Posted on 03/21/2022 8:37:27 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The recent now-deleted tweet by Andy Stanley, son of famed pastor emeritus Charles Stanley of the First Baptist Church, Atlanta, reads:
“The Christian faith doesn’t rise and fall on the accuracy of 66 ancient documents. It rises and falls on the identity of a single individual: Jesus of Nazareth.”
Stanley’s tweet was taken from a sermon he preached on March 6 at Browns Bridge Church in Cumming, Georgia.
When first reading the tweet on social media, I was saddened and sickened. This kind of statement was all too familiar to me. I had often heard it made by the moderates and liberals who were in control of the Southern Baptist Convention back in the '80s. I had defended the faith against this kind of approach to the Scriptures in the Baptist Associations where I had served — a time when my support for the Bible as divine and totally without error was in the minority and marginalized.
This kind of doctrinal error is what conservatives worked and sacrificed to save the Southern Baptist Convention from and succeeded. Moreover, other denominations that embraced what Stanley was teaching ended up on the trash heap of spiritual impotence or blatant apostasy.
It was, therefore, quite painful for me to hear a prominent preacher with the considerable influence of Stanley, one who has affirmed his own belief in inerrancy, declare something so contrary to that affirmation.
Unfortunately, Andy Stanley’s view of the Bible is not uncommon today in many seminaries and various mainline denominations that were once faithful. It holds if one argues for the highest view of Scripture as the Church did in the past, then one is in danger of a form of idolatry, elevating the Bible above Jesus, and therefore, guilty of the sin of Bible worship. In other words, you can make the Bible even more important than Jesus. You can give the Bible a prominence the Lord himself didn’t give it.
This is a seductive and harmful argument for those who may not know any better. It’s really a departure from the doctrine handed down by the Church, which has always maintained Christ, the Living Word, so identified himself with the Written Word, the Holy Scriptures, that no teacher can diminish the authority of one without also equally diminishing the authority of the other.
No one ever held a higher view of Scripture than Jesus did. In fact, over and again, Jesus encouraged everyone to judge his entire person and work by what the Scriptures said. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared he didn’t come to oppose or supersede the Scriptures, but to fulfill them exactly — completely — to fulfill every “jot and tittle” (Mt. 5:17-20).
Years ago, after leaving the pastorate to become the Christian Action League’s executive director, I joined a church where a man came before the congregation as a pastoral candidate. First, the candidate made a general statement about his doctrinal beliefs and church polity and then fielded questions from the audience.
One statement the candidate made was a red flag for me. He said he believed Southern Baptists had elevated the Bible above Jesus. So, before the entire church, I asked him to please explain what he meant.
To the point of embarrassment, the candidate kept avoiding a direct answer to the question by talking about things that weren’t pertinent. When he finally got around to addressing it, he did so in vague generalities, which essentially amounted to no answer at all.
At last, I sought to pin him down and asked: “Please tell us plainly. Do you believe the Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God? Yes or No?” His response was honest, but revealing when he replied, “No, I don’t.”
At this point, the candidate became very angry and began to attack my person with insults, declaring he believed the Bible as much as me. I responded that not only did he not believe the Bible as much as me, but he didn’t believe it as much as the people in that church. I then said to him, “You believe the Bible contains the Word of God, but you don’t believe it’s all the Word of God. Correct?” He acknowledged my assessment of his beliefs was accurate.
“Well, I agree with the candidate,” one lady said as she jumped to her feet to defend him. “He’s right! I think our denomination has wrongly given more prominence to the Scriptures than to Jesus.” To which I replied to her, “Please tell me how any of us can know anything authoritative about Jesus outside of the Bible?”
The candidate then replied, “I know! By experience!”
“Experience?” I responded. “And by what standard shall we measure the reality or truth of one’s experience without a Bible that does not err, and is authoritative in everything?” I asked. “How can we tell whether our experience is from God or the devil? Are we to believe our experience can never lead us astray — that our experience will never lead us to a counterfeit Christ?”
No one said anything further and the candidate withdrew his name for consideration, saying he could never be in a church with someone like me. Others, however, argued that I had just saved the church from many troubles and possible failure.
The crux of the matter is abundantly clear for those willing to think and look to the Scriptures. What Andy Stanley espouses is not what Jesus believed and taught about Scriptural authority. Let’s not forget Jesus Himself submitted to the Scriptures. Our Lord so identified Himself and his ministry with Scripture that he affirmed to the degree that one accepts the Scriptures is the degree to which one may know Him.
It should trouble us greatly anytime someone holds a different view of the Written Word than the one held by the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. It ultimately leads to making our own opinions, beliefs and experiences the authority rather than God’s revelation. Such only leads to error, compromise, and a falling away from the faith.
Bookmark.
Nxt he’ll ditch the resurrection and the Incarnation. Just yesterday a freeper reminded me of the key to determining the spirit of antichrist. Denial of Jesus being God in the Flesh.
Isn’t Jesus the Word of God?
And the Bible is kind of the Word of God, too.
In the Beginning was the Word,,,
The Word became Flesh.
John
(The Gospel According to Saint John)
Category: NT Narrative
Chapter 1
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
- - - - - - - -
Isaiah
Chapter 61
“1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,”
“and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
- - - - - - - -
Luke 4
“16 ¶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.
And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
“18 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, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. “
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
The Scriptures that the Christ referred to was the Septuagint, the 46 books of the old testament.
Jesus came to fulfill ie complete these 46 books.
Jesus is the Word of God.
The Bible consists of 73 books of God inspired words and in many places the literal words of God.
But Jesus is the complete Word of God incarnate
Sacred Scripture is the written testimony of the divine Word, the canonical memory that attests to the event of Revelation. However, the Word of God precedes the Bible and surpasses it. That is why the centre of our faith isn’t just a book, but a salvation history and above all a person, Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh
The Bible is a form of God’s revelation to man, but the most complete form of that revelation is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Many treat scripture as stand alone, making Scripture cut off from the person of Jesus
God doesn’t have grandchildren. You don’t become a child of God because your dad was a rock solid preacher.
Absolutely!
.
The Three Asian Kings in
Bethlehem knew Jesus was the Promised King !
The Heavens Declared it.
Poor Charles Stanley and other preachers who have misplaced “in the ministry” sons and daughters.
66 books. 39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament.
Apocrypha not biblical.
Andy Stanley is a NUT and is the antithesis of Charles Stanley.
God sent Charles Stanley to me (over the radio) when I was newly saved and facing the deaths of my mother and very best friend.
I LOVE Charles Stanley and I hate what his wicked son is doing to his name.
This passage states the core thesis.
Our experience of the Bible (opening it and reading it) is but a subset of our overall experience in life.
When I open my Bible and read it, how can I be sure that my eyes aren't deceiving me? How can I be sure that some devil isn't interfering with my visual perception of the printed words on the paper?
The author states that the devil can "lead us astray" and interfere with our "experience" of the world. If the author is correct, then the devil could just as easily "mess" with our experience of the Bible.
It is not possible to consistently admonish, "Don't believe the evidence of your eyes! The devil may have misled you!" and then to assert "Believe what you read in the Bible!"
Regards,
“Do you believe the Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God?”
The problem with that statenent is the phrasing “the Bible”. It assumes there is one infallible and inerrant translation.
King James?? Oh but wait, the Dead Sea scrolls pointed out errors in translation.
Plus if you get 500 Bible scholars in a room they will sware on a 5 foot high stack of Bibles that their interpretation of what some verse or series of verses means is the correct meaning and the other 499 guys are wrong.
I never liked the situations where the kid(s) inherent. That implies it was a family business, not a calling to the ministry.
And Scripture is where Jesus is revealed to us. On the road to Emaus how did Jesus teach the disciples? He opened Scripture to them. Holding Scripture as the sacred inerrant Word of God does not diminish Jesus - it leads us to Him
Is there any troubled history among any Christians of the Bible being cut to “66” books? I believe in 73. Could maybe understand an attempt at saying it’s 65 or 67, but 66?
“There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
— St. John, The Beloved, from his Gospel, Ch. 21, v.25
Jesus, teaching in the Upper Room about the Holy Spirit said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you.” (John 14:26); and, again, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you.” (John 16:13-15)
SINCE, by the personal testimony of one of the Original Twelve, the text of Scripture contains but a fragment of all the words and works of Jesus, is the Holy Spirit, therefore, LIMITED to reminding us ONLY of what got written down?? That’s NOT what Jesus said; that’s ABSURD!! Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide us “into ALL Truth,” “teach [us] everything,” and “cause [us] to remember EVERYTHING” Jesus said; which necessarily INCLUDES the things he said that aren’t written down. Or are they not part of “all Truth?” ABSOLUTELY they are, and the Holy Spirit will speak to us concerning these things, also.
Again, recall how Jesus admonished the Scribes and teachers of The Law saying, “You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)
Does the text give life, or is life found only in The One of Whom the text speaks? THEREFORE Jesus is MORE than, GREATER than, SUPERIOR TO, and MASTER of the text.
Even the most casual student of the Bible will soon discover the reality that there is PLENTY that we are not told. Daniel is denied further revelation in Daniel 12; John the Revelator is told NOT to write what The Seven Thunders spoke, we are heading for eternity, and there’s VERY little written about what eternal life will be like beyond the emergence of The New Heavens and The New Earth. And St. Paul affirmed to the church at Corinth, “Eye has not seen, nor has any ear heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Cor. 2:9)
And yet, all of these things are known to Jesus; all the things that Scripture DOES NOT say; he knows. The text tantalizes us with the promise that, “Of His Kingdom, and of its increase, there SHALL BE NO END.”
CLEARLY Jesus VASTLY EXCEEDS the bounds of the text, and not only that, but the extent, power, might, and glory of His eternal Kingdom cannot even be encompassed within its pages.
The Bible is from God, for humanity, in this age, that we may know enough to come to Him in repentance, to receive the forgiveness He wrought upon The Cross in The Person of Jesus Christ, and to be baptized into and walk in the fullness thereof. And it will remain a living word forever, in that it speaks the Truth of His Person, and His Works; it’s pages shall never grow old.
But, eight million years from now, all the Redeemed will truly understand that the whole of it was but an intro; a mere Foreword to the vastly greater work that He has designed to bring us into; that it is joy unspeakable, that it is FULL of glory, and that — TRULY, TRULY — in this mortal life, the half HAD NEVER YET been told.
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