Objections to the Faith - Introduction Part 1 (Acts 17:16-34)

For the next while our young adult ministry at Toronto Alliance Church is planning to examine Objections to the Faith. If you are free, considering joining us. We meet at 8 pm on every second Saturday. I am hoping and planning to share my teaching on this blog so that you can catch-up if you miss a week or if you just would like to follow along.

In the movie Patriot Games, Jack Ryan, played by Harrison Ford, witnesses an attack on the British Secretary of State to Northern Ireland. Rather than hide his face from the violence, Jack Ryan (in typical Harrison Fordian fashion) springs into action, rescuing the secretary and even killing one of the terrorists.

Later on in the film, when he is questioned by one of his friends concerning his heroics, Jack Ryan responds, “It just pissed me off. I couldn't just stand there and watch him shoot those people right in front of me. It was... rage. Pure rage... Just made me mad.” In other words, Jack Ryan, when confronted with certain tragedy, could not sit still. He had to act.

In Acts 17 we find the apostle Paul confronted by a reality which he could not ignore. In verses 16 and 17 of said chapter we read: “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.”

Athens was a city full of temples and images of pagan gods. Paul saw these things. He knew that the false gods were worshiped, he knew that people were lost in their ignorance and false religion and he knew that God was not receiving the honour and glory that were due Him. And so Paul acted. He shared Christ. He confronted false belief.

Our city of Toronto is a city full of false gods as well. There are the mosques and the temples dedicated to Hinduism and Buddhism. But there are also the gods of entertainment, money, possessions, lust and so forth. Anything (excluding the true God) can become an idol if we devote our lives to it and give it prominence. Anything can be worshiped.

When we notice people around us pursuing false gods are our hearts moved as Paul’s was? Do we speak up for the true and living God? And there are other questions we need to ask as well. In a city like Toronto, how can we go about sharing Christ? And in particular, how can we share Christ with the young adult population? There are some principles I would like to share from Paul’s time in Athens as seen in Acts 17:16-34 that will shed some light on these questions.

Why Should we Study the Bible? - It Enhances our Worship

In my opinion, not only does the reading of Scripture enlighten our minds, but it also enhances our worship. It does this in at least two ways. First of all, we have all probably experienced that incredible, uncontrollable desire to break forth into praise and thanks to God when we have become aware of something God has done or of an awe-inspiring aspect of His nature. J. I. Packer, on the back of his helpful book Concise Theology writes: “As I often tell my students, theology is for doxology and devotion—that is, the praise of God and the practice of godliness.” Immersing ourselves in God’s Word will naturally lead to more of these spontaneous outbursts of praise.

The Word of God also ensures that we are praising the true God, and not offering worship to a being of our own devising. In His conversation with a Samaritan woman Jesus teaches who true worshipers of God are: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (John 4:21-24).

We worship in spirit when our praise flows from within us and is not merely an outward song or action. It is a bit more difficult to nail down the correct interpretation of worshiping in truth. It could serve to reinforce the idea of worshiping in spirit. In this case, worshiping in truth would be equated with worshiping in spirit – we truly worship when we worship in spirit. However, and this is helpful for the point at hand, it could also mean that we worship the God we have true knowledge of. Regardless of our interpretation of this passage, this point remains a valid one.

Having a solid grasp on God’s Word and on theology will protect against attributing false characteristics to God in the midst of our praise. It should be our desire to reflect on and adore God for who He truly is. It should be our longing to thank God for what He truly has done, is doing and will do. The Word of God protects us from false pronouncements concerning God in the midst of our worship.

Why Should we Study the Bible? - It Enlightens our Minds by Teaching us what is True (Continued)

Furthermore, Scripture provides us with answers to difficult questions. Rather than doing serious research, struggling in prayer and engaging in vigorous debate we often allow our personal feelings to dictate what we believe.

More than that, we live in an age of tolerance. When we encounter a doctrine which runs counter to our own predisposition we are regularly tempted to merely shrug our shoulders in defeat and say: “You are free to believe what you believe and I will continue to believe what I believe. There’s no way to be certain who is correct.”

While there are certainly passages in Scripture that are difficult to understand, I think that too often we throw in the towel too early. It is my opinion that if we took the time, Scripture would provide us with solid answers to many if not most of our uncertainties.

Why Should we Study the Bible? - It Enlightens our Minds by Teaching us what is True

Our world tends to deny that there is such a thing as ultimate truth. Pragmatism becomes the guide of many. Whatever works for me personally (ie. whatever makes me feel good or helps me accomplish my self-established goals) is to be pursued with gusto and considered “true” for me. Jesus disagrees with such a worldview. “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.” He says.

The Christian must consistently be chewing on the Word of God because in it she discovers and is reminded of the truth. We must remember that pursuing truth is not simply about filling our brains with information. As believers we most certainly have a curiosity about God and a longing to learn more about Him. However, we must also concern ourselves with the product of our knowledge (or what our knowledge accomplishes in our lives).

In a sense, this is what this entire essay concerns itself with. But here, under the subsection dealing with truth, let me highlight one way in which the knowledge of the truth is essential to the Christian life by reminding us that truth is necessary for salvation! If one is ignorant of the truth there is no hope of eternal life. Without the truth we would not know about the problem of sin nor God’s solution to it in His Son Jesus Christ. Scripture provides us with the essential content of our faith.

Why Should we Study the Bible? - It Enlightens our Minds by Teaching us what is Right

On a regular basis we face a subtle bombardment of opinions advocating for what is good and what is not. While watching a television program we may be encouraged to pursue our heart’s desire above all else. A newspaper article may challenge the biblical understanding of marriage. A gallery may post pornography under the guise of “artwork.” Advertisements routinely seduce us into putting all of our hope and desire into cars, alcohol and clothing. Movies suggest that getting high can be fun. We could go on. These views need to regularly be checked by Scripture or else we will find ourselves pursing ideals which reject and oppose the Lordship of Christ.

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” God’s Word provides the guidance we need to make sure that we get on and remain on the right path.

In my opinion, when it comes to righteousness, listening to sermons and reading Scripture is not primarily about learning new things. Most believers already know the basic teachings of holiness in God’s Word and we can sum up obedience in one word: love. Hearing sermons and reflecting on the Bible is more about being reminded to do what we already know we should be doing than about entering uncharted territory.

It is so easy for misunderstandings of what is right and what is wrong to enter the Church. Each and every follower of Christ needs a guide to keep us on track. This guide is Scripture and it needs to be shaping our conduct on a regular basis.

Why Should we Study the Bible? - Introduction

If we browse through stats from such sources as researcher George Barna and Wheaton College we learn something very troubling: a large number of Western Christians today have lost respect for biblical authority and are weak in biblical knowledge. Many Christians are not reading, hearing or submitting to Scripture.

This brings me to several questions: Should believers study Scripture? Is it important to spend vast amounts of time chewing on God’s Word? Shouldn’t we just concentrate on living for God, rather than on accumulating knowledge? Knowledge puffs up, doesn’t it? Isn’t it more important to just obey God? After all, so many Christians have failed Christ by filling their heads with God’s Word but failing to live their faith out.

As you are probably anticipating, my own position is that God’s Word is an indispensable part of a God-honouring Christian life. The answer to the dilemma of Christians with head-knowledge of the Word but no practical outworking of it is not action at the expense of knowledge, but rather action that is formed and shaped by knowledge.

Let me begin by stating that I realize that I will be making some huge assumptions as I attempt to answer the question of why Christians should read Scripture. First of all, I am trusting that you hold to a belief in absolute truth and absolute morality and I am working with the hypothesis that you already believe that God’s Word is truth.

If you struggle with any of these convictions, let me offer you the following suggestions. First of all, if you have not taken the time to examine your opinions concerning absolute truth, absolute morality and God’s Word (and the ground on which your opinions are based), please take the time to do so. I hope to write on these topics, but in the meantime, there are many helpful resources which can provide solid arguments and thought-provoking questions in favour of my assumptions. So often, we reject what we do not understand and disagree with opinions that upset our spirits but have never been seriously contemplated in our minds. You owe it to yourself to understand why you believe what you believe.

Furthermore, please read on in spite of your disagreement with my assumptions. At very least, it will create in you a greater understanding of your fellow human beings and lead to more civil dialogue on such an important topic.

Faith in Focus

Last Saturday evening we began a new Young Adult ministry at Toronto Alliance Church entitled Faith in Focus. Faith in Focus (FiF) provides the opportunity for university students and 20 and 30 somethings to get together, hang out and explore deeper issues and tough questions related to the Christian faith. We had a solid commencement with good discussion and new(er) friendships growing. FiF takes place every second Saturday night at 8:00 pm at Toronto Alliance Church - consider joining us.
Our first series concerns the Person of God and we plan to explore topics such as the Trinity, God's love and His holiness. The first night though was a challenge on why we should bother studying the Bible/theology at all. My blogging plans (at least for the next while) are to focus on things that come up at FiF.

Short-Term Mission Trips

When Helping Hurts has opened my eyes to some of the dangers of short-term mission trips. The authors are not against such trips, but realize that they can produce harm if improperly carried out. For many years I struggled with these experiences because of the vast amounts of money which they required. Generally speaking, I could not reconcile the cost with their effect. Stewardship is one of the issues the authors raise when it comes to these missions, but there are several other potential problems which they see.
For instance, they share a quote which reveals that it is possible for such teams to actually destroy the work which indigenous workers have been effectively carrying out: "Our indigenous staff tell me that the children stop coming [to weekly Bible studies] because we do not have all the fancy materials and crafts that the short-term teams have, and we do not give away things like these teams do. The children have also come to believe that our staff are not as interesting or as creative as the Americans that come on these teams." (p. 169). How sad to hear that our good intentions, hard work and creativity can lead to a decrease in kingdom activity - but they can.

Asset-Based Development

Corbett and Fikkert continue to get me thinking in When Helping Hurts. Many of us involved in some sort of relief and development type ministry begin by looking for needs and then we seek to meet those needs. We see hungry people on the street and so we buy them a sandwich or we find someone suffering with a medical condition and so we bandage their wound or provide them with adequate medication.
These two men suggest that there is a better way to begin: Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). They posit that rather than looking first for needs in a community, one should look for resources. There are different ways of doing this but what is essential is discovering what a community has to offer (eg. the ability to cook, the ability to repair a bike, small amounts of money, etc.) and then finding ways for that community to put those assets to work. This builds confidence in the people, teaches them that they have talents and gets them to work at changing their condition rather than turning them into dependents who look to outsiders for aid.

When Helping Hurts

The interns and I are reading a book which our parish nurse (who just got back from a second stint in Haiti) very much appreciated: When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. These men say things which we have all probably thought about before but might not know how to apply practically in our lives.
The book suggests, for instance, that many Christians fail at relief type ministry. Its not that we don't do it - there are many examples of Christians stepping up to the plate and providing for the hurting - but that we do it too often. Let me explain.
In the minds of these authors, what we might call "social action" type ministry falls into three fields: relief, rehabilitation and development. Development is helping people grow more deeply in proper relationship to God, self, others and creation. Rehabilitation is assisting those who have faced a crisis to get back to where they were prior to the crisis (positive aspects only). Meanwhile, relief is meeting the needs of those who have just faced a crisis and cannot help themselves.
Far too often, when we meet someone in need, Christians take the easy route of quickly throwing that person a dollar, giving them a bus token or even buying them a meal. These authors stress that doing this causes more harm than good. They say that in such an instance we apply relief-type ministry to a situation which needs development or rehabilitation. Effective relief ministry is to be done seldomly, immediately (right after the crisis) and temporarily (only until they can help themselves again) (p. 110). Furthermore, they go so far as to say that we should never do something for someone that they can do for themselves (p. 115) - this causes an unhealthy dependence and feelings of inferiority in the broken and a pride or God-complex in those ministering.
The trouble is that it is so much easier to do relief ministry. Relief work can be done in a matter of seconds or hours while development or rehabilitation takes weeks, months or even years of walking side by side with the hurting.
I can be lazy about certain things and prefer in and out type work. And while that type of work is needed and valuable, there are many who won't positively respond to that type of service. Who are the hurting in my life who need more than a few short moments of my time?

Mental Wanderings - Balance to the Force

Another science fiction related query I've had is related to the role of Anakin Skywalker. It was said that he would bring balance to the Force. In my mind, bringing balance to the Force would mean that in some way the Light and Dark Sides would live in a sort of harmony - like the yin and yang. This is not what Anakin accomplished though. His defeat of the Emperor and his overcoming the power of the Dark Side in his own life led to a defeat of the Dark Side and the victory of the Light Side. Therefore, he did not bring balance to the Force, but a clear, one-sided victory of the Light Side.