the Holy Spirit showed me and convicted me that I was worshipping myself. It finally clicked that that I had lost the proper perspective of who God was. God had become very small and helpless to me. He was only a helper to me when I was in trouble, and he could only bring relief to my symptoms. I realized that I had stopped worshipping Him and that I had started worshipping my own abilities and talents. My pride had mastered me.

“Any fear or anxiety is ultimately a worship of ourselves”- This phrase really spoke a lot of me. It had never crossed my mind that I could become a slave to serving myself and my own self esteem. In trying to do so, I had become a wreck, and nothing was good enough. I had forgotten that all of this was for God’s glory, and to deepen my relationship with Him. Instead, God had become long forgotten and I had worshipped my feelings and my grades. Of course, I didn’t want to serve and worship myself. No one says to himself, “I have decided to worship myself today”. Sin creeps its way into our hearts unnoticed. I was completely blind to the fact that I was even doing so in the first place.

Real Deliverance

My response was sorrow and repentance over my idolatry. At the same time, God brought a sense of relief and joy because my eyes were finally opened to my sin. When God convicted me of my sin, it became an “a-ha!” moment, and was truly liberating. I experienced the joys that came with repentance; the process is not only a turning away from your sins, but a freeing from sin that comes when you begin to see your own actions through God’s eyes.

That class period was a turning point for me in my deliverance from insomnia. I wanted to cry for almost the whole three hours of class that night, but they weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of joy, finally knowing what my problem was, and gladness that God had helped me to see who I was worshipping. I was so grateful that God had provided this deliverance from bondage to my sin by opening my eyes, speaking to me by the Holy Spirit, and giving me a true repentant heart once I saw clearly. God brought me through that time, carried me and gave me strength during my suffering, and finally delivered me in His perfect timing through His power. He changed my perspective and where I put my trust. I could now truly relinquish control. I believed in this solution. When God provides deliverance it is really deliverance. It is not just a solution that I think I can will myself to believe, but genuine liberating heart change.

That night, I slept soundly. God had turned the switch from “blind” to “see” and my heart was truly changed.

Put to the test (11/7/10)

Three days after that, on Sunday morning, we were driving to church and the idea crept into my mind that we had a Greek test the next day (Monday). We had been studying for it all weekend, and I had had peace about it. Suddenly, though, it was again the day before the big test and the same situation was looking me in the face. I slowly felt my body tensing up. “Oh no! Is this happening again?” I thought. “What about all that I’ve learned?” I was strangely quiet in the car, and Alex asked me if I was sleepy. What I didn’t tell him at the time was that I was nervous about not being able to sleep. I knew the right answer, but in that moment, I didn’t know it as clearly anymore. I resolved that the only thing I could do was ask God to help me, and I prayed some in the car quietly to myself before we arrived at church.

Tears of Joy

We arrived at church 10 minutes late, and the worship band was starting a new song. As soon as I heard the song, I knew that it was for me. I wanted so much to worship God with all my heart but lacked the strength to do so. God gave me this song so that I would have words to worship Him in the midst of my struggle. The words of the song expressed perfectly the cry of my heart and I started crying, both physically and in my heart crying out to God to save me once again."Yes, Lord! This is exactly what I want to be saying to you right now!"

I will glory in my Redeemer

Whose priceless blood has ransomed me

Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails

And hung Him on that judgment tree

I will glory in my Redeemer

Who crushed the power of sin and death

My only Savior before the Holy Judge

The Lamb Who is my righteousness

The Lamb Who is my righteousness

I will glory in my Redeemer

My life He bought, my love He owns

I have no longings for another

I’m satisfied in Him alone

I will glory in my Redeemer

His faithfulness my standing place

Though foes are mighty and rush upon me

My feet are firm, held by His grace

My feet are firm, held by His grace

Nothing in my own knowledge would save me, not even my remembrance of all of the lessons that He had taught me. Only God could deliver me from this. He knew that I needed to sing this song, and He brought us to church at just the right time so that I would worship Him with it. As soon as I began to worship Christ and sing the Gospel through this song, there was such joy because my soul was fed with the truth of who God was as my Savior. He turned my sights from looking at myself and my circumstances to looking at Him.

God reminded me that I am held firm by His grace, and though trials may seem to possess such power, He is mighty to save. He delivered me (from myself!) once again, not of my own knowledge or strength, but through His provision and grace. I received comfort from God that was real and lasting. I didn’t have to tell myself not to stress. God gave me peace which transcended all understanding.

Epilogue

I know that these trials will continue to come because there is still sin in my life that I have not dealt with. My life is certainly not anxiety-free, and I do still get nervous about tests and grades. However, my reaction to trials has been changed by this whole experience. I’ve learned that God goes through my trials with me. He is my ever-present help in times of need. He is mighty to save His children and will deliver me. He has a purpose to suffering, and He, as the creator of the universe, is the one true being in all the earth that is worthy of worship. He has patience with me in my sin and is my deliverer.

Even though this suffering is tough while it is happening, God always ordains it for a purpose. He will continue to be faithful, though I will still struggle to trust Him, but He will deliver me in His time. Paul says, in Philippians, that “He who began a good work will bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. Our salvation and God’s work in our lives is His work, and He will finish it. Praise God that I got about six hours of sleep that Sunday after church.

However, although there are times where I do still get anxious, I know that progress will continue to be little steps of faith of crying out to Him and learning to trust Him. I am very much looking forward to that day where all these sufferings will end and there will be a day where we sin no more. All things will be made right. Praise be to God that that will indeed happen one day and in Christ there is true hope and deliverance!

Is there Value in Learing Biblical Hebrew? (part 2)

In the last post, I posed the question, "Is there value in learning the original languages of the Bible?" Sure, there are Bible translators and scholars who might need them. But how about us and the rest of the church?

Our Hebrew teacher at Westminster (Libbie Groves) made a very compelling case, and I want to flesh this out a bit more here.

1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT

God and His plan of salvation are very clearly explained in Scripture. No one needs to consult the Greek or Hebrew text to know that God requires all men to repent and place their trust in Christ because He has fixed a day of judgment for all. Yet, there are many places in scripture where there is some ambiguity. Words and phrases could have more than one meaning. In those situations, Bible translators have to make a decision on how to translate something with the knowledge that there are multiple options. When we were translating the verse Judges 3:23, we ran into such a case.

The ESV translates it this way: "Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them." (Judges 3:23)

Ehud was a judge of Israel who killed Eglon, the king of Moab, and freed Israel from foreign oppression. Judges 3 has a fascinating story of how Ehud gets into the evil king's private chambers with a concealed weapon, kills him, and then escapes by going out the porch. When we looked up the Hebrew word that is translated as "porch" in the ESV, we found this entry: "uncertain: vestibule, latrine, air-hole".

According to Hebrew scholars, the word has an uncertain meaning. It could mean "vestibule" (or "hall"), "latrine", or "air-hole". So, Ehud could have escaped out the porch, hall, or even sewage pipe. Maybe Ehud pulled a "Shawshank Redemption" type of escape (Andy Dufresne crawled his way to freedom through sewer pipe filled with human waste).

At any rate, we don't know for sure. In these ambiguous cases, we ought to tread lightly. For instance, it would be unwise (or even a mistake) for a preacher to base the main point of a sermon on something that's ambiguous. Someone who knows the original language would be able to avoid this kind of mistake and detect those who make it. The Bible warns us that there are plenty of false prophets and teachers out there. When there is uncertainty in the original text, a translation becomes an interpretation. And these interpretations should be treated with care. A pastor is more equipped to shepherd his flock and protect them if he has the tools to see where someone is drawing conclusions from passages that are ambiguous.


2. LOST IN TRANSLATION

We've all heard of the phrase "lost in translation". The Bible isn't immune from this. The authors of scripture often use grammar to highlight something. Using Hebrew grammar to make a point about something may not work in English because English has a different grammatical structure. WARNING - this point may seem quite dry, so feel free to skip ahead!

For example, Judges 1:21 says: "But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites...." . In this verse fragment, the noun is "the people of Benjamin", the verb is "did not drive out", and the direct object is the "Jebusites".

Typical English order: Noun -> Verb -> Direct Object. Hebrew sentences typically start with the verb instead of the noun.
Typical Hebrew order: Verb -> Noun -> Direct Object.

Typically, we expect: [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin] -> [Jebusties].
Instead, the text has: [Jebusites] -> [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin].

The direct object (Jebusites) is placed first. This is not expected. It seems like the author is drawing to our attention the presence of the Jebusties, which should have been driven out of the land of Canaan. If you have read the book of Judges, you will know that the nation of Israel failed to obey God in driving out the inhabitants of Canaan and failed to worship God whole-heartedly. The presence of "Jebusties" at the beginning of the sentence is lost in translation. Not the end of the world, yet something the author wanted to say is lost.

Judges 3:6 was another example we looked at. The typical word ordering is changed when a verb and direct object are swapped. As a result, the reader cannot tell which nouns go with which verbs. This intermingling of words reflects the intermingling between the Israelites and Cannanites. Rather than being separate as God's people, Israel mixes with her pagan culture:
"And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods." This unexpected word order even crashed some Bible software when it was trying to process Judges for the first time!

Examples like these show how the Hebrew grammar may tell be telling us something that is lost in translation. Without knowing the original language, these important (yet subtle) points may be lost.

3. THE SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD

Some may argue, "So what? We might lose a few things here and there, but our translations give us all the important stuff." Yet, scripture itself always challenges us to take a higher (and never a lower) view of itself:

"For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Matthew 24:35).

God cares about all the little details in Scripture and they are there for a reason. Even the most seemingly insignificant dots in the Hebrew text are important to God and not to be treated lightly. Scripture was written by God through human authors in such a way that its ultimate source is God Himself and it is therefore completely trustworthy and authoritative.

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17).

All of scripture is divine, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must give careful and thoughtful attention to its details.

I'm certainly no Hebrew scholar, yet I am beginning to see (in new ways) that preaching and teaching God's word carries great responsibilities. Those who are given a call to do these things should strive to be properly equipped.