I love that expression and I believe it wonderfully describes a healthy expression of evangelism and Christian mission in the world. Lesslie Newbigin, a British theologian and missionary to India once said, “Mission begins with an explosion of joy.”

In this third part, I want to briefly talk about evangelism and Christian mission in the midst of our growing secular culture. First of all, most of us are intimidated by the topic of evangelism. We know we are supposed to be sharing our faith, but we feel inadequate or uncomfortable. We feel the pressure and feeling of not wanting people to reject us or worse, feel like we are judging them. We have all probably been exposed to forced evangelistic methods and programs and know that they are inadequate and sometimes even harmful especially in our current secular culture. For years now, the mission of the American church has been driven by the idea of “relevance.” Stefan Pass states, “…why should the Church be ‘relevant’ in the first place, and who sets the criteria for this relevance? Wouldn’t this mean to subject the Church to worldly standards? Surely the Church exists for the pleasure of God, and that should suffice.”

After decades of serving within the Church in several different cities and settings, I feel like I am just now deeply wrestling with the problems of “relevance.” Obviously, we are to be relevant when it comes to our communication and cultural circumstances. The problem comes subtly when we are more concerned about being relevant than about being faithful to the Word of God. When relevance takes over the mission of the Church, we adopt worldly business practices and metrics to determine our success rather than a Spirit-led process. This process is more defined by prayer, repentance, and transformational testimonies whose fruitfulness sometimes is hard to measure. Here are a few thoughts that we should think about when it comes to a renewal of evangelism and the mission of the Church.

1.) Nothing is more relevant than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The starting place for a new zeal for evangelism is a revival of the soul to be overwhelmed again by the mighty grace of God so there is an “explosion of joy” that we cannot hold back.

2.) We must remember that Jesus was not concerned about building a crowd. He was concerned about who would forsake it all and follow Him as a disciple. This biblical truth would radically impact our preaching, teaching and sharing.

3.) We must remember Jesus’ rebuke of Peter that he was too concerned about the things of man rather than the things of God. As soon as we start to adapt our message to what we think people want to hear so we can be seen as relevant we become people pleasers rather than God pleasers.

4.) The drive of relevance will always water down the message and leave no space for theological and spiritual depth. The emphasis becomes no different than secular marketing plans of doing whatever it takes to muster up a little interest rather than bold, loving truth telling with dependence upon the Spirit to awaken souls.

Quotes:

Pilgrims and Priests, Christian Mission in a Post-Christian Society by Stefan Pass, p. 3.

The post What is the Spirit saying to the Church (part 3) appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

I am uncomfortable even writing that sentence, but sadly that is the growing attitude among many people in America today and a sure sign of our rapid secularization.

Every week I try and walk into the core of our town (Aspen, CO) and get a coffee, hang out, be available and pray for our little resort town. Apatheism is in full swing here. This is a secular city that is busy with all the best the world has to offer. To be a follower of Jesus and be a part of a church is a minority group here and there is very little to affirm faith. People will talk about ‘spirituality’ and all kinds of spiritual experiences, but the idea of God is marginalized. So, how are Christ-followers to live in this growing secular society and be faithful to Jesus’ mission?

Stefan Paas in his book, Pilgrims and Priests, Christian Mission in a Post-Christian Society, describes his experience of living in Amsterdam:

“For the first time we lived in a place where our deepest convictions were not acknowledged at all, or even respected. Despite yourself, you begin to realize how completely self-evident it is for the vast majority in Amsterdam to live without God or the Church. In this profoundly secularized environment people do not even bother to be atheists…You start to wonder whether it really is worth your time to invest so much in one seeker who knocks on the door, while so many others leave through the back door. These questions hit you with double strength when you notice that people can be really happy without religion, and that they do not need God either to care deeply about their fellow humans, or to give to charity. In most of them you do not find this sense of emptiness, or the vague sense of guilt that can be found among non-believers or ex-churchgoers in more religious areas. In Amsterdam, faith has nothing to do with ‘doing the decent thing’ or ‘following tradition’.” (xiv-xv)

All of these sentiments converge here in our little international mountain town. So, how can we maintain a positive faith identity and be salt and light within this rapidly changing culture? Paas goes on in his book to encourage believers to remember that the Bible was written by minorities – believers whose faith and religious practice had been marginalized within the culture and were experiencing hostility. He mentions the story of Daniel in exile as a great encouragement and makes this profound statement:

“Daniel managed to develop a positive faith identity in a context that did not support or affirm his faith. If your faith survives in exile, it will only happen by being thrown back on the nourishing narratives of the Bible, and by being connected with a faith community. The rest will soon become insignificant, or fade away…Again, the faithful formed small groups here amidst a rather disinterested world.” (xv)

We all need to take some time and deeply think about this and press into the scriptures and evaluate our commitment to the church and smaller faith groups within. We cannot move on to being salt and light until we are aflame with hunger for Jesus and His Word and deeply committed to His Body the Church.

The post What is the Spirit saying to the Church? (part 2) appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

Is globalization good? Well, yes and no. I am not going to deal with geo-politics in this blog necessarily, but the spiritual warfare reality behind globalization. Tragically, many Christians are reading their Bibles and living their life with more of a worldly worldview than a biblical worldview. The Bible from beginning to end can only be properly understood if it is read with the biblical view of the world, which is one of spiritual warfare. This worldview realizes the truth as recorded in the Bible that there are good angels and there are fallen angels and other spiritual beings that are involved behind the scenes in the spiritual realm. Jesus makes it clear that He came to destroy the “works of the devil” (1Jn 3:8) and restore and renew the children of God and the creation itself.

What went wrong with the world? There are basically four things that have brought evil to the world and continue to inflict destruction. (1) The original fall of Satan and other spiritual beings, sometime at the beginning of creation (Gen 1:1-4, Is 14:14-16) (2) The Fall when Adam and Eve rebelled against God, (Gen 3) (3) The action of spiritual beings in leaving their state to corrupt mankind and create the Nephilim, a race of giants that show up through the O.T. and are eventually defeated by David’s mighty men (Gen 6:14, 1 Pt 2:4, Jude 6) (4) The rebellion at the tower of Babel when mankind united against God and God confused their languages and dispersed them over the face of the earth. (Genesis 11).

What is bad about globalization? It is a recurrence of the same pride and corruption that was behind the building of the tower of Babel – the uniting of mankind against their Creator. When God dispersed mankind at the tower of Babel and created the different languages and cultures He assigned “spiritual beings” (“sons of God” – powerful angelic beings) to reign over the different nations. These are territorial angelic powers. Deuteronomy 32:8 states, “ When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.” And we can see in Psalm 82 that these powerful angelic beings – “gods” who are a part of God’s divine counsel rebelled from their role in leading the nations and will come under God’s judgment one day. From this Psalm we can see that in the last verse that God’s saving work in the world is to redeem all the nations. He started this process in Genesis 12 right after the rebellion at Babel by calling Abraham to be the Father of faith.

When Adam and Eve sinned they gave over their authority to take dominion over all the earth to Satan. And ever since that time, Satan and the other fallen “gods” who are over the nations have been warring against God’s redemptive plan and His people. We can see some of the territorial “gods” in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 10 reveals that the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” warred against God’s messenger to Daniel. The New Testament tells us that one day a powerful world figure will arise that will try and call the nations together again into a powerful one world government – the epitome of globalization. He will be ultimately revealed as the Anti-Christ who will be in partnership with Satan and the other “gods” of the nations.

What is good about globalization? The Father sent Jesus to not just redeem individuals, but to defeat the power Satan had over the nations. When Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness, one of his temptations was over the authority of the nations,

“And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7)

Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection have set us free from the power of sin and death, which Satan held over us. Jesus came to save us and restore us to God’s original design as His overseers of creation. The first part of this plan is to redeem people from every nation. This is why the great commission is so much bigger than just making local disciples. It is about “making disciples” of all “nations.” This is part of the restoration of the nations back to God. We can see this also in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jesus has established His church to be the vessel for bringing the nations back into obedience to God, but this is not a political process, it is a spiritual process at first. The church is to be carrying on Jesus’ mission to bring to redemption people from every tongue, tribe and nation. Because Jesus has defeated Satan’s rule and poured out the Spirit on the church, believers now are supposed to walk in that power to defeat the works of the devil that hold people in all nations captive.

Now, does this theology have an impact on our geo-politics? Yes, it does, but it takes great wisdom to apply it appropriately. The spiritually sensitive can see the spiritual powers behind much of our current battles over isolationism and globalization. Any move toward blending nations together where the individual sovereignty of each nation is at risk should be viewed with great suspect. I recently heard someone talk about being more committed to being a global citizen rather than an American citizen. This is part of a certain progressive agenda. This is the spirit of Babel. It has been here from the beginning and it will raise its dark head in the end. The good news is that when people from all nations come to Jesus as Lord and Savior, they are released from the spirit of Babel and are first and foremost citizens of heaven.

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God has a sense of humor. How do I know? Because it seems like every time I carelessly use the words “always” or “never” I end up eating my words. I told my grandmother for years I would “never” drink coffee. She put a twenty-dollar bill in her journal that I would. I am a coffee fanatic today. I said I would “never” move back to Houston after college. My first job out of college was in downtown Houston. I said early on I would “never” be a public speaker especially a preacher. Oops. I said I would never get drunk? Oh how the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I could go on and on about many other “never” statements where I had to eat my words and I am sure you can too.

It is interesting that we are so much quicker to say “You never…” or “You always…” rather than “I never…” or “I always…” Also, we are much quicker saying, “I never…” rather than “I always…” To prove my point, try and remember the number times you have said “I never…” versus “I always…” All of this reveals that there is something much deeper going on and that our use of “always” and “never” reveal a lot about our theology and relationship with God. We need to develop a healthy “always” and “never” theology.

“Always” make sure that our “always” and “never” statements are founded on God’s truth.

“Never” say “always” or “never” statements from just our mind, will or emotions.

These two theological statements will bring blessing into your life and relationships and keep you from a lot of hurt. It is one thing to say, “I will never drink coffee,” and eat my words. It is a whole other thing to say, “I will always love you” and to break my vow. Or a man saying to his children, “I will always love and be committed to your mother,” only to break that vow. It is a prideful and misleading statement if not based on God’s truth – which says that no man can keep his vow to his wife without faith in Christ to empower him to love her like Christ loved the church. (Eph 5:25) Peter found out the hard way when he spoke up to Jesus about him going to the cross, “This shall never happen to you.” (Matt 16:22) Jesus rebuked Peter, “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matt 16:23)

Language is important. Jesus is called “the Word.” (John 1:1) The scriptures say over and over again that our words are important for they reveal what is in our heart. And Jesus says that we will have to give an account of every word that we speak. (Matt 12:36). The amazing thing is that God desires to have intimate fellowship with us and a large part of our spiritual growth is having the Holy Spirit transform our language so that it is seasoned with grace. Ultimately, only God has the ability to truly stand behind “Always” and “Never” statements:

Jesus said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:20)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

So, never use always or never from your own mind, emotion or will and always use always and never in relation to God’s truth and promises.

The post Be Careful When You Say: Always or Never appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

How we define faith, love and marriage directly determines the success of our marriages. In our world today, sadly 50 out 100 marriages don’t make it, and this statistic is getting worse. However, in marriages where the couple is committed to God, to the church, and to praying and studying the Bible together, the failure rate goes from 50 out of 100, to a little over 1 out of 1000!

Many today are giving up hope on marriage, but deep inside everyone know there is something sacred about marriage and the universal desire to experience it. There is hope for marriage ultimately because it is not a human institution, but it is God’s design and plan to build His eternal family.

We cannot have a healthy church without healthy marriages, and we cannot have healthy marriages without a healthy church.

There is healing for marriage because Jesus’ death and resurrection have provided the way to heal the broken-hearted and transform the hard-hearted.

It is only through an intimate relationship with Jesus that we are able to:

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.”

We live in a fallen world where selfishness and hardness of heart have caused great harm. And so, because of those things the result is often divorce. Listed below is a basic outline of what the Bible teaching about divorce and remarriage:

We must maintain a proper view of God’s Original Design:

1. God’s original design was that there should be no divorce and therefore no remarriage “What therefore God has joined together let no man separate.” (Gen.2:22-25, Mal. 2:16, Matt 19:4-6, Mk 10:5-9, Lk 16:18, Rm 7:1-3)

2. If a wife divorces her husband she should remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband, and her husband should not divorce his wife but if so should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her. (1Cor 7:10-11)

We must maintain a proper view of the exceptions:

1. If a man divorces his wife and she remarries her original husband can never remarry her even if she is divorced or her second husband dies. (Deut. 24:2-4)

2. If a man divorces his wife except for immorality he causes her to commit adultery for whoever marries her will commit adultery unless her marriage was broken by immorality. (Matt 5:31-32)

3. If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman he is committing adultery unless his original wife had committed adultery. (Matt 19:9)

4. If a woman divorces her husband and marries another man she is committing adultery unless her original husband committed immorality. (Mark 10:12)

5. If a husband and wife are a believer and unbeliever the believer should not divorce the unbeliever but if the unbeliever wants to divorce than the marriage bond is broken and they are free to remarry. (1 Cor7:10-11)

6. When the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife, Jesus’ answer was that Moses allowed it because of their hardness of heart. Jesus makes clear that it is a hard heart that breaks up marriage. And so, in some situations because of abuse due to the hardness of heart, divorce is acceptable and necessary for the protection of the one being abused. (Matthew 19:1-9, Mark 10:1-12)

How do we apply these biblical principles:

We need to remember that divorce is forgivable and that God is a gracious, loving, and forgiving God. However, divorce has many dire consequences that will affect the whole family and any future remarriage; therefore, it should not be taken lightly. God’s Word gives clear direction in most of these areas. Because of the nature of divorce and the very painful circumstances surrounding each specific relationship, great care and grace need to be applied in dealing with relationships where it has occurred.

Again, we cannot have a healthy church without healthy marriages, and we cannot have healthy marriages without a healthy church. God’s path for the healthy growth of our marriages is being a part of a healthy church community where there is mutual encouragement for each marriage and family.

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“Apply thyself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to thyself.” (attributed to Johann Albrecht Bengel 1687-1752)

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2

For a lot of people, the idea of Bible Study Methods just sounds boring and way too much work. Unfortunately, the state of biblical knowledge among Christians today is very weak. There are a lot of factors, which have led to this crisis within the Church and not just one main issue. Yes, it is a crisis, when Christians are looking to many other sources for direction and wisdom rather than the Bible. It is a real crisis when most Christians today do not have an adequate understanding of the Bible and feel inadequate in reading and studying it. So, the Church needs to rise up and get back to the Bible and equipping people in how to read it, study it and live by it.

Christianity is radically different from every religion and spiritual path in the world for many reasons, one of which is that it is based on and lived by revelation from God Himself. There are two kinds of revelation; general revelation, which is what we can know about God from the creation, and special revelation, which is based upon Jesus’ historical life and the written Word of God the Bible. The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God wants to be in an intimate Father-child relationship with us. He has shown this love by sending His Son to die so that we could live in this relationship with Him. He has spoken by His Holy Spirit resulting in the Bible, which is the main way that He communicates His works, ways and will to His children. Why, if someone has met Jesus as Lord and Savior would they not grow in their hunger and thirst for seeking God in His Word?

Howard and William Hendricks in their book “Living by the Book” have listed seven reasons why people do not read and study the Bible:

• I need something that works
• I don’t know how
• I’m just a layman
• I just don’t have time
• I have my doubts about the Bible
• I can’t seem to make it interesting
• Nobody ever told them what they’d gain by it[i]

The goal of this blog is to encourage people to get started in studying their Bible, no matter what their excuse is. Reading and studying the Bible is both a great privilege and a great responsibility. It is my hope and prayer that people will grow in their knowledge of the great privilege it is to fellowship with God through His written Word and to take seriously their responsibility to learn how to properly read, study and live the Word!

What is Bible Study Methods?

Bible Study Methods can simply be defined as those methods by which someone can properly read, study and apply the Word. The goal of bible study is to engage the heart as well as the mind. This is never to be just an academic exercise and it is never to be just an individual experiential exercise. It is to engage the heart and mind in fellowship with God as one pursues His Word. There are several other terms, which are important for people to know and understand.

Hermeneutics – different processes and principles to interpret the Bible

Exegesis – the process of determining the meaning of a specific text

Exposition – communicating the meaning of a specific text

“Biblical interpretation is undoubtedly one of the chief means of character formation in the church. Character and community are formed by hearing and doing the Word. Indeed, the theological aim of biblical interpretation is to grow in the knowledge of God, as well as in wisdom and righteousness. This is the “telos” of reading the Bible as Scripture (2 Tim 3:16). It follows that readers respond to Scripture as Scripture by following, that is, by applying its meaning according to its intent. The church is a community of readers who acknowledge an infinite debt toward the Scriptures, for what the Bible demands of its readers is nothing less than their wholehearted attention.”[ii]

“I conclude, therefore, that God’s meaning in Scripture is only accessible through the particular language conventions of the various human authors. My belief in inspiration, therefore, is a belief that to grasp what these human authors willed to communicate in their particular historical situation is also to grasp God’s own intention for that situation. Consequently, the most immediate goal of exegesis is to understand what the Biblical authors willed to communicate in their situation. The goal is to see reality through another person’s eyes…It demands that our own ideas take second place…The primary work of the Holy Spirit in exegesis is to abolish the pride and arrogance that keeps us from being open to the Scriptures.”[iii]

“Hermeneutics, as mentioned earlier, is the science and art of interpreting the Bible. Another way to define hermeneutics is this: It is the science (principles) and art (task) by which the meaning of the biblical text is determined. As Terry wrote: Hermeneutics, therefore, is both a science and an art. As a science, it enunciates principles, investigates the laws of thought and language, and classifies its facts and results. As an art, it teaches what applications these principles should have, and establishes their soundness by showing their practical value in the elucidation of the more difficult Scriptures. The hermeneutical art thus cultivates and establishes a valid exegetical procedure.”[iv]

“Exegesis may be defined as the determination of the meaning of the biblical text in its historical and literary contexts. Exposition is the communication of the meaning of the text along with its relevance to present-day hearers. Exegesis is the actual interpretation of the Bible, and hermeneutics consists of the principles by which the meaning is determined.”[v]

Why is Proper Bible Study Methods Critical?

“I have come to think that the way individuals and communities interpret the Bible is arguably the most important barometer of larger intellectual and cultural trends.”[vi]

This is a powerful statement and highlights why developing proper Bible Study Methods is so critical. We can prove this statement simply by taking a brief look at American cultural and intellectual history and see that where there is a low view of the Bible and a lack of interpreting it literally that communities and the country quickly move away from biblical truth as a guide or even a gauge for truth.

“…do readers project themselves onto the text or discover themselves in the text? This “mirror image” raises what I believe to be the most important question for contemporary theories of interpretation, whether of the Bible or of any other book: Is there something in the text that reflects a reality independent of the reader’s interpretive activity, or does the text only reflect the reality of the reader?”[vii]

In our current postmodern culture there is a movement away from traditional interpretation of not just books, but everything. The postmodern way puts a higher commitment on what a person gets out of a book for themselves, how they personally experience the book rather than the author’s original intent. For the Christian, he or she believes there is a reality (God) independent of them who wants to reveal His works, ways and will to them.

“The meaningfulness of the Bible is thus a matter of the Spirit’s leading the church to extend Scripture’s meaning into the present; in this way it displays its contemporary significance. We can state my thesis in the following formula: biblical relevance = revelatory meaning + relative significance. The meaning of Scripture is revelatory and fixed by the canonical contexts; the significance of the Word is relative and open to contemporary contexts. The content of the Bible is revelatory: it informs us of things that we would not have otherwise known. Note that the revelation, like meaning, is a matter of past communicative action (its reception, of course takes place in the present). Significance, on the other hand, is relative to particular contexts and particular readers.”[viii]

To sum up Vanhoozer’s statement above: proper Bible Study Methods must be based upon the foundation that the Bible is God’s revelatory Word to us giving knowledge of things we would not know otherwise. So, in our interpretation we must pursue what was God’s purpose and original meaning. Then, by the Holy Spirit we go through a process of finding the relevance of the text for our life and how to apply it to our lives.

What are the prerequisites for proper Bible Study Methods?

• Admit we are not the ultimate authority and that we need God to reveal truth to us. No person naturally likes the idea of there being an ultimate authority outside ourselves that we will be accountable to.
• We need faith in the Author of the Bible. We need to be in a right relationship with the Author of the Bible through His Son Jesus Christ.
• We need to have a high view of the Bible.
• We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to aid us in understanding the Bible
• We need to learn how to read and study the Bible.

Crossroads Statement of Faith

The Bible – We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, wholly truthful and trustworthy, pointing to life in God through Jesus Christ. It is our supreme authority, and sufficient for understanding all matters of faith, doctrine and conduct. (Psalm 19:7-11; Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 24:44; John 5:39; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Therefore, we view Scripture as vitally important and foundational for all we do. It is a resource God has graciously provided us, containing the message to humanity that He Himself put forth. It is inerrant in the original as God inspired men to write its contents, and infallible in the sense that it contains nothing that would lead to error, falsehood, or untruth when soundly interpreted. In an age of Biblical illiteracy in the evangelical church, we must reclaim this precious and absolutely necessary resource.

“My thesis is that in reading we encounter an “other” that calls us to respond…For good readers need to have the right desires, not simply the right devices – the right interpretive virtues, not merely the appropriate hermeneutical techniques. Interpretation is ultimately a matter not only of technology or even of ethics, but rather of religion and theology. Only from the vantage point of Christian faith, perhaps, does language appear not as a system of differences that reflects political power but as a form of divinely instituted communicative action that can be performed responsibly or irresponsibly, to the glory of God or to the undoing of humanity.”[ix]

“The Spirit’s role in bringing about understanding is to witness to what is other than himself (meaning accomplished) and to bring its significance to bear on the reader (meaning applied)…The Spirit’s illumination of our minds is therefore dependent on his prior transformation of our hearts. Sanctification is thus the final aspect of the Spirit’s work in interpretation.”[x]

A message to seekers:

Some of you reading this article maybe are not at a point where you believe the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Let me encourage you in your investigation. Let me suggest that you cut some time out each day to read the Bible. I would start with the Gospel of John. I would also suggest that you say a simple prayer before you start reading each day: Jesus, if You are really who You say You are – God please reveal that to me. Next, let me encourage you to spend some time with a Christian and throw all your questions at them and begin discussing the scriptures. We all need to answer the question: Where do you go to find truth and is it reliable?

Basic Bible Study Methods

“Observing what we see in the biblical text, we then should correctly handle it (2 Tim. 2:15). The participle “correctly handling”…translates the Greek word orthotomounta. This combines two words that mean “straight” (ortho) and “cut” (tomeo). One writer explains the meaning of this as follows: Because Paul is a tentmaker, he may have been using an expression that tied in with his trade. When Paul made tents, he used certain patterns. In those days tents were made from the skins of animals in a patchwork sort of design. Every piece would have to be cut and fit together properly. Paul was simply saying, “If one doesn’t cut the pieces right, the whole won’t fit together properly.” It’s the same thing with Scripture. If one doesn’t interpret correctly the different parts, the whole message won’t come through correctly. In Bible study and interpretation the Christian should cut it straight. He should be precise…and accurate.”[xi]

• Always pray before starting, calling on the Holy Spirit to lead you into truth and that God would reveal Himself to you. (John 16:12-15)
• Read the introduction to the book you will be studying. A good study bible will have a short introduction at the beginning of each book of the bible about the author, date, them, culture, etc.
• Observation – take time to read through the text several times meditating on it and writing down things you observe and questions you have about its meaning.
• Interpretation – seek the original meaning of the text
• Application – apply the text to your life and live it

Observation

“In this step, you ask and answer the question, What do I see? The moment you come to the Scriptures you ask, What are the facts? You assume the role of a biblical detective, looking for clues. No detail is trivial. That leads to the second step.”[xii]

Interpretation

“Here you ask and answer the question, What does it mean? Your quest is for meaning. Unfortunately, too much Bible study begins with interpretation, and furthermore, it usually ends there. But I’m going to show you that it does not begin there. Before you understand, you have to learn to see. Nor does it end there, because the third step is…”[xiii]

Application

“Here you ask and answer the question, How does it work? Not, Does it work? People say they’re going to make the Bible “relevant.” But if the Bible is not already relevant, nothing you or I do will help. The Bible is relevant because it is revealed. It’s always a return to reality. And for those who read it and heed it, it changes their lives.”[xiv]

Example of the process:

Let’s say we are going to start a bible study through the book of Galatians. What would the above process look like?

• Prayer: Father, I pray that You will give me insight in understanding the meaning of the book of Galatians. Reveal Yourself to me through Your Word that I might see and know You better. By Your Holy Spirit, change me and let me learn everything that You want me to learn from this book so that I may live more by Your Word.
• In my NIV Study Bible, the introduction to the book of Galatians gives me all kinds of helpful information as I begin my study.
• Read through the entire book of Galatians – maybe even a couple of times to get the big picture of the entire letter by Paul to the churches in Galatia.
• Now, I am going to start with verse one and two and apply the three simple steps of Basic Bible Study Methods to it.
• Observation: “Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia:” (Galatians 1:1-2) Who is Paul? Why is he writing to the churches in Galatia? Who are the church in Galatia? Does Paul have a past relationship with these churches? Why is he writing to multiple churches – how would they all read the letter? What is an apostle? How was Paul called and where was he sent? How was he sent by Jesus? What is the relationship between Jesus and the Father? Why is Paul concerned with the resurrection in the opening of this letter? Who are the brothers with Paul?   I think you get the idea!!! Take time to write your observations down, don’t stop, you will be amazed how much insight and how many questions to come up with.
• Interpretation: Ok, now that you have spent adequate time observing verses one through two it is time to move onto the most important part of this process, interpretation. Now that we have bombarded the text with questions in the first step we continue here to bombard the text with questions, but we move toward answering the questions. In this section we are in search of meaning; what God’s original meaning for inspiring Paul to write this letter to the churches in Galatia was. Interpretation has many elements to it and many processes for determining the meaning of the text, but one does not have to be a bible scholar to do some basic interpretation. It is important to remember that a verse should never be taken out of its context in the chapter, book and whole Bible. So, lets pursue some answers to our questions. What is an apostle and why does Paul claim to be one and why does he start this letter this way? First, can we find an answer to this question in another part of this book without going to another N.T. book? Well, yes – he answers these questions latter on in the first chapter. We could also use our cross-references in the margin of our study bible to go to the book of Acts and read about Paul’s conversion and missionary work to answer the question of who are the churches in Galatia. A key question to answer in the process of interpretation is: What does this scripture tell me about the nature of God? Now, we can go much further and deeper into theological question in our study, but we will need more tools to do that sufficiently like: Bible atlases, Bible commentaries, etc.
• Application: There are two critical questions to answer here in this last part of this process: What does this scripture mean for me? And, What does this scripture mean for others? Here is where we bring it altogether and prayerfully ask God to reveal what He wants us to learn and do in response to His Word. Through our Observation and Interpretation we have learned that Paul was called by God to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles or nations of the world other than the Jews. Well, I am a grateful recipient of Paul’s missionary labors. I have to ask myself – is there anyone out there who knows and passionately follows Jesus because of my labors? Also, Paul is highlighting his authority and God’s revelation to him of His Gospel. From this I can learn that the place I am to go for truth is the Word and it is to be my authority because God has revealed it as His truth and Word.

Final encouragement

• Ok, I think you get the idea. Take these basic Bible Study Methods and finish digging into the book of Galatians on your own or with a friend or mentor.
• Start bringing your Bible to church with you on Sunday that you would increase in your hunger for His Word
• Buy Living by the Book and ask a more seasoned Christian to go through it with you
• Remember God’s Word in Psalm 119:105 and the Good News that your Heavenly Father wants to communicate with you and reveal Himself; through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord who is called the very logos – Word of God. (John 1)

Further Resources:

Living By the Book, Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks

How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren

ESV Study Bible

Footnotes:

[i] Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks, Living by the Book, (Moody Press Chicago 1991) p. 18

[ii] Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text? (Zondervan Publising House Grand Rapids Michigan 1998) p. 406.

[iii] John Piper, Biblical Exegesis, Discovering the Original Meaning of Scriptural Texts, (Desiring God Ministries 1999) pp. 12-13.

[iv] Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation, A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth, (Victor Books 1991) p.19.

[v] Ibid. 20.

[vi] Is There a Meaning in This Text? p.9.

[vii] Ibid. 15.

[viii] Ibid. 423.

[ix] Ibid. 368-369.

[x] Ibid. 413.

[xi] Basic Bible Interpretation, A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth. pp.12-13.

[xii] Living by the Book, p.35.

[xiii] Ibid. p.35.

[xiv] Ibid. p.35.

The post How To Study the Bible appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

“Jesus has three basic credentials (1) The impact of His life, through His miracles and teachings, upon history; (2) Fulfilled prophecy in His life; and (3) His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together.” (Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, p.203)

(1) The impact of His life, through His miracles and teachings

The historical facts are that no one has had a more far-reaching impact on the course of history than Jesus Christ.

“Let it simply be said that we know more about the details of the hours immediately before and the actual death of Jesus, in and near Jerusalem, than we know about the death of any other one man in all the ancient world.” -Wilbur Smith

“I have been used for many years to study the histories of other time, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.” – Thomas Arnold, Oxford University

“Without the belief in the resurrection the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even had they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, his crucifixion would have forever silenced any hopes of his being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad and shameful end of his career. The origin of Christianity therefore hinges on the belief of the early disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead.” -William Lane Craig

(2) Fulfilled Prophecy in His life

“Throughout the New Testament the apostles appealed to two areas of the life of Jesus of Nazareth to establish His messiahship. One was the resurrection and the other was fulfilled messianic prophecy. The Old Testament, written over a one-thousand-year period, contains nearly three hundred references to the coming Messiah. All of these were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and they establish a solid confirmation of His credentials as the Messiah.” (Josh McDowell, p.165)

The Feasts (Levitcus 23)    The Fulfillment in Christ

Passover                               Death of Christ on Passover exactly in history (1 Cor. 5:7)

Unleavened Bread              Christ in the grave dying for our sins (1 Cor. 5:7-8)

First Fruits                          Christ’s resurrection, the first fruit (1 Cor. 15:23)

Pentecost                            Outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 1:5, 2:4)

Trumpets                             Christ’s return (Zech. 9:14, 1 Thess. 4:16-17)

Atonement                          Christ’s atonement (Is. 53:10, Rom. 6:23, Jer. 31:34)

Tabernacles                         Christ with us (Is. 60:1, Zech. 14:16-17, Rev. 19-21)

It is miraculous how Jesus fulfilled the first four Jewish feasts in history and will come and fulfill the last three in the end. Good Friday is historically the feast of Passover. The celebration of communion is the fulfillment of the Passover feast. Easter or more accurately Resurrection Sunday is historically the fulfillment of the Feast of First Fruits. For more detailed study on Jesus’ miraculous fulfillment of the OT Jewish feasts look at: (The Feasts of the Lord by Howard/Rosenthal and elshaddaiministries.us with Pastor Mark Biltz)

(3) His Resurrection

Fact (1) After His crucifixion, Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in the tomb.

Fact (2) On the Sunday following the crucifixion, Jesus’ tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers

Fact (3) On multiple occasions and under various circumstances, different individuals and groups of people experienced appearances of Jesus alive from the dead.

Fact (4) The original disciples believed that Jesus was risen from the dead despite their having every reason not to.

(Jesus’ Resurrection, Fact or Figment? A debate between William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann)

For further detail facts and evidence for Christ’s resurrection refer to:

(The Case for Christ, A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel and for more in depth study Gary Habermas, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Rational Inquiry; The Resurrection of Jesus: An Apologetic; The Historical Jesus; and Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? And The Resurrection Debate)

However, it is important to understand that no one comes to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through intellectual assent to the facts, no matter how impressive the facts are. 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 says, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” So faith comes by hearing the word of God and opening one’s heart to receive Jesus. This is not a blind faith. It is built upon some of the strongest facts in history. It is a faith that not only believes but personally trusts Jesus. This is the kind of faith that truly brings our heart and feelings alive! It is a faith that does not just proclaim, “He is risen!” once a year at Easter, but a faith that trusts and lives by resurrection reality everyday!

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As Christ-followers we have a biblical imperative to pray and support Israel, this does not mean supporting all political positions of Israel (Genesis 12:3; Romans 11)

I know this is a politically charged issue, however, the Bible is very clear on this issue that followers of Jesus are to respect and show mercy to Israel. This does not mean supporting all political views and decisions that Israel makes. Israel is the longest lasting nation in the world and every nation that has gone against it has eventually fallen. God still has a plan for Israel.

ISIS holds to a form of Islam that is supported by Mohammad and the Koran

Regardless of all the chatter that ISIS does not hold to Islam, this statement has no foundation. ISIS is trying to do exactly what their prophet did and what he wrote in the Koran.

“The teaching of Jesus is clear. No one ought to be compelled to become a Christian. This sets the Christian faith drastically apart from Islam. In no country in the world that I know of where the renunciation of one’s Christian faith puts one in danger of being hunted down by the powers of the state. Yet, there are numerous Islamic countries where it is against the law to publicly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, and where a Muslim who renounces his or her belief in Islam to believe in anything else risks death. Freedom to critique the text of the Koran and the person of Mohammad are prohibited by the laws of blasphemy, and the result is torturous punishment. One must respect the concern of a culture to protect what it deems sacred, but to compel a belief in Jesus Christ is foreign to the gospel, and that is a vital difference.” (Jesus Among other gods; Ravi Zacharius; p.159)

However, one can interpret it; the sword and warfare are an intrinsic part of the Islamic faith. Mohammad had many executions carried out as well as led many battles.

Surah 9;5 called the ayatus-saif; clearly shows Mohammad giving instructions to kill.

“But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor due, then leave their way free.”

For Islam to reform, they are going to have to take a hard honest look at Mohammad’s life

No one is willing to discuss the life of Mohammad, Islam’s main prophet, for the reason listed above. But it does no good for the Islamic apologists to just say that there are different interpretations of Islam when history clearly records how Mohammad lived.

There is no moral or religious equivalency between what Christians did in the Crusades and slavery with what ISIS is doing today

Many have tried to show  moral equivalency between what ISIS is now doing and what Christians did in the Crusades or during the time of slavery. The Muslims who are taking part in Jihad have clear support in the Koran and in the life that their prophet lived. Christians involved in the Crusades were clearly not obeying Christ’s clear command and example to love your enemies. Some might bring up the God sanctioned battles in the OT. But we must see that Jesus fulfilled the OT Law and calls His followers to love their enemies.

Ten Biblical Principles that will help us be salt and light in this warring world:

1.) Our hope is not in this world, therefore nothing in this world, even death, can steal our hope (Romans 5:1-5; 1 Cor 15:19; Eph 1:12)

2.) Seek first the kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of this world (Matthew 6:33; 1 John 2:15-17)

3.) Embrace and identify with Christ’s righteousness in the midst of worldly pressure (Matthew 5:10; 10:32-33)

4.) Do not take personal revenge – let God be the judge (Matthew 5:38-42)

5.) Love your enemies and pray that God blesses them (Matthew 5:43-48)

6.) Be a peacemaker not a pacifist and be ready to protect your family and others if needed (Matthew 5:9; 26:47-55; Luke 22:36-38, 47-51; John 18:10)

7.) Pray for and be aware of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted and martyred (2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 1 Peter 5:6-9)

8.) Pray and support those in the military and law enforcement who God has given charge to protect us (Romans 13:1-7)

9.) Grow in our willingness to lay down our life that others may come to know Jesus – even our enemies? (Matthew 5:43-48, Hebrews 11:35)

10.) Being salt and light is completely dependent upon the fire of the Gospel of Jesus growing in our heart (Matthew 6:9-10)

I pray that you will take some time to deeply search the Word of God on these issues and dialogue deeply with others and go to the Lord in prayer.

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The primary reason was and still is a critical theological question. Did Jesus perform His supernatural loving acts to primarily prove He was God or to show His followers the full extent of what they “can do” by the empowering Holy Spirit? Our conviction on this question will determine how we interpret the life of Christ and the extent of our ability to live and act like Him. The majority of the WWJD campaign was built upon the conviction that Jesus did His miracles of healing and deliverance to primarily prove He was God, not to show His followers what they too could do. So when the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” gets asked, the only possibilities would be ethical responses. But is this what Jesus intended? Is this what His early followers modeled? How would the first Christians answer, “What Would Jesus Do?” And why would we answer it any different today? Gerald Hawthorne in his book, The Presence & The Power: The significance of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus (p. 234) says; “…the followers of Jesus are faced with a stupendous fact: Not only is Jesus their Savior because of who he was and because of his own complete obedience to the Father’s will (cf. Heb 10:5-7), but he is the supreme example for them of what is possible in a human life because of his own total dependence upon the Spirit of God. Jesus is living proof of how those who are his followers may exceed the limitations of their humanness in order that they, like him, might carry to completion against all odds their God-given mission in life – by the Holy Spirit.”

There are four main reasons within scripture, which reveal that Jesus did His ministry and miracles through his humanity empowered by the Holy Spirit to be a model for how we are to live and minister.

His Humbling

Philippians 2:6-8 says, “…⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”(ESV) Theologians have debated many aspects of theses verses. The most critical question for our discussion is, “What did Jesus empty himself of?” The verb “emptied” simply means “to render void, of no effect”. This passage therefore affirms that Jesus temporarily left his glorified position and the privileges that went along with being fully God.

His Baptism

Luke 3:21-22 says, “²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (ESV) Since Jesus was fully man and fully God, there would be no need for the Holy Spirit to come upon His deity. The Holy Spirit came upon His humanity and empowered Him for the work the Father sent Him to accomplish. As far as we know Jesus did no miraculous works before his baptism. It is only after this event that we see Him (His humanity) “full of the Holy Spirit.”

His Mission

Matthew 28:18-20 says, “¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV) Jesus commissioned His followers to do what He did and to teach others to “observe all” that He commanded, not just ethical teachings but supernatural works as well.

His Submission

In Matthew 26:39 Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane praying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (ESV) Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. His work was to learn and do the will of the Father and to lead His followers to walk in the will and work of the Father. He did this so that whatever they asked the Father in His name would be accomplished. (John 15:15-17)

Our view on this issue radically changes how we would answer, “What Would Jesus Do?” It changes how we interpret our Lord’s life, what discipleship looks like and what is possible “according to the power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20b) The world needs more than biblical ethics; it needs “laborers” (Matthew 9:35-10:1) who will minister to the “whole” person as Jesus did by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The post WWJD Remix, To What Extent Can We Be Like Jesus? appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

Now, how has it been that the Church in America and Christians have often been labelled as being “intolerant”? The first obvious answer is because the Church’s biblical values often have clashed with pop culture’s values and when the new definition of tolerance is applied the Church is labelled intolerant. The second reason is a deeper more complex reason that I want to drill down into a bit. Could it be that the Church and Christians have sometimes actually been “intolerant” according to the real definition of tolerance? Could it be that in our zeal to demand tolerance of our biblical views that we do not come across with a heart of tolerance? Please take some time to mediate on these verses and let them sink into your heart:

“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin.” Romans 2:4 (NLT)

This verse recently hit me like a ton of bricks. If I am not regularly overwhelmed by God’s kindness, tolerance and patience with me, I cannot truly be tolerant of others or even come across as being tolerant of others. So, in the Church’s zeal to uphold biblical values (which we should) are we doing it with a heart that is overwhelmed with the tolerance God has for us? Being tolerant does not mean having no conviction! It means that our conviction must be expressed with a heart that has been touched by God’s tolerance. Now take some time to read the beginning of Romans chapter 2 verse 1, where Paul is exhorting the believers in their approach to those who are not living according to the scriptures:

“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very things.” Romans 2:1 (NLT)

God takes sin seriously and so should we! But He and He alone is to be the judge! Read verses 2 and 3:

“And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?” Romans 2:2-3 (NLT)

Our place, as followers of Christ, is to live under God’s kindness and tolerance and let His heart  lead us to turn from our sin and humbly repent. And we are never to forget the foundation of His loving tolerance:

“For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as we promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.” Romans 3:20-25 (NLT)

The fog over tolerance is only truly cleared up when our hearts become overwhelmed by the kindness, tolerance and patient of God through Jesus Christ.

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