Unchanging Truth
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson recently tweeted, "The good thing about Science is that it's true, whether or not you believe in it." And he got challenged by... the Steak-umm's guy. - He's the social media construct of the processed meat product, 'Steak-umms'. Yeah...
The Steak-umms guy initially replied simply with 'log off bro' - but then followed up with a tweet that included, "science is an ever refining process to find truth, not a dogma." And when the Steak-umms guy got push back - he replied with, "science itself isn't "true" it's a constantly refining process used to uncover truths based in material reality and that process is still full of misteaks. neil just posts ridiculous sound bites like this for clout and he has no respect for epistemology".
Why do I find myself cheering for the Steak-umms guy...? He used that big word, "epistemology" - which is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, origin and source of knowledge and truth. Kind of a big word for a guy hawking processed meat - but he's correct.
I just quoted my father 8 weeks ago who shared these words, and I'm going to do it again - "It's not that science is bad, but it isn't always perfect. The Library of Congress is filled with books that once seemed to be the "final word" on scientific investigation. Most have been updated and replaced, and will probably one day all be considered 'out of date'. Science is merely a tool that God gives us to discover and adapt to what He already knows. It is very useful in getting through life, but it must never take the place of God. Science is still growing, but God's Word is complete."
I want to look at a familiar passage again which is vital to what we do here. The Apostle Paul, one chosen by Jesus Himself, wrote this to a young preacher, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NIV)...
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, (15) and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (17) so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
That is a bold claim - one on which we base our faith. God's Word is true. God is The source of truth. But there are a lot of people who make the claim that the Bible is just another man-made book of fiction like any other. What's the truth? What if...
I. The Bible is wrong...?
I always encourage you to believe God's Word and accept it as truth, but what if there is something to what the critics say...? If you type "Bible errors" into any search engine you'll be overwhelmed with the results. And if you read through some of them, you might be tempted to think they've got a solid case.
When we say that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is inerrant, it has no errors or mistakes - we're not saying that people who have copied God's Word over the years haven't made mistakes. We're talking about the original authors, the original documents. And we can go back to the earliest documents in the original Greek and Hebrew to confirm the Bible's consistency and accuracy.
Since not many of us fluently read Greek or Hebrew, we have modern English translations. For instance, from Leviticus - if you look up this passage in the King James Version, it reads...
Leviticus 13:47 (KJV)
The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
Critics cry, 'Modern science tells us that clothes can't get diseases like leprosy! The Bible is wrong!' However, the Hebrew word translated as 'leprosy' was used for many skin conditions at that time as well as for mold on walls. And that's why we see this in the NIV...
Leviticus 13:47 (NIV)
If any clothing is contaminated with mildew - any woolen or linen clothing,
It's not that the Bible is wrong; it's not that the translators of the King James Version didn't know the difference between leprosy and mold - the words used to convey different concepts and meanings change over time. And that's why we always have go back to the original documents which do not change. To answer the vast majority of complaints about the Bible's accuracy, we need to examine everything in...
A. Context
And I know that I mention this frequently, but so much depends on our complete understanding of scripture rather than just on bits and pieces. For instance, critics will say that there's a contradiction in the fact that in the Old Testament God commanded people to go to war against other nations, but then Jesus said this in Matthew 26:52 (NIV)...
Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
And then even the Apostle Paul says this regarding rulers...
Romans 13:4 (NIV)...
For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
So which is it? Is the Bible approving of violence and war or discouraging it? If you only look at each passage individually, it's hard to understand these seeming contradictions - but again, each passage must be looked at in context. - Who was the audience? - What were the immediate circumstances?
When you find verses that appear to be in opposition to each other - you have to look at them in the context of all of scripture and interpret scripture by scripture. God was specifically directing the nation of Israel; Jesus was speaking to Peter who was defending Jesus; Paul was speaking of government, not specifically individuals - if you look at all of those contextual details, then those 'contradictions' disappear.
God's inspired Word is true. When there are supposed errors in scripture, many times it's based on a limited human...
B. Point of view
We can only clearly see things in the present. For instance - the Old Testament mentions the ancient Hittite civilization more than 50 times. One such early mention is from Genesis 23:10 (NIV)...
Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.
For years, skeptics said, "We can't find any evidence for the Hittite civilization outside of the Bible. This demonstrates that the Bible cannot be trusted as an historical source." So from their limited point of view - their present - there was no such civilization as the Hittites. The writers of the Bible made it all up. - Until archaeologists found and excavated the ancient Hittite capital city in northern Turkey. The rediscovery of this ancient civilization revealed their point of view was too small.
Critics said Nineveh wasn't a real place, as recorded multiple times in scripture and as seen in this verse...
2 Kings 19:36 (NIV)
So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
The Old Testament histories and prophecies spoke about Assyria. Jesus Himself talked about the existence of Nineveh as a historical fact when talking about the account of Jonah. But there was absolutely no evidence that Nineveh or any part of this vast Assyrian Empire even existed. So many scholars disputed the testimony of Jesus and the prophets. - Until the discovery in northern Iraq of the ancient remains of three Assyrian cities - including Nineveh.
A limited point of view said that there was no evidence outside of the Bible that King David was a real person who ever existed - until an excavation in northern Israel in 1993. So why am I taking the time to go into tedious detail in support of the Bible's claim to accuracy?
I'm not trying to convince anyone that Jesus is real from archeology. An unbeliever probably won't come to Jesus based on ancient ruins and contextual arguments. But it is important for us to understand the truth of scripture. It is important for us to be reminded and encouraged that our faith is not based on hearsay and conjecture - but on the faithful and unchanging Word of God. This is important for us, because...
II. The Bible matters
If we start believing critics who chip away at its truthfulness, it loses influence in our own lives. I've seen people take things out of context, mistranslations and the sort and justify all sorts of beliefs and actions that clearly go directly against God's Word. People who do not accept God's authority try to rip out the Biblical foundation or twist it to fit their personal beliefs rather than submitting to God's revealed will.
And that, in large part, is perhaps why the Church's influence in our culture and nation is waning. How can we expect non-believers to accept the Bible when many Christians won't even stand up for it as true?
Once we reject The Bible as THE authority, the accurate, inspired Word of God - it then becomes a matter of feelings and opinion. There are many non-Christian people who consider themselves spiritual - and in their minds, if the Bible is just a fallible 'man made' book - why would my opinion about what's right and wrong have any more weight than theirs?
What you think about the truthfulness and accuracy of the Bible shapes your understanding of Jesus; His values, His plans and His will for you. The truthfulness of the Bible matters. And...
A. Belief matters
If we don't believe the Bible is accurate and true, how can we then believe John 3:16-18 (NIV) which says...
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
The Bible records that Jesus says we are saved by belief in Him, but how can we believe fully in Him if we don't fully believe God's Word? If we accept Jesus, we have to accept His teachings - and our genuine belief in Him is shown by our response to His command in Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)...
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Becoming a follower of Jesus is more than just saying a prayer and inviting Jesus into your heart. It's believing His Word and obeying that Word. The Church was established by Jesus to be where we worship, and fellowship and we learn more about Jesus and His Word. That's why being a part of a Church is so important and why we meet every week. The Church is where you learn how to live out your beliefs.
That's why we need to get back to doing all the things the Church did before all of the restrictions we've experienced this last year. We need each other and our community needs the Church - us! I am so grateful that we've been able to reach out through the use of technology. But I'm even more grateful when I see brothers and sisters reconnecting in person after a worship service. I'm so grateful to hear some of you inviting others to lunch afterwards! I'm so grateful that we're getting back to being the Church!
The truthfulness of the Bible matters - and our belief in Jesus matters, and when we give ourselves to Him...
B. Jesus can change us!
- But only if we let Him. And when we believe Jesus, when we allow Him to be Lord, to be our Authority - when we stop trying to shape Him into who we want Him to be; it's then that He will change us. That's how Jesus turned a group of rag tag fishermen into men who changed the world! That's how He turned drunks and thieves and prostitutes and liars and tax cheats and murderers into men and women who were washed clean; How Jesus turned them from sinners to saints! And He still does - don't ever forget that!
And that's how Jesus is changing you and me!
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (18) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: (19) that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
(20) We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. (21) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The man who wrote that, Paul, was in his own words, "The worst of sinners". But when He met Jesus, everything changed! I read an article last week that questioned the Bible's validity because the book of Acts portrayed Paul extremely differently than he portrayed himself in his own writings - almost like they were two different people...
I think we forget that that's how Jesus works. We get so used to the casual comfort of watching online or popping in for a quick Sunday service that we tend to forget that Jesus came to radically change us! We are a new creation - and Jesus wants us to take His unchanging message to those who need Him.
So What?
If we fully understand that God's Word is completely true, nothing will be able to make us back down from sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ! There are those today, even some in the Church, who want to remove anything controversial or even anything miraculous from the Bible. And some may even have good intentions about this - they want to make the message of the Bible somehow more acceptable to unbelievers.
If they can take out the 'silly stories' we tell our kids in Sunday School; if we can explain away the miracles with science and rational thinking - maybe then the skeptics will listen. If they can take out the things that offend modern morality - then maybe the younger generation will listen.
But this silly, controversial, sometimes difficult and even offensive message we find in the Bible is the message that saves us! It's the foolishness of God coming down as a man and dying on a cross out of love for us - that's the message that saves us!
There have always been, and always will be, those who pour over scripture in order to shred its authority. But the Bible has stood the test of time. We serve an almighty God who gave everything for us and wants us to give ourselves to Him. You can trust in God's Word and when you do - you can trust that God has amazing plans for your life!