The Accurate Guide

"So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" ³¹ And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him."

Acts 8:30-31

Philip was led by the Holy Spirit to meet up with an Ethiopian eunuch and preached Christ from the book of Isaiah, a book of prophecy in the Old Testament.  What was true for the eunuch was true for Philip as well, for it was only by the Holy Spirit Who indwelt him that he was enabled to have understanding of God's word, ability to communicate the meaning of the scripture and for it to be fruitful.  People need help to understand God's word primarily from God, and He has chosen to use people to this end as well.  One need not be a pastor or teacher to understand God's word, and even the most learned believers have much to learn.

I believe there are many people who teach the Bible who have no business doing so, and great confusion and consternation have been results.  Much harm has been done through teaching false doctrines and distorted interpretations of scripture, focusing on what is controversial rather than what can be plainly seen and known.  It is wise to see the Bible as literally God's word, yet it takes discernment and skill to know when passages are literal or figurative.  A lot of Christians are familiar enough with the word to be dangerous, and what I mean by that is they believe they know it enough to paraphrase in their own words and not bother looking up passages any more.  They have read commentaries, books, watched a video series or taken a course which makes them think they know the truth and form convictions which undermine the very scripture they claim to believe and proclaim.

An example in the early church shows how easy it is for sincere believers to be wrong in Acts 18:24-26:  "Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."  Apollos was mighty in the scriptures, was instructed in the way of Jesus, and taught accurately the things of the LORD.  This sounds terrific, doesn't it?  Yet Apollos knew only the baptism of John which was a baptism of repentance.  Repentance of sin is a good thing, yet without the forgiveness, salvation and spiritual regeneration through the Gospel by faith in Christ the teaching of Apollos fell short.  It was a personal conversation with Aquila and Priscilla which aided Apollos to correct his course.

I remember in my teens I was questioned about what was a biblical thing to do given a situation.  I responded by quoting from the Law of Moses, that "an eye for an eye" was a righteous demand.  What I did not realise at the time was my aim to obey God's word literally was undermined by my setting aside of the new covenant of the Gospel to return to the Law Jesus fulfilled when it seemed warranted and fair.  I did not understand how the purpose of Law was revealed through the Gospel, for Paul compared it to a tutor who showed us our sinfulness who led us by the hand to Christ our Saviour.  Just this morning I read Psalm 129 and the latter portion of it is basically a curse upon those who afflicted God's people--which under the new covenant a song that is terribly off-key when compared to the Gospel.  Thus understanding context helps us to walk in the light of the Gospel truth rather than fashioning a theologically monstrous Frankenstein by foolish attempts to combine the covenants of Law and Gospel as one.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  Since the Bible can be rightly divided, it is possible to be unrighteously divided and thus misunderstood.  Along with Apollos I needed the LORD to pull me aside and open my eyes to the truth of God's grace and the Gospel so I could understand and walk in the way of God more accurately.  I used to see knowing and studying the scriptures as ends in themselves, yet the Bible is the means God has chosen to reveal Himself to us in truth.  Knowledge of God and His word are not primarily shown in our ability to rattle off verses by memory, but by loving one another as Jesus loves us.  Blessing our enemies and praying for them shows we know God and are learning to rightly divide the scripture more than demanding an eye for an eye based on biblical authority.

God Is Faithful

"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

1 Corinthians 1:9

Because God is awesome and infinite in goodness, it is easy for us to overlook His glorious attributes.  One characteristic that separates God from all else He has made is His faithfulness.  He is sure, steadfast and trustworthy at all times.  God is faithful to keep His word and to not withdraw His gracious offers of help, deliverance and salvation from us.  If God was not faithful, fellowship and relationship with God would be impossible.  People will risk everything for the chance to see their dreams come true, yet God's purposes and plans are better than our wildest fantasy.

An example of the blessing of God's faithfulness is seen later in this same letter Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  With every temptation allowed by God (who knows our frame) He also makes the way of escape so we need not fall prey to Satan or return to the bondage of sin.  God is faithful to protect, provide and guide us through challenges which on our own have proved to insurmountable.  We are made more than overcomers through faith in Christ who loves us, for He is faithful.

God is love and wisdom for us and this is revealed in His faithfulness.  God is not like a person who wears many hats:  is a dad to his daughter, the Justice of the Peace when people seek a marriage license and barber when a shave and haircut is needed.  God's faithfulness, love and grace are all active aspects of His glorious character all at once.  We often need to stop doing one thing before we can concentrate fully on something else, but God operates from outside the confines of humanity, time and space.  Because God is faithful we can count on Him always, and He is worthy to be trusted and relied upon.

Psalm 89:1-5 bursts forth with praise of God who is faithful:  "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. ² For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens." ³ "I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ⁴ 'Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.' " Selah ⁵ And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints."  The faithful God has made a covenant with the blood of His own Son Jesus He will keep forever, and may we proclaim God's faithfulness by walking in His ways apart from sin.

Trust Without a Doubt

Last night our family read in Romans 14:1, "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things."  While it is perfectly legitimate to have convictions or beliefs from one another, we should not welcome or incite disputes and arguments--especially about controversial subjects.  It is interesting how we can be moved to dispute over particulars but completely miss the heart of the matter.  The Pharisees did this when they were careful to religiously weigh out a tithe of each herb but neglected mercy, faith and the love of God.

I remember once delivering a sermon from Judges 11 about Jephthah, a mighty man of valour who is mentioned by name in the "hall of faith" in Hebrews 11.  I was met afterwards by someone who politely made it a point to say they did not agree with my interpretation of the passage.  He believed what some modern rabbis teach, that Jephthah did not do unto his daughter according to his vow.  My Bible in the margin classifies Jephthah's vow as "rash," though the passage says he did so filled with the Holy Spirit (Judges 11:29-31).  It would be a terrible tragedy to debate the rashness of Jephthah's vow and to miss his example of unwavering, costly faith in his glorious God.  It would be better for us to be people of our word before God and man than argue over a word.

At a conference years ago I heard pastor John MacArthur speak about an incident that occurred in seminary.  A point came for all students when they prepared and delivered a sermon to all the students with all the faculty present who would provide a critique.  MacArthur spoke how he poured himself into his studies, intent on impressing everyone with his mastery of the text.  There was one professor in particular he wanted to please.  He said while addressing the crowd he noticed his professor in the back of the auditorium shaking his head.  After collecting the responses of the staff, he opened the paper from his professor which simply said:  "You missed the whole point."  It was a lesson for him and for me too.  We can have our theology neatly arranged, understand the meaning of words and form interpretations that miss the whole point of the passage.

Instead of debating over doubtful things, let us be convinced in our own minds of the veracity of scripture, our need to apply lessons personally in our lives and to turn our eyes towards Jesus in faith.  There are many passages which for whatever reason can be controversial, but we ought not be contentious.  It would be silly for a starving man to saw into a bone after pushing the meat off to the side.  Psalm 37:3 says, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness."  The LORD is faithful, His word is true and this is without dispute.  When it comes to the goodness and worthiness of God to be trusted, there is no doubt.

Faith Beyond Borders

During a worship service recently I was struck by the awesomeness of God, how He can do things for us before we ever thought to ask.  Countless wonders He has fulfilled by His grace and only rarely are we made aware of them.  It is not that God isn't listening, speaking and doing great things, but our faith and minds are awfully small.  A ship only need be about 12 miles apart from another ship at sea before they drop below the horizon and out of sight, and this illustrates well our inability to see all God has purposed and is accomplishing right now.

We sang words to Hillsong's Oceans:  "You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail. And there I find You in the mystery. In oceans deep my faith will stand."  This song was written in 2013, several years after my family and I immigrated to Australia located across the Pacific Ocean.  While the song hearkens to Peter being called by Jesus to come to Him on the stormy Sea of Galilee, the adventure of faith God has led me on was to go to a great country and people unknown to us.  In the process of being established in Australia God has already been faithful to do more than I could ever ask or think.  As I considered the lyrics it was wonderful to realise how God had already shown Himself faithful to answer this prayer in the past, and He also will remain faithful for all my future.

The refrain goes, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders."  To physically walk upon the water as Jesus did is a very little thing compared to the value of trust and reliance upon Christ right where we stand.  No matter what country we reside, regardless which ocean we traverse, faith in Jesus will always bring us to His desired end.  God has brought me to the opposite side of the globe from where I was born, and during the night of worship it was clear God has even more in store:  not distance measured in nautical miles but spiritual growth through faith in Him.  If faith has borders it is confined by my unbelief, not by God's inability.  At the same time God chose in His wisdom to divide the borders of Israel so each tribe and family would have their own inheritance by faith to enter into and possess.

Sometimes a great conquest of faith is not to go far away from what is familiar but to remain content where you are when the world beckons.  It was faith in Jesus that enabled Paul to learn contentment whether he enjoyed abundance or suffered lack, whether he sailed safely or was shipwrecked.  It is faith in Jesus that bid apostles to go, and it was faith  in Him that prompted some to stay as led by the Holy Spirit.  David sang in Psalm 139:17-18, "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! ¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You."  Grains of sand can be numbered, but the thoughts God has are beyond counting.  Our faith in such a great, good God ought to go beyond borders.