Are You a Student or a Proof-Reader?

 Is the Bible infallible and inerrant or is it fallible and at times errant?

I recently read a piece arguing that the Bible was fallible just as Jesus in His humanity was  fallible.  That got a reaction out of me and very likely will get a reaction out of you.  

So called "conservative" Christians and so called "progressive" Christians debate on a great many things and this is one of them.  When it comes to the labels "Progressive" and "Conservative", whether it be in theology, morality, politics or whatever the word following the label may be, it is important to think about what is being conserved or toward what are we progressing.  There are a great many things I want to progress toward and a great many things I am glad those before me progressed toward.  There are a great many things I want to conserve and a great many things I am glad were conserved for me.

When it comes to the issue of Biblical inerrancy what is being conserved?  When it comes to the notion of a fallible Bible what is one progressing toward?

Let me start by saying that some in the "conservative" wing of this debate can at times miss the ball.  In the name of conservatism there are some, mostly not a thoughtful bunch, that would ignore that sentences are in paragraphs, paragraphs are in sections, sections are in books with a genre and a point trying to be made, and the book is in the cannon of Scripture.  Some in this camp will say, "It says what it says" without bothering to actually discover what is being said.  It may be uneducated or simply lazy reading.

That said, the conservative approach to this, the one that says that in the original language and manuscripts the Bible is without fault and is the very Words of God as penned by a human author inspired by the Holy Spirit, is worth conserving.

The question that sticks with me is this: Am I a student or a proof-reader when I come to my Bible?

When one reads the Bible are they over the Word or under the Word? Do I come to the Bible to seek and understand what it says and what it means or do I come to decide whether or not I think it to be right?  

This is no new concept.  Martin Luther in the Large Catechism said, "I and my neighbor and, in short, all people may err or deceive.  But God's Word cannot err."  This is no new concept.  500 years ago Luther and all the reformers stood on this as fact and it has been conserved to this day.

If we leave Biblical inerrancy and infallibility toward what are we progressing?

Well, if all come to the Bible to decide what in it we find to be true and what in it we find to be false then we come to the Bible as a god and not a disciple (which means learner).  If we come to our Bible in this way then we get what the book of Judges (21:25b) said caused great darkness, "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." 

But you say that this is an overreaction.  Everyone won't do what is right in their own eyes.  And here lies much of the issue: You would have everyone do what it right in your eyes.  You would be a god or at least have your tribe be the gods.

I encourage you to think this through.  I encourage you to take the Bible for what it is and what it claims to be (2 Timothy 3:16): inerrant and infallible.  Resist the urge to eat the forbidden fruit and claim to be like God knowing good from evil and instead to take the bread mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 and be sustained by it and to put yourself under it today. 

Good Fathering Hurts

 I was a father of little kids before I became the instant father of a teen.  My wife and I had not really even considered what it might look like to parent a teen because we had many years before our naturally born children would be teens and in our plans fostering a teen wasn't something we were going to do.

Well, God changed our plans on an August day and I instantly became the father of a 14 year-old.

I made a lot of mistakes.  A lot.  One of the biggest mistake we made was the mistake of trying to parent him like we parented our little kids.  We had rules and we fought to enforce them.  We banged our heads against the wall trying to make him do what we knew was best for him.  

Well, it didn't work well.

He would leave our home after five months and we had time to reflect on what we did.  Long story short, he came back to live with us about a year later and we once again became parents of a teenager.  I was once again the father of someone who needed to become a man in short order.  We had to change our strategy.

Our first strategy was to make a list of rules and have him sign a contract to follow it in order to live with us like he had requested.  We sat with him and explained the fairly simple expectations we had for him.  We wanted him to choose like a man.  We wanted him to be a participant in the process.  

We were sure this strategy would work well.  

Well, it didn't.  

He broke the rules he promised to follow.  For example, he stayed up later than the covenant that he signed said he would.  It was so late that we couldn't enforce it without exhausting ourselves and becoming ineffective in our work as parents and employees.  We were frustrated that simple and even liberal rules weren't being followed as he promised to do if he wanted to live with us.

We needed a different strategy and we decided upon natural consequences. 

Stay up too late: Be tired at work and school.  Show up late for school: Fail.  Not come down for supper: Be hungry.

We decided that to parent a boy into a man we would let him get hurt.  We would, in effect, let him find out that the stove will burn.  We let the natural order of the universe as designed by God do the work of punishing for us.

While this may sound like lazy parenting let me tell you that it was hard.  It was hard to lead a horse to water only to watch him leave thirsty.  It wasn't easy to watch failure happen.  It hurts your heart to watch foolishness harm your child.

Psalm 81 tells us that God uses this same strategy with His children and that He feels this pain, too.

"Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward Him,
and their fate would last forever.
But He would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." Psalm 81:8-16

Israel had made a covenant with God.  They had done it enthusiastically.  They had promised to follow God's righteous and wise ways and they were well aware of the consequences.  

When they strayed from their promises God warned and warned and warned until He left them to natural consequences.  

The people of Israel experienced pain and suffering.  A lot more pain and suffering than getting an F or being tired at work.  This hurt their Heavenly Father.  See all the times in the above verses that He exhales His grief.  "O Israel" "Oh, that my people would listen to me".  

God is a good father.  He hates when we hurt, especially when we hurt from stupidity and foolishness.  He would have us be blessed, but He will leave us to natural consequences even though it pains His heart.

God is our good, good father, but He isn't in the business of raising forever toddlers.  He wants us to experience blessing but He's raising us into maturity.  He wants us to mature into righteous men and women and He will let natural consequences help us become that.

Our son I wrote about earlier has grown into a great young man.  It hurt my heart, but I am glad that natural consequences played a role in maturing him.  

God's statutes are for our good and for our blessing.  Follow them.  Don't be stubborn.  But when you are and discomfort arises please remember that even that is love and that God's heart is pained and longing for you to repent today.

Not Just There but VERY There

 Are you going through something right now?  

Maybe it's political stress.  Perhaps a health crisis. Economic stress weighing you down and causing you worry?  Or, what may be even worse, your children are going through something hard that you can't fix.  

What is stealing your sleep?  What is robbing your joy?  What's gobbling up your headspace?  What is it that is threatening you?

Is the earth underneath you shaking?  Do you feel like your life is on the edge of a cliff in a mudslide?  Do you feel like you're in a wave pool or sea and timing every wave wrong so that whenever you need a breath you get dowsed instead?

If your world is all as it should be, then good for you.  You can stop reading or you can save this for a future need, but this post is for those who are in a bind.  This, based on Psalm 46, is for those of us who need help.

Look at Psalm 46 and be encouraged:

"God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

I love this verse.  I have been reading through the psalms this year and 19 days ago I read this and it has stuck with me and I am glad for this.

Do you need help?  God is your help!

God is our refuge.  He is the tank we can be safe in as we go through the battles of life.  He is the brick house, not a house of straw or sticks.  He is our strength.  When I am weak, He is strong.

And my favorite part: God is a very present help in trouble.

When you are going through the junk of life and need help He isn't just there He is VERY there.  Are you in trouble and need help?  God is not just with you, He is very with you.  He's not just with you; He is there to help.  Help isn't on the way; help is very there!

The ESV is what I quoted above.  The NASB says God is a, "very ready help." The NIV says He is an, "ever present help."  Put these together and this is God: He is very there, very ready and, in fact, He was always there even before you shouted for help.

Why do I harp on God being VERY present?  Too often I pray to God like I talk to an imaginary friend.  I must take this verse to heart and believe it to be true and act accordingly.  God isn't an idea, He is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  He actually, honestly, truthfully and very much is with me and you in our trouble.

So, what do we do in light of this truth?  

"Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Psalm 46:2-3

God is our tank in the battle, so we roll forward unafraid. God is our strength, so we don't act as though impotent but we act in light of the omnipotent power source we possess.  God is very much with us in the trouble, so we just ain't afraid.  

When we understand verse 1 we can live verse 2.  This isn't just poetry.  This isn't just a song.  This is really, truly who our God is.  He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Go back to that thing that you said was bothering you, was tormenting you, was threatening you, was snatching your sleep.  It. Is. Real.  But so, and even more so, is your God and Savior.  Meditate on that truth.  

Let's turn now to the end and let it be our benediction and prayer:

"'Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!'
The LORD of host is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46:10-11

The sons of Korah, the writers of this song, leave us with two reminders and so will I. 

1) The God of angel armies is with us.

2) The God who loves cheating scoundrels like Jacob is our protection.

And the final word of the psalm is Selah.  Selah is a Hebrew musical term that likely means rest or pause.  So, selah.  Know this beautiful truth, meditate on it and then rest in it. Rest.  Lean into this wonderful truth about your very there God and relax today.