Reading the Bible...

I have been truly blessed lately to be around people who have a deep hunger
for God's Word. I love being around people like that. It makes my job as a
Pastor\Teacher so much easier and so much fun. So I want to talk about the
Bible a little here. I want to clarify a few things and maybe help you
understand what you are reading a little better. There are six points I want
to make:

1. The Bible is true. You can always trust the Bible! It never contradicts
itself. So if you think you have found a contradiction go back and reread
the passages. Read them in their context. Dig deep and search your heart and
mind and see what is causing you to read those particular verses
incorrectly. The Bible is always true! Jesus says in John 17:17, "Sanctify
them in the truth; your word is truth."

2. We must read the Bible in the context of the Bible. If we truly want to
know what the Bible teaches we must read it in context. That means we don't
create a doctrine based only on one verse we read in the Bible. If you want
to know what a certain verse really means read the whole chapter; read the
whole book. This is why expository preaching is so important. Just because
some of the sermons in the Bible were not expository doesn't mean we should
not preach the Word that way (i.e. Acts 2). We must remember when Peter was
preaching at Pentecost he was preaching totally inspired by the Holy Spirit.
He was actually preaching the revelation of God's Word. Therefore we must
preach this revelation in its context. We must always want to know what the
Scripture is teaching! You can only get that in the context of Scripture
itself.

3. Read the Bible through the lens of the Bible. Let me explain: So many
times we read the Bible through the lens of our culture, our time, or our life
experiences. So we begin to try to translate the Bible and find meaning in
the Bible based solely off of what is happening in the world around us. This
is called eisegesis. Eisegesis is what's being done when someone interprets
the Bible according to notions that were born outside of the Bible. It's
when we read stuff into Scripture. This happens when we come to the Bible
with thoughts already in our minds, based on life, culture, and time, of what
the Bible is going to say. We do this so easily because of our sinful
nature. We must read the Bible through the lens of the Bible. This is called
exegesis. Exegesis is interpreting a text by way of thorough analysis of its
content. In its most basic biblically relevant meaning, exegesis means finding
out what the Spirit originally was saying in the Bible passage through its
author. Exegesis is what comes out of the Bible, as opposed to what is read
into it. We must pray before and as we read Scripture. We must pray for a
clear mind and focus totally on what the Bible is saying.

4. Ask questions when you read the Bible. First ask, who wrote this book of
the Bible? Who was the author writing to? Who is the audience? What is the
author trying to teach? What is going on at that time? Always ask who,
what, when, where and why questions when reading the Bible.

5. All of the Bible is about Jesus! Jesus makes this very clear: John 5:39 -
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal
life; and it is they that bear witness about me." Also in Luke 24:27 - "And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning himself." The Bible is about Jesus! He is
the Word (John 1)! Don't get sidetracked on the things going on outside of
what Jesus is doing. We so easily get sidetracked on things that have no
influence on our lives. We start trying to figure out how all of this fits into
our culture and our political world today and that does nothing for us. Read
the Bible and see what Jesus is saying, doing, and teaching! He is the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Nothing can thwart His plans!

6. Then apply what you read. This is called hermeneutics. For Bible study,
hermeneutics is the way you discover meaning in the Bible for your
life and your era, faithfully taking the original intent into today's world.
When you read the Bible, you use ways to figure out what it means and how to
live it. We must be very careful with this, because we can naturally try to
apply the Scriptures before we actually know what they mean. This again goes
back to eisegesis. We will apply what we think the Bible says before we
actually study the Bible. Go to the Word with a blank slate, study it and
then ask yourself, "How does this apply to my life? How can I grow from this?
What is Jesus teaching me here through His Word?" These are questions we must
ask after we have studied the scriptures.

Keep up the good work! I love to watch people study the Word and grow each
and every day! What a blessing the Lord has given us!


PK

J.I. Packer and The Two Tones of Faith...

A blog that I check out everyday is Justin Taylor's. It always has great information. I encourage you to check it out as well.
One of his blog posts for today quotes a very well known theologian by the name of J.I. Packer. I have read a lot of his work. His stuff is always deep and full of biblical knowledge. Here is a quote from his book on the two tones of faith.

J.I. Packer:
Christian faith is shaped, and its nature determined, entirely by its object, just as the impression of a seal is shaped entirely by the die-stamp that is pressed down on the hot wax.
The object of the Christian faith, Packer writes, is threefold:
first, God the Three-in-One, the Creator-become-Redeemer, who throughout history has been, and still is, transforming sinners into a new humanity in Christ;
second, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate and Saviour, now absent from us in the flesh but personally and powerfully present with us through the Holy Spirit; and
third, the many invitations, promises, commands and assurances that the Father and the Son extend to all who will receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and become his disciples, living henceforth by his teaching in his fellowship under his authority.
Biblically, then, faith is a matter of
knowing the facts of the gospel (the person, place and work of Jesus Christ),
welcoming the terms of the gospel (salvation from sin and a new life with God) and
receiving the Christ of the gospel (setting oneself to live as his follower, by self-denial, cross-bearing, and sacrificial service).
Packer calls New Testament faith a “two-tone” reality:
Believing the biblically revealed facts and truths about God, and trusting the living Lord to whom these facts and truths lead us, are the two “tones,” the intellectual and relational aspects, of real faith, blending like a chord in music.
This is the understanding of faith that need to be re-established.
—J.I. Packer, Taking Faith Seriously (Anglican Essentials Canada, 2006), p. 5.

Answering Life's Daily Questions...

How do we come up with the answers to life's daily questions?

John 11:45-53

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he

did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told

them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered

the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the

Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of

them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know

nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one

man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51

He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he

prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation

only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered

abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

Here we pick up the story right after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the

dead. There is no disputing this fact. Even when we see the chief priests

and Pharisees gathering together to plot to kill Jesus they never dispute

this. They never say this is made up or a lie. They actually say the

opposite. They say in verse 47, "What are we to do? For this man performs

many signs." They know that the miracles Jesus is doing are real, even His

raising Lazarus from the dead!

But now we come to the question they ask one another. “What are we to do?

For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone

will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place

and our nation.” This question is a basic one. It is pretty clear, "What are

we to do?" So in order for them to answer the question they begin to list

the consequences of the situation they are in and then they look at answers

based solely on how the answer will affect their current or future

situation.

The chief priests and Pharisees come to the conclusion that if they continue

to allow Jesus to go on with these miracles that many will believe in Him

and the Romans will come and take their place (that is, their place of

importance as priests and Pharisees) and the Romans would take their nation.

A bit of history here: the Romans had control of Israel at this time.

Pontius Pilate was put in charge of Israel by the Romans and he was in

complete control. As the Romans took control of Israel they allowed Israel

to keep many of their same customs and religious activities, so the scribes and

Pharisees still had power as religious leaders.

So we see here that the chief priests and Pharisees looked at the

consequences of Jesus' actions, how this would affect them, and then made a

decision to kill Jesus. They did not want to give up the power they still

had as religious leaders and they did not want the Romans to come and take

away the little amount of freedom they still had as a nation. They based

their decision solely off of future consequences, not truth. The priests and

Pharisees never thought that maybe Jesus is the Messiah! They never looked

at the facts at how Jesus was fulfilling prophecy after prophecy showing

that He truly was the Messiah. All they considered was consequences, not

actual truth!

How often do we make daily decisions based only on how this decision will

affect our life? How often do we set boundaries and rules yet break them

because of the situation we find ourselves in? This is what the chief

priests and Pharisees did. They didn't search for truth! They did not think

through the situation logically but only pragmatically. As Christians today

we do this more often than we think. I have heard many Christians try to explain

away their sin by saying, "You don't understand what I am going through!" or

"You don't know how bad my life is right now!". All of that may be true, but

that doesn't change truth! Truth is truth! Right is right and wrong is

wrong! Our circumstances do not change that fact, ever!

Look at Matthew 21:23-27. Here we see the Jewish leaders asking Jesus where His authority comes from to be able to clear the Temple and speak as He does. Notice the quick turn in the story. Jesus asks them a question in verse 24: "Jesus answered them, 'I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.  The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?'"

Now this question should have been fairly easy for them to answer. Instead

of giving an honest answer they got together and tried to figure out what

would be the best answer at that time, in that situation.  (Verse 25-26) And

they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he

will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, 'From

man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a

prophet."

We see here that the truth did not matter to the chief priests and elders.

The only thing that mattered to them was how people would respond to their

answer. That was more important than truth itself. The problem with this is

that it is not truth at all but a lie! Commandment number 9 says "You shall

not bear false witness against your neighbor." You shall not lie! No matter

what the consequences are. You can't change truth based on your situation.

Truth is truth! Jesus says He is the way, the TRUTH and the life. No one

comes to the Father except through me. He is the truth; therefore, truth is

important.

So let me ask you this question in closing, do you always tell the truth, no

matter what situation you are in? Is truth important to you? It is to Jesus!

Deacons...

It was a great privilege and an honor to be allowed to preach last Sunday on

the offices of Elder and Deacon. I had a few  people come to me with

questions regarding the office of deacon so I would like to try and clear up

a few of these questions.

We must first remember that the word "deacon" actually means "servant". A

deacon is not a leader in the church. A deacon is a servant who works hand

in hand with the elders of the church to help serve the church body and the

local community.

As we read through the requirements of a deacon in 1 Timothy 3 we come

across verse 11.“Their wives [or wives, or women] likewise must be

dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.”  In

the ESV footnotes we see [or wives or women]. The greek word here is gyne.

The definition of this word is: 1) a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or

married, or a widow. 2) a wife, or a betrothed woman. The NASB translates

this word as "women". I believe this is the accurate translation. If this

word is translated as "their wives" then Paul is saying that the

requirements for a deacon is higher than that of an Elder who holds the

highest position of authority in the church. Paul does not give any

requirements for an elder's wife so I just can't see him giving a

requirement for a deacon's wife. Therefore I believe the correct translation

here for this word is "women".

When you read this chapter in its context it flows naturally as specific

requirements for male and female deacons. 1 Timothy 3:8-10 are for both male

and female deacons - indicated by the word “likewise”. As you read through

chapter 3 you see this word separate the requirements for elders, deacons

and female deacons.

1 Timothy 3:1-13

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he

desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the

husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,

able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,

not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all

dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how

to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must

not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall

into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of

by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the

devil. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted

to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of

the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first;

then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their

wives[ or wives, or women] likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but

sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of

one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For

those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also

great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

We see here in verses 8 through 10 we see the requirements for both men and

women deacons;

1.  Dignified

2.  Not double tongued

3.  Not addicted to much wine

4.  Not greedy for dishonest gain

5.  Hold the mystery of faith with a clear conscience

6.  Tested

Next we see the additional requirements for female deacons;

1.  Dignified

2.  Not slanderers

3.  Sober-minded

4.  Faithful in all things

If you study these specific requirements you will see that these are natural

issues a lot of women struggle with, "not slanderers" meaning not gossiping,

slandering or lying. "Sober-minded" meaning not making decisions based on

emotions but making sound biblical decisions.

Next we see the additional requirements for male deacons;

1.  Husband of one wife

2.  Manages his household well

We see that these specific requirements are issues a lot of men struggle

with,

"Husband of one wife" meaning a one woman man, sexually pure. "Manages his

house well" meaning being a godly husband and father by leading his family,

not sitting back and making the wife lead.

Remember deacons are servants, not leaders (although they lead by their

example of serving well). If you study the greek word "diakonos”  in all of

scripture you will find it translated a few different ways, usually as

"servant", sometimes as "minister", and sometimes it is just translated as

"deacon".

We see women deacons serving throughout scripture;

Romans 16:1, I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant [diakonon] of the

church at Cenchreae.

Matthew 8:15, He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and

began to serve [dihkonei] him.

Matthew 27:55, There were also many women there, looking on from a distance,

who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering [diakonousai] to him,

Mark 15:40-41, There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom

were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses,

and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered

[dihkonoun]  to him, and there were also many other women who came up with

him to Jerusalem.

John 12:2, So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served [dihkonei],

and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table.

I believe the trouble we run into sometimes is when we go look to the greek

and see a word that is not exactly the word [diakonos]. We must remember

that, just like our language has many different words from a root word, so

does the greek. This word [diakonos] has many forms, a verb form, a

masculine form, a feminine form and a gender neutral form, plus others. We

must always go back to the root word. I know this is a little deep but I

want to make sure we understand that a deacon is a servant.

If you have any other questions please let me know. You can email me at

kwilson@brbctexas.com or just give me a call, 214-514-1383.

PK