Sufficiency of Scripture: Our Rule; Thy Word. Part 2

In the first post in this series, I concluded on Matthew 4:4, where Jesus indicated to us the centrality of God’s word in our life: “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

“It is written” or in our contemporary terms, “The Bible says”. These phrases are great statements that must settle every argument against the sufficiency of Scripture. However, the same is equally dangerous when the word is not rightly divided. The word can be abused if not correctly applied.

Note in Matthew 4:6, the devil also quoted Scripture to deceive. He misinterpreted the text. In fact, Scriptures describes Satan as “disguis[ing] himself as an angel of light.”(2 Corinthians 11:14).

Now, if the Bible can be misinterpreted, can we trust it, much more build our lives on an ancient document written many years away from our civilisation? Nathan Busenitz, a professor at Master’s Seminary, opens an online article titled “Why These 66 Books?” with the words

Have you ever looked at your Bible and wondered, “How do we know that these 66 books, and no others, comprise the inspired Word of God?” That is a critically important question, since there are many today who would deny that these 66 books truly make up the complete canon of Scripture.

Truly; “Critically important question”.More than any other book, the Bible has suffered a barrage of attacks all aimed at discrediting it as the very inspired words of God. Busenitz continues, “We believe in the 39 books of the Old Testament, because the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed the Old Testament. And we believe in the 27 books of the New Testament, because the Lord Jesus Christ authorized His apostles to write the New Testament”.

Church history presents us with numerous creeds and confessions testifying of the credibility of the Bible.

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,[a] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.(WSC 2)

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.(Anglican Articles of Religion VI)

The words aforementioned affirm/lend credence to the fact that, the sixty-six books of Scripture — Old and New Testaments contain the final rule by which God guides and governs our lives. The Bible also affirms about itself being the word of God.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good(2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In our present day, God is still speaking; loud and clear through His inspired word in the pages of Scripture. Some believers abhor this claim and want us to believe God audibly speaks just as He spoke to the biblical characters.

Amongst Pentecostals and Charismatics, there is still an obsession for the latest, fresh word from God: A revelation, a dream, vision and in extreme cases, people have reported to have been directly spoken to by God. It is sad to say that this obsession of man to hear from God apart from what is written in scripture has led many to places they should not have gone as Christians.  The Bible itself clearly tells us how God speaks to us in “these last days”.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds…(Hebrews 1:1-3).

To be Continued

Sound Doctrine or Sentiments?

It was 1st January, 2015 . 1:30am. We had just returned from 31st December watch night service(night vigil).  Before retiring to bed, we deliberated and shared  our expectations for 2015 . Theodora--my wife -- asked a question that startled me."Are you grateful for 2015? "  Before I will answer her, she added a follow up question "what does your new doctrine say against gratitude?".  She is my wife, so of course, I knew why she was asking those questions.

Throughout the service, I was seated soberly :no shouting, no screaming, no jumping--a big contrast of my old self. So to her, that quiet demeanour, in the midst of the "joyful noise" meant something was wrong with her husband who previously will be screaming and jumping all over the place. Let me give you a little background of what has happened to me which I believe can further inform you of the reasons behind my wife's questions. I am of Charismatic persuasion but recently I have been looking intently into Reformed Theology and have questioned many of the beliefs  I hold as a Charismatic. That's a brief history.

Now, naturally, Theodora is the first person I must get to understand the changes taking place in my Christian beliefs. This, has, by default, made her the first person I express my disagreements over practices I deem unbiblical. I once disregarded an instruction  to apply anointing oil on my forehead to "seal" my  Iife. It is unbiblical, I argued to myself.  Ephesians 1:13-14 informed my decision.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Is the seal of the Holy Spirit over my life as a believer not formidable enough for protection? Do I need something else to compliment what God has already done in His word?  This and many other unbiblical practices have become a part of our everyday worship.

Unfortunately, many believers today don't question what they believe. We swallow everything in: hook, line and sinker. Sentiments, emotions and feelings have taken over sound doctrines and biblical instructions. The order of the day is what a respected man of God said. Rev. ABC  said it so it is true and people, whether it makes sound, biblical, logical and rational sense care less. Unlike the Bereans, we do not search scriptures to find out if what a man of God said conforms to the word of God. Some of the acts we associate with Christianity in our part of the world will easily pass for magic and superstition. Sound doctrine(teaching) or sentiments? What will we build our lives on?

Scriptures admonish us to build our lives on truth-the truth of the word of God. Sadly, many believers don't take personal responsibility for their Christian walk, hence, they are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). Paul in his epistle to Pastor Timothy also admonished sound teachings (1 Timothy 3:16, 4:1-4). Jesus said the truth--not emotions and sentiments--will set us free. John 17:17 also points us to truth. So does John 4:24. To live a victorious christian life, our foundations must be built on sound and solid doctrines. The word must take root in our lives. We must mature to be able to also instruct others in the word of God. We must rightly divide the word and we must be doers of the word and not hearers only.

Church Reforms In Ghana: My Thoughts

This piece is my little contribution to the change process in the country we have all been calling for. In this piece, if I step on any perceived toe from you my reader, I apologize ahead. I have no intentions of that. My intentions and motives are pure. I just want to sound an alarm of a looming danger. 

Image Courtesy wikipedia

As a Christian and a member of the Body of Christ, I cringe with discomfort whenever I hear accusations against the Church and the Body of Christ in general. It gets at me. It hurts. My feelings can be rightly expressed by Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:26: “…whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it…” If you are a Christian, and you don’t see anything wrong with the church of our day or the Christianity we are practicing in our country Ghana, then there are a number of possibilities. Either you are spiritually blind, or living in denial, or you are part of the problem or maybe you believe so much in the proverbial adage “never wash your dirty linen in public”. 



That last one made me laugh at myself. You must be kidding me! We (the church) have already been dragged into the mud. We have already lost some level of respect. We have gained notoriety because of unscrupulous elements that have “crept in unawares”. While we were doing church as usual, minding our little world of blessings and prosperity, the enemy silently crept in with Charlatans. 

You might be different; a very honest and genuine Christian, but the fruits of the few bad nuts—are they few? —casts a snare on the testimony of Christ and it affects all of us. Sometime past in this nation, to be a Pastor or Reverend Minister was a “big deal.” It came with its own specially accorded respect. Nowadays, display a little passion and desire for ministry; and you become suspect number one: the general perception is you want quick money. Recently, we have also been charged with laziness and “excessive praying”.

Admittedly, some of these concerns carry weight and makes valid argument. What we are up against as the Body of Christ is what a Ghanaian author Nana Awere Damoah in his book I Speak Of Ghana calls “Ghanamanic gullibility”. His words hits a right chord with what I believe is the true nature of the church and Christianity today in this nation. He wrote: “Unfortunately, the church is not spared this negative tendency [foolish propensity to believe without questioning]. Tune into various radio stations around the country and you will be amazed what is spewed out in the name of Christ and even more shocking is that there are numerous people who heed such spurious calls”.

Sited in some, if not majority of our churches are members who have been raised up on unwholesome doctrine instead of a solid balanced diet of the word of God. No iota of discernment, anything goes! Sensationalism is the order of the day and in the process we see all kinds of abuse oozing out from the church like the stench from an untreated sore (I am getting sensational myself now).

As a member of the body of Christ, I have thought it wise, to, by the grace of God through His eternal and unchanging word, attempt in my little way to contribute some sanity towards the Body. So over the coming days, if you will be interested in following this discourse, I will attempt to put my thoughts across on how we can arrest some of the ills that have bedevilled the Body with the hopes of contributing my quota to the change process being trumpeted in our country, a change process I believe is equally needed in the Church.

Impacting Our World

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14).

If you use a Bible with a red letter edition, you will then be aware the Scripture quoted are Jesus’ direct words. However, he wasn't speaking about Himself. He was speaking to His disciples (the twelve plus a crowd that had followed Him.) In extension, He is speaking to us too His followers. Jesus is saying anyone who follows me is the light of the world.

Naturally, light dispels darkness. As followers of Jesus we should also dispel darkness: evil, sin and wickedness should not prevail in our lives and the lives we encounter. In a hurting and sinful world, we are to be a source of flavour on earth. Where there is hurt, we bring relief. Where there is despondency, we bring a message of hope. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are a source of nourishment for people burdened and “thirsty“ in life.

Remember, we are representing Christ and the “mission statement” of Christ is equally our mission statement: 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). 

--- Adapted from TheEmergence of A New Generation,© 2013 Enoch A. Anti, Published by Truth Publlication, P.O. Box CT842 Cantoments-Accra, Ghana. info@truthpublicationsgh.com

 

Available in Ghana at Shell Shops (Osu Regal and La T Junction), Ernest Chemist Retail Shops (Circle, Tudu, Spintex, Odorkor, Legon and Kumasi Santasi) and Banner of Love Bookshop (Nungua). Also available on Amazon.com 

Please Turn To The Table Of Content

I have been yearning to do this write-up for some time now due to observations I have made in Church amongst Christians, but the inspiration has not been strong. On the 11th of Marc, 2014, during a family devotion at dawn, we had to read a text from lamentation. While opening the Bible, one family member asked me: “where is Lamentation”. After Jeremiah I answered.

So I paused the devotion and asked a general question: “why don't people turn to the table of content when a Scripture is mentioned and they can't locate it?”. I got the most obvious answer; “people will think you are not spiritual and don't know the Bible”. I was excited, my thoughts have been confirmed. O! So it's about what people will think?

Erroneously, for many who grew up in church, we have been brought up and conditioned to believe that your ability to know the chronological arrangement of the books of the Bible indicates your spirituality and knowledge of the Bible. Remember the Bible drills? We are forced to memorize the books of the Bible and the exact order they appear. This, it looks has produced a false sense of spirituality amongst adults. Have you noticed how in church you see people frantically trying to locate a Scripture a speaker has mentioned without success? 

Maybe, you have not just noticed; it actually might have happened to you. It does happen to me sometimes; but me I don't waste time at all. I go straight for the Table of Content. Easy! No endless, frantic flipping through the pages of the Bible to locate a text. There's a reason for the table of content in every book, including the Bible. It's meant to help the reader easily navigate the pages of the book. If The Table Of Content is of no use to you, then maybe you should tear it from your Bible. Drastic measure right? You see, you are no less spiritual for referring to the table of content, neither are you more spiritual for not referring to the Table of Content. Please if in doubt, turn to The Table of Content.