Northside Church - Sydney
Can I Keep Believing? Week 1: …when I read Bible passages that shock me?
I'm listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. I remember it clearly. It's a moment from my high school days, as many of you know when the Punchbowl Boys High School was a very different area in those days, but Punchbowl had a great tradition in those days. We produced some great sports people, Linney Pasco. For a start. Jeff Thompson. Yeah. Thought you'd be impressed. Michael's going, "Who's he?" Legendary Bowler in Australia. So I had a great sporting history and a great tradition, but on this particular day I was kind of encouraged because it was announced at Monday, at the Monday Assembly, that the Gideon's were coming out that week and every student in the school would receive a copy of the Gideon Bible, not the ones that they put in motels. There's a little tiny little compact one about the size of two matchbox. I kept it for years. I really wish I'd kept this so I could show it to you today, but it went south in one of my cleanups, but I had little Gideon insignia on the cover and it was a big eye test because you imagine the whole of the Bible and the thing about this big. So anyway, the Gideon's came out I think about the Wednesday, and look I was a pretty zealous Christian those days and, well still a zealous Christian by the way, nothing except that I mean like in those days high school student wasn't easy, or boy school, but I thought, "Well, this would be a great opportunity to sort of bring the Bible into center stage, you know, tell the guys in my group a bit more about what it meant to me and maybe a few more bridge building opportunities." Well, the Bible that day did get the center stage, but nothing quite the way that I thought it would. It was the main talking point over lunch, remember that, but what had happened was the guys had dropped under all the really weird, tricky, controversial passages. They'd downsong of Solomon, and with all of its descriptions of exotic lovemaking, it's mentioned of a word that was bound to stir up emotions in an all boy school, breast, and they found Leviticus and the sort of the intricate laws relating to the purification of women and dropped under all this sort of stuff, judges, Joshua, blood, gore, this isn't the first few minutes, that's amazing, you know, guys dropping under all these passages. Now look, you know, there was laughter, there was a bit of derision, as I recall, a fair bit of mockery, was pretty rampant on the quadrangle that day, as these various passages were kind of, "Hey God, look at this, can you believe this?" Well, I'll grant you, it's an extreme example, shouldn't argue from extremes, and you have to take into account the immaturity of high school students, particularly boys, who seem to be a little bit less mature than girls in many instances, and of course the effect of peer pressure, and there was a lot of peer pressure that day, as they were talking egging each other on and bull. So the day didn't quite turn out as I hoped it might, but look, guys, this does bring in the sharp focus the fact that there are some very difficult passages in this book, you know, and we've read one of them this morning. Their passages that are extremely hard to understand, and there's a bit of a kind of a sort of a queasy factor about it, like whoa, a bit of an awkward factor. Well, here's what happens, these passages can cause confusion, and they can cause a little bit of uncertainty and even doubt, even among Christians, and certainly can cause kind of ridicule among non-Christians. Organizations like the Bible Society tell us that readership of the Bible is lower today than it's been for a long time, and it's hard to figure out why, because our accessibility to the Bible is like never before. Not just in the hard copy, the traditional copy, but you can get it electronically on your smartphone, computer, audio, tape, you know, it's so accessible. But overall the readership is down. It raises the question, why? There are many reasons for that, but one of them is that some people, some Christians, find parts of the Bible so difficult that they're inclined to use that as an excuse. Well, that's the thing we're dropping onto in the first of this new series, and I want to make the point right at the outset. It is imperative. It is so important that we get a positive and informed understanding of the Word of God to minimize and hopefully eradicate the Bible ever becoming a mysterious, intimidating book for any one of us. It shouldn't be like that. Now, this process begins with an overview of some Bible facts. These are realities about the Bible and its composition, which we need to keep in mind as we expand our knowledge of its historical and cultural setting, more importantly as we expand our knowledge of its powerful contents. The Bible, few facts. It was 1500 years in the making. That's the first thing. The Old Testament books can be traced from between 1400 and 400 BC. New Testament books between about 40 AD and about 80 AD, a little 40-year window in there. That's a huge time span. Lots of things change in 1500 years. And then there are 40 authors. In fact, just over 40 authors. And these writers came from a wide variety of backgrounds, which means there are many occupations represented among the writers. There are shepherds like Hosea and Amos. There are kings like David and Solomon. There are fishermen like Peter and John, a tax collector like Matthew, a prime minister like Daniel, a doctor like Luke and an army general like Joshua. All of these people were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote, but they wrote in different contexts and they all brought their own worldview and their lifestyle and their background of bear on their particular contribution to the book. And this point automatically leads to the fact that there's a wide variety of settings represented in the Bible. I mean Moses wrote his books while he was the leader, the people of Israel, through the wilderness. Jeremiah was in a dungeon when he wrote his book. Ezekiel composed his book while a captive in Babylon. And Paul was a prisoner in Rome with some of his letters. John wrote the revelation while in seclusion and really in isolation in he'd been banished to the remote island of Patmos. So there was no one central place. Like when your turn came to write the Bible, you didn't go to the Mount Sinai and get the shaft of light from God and you know kind of all other things were taken away from your mind. Not at all. You wrote out of the blood and guts of everyday life experience. The Bible is, it's a composition of real life events, an expression of intense human drama and intrigue. We also need to remind ourselves many forms of literature are included in the Bible. When I was a young person growing up here in Sydney in a very conservative church, by the way, don't ever get me wrong, I love my background. It gave me a great love for the word of God and prepared me for theological college some years later. So I don't in any way think little of that background, but it was very conservative. I'd say fundamentalist in my background. And I was told that the way to interpret the Bible was this, if the literal sense makes sense, seek no other sense. If it makes sense when you read it, if the literal sense makes sense, seek no other sense. Now you can go a fair way into the Bible and interpretations of the Bible on that basis, but you do hit some roadblocks. See, that was a neat little catch cry, but it really failed to acknowledge the wide variety of literary forms, including poetry, allegory, the use of symbolism, metaphors, all of which leaders to conclude that not all parts of the Bible are meant to be taken literally. And that's often a blockage point for a real fundamentalist, not all parts are meant to be taken literally, because there are different forms of literature that are being utilized. But this in no way reduces their inspirational authenticity, nor in any way reduces their relevance for our lives, not at all. Doesn't affect that. The fact that different forms of literature were used. Now this morning we're talking about the so-called "difficult passages" in the Bible. It's important we get this into some kind of perspective, unless we fall into the trap of thinking that the whole of the Bible is a mysterious book and many people think that. So ancient, so what could possibly have to say for us today? Would you believe someone has done a fair bit of analysis in this area? There are approximately 31,000 verses in the Bible. Who won't account that? But somebody did. And in a monumental research work in a book written by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe in the latter part of last century, they've identified 3,400 verses which they acknowledge, okay? Over the years have been the subject to some controversy. 3,400 verses that have been a little bit, you know, people thought, "Whoa, what's that?" Including the one we read today. Their book is entitled When Critics Ask. Passes is like Numbers 21, 2 and 3, and Joshua 6, 21, where the children of Israel are commanded by God to go into these pagan, Canaan towns and wipe out everything. Men, women, children, livestock, housing, wipe the whole lot out in the name of God. And it's a tough one because you think, "Well, how does that tie in with the grace, the love of the forgiveness of Jesus? How do we reconcile?" Passes is like that. Scholars like Geisler and Howe employ a wide range of what theologians call hermeneutical principles. In other words, principles of interpretation, how do you interpret the scriptures, both the difficult and the not so difficult passages in it? How do you throw light on some of these verses? Well, they take into consideration the historical and the cultural context of the passage, the intention of the writer at the time, his or her worldview, the extent to which they would have understood the complete will and purpose of God and other factors as well. And look, this is risky stuff. It's the sort of thing that my church, my background would have really winced about because that's biblical interpretation. Well, there's no place for that. Well, there is a place for that. There is a place for us using our minds, our God-given minds and our brains. It's a far cry from, "Look, I don't care." And I don't know and I don't care. I mean, you've got to go a bit of that. It's like any ancient document. It requires careful study and analysis of the historical setting and so on. But friends, look, putting all of the historical and the theological analysis to one side, because some of that can be a little bit dull, a little bit heavy, a little bit tedious. Let's put that to one side. Now, let me throw some light on something else. Look, I've found this personally, right? I've been studying the Bible since I was just a little boy. In fact, in looking for that Gideon Bible over the weekend, I found another little one I was given by my Sunday school, a New Testament back in the early '60s. And it's a little treasure in my little box of treasures. And, you know, the Word of God's always been special to me. And here's something that I've found in my experience. And numbers of you will resonate with this, I know. Look with this, our ability, our ability to handle the so-called difficult passages in the Bible improves dramatically, I would say, as we deepen our love for and our understanding of the richness of God's truth contained in its pages. In other words, like read the Bible more, take it in more, apply it more, and you will cope better with these difficult passages. And I'll say more about that in a moment. In other words, more than a book merely to be studied from a historical and a sort of a literary perspective, the Bible is meant to be seen as a kind of spiritual mirror. We look at ourselves in this book, and we find out about ourselves. We find out where we fit in. We see how God's love and grace and salvation apply to us. It's kind of like a spiritual mirror. That's the value, one of the values of this book. In that sense, the Holy Bible is no ordinary book. No, I'm stating the obvious there. It is no ordinary book. It is a revelation, a divine revelation of ultimate truth, wisdom from the God of the universe. He's love-lettered to us, if you like. Here's a book that tells us about God, but also tells us about us. Everything we need to know about us is in this book, which leads to the three most important facts about the Bible I want to share with you this morning. These make the other facts I've shared so far pale into insignificance, really. These are the three facts I want you to take with you this morning. You see, the Bible speaks directly to the human condition. That's the first thing, and that is so vitally important. This term, the human condition refers to the fact that we are the only ones. We are the only ones in all of the creation who are aware of the passage of time. See that happened five years ago. Well, I know you think you're dog smart, but like we are the only ones who can do that. We can remember the past, we can imagine the future. We're the only ones who can do that in the creation order. We're aware of our own mortality. We're the only ones who ask questions about the purpose of life, about the meaning of life, about the nature of existence beyond that which we can see as obvious. Questions like, "Why was I born? What's my purpose in life? Where will I go once I die?" Friends, the fact that we can ask these questions, let alone conceive these questions, that's what defines the human condition. So it makes us very unique, very, very special, very precious. That's the human condition in a philosophical and kind of metaphysical way. But of course, the Bible adds another dimension to the human condition. The Bible adds another layer, if you like, to the human condition in that it not only provides specific answers to all these questions about meaning and purpose, but it explains what's at the heart of our deepest yearnings and longings. It explains why a lot of people go through life, never really finding fulfillment. A lot of people just struggle with life, the whole time, and they never quite know why. Or they might not struggle for all the time, but then they hit a crisis and it just throws them and there's nothing to cling on to. The Bible throws incredible light on that and says, we're designed for a relationship with our maker. It's as simple as that. We are designed for a relationship with our maker and only when we invite him into our lives through Jesus Christ, only then do we start making sense of the past, finding strength for the present and finding reassurance for the future. That's the gospel. That's the good news. That's why the good the Bible speaks so powerfully to the human condition it provides answers. Here's a second vital fact about the Bible. It's a living book. It's a living book. And you know what I mean by this? It's different to other books. It's not a static read. You know, as a beginning to end, that was nice. It's not a static read. Something happens. Something miraculous can and usually does take place when we read the Bible. If we read it with a desire, we've got to start with a desire. If we read it with a desire to get something from it, God shows up in a mighty way. Now thanks to the marbles of special effects in movies, we've seen what happens when people open certain books in movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and Sam's favourite. Everything story. You know, we see like shafts of light, you know, and characters fall off the page and we're not talking about that. We're referring to something that Jesus said about the role of the Holy Spirit. And it's in John chapter 16 verse 13. Look at this. "When, however, the Spirit comes who reveals the truth about God, He will lead you into all truth. He will not speak on His own authority, but He will speak of what He hears and will tell you of things to come. He will lead you into all truth." Now friends, that's the role of the Holy Spirit. And when you and I opened the Bible with a sense of expectation and a sense that God is going to say something, we are not alone when we read. I hope you know that. You're not alone. Just as surely as those men on the Emmaus robe were joined by a stranger at that first Easter, and that stranger interpreted to them the scriptures from beginning to end a marvellous Bible study that would have been. So we are joined when we read the scriptures of the Holy Spirit. We don't read alone. We may not always acknowledge that, but it is so God wants us to get the truth from His Word. He shows up, please acknowledge His presence and expect that He will guide you and show you the way to go. It might not happen instantly, but that's what regular reading of the scriptures does. It provides you with an overview of where you're meant to go. The Bible is a living book in that it comes alive with truth and power and guidance, wisdom, whatever you need in the moment. Of course, you've got to use the resources that are available. You've got to check the myriad of resources that can add light to this passage and that passage. That's the value of connection groups. You get to share the Bible with other people. It's the value of talking about with a trusted friend who might have a bit more experience on the road of discipleship than you have. All of those things need to be brought to bear. But there's a biblical principle for pretty much every situation you and I can face in life. There's a biblical principle for virtually everything we can face in life, every situation, every heartache, every pain, every moral dilemma, every ethical choice. There's a scripture. There's a principle that's there waiting to be discovered. Here's the third and final fact about the Bible for my purposes this morning. There are many facts, but when we can fit into this message, it has one unmistakable central theme, one theme. Now, I know that you, but I, I mean, given the given the number of authors, given that there's a 1500 year time span, given the different cultural and historical settings in which the Bible was written, I find that amazing. I find that stunning that there's one central theme throughout the whole of the Bible. In fact, for me, it's the most powerful piece of evidence that it really is God's inspired word, even more so than the historical and the archaeological evidence that can be brought to bear, which is huge, which in itself is stunning. The fact there's one message from a book that took 1500 years to put together the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is just one theme. And what is that theme? Judgment. Rules, regulations, telling people how bad they are. Is that the theme of the Bible? That's what some people would have us believe. No, no, no. The central theme of the Bible is grace and reconciliation, leading to salvation. That's the central theme. The story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is God's relentless pursuit, relentless pursuit of his creation. So all the different twists and turns of the children of Israel and the waywardness and every, it's his relentless pursuit and his intense desire to have his children reconciled us, reconciled to him. That's it. This is expressed powerfully by the writer to the Ephesians in chapter 1, verses 7 to 10. Look at this. For by the blood of Christ, we are set free. That is our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which he gave to us in such large measure. In all his wisdom and insight, God did what he had purposed and made known to us the secret plan. He'd already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth with Christ as head. This, the Bible speaks of God's big picture plan. He's big idea. It's reconciliation. It's salvation. Like I said earlier, the best way to cope with the difficult passages in the Bible is to so develop a love and appreciation and an acceptance of its truths that those difficult passages become just that. Difficult passages. Yeah. I know the Bible's got some difficult passages. I'm trying to work some of them out, but I won't work all of them out this side of heaven, but like it doesn't matter. You know, 3,400 verses, about 11% that have even ever been, ever been in some kind of dispute. The rest is fine. It makes value. It makes clear sense. So, it's Mark Twain who's attributed with the saying, you know, it's not the parts of the Bible. I don't understand that worry me. It's the parts I do understand where I know I'm going to response to make. They're the ones that challenge me most. Yes, there's power in the Word of God. And when writing to Timothy, speaking exclusively about what we would know is the Old Testament. This is what Paul said to Timothy in the second letter. Look at this. All Scripture. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, giving instruction for right living so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped. That's the motivation, or part of the motivation of getting into the Word, being qualified and equipped to be the best we can be for the Lord. Can we keep believing despite these passages in the Bible that shock us? Of course we can. Of course we can. Because there's overwhelming evidence that the truth and the integrity of the Bible is compelling. It's absolutely riveting. Overwhelming evidence, despite there being some difficult passages. You see, the Bible is not the kind of book that invites criticism as much as it invites a response. That's the nature of the Bible. And so, friends, the question I've got to ask myself, I got to ask you this morning, is are you responding to the Bible? Are you responding to the message that you hopefully are reading regularly in that book, in this precious revelation of God's love and God's grace? Are you drawing on the resources to kind of get around some of those difficult passages, expanding your knowledge of the cultural and the historical background of some of these difficult things? Most importantly, have you responded to the central message of the Bible? Because you see, that's not just the central message of the Bible. That's the central message of this church and of all churches who proudly display the flag evangelical. We're all about Jesus. We're all about inviting people to receive him. That's the one central message of the Bible. God wants you in his family. He wants you to be part of the redeemed as the old preachers used to say, part of the redeemed, part of the family of God. Have you made that decision yet?