Bible
Miracles in the Bible Are NOT Normative
Ever since I posted my complaint over Jason Westerfield’s little book God Come to Me his fans have let me have it.
One of the dominant accusations looks like this:
“Damien [sic] does not believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit or miracles for today; that is a damnable heresy…”
There are three things wrong with that statement.
1. I do believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s that our definitions probably differ wildly. [See my post The Trick to Finding Your Spiritual Gifts.]
2. I do believe in miracles today. I just don’t believe they are normative. At all. Otherwise they wouldn’t be miracles, would they? More on this in a minute.
3. Even if I didn’t believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit or miracles, it would NOT be a damnable heresy. Since when was salvation dependent on anything outside of Christ?
What most intrigues me about Westerfield and Co. is this presumption that miracles were normative throughout the Bible. Jason said it best: “After reading about Abraham and others in the Bible, I came to the conclusion that if all of this was happening to them, then it should be happening to me.”
Okay. But why? Why should they be a normal part of Jason’s and every Christian’s life?
Pagan Miracles v. Biblical Miracles
Yes, miracles occurred pretty frequently during Jesus’ ministry, but only for 3 years, mind you…not the entire 33.
And true, the early church was a hotbed for miracles. But there was a reason for that.
However, from front to back, the biblical narratives do not portray a world saturated with miracles…the kind of world Jason Westerfield, John Crowder and the New Mystics would have you believe we should live in.
Unlike the pagan mythologies of ancient history where gods constantly disrupt ordinary human affairs, the Bible inserts miracles on a very limited basis.
That’s why the supernaturalism found in the Bible stands out–because its miracles are NOT commonplace.
In fact, the relative infrequency of biblical miracles may be seen in the fact that they constitute a small, albeit important, part of the narratives spanning over two thousand years from Abraham to the apostolic era.
Miracles in the Book of Joshua
Furthermore, certain biblical periods are marked by an increase in spiritual warfare and miracles. Moses and the Exodus are an obvious Old Testament example. The life and work of Jesus is the New Testament equivalent.
Israel’s conquest of Canaan is another.
The book of Joshua records three such miracles: the drying up of the Jordan river, the collapse of Jericho and the stalling of the sun.
Nothing normative about these extraordinary events that occurred over a six year period.
Instead they hammer home this point: Israel’s conquest of Canaan was God’s sovereign work…and God’s sovereign work alone. What we don’t see is any suggestion that these miracles should be happening to us. Today.
Do I Believe Miracles Occur Today?
Here’s what I’m not saying: Miracles don’t occur. I think they can. I believe in a supernatural God who created the universe. That’s a miracle. But you’re going to have to do better than straightening a spine to convince me miracles occur today.
You’re going to have to stop a storm in it’s tracks. Raise a man dead for four days back to life. Cure a life-time cripple. Cast out 2,000 demons.
If you can substantiate such a claim, then you’ll have my attention.
But remember, biblical miracles had a singular purpose: unmistakably declare the sovereignty and character of God…rather than provide humans with a thrill that can lead one to a dangerous distraction.
Smart Christians: 7 Ways to Grow a Mature Mind
“Smart Christian.”
Sounds like an oxymoron, right?
Ask some people and they’d tell you it isn’t merely an oxymoron…
But an impossibility…
Using charged language like “gullible, closed-minded and stupid” to describe Christians.
But we have a rich history of smart people.
People like Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas, Anselm, Calvin, Luther and Jonathan Edwards.
Christians who struggled with and fought for the faith by using their God-given powers of the mind.
But there’s another reason why being a smart Christian is important: When we grow a mature mind, it helps us fight against the corruption of this world.
This is what Paul said about the topic:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
And what’s the best way to renew your mind? Here are seven suggestions.
Memorize Scripture
This is a perennial favorite. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to re-wire our minds than systematically filling it with the Word of God. Devour entire chapters. Even books. Here are 18 tricks to help you.
Read Through Your Bible Every Year
Next to memorizing scripture, reading through the Bible once a year is another good way to grow a mature Christian mind. Wanna go extreme? Read the Bible in 76 hours.
Earn a Fake Masters with Other Believers
Me, Don and a handful of others are going to master the Old Testament. We’re using Wave to communicate, online resources and a host of books. Lot of work ahead of us, but with this many guys holding each other accountable, we’ll be a whole lot more biblically smart than we were before we started.
Start a Secret Church
David Platt wondered: “If overseas believers are hungry enough for the Word to sit for 10-hour stretches studying it, would his own congregation?” Indeed, it was. How can you host your own secret church? Find a teacher, pick a topic, hustle together a group of believers and pour over the Word for hours on end.
Throw Yourself into Wild Evangelism
I don’t think we can ever seriously suggest that we have mature minds until we actually take what we learn into the dirty business of life. It’s not until our nice theologies collide with real life do we enter a new level of maturity. My 5-day trip to Mardi Gras opened up my eyes to serious flaws in my own mind. I re-negotiated a lot.
Invite an Atheist to Lunch
On the same vein with the above, sit down and talk to a non-believer. Make friends with them. Get to know them. And get to know yourself and what you believe. Heck, take some time and interview 10 atheists. Revelations are ample when you interact with non-believers. It forces you to go back to the Bible and evaluate what you know and what they know. A healthy event for your mind and heart.
Pray Every Morning for Thirty Minutes
We can’t grow mature minds unless we interact with the creator of that mind. Pray for wisdom like Solomon did. Pray for humility. Illumination.
Listen, we’re not after a wisdom of this age. No. We’re after the mind of Christ. We’re after that knowledge that transforms our new self into the image of our Creator.
That’s a smart Christian.
And here’s the trap I don’t want to fall into: Thinking our intellect is the end all be all.
Our minds are just as corrupted by the Fall as our emotions and will. Thus, in the end, the goal of suggestions like these is to bring our mind, emotions and will into obedience to the Word of God.
Your Turn: How do you renew your mind? Do you agree with all of my suggestions? Is there any you’d add? Or does this whole topic of “smart” Christians make your skin crawl? I look forward to hearing from you.
Fear and Loathing in a Liberal Bible Class
The January/February Nine Marks journal on New Liberalism brought back old memories of a particular class I took While in college:
“Bible as Literature.”
That course title was very misleading. Perhaps I was a bit naive.
The course was an elective and since I was a English major and a Christian it would serve two purposes: college credit and religious devotion.
While I got the credit, I didn’t get the devotion. [This was a secular school after all.]
Instead I got a low-grade bender on liberal theology.
A Shock to My System
Understand: I didn’t expect this. I wasn’t prepared for the challenge. Thus, it struck fear in my heart–and probably a handful of other Christians who thought to take the class for the same reasons I did.
[My own experience reminds me a lot of Daniel Wilson's battle with skepticism.]
Soon after the class began I loathed it. All parts of it. The readings before class. The discussions during class. The reeling sense of disappointment following the class.
It was the first time I ever seriously fought for my faith. Not in a public forum. But quietly within my soul.
That fight eventually went in the wrong direction.
Running Rabid and Roughshod over Scripture
Granted, we all have commitments and can never declare strict objectivity in our arguments, but it became quite clear in the first class that the professor wanted nothing more than to dismantle any Christian faith.
She had an agenda.
The classes usually ran like this: Show up to class. Read the text in question. Professor declares what Christians believe. Professor declares why Christians were wrong.
I don’t ever remember reading it as literature.
In fact, I don’t ever remember any serious textual criticism going on or effort root around the historical context.
It was a raw reading and the professors reaction to it. Nothing more.
While it’s not fair to call the professor a liberal [she was an atheist through and through], her approach WAS liberal.
Repulsive and Primitive Doctrines
She liked to pick on those texts that were repugnant to her senses. The wrath of God. Blood atonement. Eternal punishment. Resurrection.
Any feature that sounded primitive and offensive she dismissed. And like the Jesus Seminar she eliminated many of the words of Jesus to mere legends.
But in doing so, she, the Jesus Seminar and any liberal Christian reduced Him to a non-controversial figure instead of the unique Son of God.
If that was the case, why was He crucified if He didn’t offend anyone?
Liberals Love Affair with Man
Back in the early 20th Century, J. Gresham Machen denied that liberalism was Christianity. Whereas Christianity was rooted in supernaturalism, liberalism was rooted in naturalism.
One of the common characteristics of liberalism is an obsession with gaining the world’s approval and admiration–at any cost.
It’s the approval of the culture that counts–not Christ.
“I risk becoming a liberal, because I don’t just love God. I also love the sheep. And I love myself,” Michael Lawrence said. ”And it’s those two loves, wrongly focused, that tempt me down a gospel-denying path.”
Liberalism too often chooses the gospel-denying path.
Liberalism trims God’s Word in favor of the love and esteem of others. This explains why a historically Christian school like Harvard would slip from orthodox to liberalism.
Man has become our measure. Not God.
Liberalisms Motive
Remember liberals operate out of an apologetic motivation. They want to craft something the culture will happily swallow.
What they end up doing is trying to save Christianity from itself. And themselves from academic ridicule.
As Albert Mohler says, “The lesson of theological liberalism is clear—embarrassment is the gateway drug for theological accommodation and denial.”
But Christians are forbidden to court the spirit of the age. We are to cling to the orthodox gospel and all it’s ugly permutations.
One of the main reasons the gospel is such a stumbling block is that it cannot be adapted to suit cultural preferences or alternative worldviews.
Instead, it’s built to confront them all, including the liberal worldview.
A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study–Part 5
Finally, we come to the part of this Christ-centered Bible study series that I have been waiting for.
The C in “T.H.I.N.C.”
Christo-centric
Basically, this means “Christ-Centered.” Hence, the type of Bible study this is.
This is the meat on the bone. The wings to the plane. The juice in the jug.
Not getting this is like wearing shoes without shoe laces. And I have been this person almost all my life.
Thank God for people who have helped me see the beauty of the centrality of Christ in Scripture.
Throughout this study series, I have been developing on Matthew chapter 5.
It has served as a good chapter because of its hard sayings and deep meanings.
And as much as I want to show you how the Beatitudes are Christocentric in that their meaning reflect the person who finds Christ, I will be taking us out of Matthew 5 and into some other parts of Scripture.
Let’s talk about this Christo-centric thing
The traditional approach to reading Scripture is to read it moralistically. But I am going to suggest something different. So please, hold stones until the end.
There are two ways we do this:
1. We are urged into moral behavior or action.
2. We read a moral “meaning” of the text, thus attributing it’s meaning to our person.
What is interesting is that the Gospel message is not one that says you must clean up your act before you come to Christ.
In fact, you can’t. That’s why you and I need the Gospel.
The moral behavior the Bible teaches is good…we just cannot live up to it, because guess what—you and I still struggle with immoral thoughts.
So what do we do when we come across a passage that teaches us moral behavior?
Enter Jesus.
The question you have to ask your self is this: “How does Christ fulfill this text where you cannot?” Let’s look at some examples so I can show you what I mean.
Scriptural Examples
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17
This is a moral-action Scripture. It challenges us to a higher standard of morality.
And that is good. But it is not all.
What if we stopped here? We would simply get a moralistic teaching and possibly come out of the experience discouraged.
How in the world are we to “be wise,” or “don’t be foolish” and “understand the will of the Lord”?
Scripture never calls us into any mandate that Jesus did not fulfill.
We can paraphrase the above Scripture as such:
Jesus looked carefully on how he walked, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days were evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Jesus fits the bill on this one, because He is after all the one who fulfills the promises.
When you see it this way, then you see the beauty of Jesus in Scripture, and by that simple fact, you are better able to make connections to the cross.
The next one is the moral “meaning,” or “plot” of the text
For example: David and Goliath. Everyone knows these guys.
Many times (probably too often) I have heard this passage as David being the example to us being able to conquer our giants in life.
But is that the goal of that event? I don’t think so.
If we look at this Christocentrically, then I think we can see the beauty of Christ in it.
David was a “type” of Christ. He is the one who killed the giant so that all others could live.
Jesus killed the Giant, Jesus defeated the army for God. In other words, Jesus is the hero–not me!
This puts man in the center, not Jesus.
Another example would be in Daniel 4. Daniel is imprisoned and was told that the King was going to kill his magicians because they could not interpret his dream.
Daniel, however, in the special knowledge of God interprets the dream and Nebuchadnezzar’s. Thus, God gives Daniel the message, and Daniel reveals to Nebuchadnezzar’s what the dream means.
My traditional reading of this would be to interpret the passage into meaning that if I seek out God just like Daniel, then I could “interpret” dreams, too.
But actually, that just makes us the heroes of that account. Which is wrong.
What happens when we put Jesus into the meaning of this message? He becomes beautiful, we can respond in worship, and we don’t have to be the hero.
You see, we were all the magicians who were actively working against God, and Jesus stepped in be the mediator between God and man. And just like what happened with Daniel when all the magicians were saved as a result, so too are God’s people saved from execution because of Jesus working on their behalf.
Yet Another Example
What about when we are charged to not provoke our children to anger?
Well, Jesus did not provoke us to anger, but instead was patient and long-suffering in our return to Him.
Therefore, if we understand and remember what Jesus has done for us, we too will be patient and long-suffering toward our children.
This is Christocentric in a nut-shell.
If you REALLY want to learn about this method, hunt down Tim Keller’s lecture series “Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World” on Monergism.com. Get it and listen to it–it’s free.
Remember
You are not the hero of the story, no matter the story.
And what ever morality that Scripture is calling you into, it is not doing so without first in mind that Jesus has fulfilled that very call.
So tell me, have you ever though that YOU were the David in the story?
A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study–Part 4
So now we come to our fourth installment of this Bible Study Series.
It’s been an excellent experience for me, as I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it.
Thanks to all of you for tagging along and contributing by your readership and thoughtful comments.
My ultimate purpose in this series is to glorify God in Christ by encouraging those who read to engage the Scriptures that testify to Him, and spurring them into a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus.
You are the ones who make works such as this worth the while.
Now, On to Business!
In case you’re new, we have been using the acronym T.H.I.N.C. as a our study aid.
T=Trust
H=Halting
I=Immediate Context
And now we enter the part I suspect many of you have been eagerly waiting for: The N in “T.H.I.N.C.”
Navigation
This is the part of our Scripture reading where we ask the simple, yet challenging question: “So, what?”
What does what I just read have anything to do with me?
Today I read over Matthew chapter 5 again. It’s filled with arrows that point to a beautiful truth, which causes me to at once cling to its beauty, and at the same time pricks my heart with conviction.
Chapters such as Matthew 5, 6, and 7 seem to always do this sort of thing when we read them.
They serve as a spiritual barometer to our devotion to Jesus. They never get worn out. Ever.
That is exactly what Scripture is supposed to do.
And when we read it with a willingness to be changed by it, we benefit from its instruction.
But first we must understand where Scripture is leading us in order to receive its benefits, which are not always enjoyable.
Scripture Navigation as a Two-Fold Process.
First, the writers of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoke a particular word to a particular people, for a particular reason.
This is the quality of timeliness.
Since, though, it is divinely inspired, its message is also profitable for us today. This is the quality of timelessness.
Timeliness first, them timelessness—if possible. The key is to find out what the person who penned the words was saying to the people he was writing to for what purpose.
Now, how does that purpose relate to a present-day reality and personally to you? Sometimes this is simple to figure out, other times it requires focused prayer.
Scripture Navigation as an Example
Let’s take a look at our Matthew 5 passage—the one I left off with last time.
Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
First impression: Um, Jesus . . . that’s why I need YOU! Let’s walk through the T. H. I. N. C. process real quick:
1. Trust Jesus is saying something good here.
2. Halt! Take a look, re-read, and be patient.
3. What’s the Immediate Context? Here’s the context:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
Let’s Break It Down, A, B, C:
- Question: Is there a son of our Father in heaven who has done this that we may observe this command? (c’mon people, you know this!)
- Question: How does a son of our Father in heaven fit into this? Because like their Father, children of God show no partiality. (see also John 4:7-9)
- Question: Why would I want to do more than “others”? Because the “others” refers to people who practice evil or are outside a relationship with God (i.e. vv.46-47, “tax collectors,” “Gentiles”).
It looks as though in the immediate context Jesus is addressing a real issue: that the Jews of that day were very selfish with greeting each other, and condescending toward such oppressive “tax collectors” and pagan “Gentiles”.
Thus, Jesus tells them that their self-righteousness makes them like nothing more than the people they are condescending toward.
What do the Jews take away? “Be perfect.” Why? Because perfection in this context is in the action of love and the equality of men.
Where Does This Navigate You, the Reader?
Just as God sent blessings on you when you were far from Him, so you too ought to bless others in spite of their spiritual condition.
That is why this perfection is in the context of love, because love covers what our critical eyes cannot.
Love covers a multitude of sins.
The question you must ask yourself now is this: “Where in my life am I not loving others as Jesus said to in this verse?”
Do you know? Maybe you need to pray about it. Maybe it’s obvious to you? Only you can know.
Are you willing to share?
Are you willing to share where you need to humble yourself and love those who seem unlovable in your eyes?
To begin, I’ll share mine: There is a person I met recently (not here) that is very egotistical and arrogant. He’s difficult to love, and he’s very rude. To top it off, he’s a Christian, which makes me all the more frustrated with him. He seems hyper-religious, which really turns me off. So, I’ve been trying to make conversation with him. It’s tough, but I’m making progress.
Okay, your turn. Leave a comment.
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