Archive for March 2008
Why Have Hope?
Do you ever find yourself in a seemingly never-ending downward spiral? Do you ever just wonder what God’s plan is? Do you feel like your life is meaningless and hopeless?
If you have, then be assured you are not alone. I have felt that way as of late…always wondering what in the heck is going on, how I am supposed to get through life.
The good news for you (and me) is that there is hope. Hope is found in Jesus Christ. He is the foundation of hope. While I am going to touch on my life in this post, most of it will deal with finding hope through Jesus Christ.
How Great Is Our God – Part Three
With Easter approaching, I believe this is the perfect time to post this part in the series.
As I am about to write part three of this series, I feel that this is the most important aspect of God (I say aspect in this sense, because I hesitate to call holiness an attribute of God – I believe holiness to be what God IS, not just a part of His character – every one of His attributes come from His holiness). Right now it is December 30, 2007 – yes, I know that means that even though this series is not being published until 2008, that I have written the introduction and parts one, two, and three in December 2007. At this moment, I am not sure what date this is being published, but I am really serious about what I am writing, and I am really putting a lot of prayer into this series. I am hoping this is evident by the lapse between the date written and the date published.
There is not a lot that I am afraid of. I could probably count the things that I am afraid of on one hand. I am not going to list those, but I will say this: I am afraid of what I am writing in this series. I am afraid that I will screw up what God is trying to say, and that I will screw His word up in a way that may in fact be the difference between life and death for someone. And that truly scares me. So with that in mind, it is by God alone that I continue now. Read the rest of this entry »
The Inerrancy of Scripture
I took the following quote from Voddie Baucham. If you have never heard this man preach, then you are missing out. He really knows what he is talking about. Here is his quote:
“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses that report supernatural events which took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies and claim to be divine rather than human in origin.”
This quote looks to be an answer to the question: How come you believe the Bible? Is the Bible accurate?
Obviously, since this is Mr. Baucham’s quote, most of this blog will come from what he said. However, I will start with this. I have been accused of using circular reasoning to defend the Bible. People will say you can’t defend the Bible with the Bible.
Let me be real clear here. I will never defend the Bible. The Bible does not need a defense. It will defend itself if you look intellectually at it. As Charles Spurgeon put it,
“Scripture is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.”
Now back to the main question, is the Bible inerrant? The answer is yes, and here is a passage from 2 Peter to support it.
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Peter 1:16-21 (ESV)
“…A reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses …”
Look at 2 Peter, it says they did not follow cleverly devised myths (another translation says ‘tales’). These authors wrote the Bible based on historical events that they saw with their own eyes, or was recounted to them by other eyewitnesses. They didn’t write based on myths or tales, but actual events.
“…that report supernatural events which took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies…”
The authors of the Bible wrote of supernatural events, not just superhuman events. For example, Jesus healing the man’s withered hand (Matt. 12:13); Jesus walked on the water (Matt. 14:25); when Jesus healed the blind men (Matt. 9:29-30). Finally of course, the fulfillment of the prophesy of crucifixion in Psalm 22. This was written a thousand years before Jesus was born and it was fulfilled. So the authors wrote about events that they saw, and were writing about fulfilled prophesy.
“…claim to be divine rather than human in origin.”
In verse 20 and 21 of 2 Peter, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God…” No prophesy can be fulfilled by a human. No prophesy comes from human interpretation, it is only from God.
The Bible is inerrant. Yes, it was penned by men, but it was inspired by God. There are many “arguments” that can come from this. One example: someone might say, since it was penned by men, then it must be disregarded because it is inaccurate. Well, using this logic, all books must be disregarded. The last time I checked, all books were written by men (and women). So if that’s the argument, it has no logic to it.
The question of is the Bible accurate and why do you believe it is an intelligent question and deserves an intelligent response. It is not enough to say something like well I believe it because I believe it, or I am a Southern Baptist and that is how we believe. A Christian has to stand ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them (1 Peter 3:15).
Again, the quote at the beginning comes from Voddie Baucham and then of course most of the breakdown of it comes from his explanation because it is not my quote, however, it is a wonderful answer to the question of why I believe the bible, therefore I am now using it. I encourage you to check out brother Baucham.
- Adam Smith
Why I Hate Joel Osteen’s Preaching
This piece is purely an opinion on my part about why I hate Joel Osteen’s preaching. You say “Whoa, hate is a little harsh isn’t it?” No, I do not believe it is because Joel Osteen is a false preacher and his preaching has the dangerous potential of leading people away from the God of the Bible. PLEASE don’t misunderstand what I am saying here. I do NOT hate Joel Osteen. That is not what I said. I said I hate his preaching. Now let me explain my point.
It is our responsibility to spread the gospel that Jesus Christ is the only way to true salvation, that we are all dead in sin. Salvation is about the glory of God. Joel Osteen doesn’t preach this. In my opinion, the thing that makes Joel Osteen a false preacher is the fact that he does not preach the true gospel – or I should say he does not preach the true purpose of the gospel.
How Great Is Our God – Part Two
In an attempt to answer this question, part two deals with the justice of God. God is great because of His justice. He is a just God, and that is part of His character; God cannot go against His character. Justice by definition means the quality of being just; fairness; the upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law. The law in the context of this part is referring to God’s law; His ultimate standard is by which we will be judged.
I am going to use a real-world example. This case is national news, so I am sure you have heard of it: the Christian-Newsom double murder that happened in Knoxville in January 2007. I knew one of them personally, so it is easy for me to answer the following question. Would I want a judge in this case to let the suspects go free of any penalty? No! That would not be justice according to the law, and the judge would not be doing his job. Read the rest of this entry »
