First, a little Field Trip down Memory Lane. Remember "The Princess Bride"?
I love the irony of this Lesson's blog title. I had always planned to title this one "No More Introductions," but I didn't think you'd believe me...after all, we've had nothing BUT Introductions in our first lessons! So I added the "Inconceivable" part as an afterthought, and then I realized that it fits perfectly with our lesson this week. This week's lesson starts off by looking at some theological terms that are sometimes incorrectly used interchangeably. Don't be like poor Vizzini in "The Princess Bride" (who I'm sure must have also struggled with his theology). Don't use the words Revelation, Inspiration, or Illumination interchangeably. Want to know why? Then get busy and get to studying!
Click here to download Lesson 3. There are a few study questions and three "Think About It" questions. When you are ready for the Key, click here. And, as usual, if you just want to go over to the Breadcrumbs site and get it all there, you can click here.
Try to get your original comments posted by the end of August, and then your responses done by the end of the Labor Day weekend. Don't be shy about responding to each other's comments. If someone says something that makes you think (or makes you question), shout it out! We're all ears!
If you have prayer requests that can be shared with the general public, go ahead and "comment" on those, too. Otherwise, feel free to email me with them and I'll make sure they're only seen by our "regular" followers. Which reminds me - if you're not "following" this Blog, or if you want to participate in our Study - there's no time like the present to get started!
Talk to you soon!
Breadcrumbs Lesson 3: Revelation
ReplyDeleteThink About It #1
“How can man be “without excuse” if the truth of Salvation is not revealed in nature, but in the Bible?”
This has always been a bit of a puzzle for me.
The best I’ve heard it explained is that if there is some native out in the jungle who sees Creation, and comprehends there is a God, and “prays” for that God to reveal Himself, then God will send someone to tell him the truth and the way of Salvation.
I read about a true example of this in "End of the Spear". In it, the missionary tells about how later in his time with the Auca Indians, they told him that they knew there was something greater than themselves that had made the jungle around them, and how they longed for more knowledge about it. The missionary believes that God answered that desire by sending missionaries.
But then there is the story that Hudson Taylor, missionary to China tells, about the Chinese man who said to him, “If only you had come sooner. My father longed to know how to know God, but he died without knowing Him.” So what’s up with that??
At this point, I have to go with the Sovereignty of God.
I believe that God knows who will or will not accept Him, and acts accordingly. But I have to admit, I am not at ease with my thought process here…
There is also the story of Cornelius in Acts 10, a “devout man, and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, and prayed to God continually.” Was he saved before God sent him to Peter, to hear about Jesus? I don’t think so. As part of the story, in Acts 10:43, Peter says, “Of Him (Jesus) all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” We know that Cornelius didn’t know about Jesus (as Savior) yet, because that was why God sent him to Peter. As Peter is speaking, the Holy Spirit comes on Cornelius (and others with him), and he ends up getting baptized. He wanted to know God, God made a way, and he was saved.
So to sum up:
I believe that it’s clear that a person must accept Jesus as Savior to have Salvation.
Acts 10:43 and Acts 4:12 are only two of many texts to support that.
I believe that if there is someone who acknowledges that there is a Creator, and wants to Know Him, God will provide a way. I don’t understand it, but I believe it.
In contrast, one who sees the design but refuses to acknowledge the Designer, is “without excuse,” and is doomed.
Think About It #2
ReplyDelete“Could God have revealed Himself more clearly in any other way than the Incarnation?”
No, and I believe this speaks to the Trinity. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
There is also John 14:7 and 9, where Jesus says, “If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him… Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Jesus Himself says that He is the ultimate revelation of the Father. He simply WAS God in the flesh. I can’t imagine any other way to reveal Himself more clearly.
Think About It #3
“Why is it necessary that God reveal Himself through the Scriptures? Why aren’t Preservation, Direct Communication, etc., enough?”
Imagine that all of the other “methods” are pieces of a puzzle, placed together correctly, but not “connected.” Scripture comes along and pushes all the pieces together into a totally cohesive and beautiful picture.
Ok, that was sappy.
But you have to admit, it kinda works ☺
But, maybe a better answer is that each of the others, on its own, does not give us the complete picture. Even Christ Himself coming to earth would not “stand alone,” because those living before and after Him would not have the experience of knowing Him (not to mention that we wouldn’t understand why He came, wouldn’t have the prophecies, etc.). Likewise, each of the other methods has its flaws. Scripture alone pulls it all together to give us a comprehensive understanding. Without Scripture, we have “snapshots” but not the fully journaled “album” to tell the story. (Sorry, couldn't resist just one more metaphor!)
For Further Consideration
“Which part of this lesson can you use to shape your Christian walk this month?”
This particular study comes at a good time for me. I was just having a conversation with a friend about how God speaks to us today.
Something I am pondering is, where does “hearing answers to prayer” fit in?
For example, let’s say I pray for wisdom about which job to take, and ask the Lord to open and close doors to direct me. I also do my research, and seek godly counsel. Finally, I have peace about which job to take, and I pursue it.
It’s not Revelation, Inspiration, OR Illumination!
What do we call it?
I would call it an answer to prayer, guidance from the Lord, etc.
My Charismatic friends would call it “God speaking to them.”
Is it just semantics?
What say ye?
One more thing
On page 7, in the “what do you notice about these verses” section, where in the world is the passage for #2????
Think About It!
ReplyDeleteNatural theology is “limited in its scope of revelation…[because] nowhere in
nature is the great truth of John 3:16 revealed.” (66) How then, can man be
“without excuse” (Romans 1:20) if the truth of Salvation is not revealed in
nature, but in the Bible?
Man is without excuse because nature reveals God to us. The creation will reveal God to us, and if we respond, God will send someone to us. Acts 8:26-40.
This is pretty interesting because we’re studying Revelation in church right now. We’re in chapter 16 (the bowls) and our pastor was joking, but kind of serious, when he told us last week, “Next week isn’t the week to bring your friends.” Then, this week before he started the sermon, he prefaced it by explaining that if you don’t know who God is, or what He’s about, you could take these harsh judgments and think God is just “mean” or “cruel.” Then he read three stories: Two about martyrs who were brutally tortured for their faith, and one about that girl, Jaycee Dugard, who has recently been reunited with her family after being kidnapped 18 years ago. His point was that evil exists in this world, and God will respond with justice. God is just in responding to sin with judgment. As you read the passages in Revelation 16, you see things like: “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory” (16:9) “they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.” (16:11) They know it’s God, yet they choose not to “repent.” I found this definition of “repent” in an online Bible dictionary (http://eastonsbibledictionary.com/search--repent): “To change the mind, or the course of conduct, on account of regret or dissatisfaction.” I think you could argue that we are born “knowing” God exists. Creation reinforces this, our own experiences (not that they can be totally trusted) reinforce this, but if we choose not to “repent” or change our course of conduct to recognize God, then we are accountable for our rejection of the truth we know deep down. If we, however, do recognize God in the world around us, and seek to know Him, He will send us what we need to find Him. Acts 17:26-27 is great:
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find hi, though He is not far from each one of us
To me, this suggests that God has placed us, knowingly, where we are. If we seek Him, He already has a plan to help us find Him and the truth of His salvation.
Think About It #2
ReplyDeleteCould God have revealed Himself more clearly in any other way than thenIncarnation? Explain your answer!
I can’t think of another more clear revelation of God than through Jesus. When Pilate asked Jesus, “‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’” (John 18:37) He bears witness just by being on earth. We can’t even wrap our mind around a perfect, sinless life. Think about the most moral, upright person you know … don’t we all sort of take comfort when we realize that even those people are “human” just like us? Meaning, just when we are really feeling inadequate in the presence of someone that is super “good” we realize that they sin, or have faults just like the rest of us. Can you imagine Jesus? Not only did He perform miracles but, He lived a perfect, sinless life. If that doesn’t point to God, I’m not sure what does.
Think about it #3: Why is it necessary that God reveal Himself through the Scriptures? In other words, why aren’t preservation, Direct Communication, etc., enough?
ReplyDeleteTo answer this question the first thing that comes to mind is unreliable witness testimony … the whole scenario when a crime is committed and every witness has a different account. This actually happened to me yesterday. A kid darted in front of my car as I was driving down Auburn Blvd at about 35-40 mph. I knew it was coming. I saw a group of teenagers, traffic seemed to slow, some of the group was already on the other side of the road. Even though I knew it was coming, I was so mad when he ran in front of me. I wanted to call the cops to give those kids stern warning. By the time I thought about it (mere seconds) I realized that I had already lost the description of the kid. I think what I would have reported would have been an inaccurate description … something my mind would have created.
I think the same can be said for Direct Communication. You’d like to think that if you had direct communication with God, that you would remember every word, but I don’t know that you would. Especially the more you tell the story. You start to put your own spin on it. God can’t have us putting our own spin on who He is or what He is about. We do this with preservation. Scientists are always telling us that that we’re constantly evolving. So, the world doesn’t even necessarily believe in preservation. Or, if they do, they spin it so that the world came to be by a big band millions of years ago. God must reveal Himself through the scriptures because they don’t change. They can’t change. Obviously many non-believers, who don’t understand all the evidence to prove this, would disagree. But, we know that the Scriptures were inspired. This is why they don’t have the problem w/ “unreliable witness testimony.” The Holy Spirit inspired the words. They are exactly what He wants us to know.
Can you imagine if it were up to us to determine what characteristics about God were important? Well … I guess if we look at so many other religions, we can see what man will deem as important.
Ah, good thought on the "unreliable witness testimony" thing, Trish!
ReplyDeleteRe: Semantics
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if where I stand here. I'm pretty much leaning toward semantics for Kim's question ... except that it depends on the person's understanding of how God speaks to them ..., but I have a similar thing I wonder about. I listen to a lot of my Christian friends talk, and I think, "Man, why don't I give God credit like that?" I think there's kind of a fine line between constantly saying, "the Lord did this for me" "God told me to do this" "And then God led me here" and genuinely giving God His due glory. Does that make sense? In other words, I know many of my friends are sincere, but it's like when you over praise kids, it kind of loses its meaning. All that being said, I am finding myself not giving God the glory enough. Even though many times I know the Lord has answered a prayer, or given my guidance or peace, I don't always praise Him to others for it.
Yeah, good point, Trish!
ReplyDeleteIt's kinda like the "raising hands" thing ~~ just because some groups over-do it, does that mean we shouldn't do it at all? I don't think so...
And, if others hear me saying "praise God" for every time I get a good parking spot, or don't stub my toe, or whatever, does it lessen the power of it in their ears (or my own)? Maybe, maybe not....
Probably just best to praise all the time, no matter what :) If we are sincere, I'm pretty sure God won't tire of it!
Thanks for making me think :)