Am I Inconsistent with the Bible?

Last week, the United States Supreme Court held two days of oral arguments related to same-sex marriage. As has become common in the last few years, social media exploded with comments on the topic. On the Monday evening, my newsfeed on Facebook displayed a lively discussion among a group of college-aged young people expressing their views on same-sex marriage. A number of times in the 40 or so postings that I saw made mention of the Bible. Some were saying the Bible makes the issue clear, whereas others were suggesting that the Bible was being used inconsistently. How can you say homosexuality or same-sex marriage is wrong, if you disregard some of God’s commands about food, and eat ham or shellfish?

Though no one stated it in a post, there were questions being asked in the background. Questions like: Are we inconsistent in how we read the Bible? Why do we try to follow some of the Old Testament commands but not all of them?

Though answering those questions could require taking a semester long class in a theological seminary and reading a number of books and papers, I would like to try and offer some quick handles to help us read and follow our Bible consistently, and to have a way to answer people when they ask if we are being inconsistent.

Handle #1 – Some Commands had a built in Expiration Date

Exodus 25:40 is a short verse that we could easily pass over in reading our Bibles. But it is a verse that we should pay attention to carefully when answering these questions. It reads:

And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being show you on the mountain.

The point of the verse was that Moses and the people building the tabernacle and all its stuff were actually building a model, patterned after the real thing. God was telling Moses, the builders, and all readers since that there was a built in obsolescence to the tabernacle and everything related to it. In case the readers did not catch that in verse 40, God had already said the same thing in Exodus 25:9, and then repeated it again in Exodus 26:30 and 27:8.

Why bring that up? The tabernacle, and later the temple, was the place where people went to meet with God in the Old Testament. A large number of commands in the first part of the Old Testament were given so that people would know how to approach the Holy God. They needed to be purified. We call those commands the ceremonial law. Those laws, which touched on issues like food and clothing, were given so people could be pure and could approach God. But since the tabernacle was a model, not the real thing, those commands, like certain foods we know today, had an expiration date. They were valid for a time, but not for forever.

When was the expiration date? Matthew 27:51 says:

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

The curtain of the temple served as a physical barrier between God’s presence and the people. When Jesus died on the cross, God, torn that curtain from top to bottom. God declared that the way we come to Him, the Holy God was no longer through ceremonial laws, but through the purification that comes through trusting the Lord Jesus. Hebrews 10:19-22 calls us to draw near to God through Jesus.

When we no longer follow the ceremonial law, we are not being inconsistent; we are being obedient to God. We are coming to God the way He says we should. The ceremonial law served its purpose, but that purpose was brought to completion in the Lord Jesus.

Handle #2 – Some Commands are non-perishable

In a number of places in the New Testament, commands from the Old Testament are clarified, re-stated, or re-affirmed. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and Romans 13:8:10 are just two examples where God underlines that some of the commands He made in the Old Testament are still valid and binding. They are non-perishable. We still are called by God to conform our sexual lives to His standards, to honor life as He honors life, to contribute to others rather than take from them and desire to have their stuff, instead of them having their stuff.

I pray these handles offer you some help in reading and following the Bible. Clearly I did not address every issue, please let me know other questions and issues you might have concerning reading and following the Bible

It's Friday but Sunday's Coming

A short video well worth taking just less than four minutes to watch. It will add a helpful perspective to the events, emotions, and impact of this weekend. Thank you Lord Jesus for dying on Friday and rising again on Sunday.

It's Friday But Sunday's Coming

Historicity of Good Friday and Easter

This weekend, churches through the world are getting to celebrate Good Friday and Easter. In preparing to do that, we should remember that churches do that because they hold that Good Friday and Easter commemorate 2 historical events. Do we have any reason to believe that those event actually happened  back in history? Clearly not everyone in the world believes that Jesus died and rose again. 

Let's start with Good Friday, the day that marks when the Lord Jesus was crucified by Romans soldiers. Two ancient historians, Josephus, a Jewish historian writing at the end of the 1^st Century AD and Tacitus, who is considered the most important source on Ancient Rome who wrote at the beginning of 2^nd Century, both noted in their histories that Jesus was crucified. Neither of these men were follower of the Lord Jesus, but they both affirmed that Jesus was crucified by the authority of Pontius Pilate ( Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64; Tacitus, Annals 15.44). A contemporary scholar, a man who is highly critical of the Bible, John Dominic Crossan stated in his book Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever by” – (John Dominic Crossan,  Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, HarperCollins, 2009, 163). The New Testament clearly affirms that the Lord Jesus died, but it is not just the New Testament that makes that affirmation.

What about Easter? Easter marks the day the Lord Jesus was resurrected or rose again from the dead. Given that I am a pastor, and I have said publicly a number of times that the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the hinge of history, you would probably expect me to say that I believe the Lord Jesus rose again. My authority for that conviction is the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter in the Bible that has influenced me hugely. But I recognize that not everyone believes that the Bible is the Word of God. But I do not think you have to believe the Bible is God's Word to see that the resurrection is a historical fact. Critical scholars of history do believe there is reason for us to understand that the resurrection was a historical event. Those scholars, many who do not consider themselves followers of Jesus see good reason to believe the resurrection happened. They point to a few things that lead them to conclude that:

(1)   The disciples sincerely believing that Jesus rose again - the disciples claimed that they believed it to the point they were willing to suffer and die for that belief

(2)  The conversation of Saul the church persecutor to Paul the apostle

(3)  The conversation of skeptical James the brother of Jesus

A slightly smaller number of critical scholars, probably 75% of those who seriously study the resurrection also believe the empty tomb is a historical fact. Again, not every scholar or person believes the resurrection took place, but there is noted historical evidence to suggest that it did take place (For more information on this topic, please see Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Kregel, 2004).

Clearly part of the challenge for anyone considering the Resurrection is the fact that dead people stay dead. That is our experience. The  Resurrection by nature would have to be a miracle. Anthony Flew, who, during his life, was considered to be the world’s foremost philosophical atheist was not willing to affirm that the resurrection was a historical event. But he was willing to say, and did say, “The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religions." (Antony Flew Interview in Philosophia Christi Winter 2004). This comment from a man who was also considered one of the chief philosophical commentators on the topic of miracles.

The events being celebrated this weekend are historical events. But they are more than historical events. They are are events that change history, and can your life. If you would like to know about how Good Friday and Easter change history and your life, please contact me. I would love to talk with you about either.

Titanic Hero

We have just passed the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. This morning I saw this video that is connected to that anniversary. It is well worth 5 minutes of your time to watch and consider its impact on your approach to life.

John Harper: Titanic Hero

Ash Wednesday

I am anything but an expert on Ash Wednesday, which this year is today (February 22). As a child growing up, my mom always had us celebrate Shrove Tuesday. I never knew why we did it. That was the one night each year we had pancakes for dinner. The reason we ate pancakes became clear to me much later in life, as in today when I read an article from Wikipedia on Shrove Tuesday. I have thought about Ash Wednesday more and more over the last nine years. On Ash Wednesday in 2003, we moved to Anoka, Minnesota. Since we had plates, cups, or cutlery (our stuff did not arrive for a few days) we went to a Perkins for dinner. Across the restaurant I saw a man with what looked like a black blotch on his head. I wondered why his wife did not tell him so he could wipe it off. Later when he walked closer to me, I noticed that the blotch was actually in the shape of a cross. Then I remembered it was Ash Wednesday. Though  most of us outside of the liturgical church may not know very much about Ash Wednesday and probably do not celebrate it, I think there might be good reason for us to pause and give some consideration to this day that has long been observed by the Western Church. Please take a few moments to read this article. It is challenging me to consider how Ash Wednesday maybe a good thing to include in my life as I follow the Lord Jesus.

Is It Rough?

From January 15 until the end of March, I am preaching through the New Testament letter called First Thessalonians. The title of the series is "Living Right in a Rough World." As we have been working our way through First Thessalonians, again and again Paul, Silas, and Timothy were inspired by the Holy Spirit to note that it is not easy to be a follower of the Lord Jesus. This Sunday we will be looking at First Thessalonians 3:7, where the writers describe their situation with words like distress and affliction. Earlier in the letter, 1:6 to be exact, the writers refer to the people of Thessalonica as having received the good news in much affliction.

In looking at other parts of the New Testament, places like Paul's journeys in Acts 13 through his imprisonment in Acts 28, or Second Timothy 3:12, or First Peter 4:12-19, the sense of this world being rough is repeatedly expressed. In Philippians 1:29, Paul and Timothy go so far as to say that it has been granted us, or gifted to us, that we should suffer for the Lord Jesus.

For a large portion of United States history, churches, God's people, have enjoyed a privileged status in this country. Some of that is product of the relationship of churches in Europe to the state governments prior to the forming of the United States. Some of that can probably be traced back of the Edict of Milan made in 313 by Constantine and Licinius.

But today, things do appear to be be changing for the church and the people of God in the United States. After Sunday, unless the New York State Senate enacts a piece of legislation (Proposed Bill ), churches will not longer be allowed to rent public school buildings in New York. Many have spoken out against the move my the city leaders. Examples would include Timothy Keller (Kelller on Churches using Schools), and Martin Bashir (Martin Bashir Comments). Support for the measure comes from the well known New York Times (Editorial).

Another example of the increasing roughness faced by God's people would be the Decision of the federal Health and Human Services department to require religious organizations to provide health insurance that covers contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs for free. That means if a Christian organization believes that life begins at conception, it would have to provide coverage for its employees that would provide for those employees coverage of drugs that would end of those lives. I am not qualified to fully explain all of the implications of such a move by our federal government, but I do understand at least in some measure that this action is wrong, and served to make our country a much rougher place to follow the Lord Jesus (Here is an editorial from men smarter and more qualified to comment on the issues - An Open Letter to Evangelical Christians).

How should we respond to this roughness? There are measures we can take in our political system. The Manhattan Declaration's web site offers some guidance. But in addition, we need to heed Paul's directive to Timothy in Second Timothy 3:14-17. Verse 12 of that chapter stated, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Verse 13 commented on evil people, and then starting in verse 14 Paul provides direction we need to heed:


14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

To navigate waters that are beginning to get rough, we need to hear the voice of our Captain. Please continue in God's Word so that we can hear God's voice and stay faithful to the One who remains faithful.

Updated: After I posted this blog i saw this article related to the Health and Human Services decision: Obama to Change Birth Control Rule

Updated February 11 - Here is an analysis of President Obama's statement concerning the Health and Human Services decision by Albert Mohler.

Evil Side of the Super Bowl

i enjoy watching football. I especially  enjoyed watching football when my sons played and I helped to coach. Though I not a fan of either team, the New York Giants, or the New England Patriots, I will probably watch at least some of the game on Sunday. But, too be honest, if I do watch it, I hope I do so with some heaviness of heart. Among all of the seemingly fun parts of the Super Bowl, the game, the half time show, the commercials, the parties, and all the food, there is a very evil side to the Super Bowl. The most watched television event of the year is also a huge sex traffic event.  We watch to celebrate the athletic abilities of 53 men from each team. But while they playing, probably hundreds, if not thousands of other men will be engage in sin, degrading, destroying, and damaging thousands of women and children. Please read the link below to learn more.

Sex Trafficking at the Super Bowl