Article 4: The Holy Scriptures

Text relating to the sermon/discussion at The River this Sunday: 1 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

Okay... I must warn you, the following words are from a pastor first and a theologian second. Yes, I have been to school and trained to think theologically... but frankly, the topic of the inspiration of Scripture is a HIGHLY and HOTLY debated issue that goes far beyond my pea-brain. I readily admit my limitations in the marketplace of theological debate and struggle. Nevertheless, it is an important doctrine for all Christians to consider... and when it comes down to it, it's more than an intellectual pursuit, right? So as a pastor, my concern lies more in practical application for the common disciple of Jesus than philosophical superiority (i.e., bragging rights) within the halls of academia. Anyway, please read the following musings with generosity and a dash of grace... realizing they are borne out of a life of deep intellectual inquiry in the midst of an even deeper pool of ignorance... all of it leading to an ever-deepening faith in, and love for (1) Abba Father, (2) Jesus the Christ, and (3) the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.  :-)

First of all, I realize that a person's understanding of the Bible is deeply rooted in their understanding of God's nature. Therefore, some people believe that because God is all-powerful and all-knowing - and because humans are utterly and completely depraved (due to the curse of sin) - God's holy words of life, as presented to us in the Bible absolutely MUST be free of all error and defect. There is no other option. The Bible is Absolute Truth... it is perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect. Any reduction of that high view of God - and therefore - Scripture, is a lie from straight out of hell, pure and simple.

Hmmmmm... call me a heretic if you must, but my understanding of both God and His Word differ from the above description in subtle yet significant ways. The God I read about and encounter in the whole context of the Bible is a remarkably relational Being, defined much more by holy love (which, in my view is wondrously and beautifully messy)  than legal justice (which tends toward rationalism and rigidity). Both are true of God's nature, of course... but the question is which side of God do we "see" (or most clearly identify with) in our interpretive process? I for one believe God is love, and love requires justice... rather than vice-versa. So what does that mean in terms of the Holy Scriptures? Well...

Is God all-powerful and all-knowing? Absolutely! Could He give us a holy document that is technically perfect in every way if He chose to do it? Sure! Does He have a code of justice that will ultimately be upheld at the end of time? Yes! Will He strongly yet fairly deal with those bent on destruction at the Judgment of mankind? For certain! Did he choose to reveal Himself, His ways, His character and His will to humanity through the Bible? Amen... yes and yes!

But how did He decide to go about the process of communicating with His creation? Through an absolutely perfect instrument of Truth that transcends humanity? Or through a mysterious, often troubling collection of stories and proposals infused with (and permeated by) the weakness of humanity? Is the Bible technically perfect, and therefore God-breathed and holy...? Or could the God of the universe somehow reveal Truth by inspiring people who loved and obeyed Him to write down their Spirit-led experiences and revelations... then lovingly breathing the breath of Life into it, mysteriously forming it into a unique and utterly holy instrument of His grace for all future generations?

Let's face it... even though He didn't have to... even though we are a stubborn and rebellious creature... even though He owes us humans absolutely nothing... God made a beautiful and grace-filled way of revealing Himself to humanity that has the power and motivation to (when we embrace the Truth of His promises) lead us to salvation and entire sanctification. And for several thousand years now - in spite of our efforts to the contrary - this remarkable, troubling, sometimes-confusing, occasionally-offensive, incredibly-beautiful, utterly-powerful, and fully-inspired instrument of God we know as the Bible has been relentlessly shaping human beings into the image of Jesus Christ... and leading those who will listen out of the dark and ugly wilderness of sin.

God is love. Anyone and everyone who cares to stop and consider that Absolute Truth... anyone who cares to peruse the pages of Scripture and listen to what God's Word has to say about their own life, their own heart, their own story... will soon learn that He can't be controlled or contained. However, God can be trusted... and followed. All it takes is a measure of willingness on our part... responding to the resurrected life He calls us to live by His Holy Spirit!

In the words of Jesus in John 14, "I have much more to say to you..." But alas, I'll save some of my thoughts for Sunday's sermon.  :-)   

Hope to see some of you there!  God's shalom.

The Not-So-Simple Spirit

Text for this week's sermon/discussion at The River:  John 16:5-15 (NLT)

But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

...When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

Wow, this week has been tough in so many ways. Not the least of which, I looked at the Church of the Nazarene's third Article of Faith - the Holy Spirit - and wondered how in the world I'm going to tackle this hugely difficult subject in a single sermon. I feel a bit like a snake trying to swallow a rabbit... only in this case, it's more like a garter snake trying to swallow a buffalo!

Hmmmmm... what can I say about the Holy Spirit??? Certainly not enough to do it justice... but hey, I'll try to at least bring up a few important points in this post.

First of all, I think it's imperative that we realize that the Spirit of God is a Who, not a what. That may be kind of a duh thing for a pastor to say, but I've come to believe that most Christians don't really worship a trinitarian Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit)... but rather, more often-than-not a binitarian one (Father and Son). In that line if thinking, the Spirit isn't really a divine Person that dynamically and graciously moves, thinks, breathes, reveals, and convicts so much as "it" is the "good stuff" or "essense" of God the Father... something like how a pleasant-smelling perfume emanates from an attractive woman. 

Frankly, I can see how people come to that conclusion... at least in one sense. After all, the Bible doesn't exactly make it crystal clear that the Holy Spirit is very Who-like, right? (Note: I mean that as in a personal being... not the Dr. Seuss variety!) For goodness sake, it took the Church 400 years to even come to the conclusion that the Spirit of God is God! Nevertheless, conclude it they did... and for many, many centuries now, Christians have been confessing that the Holy Spirit is (a) real, (b) alive, and (c) worthy of our adoration and worship. But how do we recognize and give praise to the invisible (and seemingly very shy) member of the Trinity? How do we deal with the One who is described to us throughout Scripture in unusual ways such as a dove, wind, breath, and fire?

Simple... by humbling ourselves (which is in itself a gift of the Spirit)... allowing Him to guide us into all truth. That is, by turning away from ourselves, and turning our heart to God (i.e., repenting)... we thus allow the Spirit of Revelation to give us the heavenly ability to confess that the Father is Abba, and the Son is Kurios (Lord). When this divine-human transaction takes place, we suddenly realize that this One True (community of) God is completely worthy of our praise. Honestly, that's all there is to it. :-)

The pervasive curse of sin makes us want to believe that I am (we are) the most important entity in the universe... therefore godlike. However, when we finally (if ever) become tired of and/or broken by that lie... then the ever-beckoning Spirit is there to convict us of sin, and guide us into all truth - that is, the Truth of God's redeeming love. In other words, when we stop running around in circles looking for love in all the wrong places, He is there to breathe eternal life into our formerly dead hearts. At that point of spiritual rebirth, we can then "see" that the Father is in the Son... the Son is in the Father... and (mysteriously) the fullness of their love is graciously imparted to us by... (you guessed it)... His Spirit.

Ya... simple!  :-)