Summary Review of The Doctrine of the Bible
· God is infinite. We are finite. If we are to know God, God must make Himself known to us.
· He has done this in two ways: General Revelation and Special Revelation.
· General Revelation is ‘God’s communication of himself to all persons at all times and in all places’[1]
· Nobody is without General Revelation as Psalm 19:1-2; Acts 14:17; Romans 1:19-20 indicate.
· Through General Revelation we can have some awareness that God exists and some knowledge of what He is like but this knowledge is limited. It does not provide sufficient information for man’s salvation. That requires Special Revelation.
· Special Revelation- ‘By special revelation we mean God’s manifestation of himself to particular persons at definite times and places, enabling those persons to enter into a redemptive relationship with him.’[2]
· Special Revelation is ‘special’ because it is not given to all people at all times. It is revelation that God gives primarily through the Bible. (Think Great Commission!)
· Three key words: inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy.
· Inspiration means “…God’s directing the thoughts of the writers, so that they were precisely the thoughts that he wished expressed.[3] 2 Timothy 3:16. Inspiration is not to be confused with our common understanding- ‘She was inspired by her coach.’ Inspiration means ‘God-breathed’.
· ‘Inspiration is the process by which Spirit-moved writers recorded God-breathed writings.'[4]
· The Scripture writers are not said to be inspired. It is the Scripture that is God-breathed. The ultimate source of Scripture writing is God.
· The human writers wrote what God wanted them to record-See 2 Peter 1:21- so that the words of Scripture are the words God wanted recorded.
· Infallibility means unable to fail or incapable of failure.
· Inerrancy means always truthful. A student who gets all the spelling words correct on a test would be inerrant on that particular test. To be inerrant is to be without error. As the God of truth, what God says is always true or errorless.
· Luke 24:13-27 reveals the high view that Jesus held of Scripture. Verse 27 refers to the entire Old Testament.
· Read, love, study, memorize, and believe the Word of God. We should saturate our minds with Scripture.
Chuck Chambers, Pastor Woolsey Baptist Church
[1] Erickson, Millard Christian Theology Vol. 1; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1983. page 153
[2] Ibid, p. 175
[3] Ibid, p. 216
[4] Geisler, Norman L. and Nix, William E.; A General Introduction to the Bible; Chicago: Moody Press, 1968. page 27
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Tithing or Giving? Is There a Difference?
I recently preached the final message in a four part series on the subject of stewardship. In the last message I shared the fruit of my study on what the Bible says about tithing and giving from the Old and New Testament. The sermon is on our website if you would like to hear it. Here are some summary statements for you to ponder:
· A denomination leader said, “Our people 45 years old and younger have grown up mesmerized by materialism. There's tremendous pressure on families to spend, spend, and spend." Then he adds, "I've heard that the generation that believed in the tradition of tithing is in three places: retirement homes, nursing homes, or cemeteries."
· Those who have believed in and practiced tithing are in retirement homes, nursing homes, or cemeteries? And, if it is true, what in the world is the church going to do? If we don’t have people to tithe, how will we do local and global ministries? How will we take pay our bills? How will we pay our employees?
· Does the Old Testament teach tithing? Well, yes, of course it does. Tithing-giving a tenth- was required by the Law.
· The Old Testament tithe was not 10% but reached as high as 23% and likely beyond!
· What if we consider giving from a perspective other than the tithe?
· Let’s focus on 2 Corinthians 8-9.To be true to the context, the giving here is not related to funding the church but meeting the needs of the poor. Yet, the principles here about giving do apply.
· 2 Cor. 8:1 and 7- Giving is not an obligation but we are encouraged to give. Giving is an act of grace. Giving reminds me that I am a recipient of that which I didn’t deserve, which is grace.
· 2 Cor. 8:2-3a Giving will not make sense. It is illogical to a logical mind.
· 2 Cor. 8:3b-4- Giving is not to be done out of guilt. Giving is tied to my relationship to the Lord. Giving is more of a spiritual matter than a financial matter. Our lack of giving is not usually because we have nothing to give.
· 2 Cor. 8:8-9- Giving is best demonstrated by Christ.
· 2 Cor. 8:10-12- Giving starts with what I have; not what I don’t have.
· 2 Cor. 8:24- Giving demonstrates our love.
· 2 Cor. 9:5- Giving is to be done willingly
· 2 Cor. 9:6-7- Giving is up to you us but the outcome of our decision is clear.
· 2 Cor. 9:8-11- God is able to take care of us when we give. Philippians 4:14-20 echoes this.
· 2 Cor. 9:12- Giving causes others to express a thankful heart.
· 2 Cor. 9:13-14- Giving brings glory to God.
· The Old Testament Jew gave according to a standard. The New Testament Christian gives according to grace. 2 Corinthians 8:1 opens with grace and 2 Corinthians 9:14 closes this section with grace. God’s abundant grace in saving me, a lost sinner, undone and without God, headed for a Christ-less eternity should be motivation sufficient to give.
· It’s not a prescribed obligation limited to 10%, or from the Old Testament perspective, 23%. We don’t take a dollar and say, ‘God, here’s your dime and the rest it mine.’ I have received freely the grace of God. How can I hold back? How can I offer God a rigid, inflexible, obligation? The matter really is the matter of my heart. Some could and should give way over a meager 10% while some cannot do that. The matter is the matter of the heart.
· In the New Testament, tithing is not rejected but neither do I see that it is clearly or specifically recommended. As a principle, if understood in light of the New Testament, it can be a systematic approach to giving. But, if it misses what the New Testament teaches and becomes a bill you write out to God, it’s missing what Jesus and the teaching of Paul calls us to.
How about your giving practices? Are there any adjustments that need to be made? Does your attitude in giving reflect that of a cheerful giver? Does the grace of God have any impact on your giving?
Think about it.
Pastor Chuck
· A denomination leader said, “Our people 45 years old and younger have grown up mesmerized by materialism. There's tremendous pressure on families to spend, spend, and spend." Then he adds, "I've heard that the generation that believed in the tradition of tithing is in three places: retirement homes, nursing homes, or cemeteries."
· Those who have believed in and practiced tithing are in retirement homes, nursing homes, or cemeteries? And, if it is true, what in the world is the church going to do? If we don’t have people to tithe, how will we do local and global ministries? How will we take pay our bills? How will we pay our employees?
· Does the Old Testament teach tithing? Well, yes, of course it does. Tithing-giving a tenth- was required by the Law.
· The Old Testament tithe was not 10% but reached as high as 23% and likely beyond!
· What if we consider giving from a perspective other than the tithe?
· Let’s focus on 2 Corinthians 8-9.To be true to the context, the giving here is not related to funding the church but meeting the needs of the poor. Yet, the principles here about giving do apply.
· 2 Cor. 8:1 and 7- Giving is not an obligation but we are encouraged to give. Giving is an act of grace. Giving reminds me that I am a recipient of that which I didn’t deserve, which is grace.
· 2 Cor. 8:2-3a Giving will not make sense. It is illogical to a logical mind.
· 2 Cor. 8:3b-4- Giving is not to be done out of guilt. Giving is tied to my relationship to the Lord. Giving is more of a spiritual matter than a financial matter. Our lack of giving is not usually because we have nothing to give.
· 2 Cor. 8:8-9- Giving is best demonstrated by Christ.
· 2 Cor. 8:10-12- Giving starts with what I have; not what I don’t have.
· 2 Cor. 8:24- Giving demonstrates our love.
· 2 Cor. 9:5- Giving is to be done willingly
· 2 Cor. 9:6-7- Giving is up to you us but the outcome of our decision is clear.
· 2 Cor. 9:8-11- God is able to take care of us when we give. Philippians 4:14-20 echoes this.
· 2 Cor. 9:12- Giving causes others to express a thankful heart.
· 2 Cor. 9:13-14- Giving brings glory to God.
· The Old Testament Jew gave according to a standard. The New Testament Christian gives according to grace. 2 Corinthians 8:1 opens with grace and 2 Corinthians 9:14 closes this section with grace. God’s abundant grace in saving me, a lost sinner, undone and without God, headed for a Christ-less eternity should be motivation sufficient to give.
· It’s not a prescribed obligation limited to 10%, or from the Old Testament perspective, 23%. We don’t take a dollar and say, ‘God, here’s your dime and the rest it mine.’ I have received freely the grace of God. How can I hold back? How can I offer God a rigid, inflexible, obligation? The matter really is the matter of my heart. Some could and should give way over a meager 10% while some cannot do that. The matter is the matter of the heart.
· In the New Testament, tithing is not rejected but neither do I see that it is clearly or specifically recommended. As a principle, if understood in light of the New Testament, it can be a systematic approach to giving. But, if it misses what the New Testament teaches and becomes a bill you write out to God, it’s missing what Jesus and the teaching of Paul calls us to.
How about your giving practices? Are there any adjustments that need to be made? Does your attitude in giving reflect that of a cheerful giver? Does the grace of God have any impact on your giving?
Think about it.
Pastor Chuck
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