Blind faith? Nope! (continued)

Last time, I introduced our study, and laid a foundation for our discussions. We're going to be digging into what some peeps call "apologetics," for the Bible, the Word of God. That doesn't mean we are apologizing. (Grin)
Here is what the word means:

    1. Formal argumentation in defense of something, such as a position or system.
    2. The branch of theology concerned with defending the truth of Christian doctrines.

We all have probably been in the situation of having someone question the Bible's accuracy, it's validity, it's being the Word of God, etc.  It's easy to get passionate about something that is as deep as our faith. The best way to be ready for that situation is to prepare ahead of time. So, let's study and see if we can be confident in our apologetics -- I can guarantee you that many of the scoffers will back off when they see our confidence and our thoughtful answers! Many of them are like schoolyard bullies; they pick on ones they think will be easily beaten. Our motto at a time like this should be Peter's words:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hopethat you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (I Peter 3:15)

You see, we all are called to be apologists. It just means that when a critic questions our faith, we are prepared to defend it. It's that simple. They may question the revelation of God in Christ, or they may question the Bible. They ask. We are ready to give an answer. Now, there are some people who spend all their time on apologetics: they may study biblical manuscripts and their transmission, philosophy, biology, mathematics, logic, and more. But apologetics in its simplest form is simply giving an answer when someone asks a question about Jesus or about a Bible passage. No years of ivy-covered-tower study needed!
Let's see if we can lay some groundwork for why we believe that God has spoken, and that His Word is recorded in the Bible. Let's determine if we are using "blind faith" or if there are real reasons why we can trust in the Bible for this life and for the next.

The first thing that apologists would say is that the Bible is an accurate transmission of God's words. Where do we start?
Well, we start with the words coming from God to man. They call that inspiration.
I guess it might be nice if the Bible just dropped down from heaven into the Christian book store in the town closest to me, or onto the shelf at the Walmart. We could look inside and see that it was either written by the hand of God, or maybe by the hand of an angel.
But as Joe Friday would say in Dragnet, we need "just the facts." The fact is that the Bible was authored as a partnership between God and humans. Check back one post for those verses we listed. "Given by inspiration of God" and "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." These words are not things dreamed up in the heart or mind of a human. God worked through men to record the words He wanted us to have.
No, He didn't dictate it, though some portions He did say to write it down, or to tell the people, and those would qualify as dictation. And it wasn't just general thoughts or concepts that God put in their heads, and whenever they felt like it, they wrote it down. In some mysterious way, God's words were written down by human hands.
If you're like me, you have no problem with the God part of the equation here. (Grin)
God doesn't make mistakes.
It's the human part that worries people.
Humans do make mistakes. How can we know they got it right? We will look at some evidence for that soon, but for now, let's say that the God Who has the power to create the universe certainly has the power to make sure that His words were recorded accurately! The words from Him, the history, the stories of the good people and the bad, all were recorded the way He wanted.
Ya know, one of the wonderful things about our Bible is that it's not all dry history. It's got poetry and proverbs; it has what people today call "human interest" stories, and much more. It's not just a list of "thus saith the Lord," although those are extremely important.
Sometimes people who question us may point out those stories of people who had epic failures -- why are those included, they demand? Well, I think it's because God wanted to show us the "whys and wherefores" of certain requirements in His word. I think He shows us the consequences when the right path is NOT followed, and the blessings that happen when the pathway is followed. He shows us that choices have consequences AND rewards. That the things recorded in Scripture are not only true, but truly applicable to our lives.

Now, as I said, I have no worries about God transmitting His words to man, but what about all the years in between, until I pick up my study Bible and begin to read? This is one area that some people really stress over. Some obsess over it! The concept of the words of God passing from man to man (or woman). All. That. Copying.
Why is that a problem? Well, I can't go somewhere and look at those original writings. None of those (the scholars refer to them as autographs) have survived all these years. All that we have of those is copies.
Well, actually we have copies of copies of copies. And each time a copy is made, there is a possibility of some human making an error. Kind of like when we kids used to play the game "telephone," when we were all sitting in a circle, and the first person would whisper a phrase in the next person's ear. That person would pass it along, and so on and so on. By the time it got all the way around the circle, the phrase may have become "the cow jumped into the peanut butter," or some such nonsense. But that was OK, because the whole purpose of the game was to have fun and laugh.

The people who copied the text of God's message had a significantly different purpose, and they realized it was their responsibility to transmit God's truth. So, they were very careful. In fact, some of them went to great lengths to be accurate.
The Massoretes, a group who copied in the 500-900 AD era, numbered each verse, word, and letter in a book. They calculated the middle word and the middle letter of each. That way, when they finished a book, they could count the letters and words in the copy and compare it to the original. If they had left something out (or added something) it would be immediately apparent.
Another group of copyists would only allow between one and three copying errors in an entire book. What if you were the one copying Genesis? You get to the end of the final (fiftieth) chapter and they examine it. You made one mistake in the fiftieth chapter - you should have dotted an "i" but instead, you crossed it, and made it a "t." They would burn the whole thing. They didn't want to be responsible for any errors.
Even so, I wonder just how well they did? Have you ever heard the story of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls? It was in the spring of 1947 that a shepherd was looking for a lost lamb and tossed a rock into a cave opening. Instead of a tiny "plink" of the rock hitting the wall or floor of the cave, he heard pottery shattering! He had discovered the scrolls that had been written two hundred years before the birth of Jesus. They'd been squirreled away in the cave just before Jerusalem was destroyed (in 70AD). The discovery netted several jars with leather scrolls inside....
One was over twenty-four feet long and ten inches high -- the whole of the book of Isaiah was there. When translated, it was 95% word-for-word identical with the book of Isaiah today. The 5% was obvious slips of the pen, and variations in spelling!
Between the time the scrolls were written, and the Bible of 1947, there was a time span of well over one-thousand years. That's many, many generations of copies, and many possibilities for errors. The fact that there were no significant differences in the old text and the current one, stands as a testimony to the trustworthiness of the copiers' work.

But what about the New Testament?
There are over 5,000 full or partial copies of the New Testament in Greek. Preachers of the first few hundred years after Jesus would quote passages of Scripture in their written sermons and in their letters.
                  " Those ancient sermons, letters, and other writings include so many
                  New Testament citations that even if we were to lose every copy we
                  have of the Bible....scholars could reconstruct the entire New Testament
                  with the exception of eleven verses." Sir Frederick Kenyon

I found excerpts of the book "Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts" to be invaluable and inspiring as I prepared this study. I highly recommend it.
Sir Kenyon also said this, after years of scholarship and study:

“Because [of quality and quantity of] the copies we have..., although the originals are lost, there is certainty about virtually 99.9% of the Bible. And no questionable verse is the basis for any doctrine.”

This post has gotten lengthy, so I will close and start again next time. I hope that we have a lot to think about, and a lot to be thankful for!

Prayer requests

If you're like me, you are earnestly looking for signs of spring . . . the first few brave flowers that poke their heads up to assess the situation, and then grow and bloom. The faintly fuzzy look the trees get when they are getting ready to bud and send out leaves. The robins' increased presence in the yard. All of these are wonderful to me.

I especially take heart in the fact that the sun is rising a minute or two earlier each day. It is also setting a minute or so later each day, and the net effect is that we will have longer days and more sunshine very soon!

These examples of God's planning and design are wonderful reminders of the love He has for all of us. The psalmist expressed it this way:

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,    the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas    and established it on the waters. (Psalm 24:1-2)

And the prophet Jeremiah told the story, too:

But God made the earth by his power;    he founded the world by his wisdom
    and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. (Jeremiah 10:12)

Let's make sure that our prayer time each day is a time when we express our thanks to our Father, as well as ask for His intervention or blessings. How precious is our privilege to talk daily to the Creator of the world!

Blind faith? Nope! II Peter 1:20-21

I've been so inspired by these next verses in II Peter!

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (II Peter 1:20-21)

Many people today will tell you that the Bible is just another book. It's just ink on paper. They will scoff at believers and say that there are SO MANY problems and contradictions in it. They will knowingly roll their eyes and say how can we be so infantile as to believe that the words are accurate? How can it possibly have been passed down from generation to generation without someone blowing it? Making errors? And they love to poke fun at us about all the many different translations, too!
Oy vey.
Have you had this problem before?
Have you scrambled back to your Bible to try to look up verses?
To the commentaries to find "ammunition" for the argument?
As my grandma used to say, that's a little like closing the barn door after the horse already galloped out of the barn.
(Grin)
I've been there, too.
And I want all of us to be better prepared!
So I hope you will forgive me if we start a several-week study . . . let's really dive in here and grab some facts and supplement our faith, OK?
Let's look at some verses to begin with:

Your word, Lord, is eternal;    it stands firm in the heavens. (Psalm 119:89)

Later in that same Psalm:

The unfolding of your words gives light;    it gives understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

Paul wrote this in his letter to the church at Thessalonica:

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (I Thessalonians 2:13)

And then he wrote this to a fledgling pastor named Timothy:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

In the book we call Hebrews, we see this:

 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

And when we studied in I Peter we read this:

For,“All people are like grass,    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;the grass withers and the flowers fall,     but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (I Peter 1:24-25a)

Wow. I don't know about you, but I really want to understand deeply a book like this. It's eternal. It gives us light, and gives us understanding. It's at work in the lives of those who believe. It corrects us when we are wrong, and equips us for our tasks. It's not a "dead" language like Latin or some language that isn't used much anymore; it's alive. It will endure forever; it was written by men who spoke for God as they were filled with His Spirit.

You bet it's not just another book!
Like we said, most everyone has an opinion about the Bible. Some say it's a bundle of lies, and others say it's a crutch for the weak. Still others say it's God-breathed and that it's the hope of the world.

So many different opinions....
What do you think?
Do you believe it's true?
Is it from God?
How seriously do we take it in our lives?
Is it nice to have on the table and glance in it once in a while?
Or do we seriously read it and follow what it says?
Do we understand it? Are we intimidated by it?
Think about these questions as we move forward in our study this week. I hope the studies will bless all who pause here.

Friday slowdown

Blessings to all who study here. See you next time!

II Peter 1:17-19

We are focusing on verses 17-19 today:

He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable,and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (II Peter 1:17-19)

Peter saw so many wondrous things in the time that he followed Jesus Christ around the mountains, valleys, lakes, and synagogues. He saw people healed; he saw thousands fed from small volumes of food; he witnessed miraculous events on the lakes like huge hauls of fish and Christ calming the waves. He even walked toward Jesus on the surface of the water, until he took his eyes off his Savior and looked at the waves!
But here's the thing: Peter doesn't refer to any of these when he tells us what historical event has given him such confidence in Christ's power and His second coming. Instead, Peter refers to his own eye-witness experience that he shared with James and John on the mountain. Three of the gospels tell us how they accompanied Jesus as He went up the mountain to pray. Then He was transfigured before them in astonishing light and glory -- and from the overshadowing cloud, God spoke of His Son.

Peter is saying, we were there. We heard that voice. We saw His glory. So now we know what it will be like when Jesus returns in power, glory, and authority. It's like they were gifted with a preview of the glory of Jesus' second coming.
It was truly awe-inspiring when Peter saw Christ after His resurrection. How joyful they all were! And when He ascended into heaven? Wow! What a momentous event!
But in neither of those instances did Jesus appear in the majesty that Peter mentions in verse sixteen. Peter wants to remind us of that majesty and the greatness of His second coming. It's thirty years after the event, and seeing the majesty of Christ is what fills the mind of Peter. That's what motivates him to share the hope of that vision with his readers before he dies.

In verse nineteen, he emphasizes that the word about the second coming is true, and then encourages us to give "heed" to it until the end, just as he has.

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable,and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (v 19)

Peter calls the word of Christ's coming "prophetic" because the coming of the Messiah in glory was predicted in the Old Testament prophets, just like His humble birth was.

But to you who fear My nameThe Sun of Righteousness shall ariseWith healing in His wings; (Malachi 4:2a)

Arise, shine;For your light has come!And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,And deep darkness the people;But the Lord will arise over you,And His glory will be seen upon you.“The sun shall no longer be your light by day,Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,And your God your glory. (Isaiah 60:1-2,19)

The prophets foretold His second coming, and Peter was an eye-witness to the "preview."
Peter makes an analogy here that many of us have heard before. Perhaps Peter was thinking, too, of his childhood training:

Your word is a lamp for my feet,    a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)

I believe that even more so than when Peter wrote, our world is covered with the darkness of sin, deceit, fear, and greed. We are in danger every day of stumbling over some unexpected temptation or false teaching. Our only hope is to have a lamp going before us. Peter pleads with us to keep the promise of Christ's coming in full view -- don't let your eyes stray from it, don't fall asleep. The hope of Jesus Christ's coming back is the lamp for our feet and the light to our path. It can guide us through the night until the dawn.
The last part of verse nineteen tells us how long that lamp will be effective for us.
Until it is replaced.

 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)

To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. (Revelation 2:26-28)

The light of His glory will be shining over the world, and shining in our hearts. What a time that will be, when Jesus returns!

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. (Romans 8:19)

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:43a)

 Even so, Lord, come quickly! 

II Peter 1:16 - eyewitness account

Picking up where we left off on Monday, Peter's readers know the truth of the gospel, and his own time is now short. Peter thinks that the right thing to do is to arouse their memory of the important things. That is where our legacy studies came from. Peter knows his days are numbered, and he also knows that believers truly need reminding of things. If we keep the greatness of God's plans and the preciousness of His promises in our minds, we will have hope and we will also be diligent.
If we are not reminded, we may "fall asleep" or "forget."
And it's important to erase the notion that our eternal security is mechanical or automatic. In the first place, it's way too precious to reduce it to that level!

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (I Thessalonians 5:9-10)

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  (Romans 8:33-34)

In the second place, God is faithful and will preserve us for eternal life, but how does this happen? How does He do this?
This is important - He keeps us for eternity by a personal, living, interactive relationship with Himself! That's not mechanical. That isn't automatic. That's especially not something to be taken for granted. That is something to be treasured, to be grateful for each day! God uses reminders to keep us from indifference, to guard us from taking eternal security for granted.... words from a friend, verses in His Word, special days to reflect.  Let's face it, we have days all year that are supposed to remind us of stuff: Valentine's Day for those we love, Mother's Day and Father's Day and Grandparents' Day, and....well, you get my drift!
So, it's not shocking to think that we need reminders of our salvation, and the great price that was paid, no? (Grin)
All of this is why Peter wrote this letter; it's almost like a will that people write today. Maybe he was thinking back to that day at the temple gate when he told the crippled man, "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give to you." (You can check that out in Acts 3.)  Peter still didn't have any silver or gold, but this letter was an awesome and much better legacy!

Now we come to verse sixteen. Peter tells us why this reminder is so important, and so valued:

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (II Peter 1:16)

In other words, the basis for all of this is not fantasy -- it's real! It's not a myth. It's not a legend.
In historical research, the most valued accounts of an event are those that are called "primary." These are accounts directly from a participant or spectator.
"I was there."
Not "he told me he saw this."
Not "my cousin said it happened this way."
Not "my cousin said his grandpa told his mom it happened like this."
Primary accounts are directly from the person who was there. That's why they are so valued. They are real.
Peter is saying that his reminders about the precious promises of God, about His power given to us, Christ's coming again, and all of the things in the first chapter, are not based on myth, but on Peter's own eye-witness account of Christ's majesty.
It's sometimes a point of contention in Christian circles if the conversation turns to the second coming of Christ. He said He would come again. But believers seem to want to quibble about when. Some say that the event has already happened. Some say that it's far away in the future, and others say "any day now." But then there are unbelievers who scoff at the mention - to them it's a fantasy, a myth.

Peter must have dealt with these issues in his day, for he uses the Greek word "parousia" in this passage, and when it's used in other places it refers to Christ's future coming. Another clue to Peter's need to clarify this for his readers is when he refers to what he taught them earlier. Verse sixteen says he had already made it "known" to them. He taught them about the power and the coming of Jesus Christ -- and after all, the second coming is at the heart of our faith. It's what our longing is, and it's our reason for joy, as well.
Peter backs this up with his eye-witness account of Christ's majesty. That is the difference between speculation and faith. Our doctrines are not the result of cleverness or manipulation. They are not constructed by man in order to satisfy his needs.
Our doctrines are the result of historical observation!
Think about this. Our faith can be rock-solid. It's based on fact and on eye-witness accounts.
I think that is why Peter makes "knowledge" such an integral part of his letter:

 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (II Peter 1: 2,3,5,8)

Ours is not a mamby-pamby faith. Ours is a full-throated affirmation of doctrines based in knowledge, not in myth. Our faith is grounded in reliable observations of reality. We can stand, and we can withstand attacks by adding to our knowledge. Becoming more familiar with the Word, and the eye-witness accounts we find there. Bolstering our faith and knowledge with the spiritual "vitamins" we discussed.
Satan might prowl this earth like a roaring lion, but imagine his surprise when, full of faith  - we roar back!

Prayer requests

Each of us is part of something greater as we kneel where we are to pray. We cannot hug each other or shake hands, or pat one another on the back, as we could if we were together in person.

We are miles apart across this beautiful orb that God created.
But when we pray for each other, something special happens.
Something almost magical.
It's just as if we were together, praying about the things that matter to each other. Bearing each other's burdens.
There is a song that expresses this, and I wanted to share it with you. It's by Aaron & Jeoffrey, and was released in 1997, I believe.

We will make this promise
On the memories we have made
A friendship born in heaven
Will last through all our days.

A part of me is with you
Even if you journey far
You'll never be forgotten
No matter where you are.

Across the miles, remember
When I can't be there
I will send my heart to you
Upon the wings of prayer.

Across the miles, may God keep you
Through the tears and smiles
For His love will reach across the miles.

May your life be a blessing
May all your dreams come true
May the Lord be with you
In everything you do.
In all of your tomorrows
Wherever life may lead
This bond will be unbroken
When you know someone believes.

Across the miles, remember
When I can't be there
I will send my heart to you
Upon the wings of prayer.

Across the miles, may God keep you
Through the tears and smiles
For His love will reach across the miles.

Please feel free to share a request here so that all of us can join in prayer for that need or problem. Let's bear each other's burdens, and rejoice as prayers are answered!