The Benfits of the Bible (Part 1)
Introduction:
The first recorded question in the Bible was asked by the subtle serpent of Genesis 3. His question: ‘Yea hath God said…?’ intended to sow the seed of doubt in the mind of Eve with regards to the Word of God. It is no wonder that many people today are questioning, criticising and doubting the integrity, legitimacy and sufficiency of the Scriptures. The prevalent and popular belief that God’s Word cannot be trusted and is not relevant for today all began when the Devil asked ‘Yea hath God said?’
The Devil is still seeking to undermine, undervalue and underrate the precious Words of God and for the most part he has been successful. Masses have fallen for his deception and have become casualties of damnation because they believed not the Holy Words of Scripture.
I have compiled a concise list of 9 benefits found in the Word of God for the reader to consider:
1. The Word of God is Pure
‘Purity’ is defined as that which is unsoiled, unmixed, unadulterated. Free from guilt and defilement, and positively pure.’ (Chambers Dictionary 1901)
Textual Proof:
Proverbs 30:5 – ‘pure’
Psalm 119:140 – ‘pure’
Psalm 12:6 – ‘pure’
Psalm 18:30 – ‘perfect, tried’
Psalm 19:7-8 – ‘right, pure, perfect’
Psalm 119:60 – ‘true’
John 17:17 – ‘truth’
Ephesians 1:13 – ‘truth’
2 Timothy 2:15 – ‘truth’
Questions to ponder:
Do I really believe that this book is absolute truth?
How will this belief change my life and perspective?
If the world seeks truth, and I have the truth, What am I doing with the truth?
2. The Word of God is Pertinent
‘Pertinent’ carries the concept of ‘relevance, to the point, adaptable.’
There are many men, women, denominations, committees and even well meaning people who do not believe in the relevance of Scripture.
Textual Proof:
1 Peter 1:22-23 – ‘liveth and abideth’
Hebrews 4:12 – ‘quick’ (alive)
Questions to ponder:
Do I really believe that God’s Word is relevant, alive and able to work in my life today?
If I really believe that God’s Word is pertinent, how does this change my ‘5 minute devotional studies?’
3. The Word of God is Powerful
‘Powerful’ – Having great power: mighty, intensity, forcible, energetic, having the right to rule, command and have authority.
Romans 1:16 – ‘power’ (study the Grk. Word dunamis for a more thorough and rewarding meaning)
Jeremiah 23:29 – ‘hammer’
Hebrews 4:12 – ‘powerful’
Psalm 119:28 – ‘strengthen’
Questions to ponder:
Do I really believe in the ‘dynamite’ power of God’s Word?
How does the realisation of this power affect my outreach endeavours (Hint: do I refer to the powerful Word of God when seeking to share Christ with an unbeliever)?
4. The Word of God is Profitable
‘Profitable’ – yielding or bringing profit or gain: productive.
Textual Proof:
2 Timothy 3:16 – ‘profitable for doctrine (teaching), reproof (conviction/evidence), correction (restoration to a right estate), and instruction in righteousness (education/tutorage in righteousness).’
Questions to ponder:
Do I really believe that there is great gain in the reading, meditating, memorising and devouring of the Word of God?
When the world (and often the church) seeks worldly profits and gain, do I forsake all to draw from the spiritual well, the Bible?
5. The Word of God is Prosperous
‘Prosperous’ – Beneficial, helpful, encouraging, to make one prosper in the thing which He endeavours.
There is only one mention of the word ‘success’ in the English Bible and it is achieved only through the meditating on the Word of God.
Textual Proof:
Joshua 1:8 – ‘make thy way prosperous…..good success.’
Psalm 1:1-3 – ‘blessed’ (happy, benefited)
Questions to ponder:
Do I believe that time in God’s Word is the real measure of success?
If so, how much time do I dedicate to reading, studying and meditating upon it?
Next week I will conclude this short summary of the Benefits of the Bible.
I trust that you will be encouraged to take inventory of your time spent in the Word and whether you truly believe in the manifold spiritual benefits of the Bible!
Because of Calvary
Five great theological themes of the gospel: Regeneration (part six)
If you’ve ever played paintball, you’re probably familiar with the idea of regeneration.1 After a player has “died,” he must make his way to the “dead zone.” After a set time has passed, he is regenerated and may re-enter the field of play.
Spiritual zombies
In order to understand why regeneration is necessary, you have to understand that man is born dead. This is what Jesus was talking about when he said to Nicodemus “you must be born again.”2 Why the need to be born a second time? Because the first time, we were born physically alive, but spiritually dead. This spiritual death is imputed to us because of our sin in Adam. “Many died through one man’s trespass”3 because “in Adam all die.”4
This means that every person is born dead. We are dead men walking. Spiritually, we are zombies. There is a living body, but spiritually, there is nothing there. We do not seek for God.5 We do not love God.6 We do not want the truth.7 This is the pathetic state in which fallen man finds himself.
But God…
Man’s hopeless state is poignantly described in Ephesians 2.
1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Children of wrath… That’s a damning assessment. Think about that for a moment and then look at the very next words: But God… God… made us alive together with Christ! In Adam we are all dead. In Christ, God has made us alive! We are brought to life! Regenerated!
Why did God do this? Because he is rich in mercy. Because of the great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive.
I once was blind
When I was spiritually dead, I could not see the spiritual realities of the gospel. I was blind. But now I can see!8 When I was spiritually dead, I was condemned to a life of self-righteous effort and defeat. Now, I have the life of Christ empowering me to obey! When I was spiritually dead, I had no hope and wanted no rescuer. Now, my eyes have been opened to see my desperate need of a rescuer, and I have found one!
No work of mine
Note that this was not my work. I was dead. I was blind to the truth. “But God…” It was not something I did that intervened to regenerate me. There was nothing I could do. This is how it is with dead men. “But God…” When hope was gone, God stepped in. He brought me to life. And that changed everything.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening9 ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee!10
Grace to you.
1 This is sometimes called “reincarnation” instead (a term that has no theological parallels to regeneration).
2 John 3:7.
3 Romans 5:15.
4 1 Corinthians 15:22.
5 Romans 3:11.
6 John 3:19.
7 John 3:20.
8 See 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 for a reference to the blindness of the unregenerate mind.
9 “Quicken” is an Early Modern English term for “bring to life.” When the King James Version uses the word “quicken,” it is generally referring to regeneration.
10 Taken from the text “And Can It Be That I Should Gain” by Charles Wesley, 1738.
Love a Good Sex Scandal?
The rise of sex scandals in modern life is amazing and sad. While nothing shocks me anymore, I continue to be disappointed by the number of leaders – Christian and non-Christian – who lack integrity at high levels. It does seem that absolute power corrupts, and that corruption usually takes the form of sexual abuse.
So when the details of sex scandals emerge, we minyans gobble the juicy details up. The whole business model of gossip magazines are built on this desire of the masses. Why do we love a ‘good sex scandal’?
Well, they take our mind of our own sins and failings and allows us to focus on those who are ‘more devious’ than us. Our voyeurism with people’s affairs indulge a form of ‘self-righteousness’ by cloaking our anger as ‘godly outrage’. We must not gain any perverse pleasure from consuming other people’s trials as entertainment. I want to approach this whole issue with a spirit of humility. But for the grace of God, there go any of us.
Scandals are scandals because of 3 factors
- The nature of the allegations
- The hypocrisy of the accused individual or institution
- The refusal to quickly and completely confess and ask forgiveness
Christianity is particularly susceptible to sex scandals because of the nature of its teaching to abstain from sexual sin. The Catholic church has ongoing PR problems with its history of abuse. In recent times, fundamentalism is receiving its due share of attention.
Church and Christian institutions compound the allegations with their repeatable tendency to evade and minimalise the issues. While well meaning Christians often think they are focusing on Christ, by wishing away problems, failure to approach allegations head on only obscures Jesus’ message. On the other side of the coin, outraged and hurt Christians and former Christians morph their ‘godly outrage’ into ungodly witch hunts that infer greater cover-ups. Some of the internet rage and ‘vendettas’ on blogs are pushed by ‘haters’ who have ‘no skin in the game’. However, honestly, the culture of fundamentalism, gives them plenty of fuel for these conspiracies.
In the blogwatch section of this site, there are some references to BJU’s support of a board member – Chuck Phelps. While Mr Phelps was pastoring an IFB church, he mishandled his reporting and duty of care to a girl in his church who was raped by one of his church leaders. Phelps ‘forgive and forget’ approach allowed the abuse to continue. BJU’s support for Phelps is a case study of how not to respond to scandals. Like most well meaning Christians, I wish scandals would just go away. I greatly desire for Jesus to be preach unencumbered by our filthy rags. However, this can only happen if the issue is dealt with transparently and with justice.
The Wednesday night after the Phelp’s expose was aired on ABC’s 20/20 program, I attended a church pastored by a BJU graduate. The whole evening was devoted to how the media is anti-Christian, the victims are bitter and the issue is a snow job. Clearly, the boys club had been rallied. While I don’t believe the media is a bastion of truth, this response is not acceptable. BJU students and graduates are demanding a better response from their alma mater and are planning a protest day on December 12th.
By BJU’s own standards, they should remove him from their board. BJU has a catalog of rules for its students to help them live lives that are above reproach and abstain from the appearance of evil. While Phelps is not a demon, he is tainted by inability to see his error. Consistency alone demands his removal. I can see no upside for keeping him and all downside. If BJU representatives are reading this, I urge you to act now. Use the vacancy to promote a fresh clean skin. I believe God will continue to use BJU in proclaiming the gospel, but you must ensure that it not seen to be trivializing what happened or those who have been hurt.
To finish on a positive note. Correctly responding to sexual abuse issues is not just about mitigating risk. Championing justice and loving the vunerable is central to the Christian message. Embracing a strong, correct and decisive response will be positively welcomed. Such a response can provide a platform for promoting the light of the gospel and demonstrating that Christians are growing in their love for the Lord and his justice.
Blessings
- JC
The Harvey Dent Solution
Darkness rules in Gotham City. Although Batman’s vigilante attacks against evil have caused a glimmer of hope to shine in the hearts of the faithful, Gotham continues to be engulfed in corruption and crime. New district attorney, Harvey Dent, enters the story as the city’s great hope for addressing real problems. Touted as the “White Knight” of Gotham, Harvey is determined to deal out justice to the crooks and cartels of the Gotham underworld in spite of a system permeated by vice. In a bold sweeping move, he arrests a large number of the city’s biggest crime ring and keeps them under lock and key. Unfortunately, however, he fails to properly account for the newest criminal in town, the Joker.
Psychotic and unpredictable, the Joker’s one goal is to throw the city into anarchy with his cruel tactic of psychological games coupled with complete disregard for human life. The Joker’s thugs capture Harvey Dent along with Harvey’s one true love, Rachel. In a sadistic move, the Joker forces Harvey’s friends to choose between saving Harvey’s life or that of the girl he loves. In the ensuing terror, Rachel dies and Harvey’s face is deeply burned. Heartbreak torments Harvey’s soul. He refuses treatment for his scars. And then the Joker visits. He convinces Harvey, already half-mad with despair, that his revenge should be against the very city that he has fought to save. His mutilated face an outward image of the horror within, Harvey proceeds to kill a string of people whom he believes responsible for Rachel’s death before putting his own life to an end. His true friends, Batman and Police Commissioner Gordon, both witness Harvey’s killing spree and suicide. Together they decide that the people of Gotham cannot afford to know that their “White Knight” finished up as a bad guy. Batman offers to take the blame for the murders, and Commissioner Gordon makes a public tribute to Harvey’s unblemished image as the one man who courageously fought for truth and right in Gotham City. The people get to keep their symbol of hope albeit at the expense of truth. Kind of ironic that the hero of justice is preserved in a lie.
I’ve seen the Harvey Dent solution at work in Christian organisations too. A well-loved missionary or pastor, a “white knight” of God’s work, is caught in a sin—perhaps financial mismanagement or immorality. In handling this awful situation, the church should face up to the frailty of its hero, deal with the sin appropriately, urge him to confess and repent, and seek to restore the fallen brother to a growing relationship with God though not to his former leadership role. Instead, some churches practice “damage control” by protecting the image of the fallen leader as if his followers cannot bear to see their “white knight” fail. It may involve laying the blame at the feet of someone or something else or moving the hero to another ministry or another creative cop-out. All this is justified under the guise of saving the testimony of the church or organisation ostensibly for the sake of Christ. But how can Jesus Christ, the Truth, be glorified by the manipulations of the spin doctor?
Although saving face at the time may seem to minimise damage, in the long term cover-ups come back like a hidden cancer cell. Instead of going away quietly, churches and organisations have had to deal with accusations from people hurt by cover-up even decades down the track. Instead of applying the gospel of grace to our failures, we magnify men and their work more than the work of Jesus Christ who died to free us from such sinful catastrophes. Offenses will happen. How we respond to those offenses reveals our understanding of gospel truth and mercy. Even the Biblical record truthfully recounts sinful failures of our heroes of the faith: Abraham’s lie, David’s adultery and murder, and Moses’s anger, to name a few. The gospel is not just for saving; it is for keeping too. When we whitewash failure, we deny that gospel truth.
Why do we lift up leaders in our churches as if they have a corner on Christianity that the rest of us can only wish for? What can we do to create a Christian culture where it is safe to fail? How can we nurture transparency in relationships all the way from kids in Sunday school to the pastor in the pulpit? How can our responses to sin flesh-out the truth that God’s grace not only touches our weakness and failures but is purposefully tailored to our humanness?
The Harvey Dent solution merely puts a bandaid and makeup on a tumour that resides deep within–a tumour for which there is an authentic cure. The gospel of grace is the cure, made available through our real hero, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Where can I find books by F. W. Boreham?
I recently completed a series of posts on the life of the top selling Australian author of all time—F. W. Boreham. I wanted to help you get a feel for this guy and get hooked on his writing! If you did, you might be interested in getting a copy of some of his books.
In this post, I’ve compiled a list of resources on the life of F. W. Boreham. It is by no means exhaustive. I’ve relied on Amazon.com as my primary source, but publishers are provided so that books can be tracked down through other websites or at your local bookstore.
I commend these works to you.
Grace to you.
InFocus posts
F. W. Boreham
F. W. Boreham: The Great Christian Essayist
On Frightening Timothy
Spurgeon’s Text
The Minor Minor Prophets
The Empty Crib
Social Media
Websites
The Official F. W. Boreham Blog
John Broadbanks Publishing
Link-Zone on F. W. Boreham
This Day with F. W. Boreham
New F. W. Boreham Books Blog
Finding Truth Matters on F. W. Boreham
F. W. Boreham books currently in print
A Bunch of Everlastings (BiblioLife) – Amazon
A Frank Boreham Treasury (Moody Press) – Amazon
A Handful of Stars: Texts That Have Moved Great Minds (Dodo Press) – Amazon, A&R
A Packet of Surprises: The Best Essays and Sermons of F. W. Boreham (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon
A Pathway of Roses (Emerald House) – Amazon
All the Blessings of Life: The Best Stories of F. W. Boreham, 2nd Edition) (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon, CBD
Angels, Palms and Fragrant Flowers: F. W. Boreham on C. H. Spurgeon (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon
Faces in the Fire: And Other Fancies (Kessinger Publishing) – A&R
In Pastures Green (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon
Loose Leaves (John Broadbank Publishing) – Amazon
Lover of Life: F. W. Boreham’s Tribute to His Mentor, Revised and Expanded (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon, CBD
Mountains in the Mist (Kregel Publications) – Amazon
Mushrooms on the Moor (Dodo Press) – Amazon, A&R
Second Thoughts (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon
The Chalice of Life (John Broadbanks Publishing) – Amazon
The Heavenly Octave (Kessinger Publishing) – Amazon, A&R
The Home of the Echoes (Kessinger Publishing) – A&R
The Luggage of Life (Book Jungle) – Amazon, A&R
Biographies of F. W. Boreham
The Other Side of the Hill and Back Again (Boreham) – A&R
Books which include portions on/from F. W. Boreham
50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Spiritual Giants of the Faith (Warren Wiersbe, Baker Books) – Amazon
Sermons on John 3:16 (Various, Emerald House) – Amazon
On Faith and Doubt (Warren Wiersbe, CBD) – CBD
eBooks
See Amazon for a long list of Kindle books. Some of them are free.
Smashwords has a few Boreham titles.
Google books has a large range of Boreham books available.
Logos Bible Software now has some of Boreham’s works available.
Second hand books by F. W. Boreham
See Amazon for a long list of second hand Boreham books.
Also, try ebay for a nice selection of books.
Christian Books Australia is another brilliant source of Boreham books.
Your local second hand book store.
Five great theological themes of the gospel: Justification (part five)
To justify is to defend as right… or just. Justification, then, has to do with the means by which we who are anything but just, are declared by God to be just.
We the unjust
The reason justification is necessary is that we are not just and we cannot be just. We have rebelled against God and we do rebel against him. The godliest saint has a deep-seated bent toward rebellion.1
God hates sin. His wrath rests on those who rebel against him.2 God’s perfect justice demands that sinners be condemned for their crimes against him.
God the just
The great concern in justification is how God can declare us just and still be just himself. After all, we are not just. We are sinners. Rebels.
God’s perfect mercy desires to rescue us but his perfect justice cannot ignore our crimes. This is the theological dilemma that Paul is dealing with when he says that it was necessary “to show God’s righteousness” (Romans 3:25). In other words, if justice has not been done, how can God justly—righteously—pardon me? I am a criminal. And justice has not been done.
Perfect love and perfect justice
This theological dilemma is resolved at the cross. Because Jesus paid the penalty of my sin, the Judge can justly declare me “not guilty.” Paul puts it like this: Jesus death made it possible for God to “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (v. 263). God is just because he has meted out the just penalty for the crime. He is the justifier because he bore the penalty of those crimes himself at the cross allowing me to be declared just (i.e. justified)!
This is what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 1:30 when he says “Christ… became to us… righteousness.” Isaiah described it eight hundred years before Christ when he said of the Messiah “By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous [justified], and he shall bear their iniquities.”4
So what?
Paul’s conclusion for those who are justified is that “There is therefore now no condemnation”!5 He asks a series of question: If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? Who is to condemn? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?6
And what is Paul’s answer? It is God who justifies! Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us!7
In other words, do you have an issue with me? You have to take it up with Christ! Because he’s the one who died to deal with that! You have an accusation against me? You have to take it up with God! He’s the one who declared me righteous!
But most stunning is the answer to Paul’s question about God’s love for us. Because of justification, I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!8
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.9
Grace to you.
1 Romans 3.
2 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.
3 Emphasis added.
4 Isaiah 53:11, emphasis added.
5 Romans 8:1.
6 Romans 8:31-35.
7 Romans 8:33-34.
8 Romans 8:38-39.
9 Taken from the text “Before the Throne of God Above” by Charitie Lees Bancroft.
