Stick to the Scripture

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

[divine-exhale]

Join Bible Study Community • Community on Tumblr

A community for honest and authentic study or discussion of God's Scripture. This is specifically for reading and analysing the Bible, not g

Hello everyone! Happy New Year! I'd like to kick off the new year by starting up a Bible Study community here on Tumblr!

It's just its own Christian space for believers to read, analyse and discuss the different parts of the Bible together in whatever form you'd like! They can be big or small posts, and you can take part in the conversations or just observe. All are welcome! I'm hoping to contribute semi-regular posts offering passages to discuss and study together, like every 1-2 weeks, but it's pretty experimental right now!

Hope to see you there!

[divine-exhale]

“Maybe you’ve heard the joke about the man who was hoping to get a word from the Lord and happened to turn to Matthew 27:5 where it says that Judas “went and hanged himself.” Not happy with this word for the day, the man flipped his Bible open to another page, where his eyes descended on Luke 10:37, “And Jesus said to him, ‘You go and do likewise.’” These may be extreme examples, but they are not too far removed from how many Christians approach the Bible. Even if the answers seem thrilling in their relevance, we must not put any stock in anachronistic, out-of-context answers we read into the Bible after asking questions the Bible never intended to address.” - Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something, on the random verse-picking method of seeking God's guidance.

[divine-exhale]

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." (John 7:24)

"For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:12)

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:1-2)

"[Jesus is saying] don't be the kind of person who ignores sin, but also don't be the kind of person who crushed people under it."

"That's the difference between being a hypocrite who just wants to win an argument and a Christian who wants to carry a burden."

[divine-exhale]

Whose Gospel Is This?

Been a while since I made a post, partly because I'm busy and partly because the next post I'm working on is a big one so I want to get it right. So I unfortunately missed the chance to make something for Easter, but I had a few scattered thoughts during my devotional this morning and wanted to share them as a late Easter post for the Christian communities that I'm a part of:

The Gospel made clear:

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

The Gospel's motivation:

For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our visit with you was not without result. On the contrary, after we had previously suffered and were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition. For our exhortation didn’t come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive. Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-4)

The Gospel's exclusivity:

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him! For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-10)

The Gospel's blessings:

You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness? You know, then, that those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons. Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you. Consequently, those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith. (Galatians 3:1-9)

This is God's Gospel. And all three of these documents are projected to have been written around 50AD, making them some of the earliest written New Testament documents. This has always been God's gospel. Drawing from these verses, let's just summarise a few reflections on it, shall we?

1. The Gospel preaches Christ crucified and resurrected.

This one probably seems obvious, but as we see in response to a complaint that he preached the same thing every week, a preacher responded that it's a message we need to hear every week. (Might have been Charles Spurgeon, who was vehemently against preaching a sermon that never mentioned Jesus, but I can't find the exact quote.)

Still, as insane as it sounds, some people claim faith in Christ yet don't believe Jesus was really crucified, or don't really believe he came back from the dead, or don't really live as though Jesus really did everything that's claimed about him, or in some way compromise on the notion that Jesus needs to be a saviour who died and came back because it's enough that he was just a famous guy who said to be nice to people, etc., etc...

Any Gospel that compromises on any aspect of who Jesus was, especially his mission of dying for our sins and being resurrected in glory, compromises God's gospel and therefore is not God's gospel. Paul is quick to emphasise Jesus' divinity time and time again as one proven by his resurrection, and that our salvation that the Gospel promises is contingent on his sacrifice and resurrection that we get to take part in. He stresses this a lot in the rest of 1 Corinthians 15.

2. The Gospel comes from God, not from men.

Peter and John answered them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

This too is stressed many times. This message, mission and method of delivery is all of God. This is not a man-made mandate. The early church had no power to their name and were actively persecuted as traitors to their heritage by the Jews and traitors to their empire by the Romans. They gained nothing material for it and often died because of it. The idea that Christianity was invented by men to seize power is a false premise, something Jesus practically ensured by never himself seeking any kind of political power or influence up to his execution.

The example we follow, the morality we pursue, the love we share and the gospel we preach comes from God. We do it not for ourselves but that others might be saved. We do it that God would be pleased and good would be done. We do it because it is true.

And a critical note on that is that we only have one gospel just as we only have one God. Paul defines it, the disciples define it, Jesus defines it - the Bible defines the lines of this divine kindness. Anyone who crosses those lines and looks to redefine the sublime entwinement is a swine.

Seriously though, Paul hammers this in throughout Galatians. The Bible doesn't give us the wiggle room to change what we've been tasked with and we now have so much access to Scripture thanks to the prosperity of the Gospel (but not prosperity gospel; don't mix them up!) that it's easier than ever to cross-reference what people say with God's word. So renew yourselves with knowledge and equip yourselves with the Gospel (Colossians 3:10, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) because we may have different practices and opinions in following it, but there is still only one Gospel.

3. The Gospel is practiced by faith, not by works.

These passages express this message, but it can also be found elsewhere in each of those letters, and in the books of Romans, Ephesians, Hebrews, etc., the Bible isn't exactly subtle about this, yet people still get confused about it because it's a complex topic by nature.

After all, being redeemed by grace is a miraculous level of mercy that is hard to comprehend, and genuine faith naturally produces works, as James 2 infamously explains. And yes, if you claim to have faith but don't live for Christ, then you clearly don't have faith. You know a good tree by the fruit it produces (Matthew 7:16).

But getting mixed up on these truths should not be a stumbling block from the very clear, often repeated and incredibly unique key to salvation that we have in Jesus. We are not saved by anything we do. The most we do is answer the call with faith, which credits us as righteous (Romans 4:3-5). There's a lifetime's worth of understanding to untangle in balancing our responsibility with submission to God, but none of that is core to our beliefs as much as this simple message:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

This is God's Gospel. God's Saviour. God's Son. God's Story.

One God. One Gospel. One church, no matter what label you stick on the building you gather at. Believe this gospel and you are saved.

No matter what you've done. No matter what you'll do.

Have faith. Real faith. Sincere faith.

That's it. You are saved.

That's God's Gospel.

[divine-exhale]

What is Love?

Baby, don't hurt me.

That song is a headbanging bop so classic, iconic, and memetic that it's so easy to overlook the introspective contemplation of an overwhelmingly complex topic in the chorus' opening line that's immediately double-counterbalanced by the fear of oncoming pain consequently received from getting the answer to that question wrong. The emotional crisis of flip-flopping between trying to understand the lines that should be drawn in the pursuit of love and pleading against having to go through crushing disappointment is voiced again and again, yet it's drowned out by our own love of heedless entertainment.

There's a metaphor in there, probably, but I'm not actually here to make it. I was just looking for a good opening line for a Bible study on the topic of what love is via biblical lens for a Valentines Day post and here we are. Now that we've analysed Haddaway, let's analyse God's word!

Seriously though, what is love? Is it a feeling or an action? Is its purest form romantic or platonic? Is it always selfless? And once we've pinned down our definition(s), how and when do we apply them?

These questions may not be as headbanging as a lament of unrequited affection, but they are important. I'm not going to promise to answer them all clearly here, but I am going to try and show the foundation for how we approach them. Naturally, the Bible is involved.

1. The Seven Loves

Okay, the Bible is involved, but not yet! First, let's consider how the Greek language didn't have the single word that we use called 'love' to encapsulate so many forms of deep affection and care. It divided those concepts into seven. And given that the New Testament was originally written in this language, it probably wouldn't hurt to give them a rundown:

Eros (Romantic Love) - Sometimes more interpreted as something exclusively sexual. This regardless applies to the love we have when we're attracted to someone, especially physically.

Philia (Friendship Love) - Platonic love, basically. The same love you feel when you enjoy someone's company and/or respect their ambitions. Loyalty and companionship define it.

Storge/Storgi (Family Love) - The kind of love known in a close-knit group, typically family but could also be very close friends or a very tight community. There's an unconditional factor to this love.

Ludus (Playful Love) - Puppy love, kind of. This one is actually more Latin than Greek, but it refers either way to the more childish and uncommitted love of people who flirt in passing or innocently have fun together, usually found in children.

Pragma (Long-Term Love) - Enduring commitment. Usually a marriage that's stood the test of time will have this, and it's no coincidence that it's the start of the word "pragmatic". This is a love that provides what's needed to support and endure the relationship for the very long term.

Philautia (Self Love) - This is more in line with self-esteem than self-serving; it's ultimately a love that regards one's self as worthy of confidence in who we are. Not power-seeking but self-accepting.

Agape (Self-Sacrificing Love) - This is a much more universally unconditional love that is felt not exclusively for any individual or group, but for the world as a whole. It is the most selfless form of love.

Less known and less regarded is an eight love named "Xenia" (Hospitality Love) which I won't dismiss but is less talked about. There's a lot to say about these categories (and there's some contention on how much they were actually used) but that brief rundown was just to preface the different viewpoints on love and even their multiple interpretations that exist today.

You often hear the slogan "Love is love", which, through its redundant self-defining repetition says nothing, yet is always an attempt to close conversation by effectively claiming that 'nothing' is the point - that love isn't something to define. It's just some kind of untouchable and practically unknowable concept that is never incorrect in its definition.

But this isn't the case. Even with this variety of terms, there are clear lines drawn in every case. The kind of love expressed in Ludus is very different from the kind expressed in Pragma. Only one of them doesn't involve another person in some way. Only one of them seeks sexual desire. A minimum of four of them are categorised in large part by their unconditional loyalty to the other party.

I sympathise with the frustration people have with the English language for boiling all this complexity into a single word, but I think there's something powerful about that. It can be hard to parse sometimes, hence Haddaway's song, but love simultaneously isn't an unknowable and intangible idea yet is varied and complex in its application. It's an extremely deep word as a result, perhaps the deepest word in the English language, which seems extremely fitting when you consider that everybody in the world spends every moment of their lives pursuing it in one of these forms, whether that form is healthy or not.

We live and die for love.

We write endless songs about the endless forms of love.

Love is the primary motivation in a majority of storytelling.

Love turns friends into lovers, lovers into enemies and enemies into friends. Not necessarily in that order.

Love wakes us up in the morning with a smile on our face.

Love sends us crying ourselves to sleep with a broken heart.

Love makes us think.

Love makes us feel.

Love makes us afraid.

Love makes us brave.

What is love? Yes, it's a many-splendored thing, how did you know? I think we've covered how it can be defined in usual practice and day-to-day life in various forms well enough for now. We'll circle back around to this topic later, but for now, there's a pertinent question that we need to address:

Given these forms of love, how do we apply them? We can't just say it's always good just because it's a feeling; contrary to popular belief, your feelings are not always valid. Eros is all well and good until you feel it for a cow. Or your sibling. But if we're assuming there's a moral application here, something that can be defined as healthy or unhealthy love, where do we get it from?

2. The Bible's Loves

You didn't forget this was a Bible study, did you?

How does the Bible use love? If we assume this to be God's word, we'd better be paying close attention when he breaks out the L-word. Let's look at how these forms of love are used in the Bible:

"Eros" as a specific word is not found in the Bible, but if the book of Song of Songs isn't effectively an in-depth exploration of that definition, what is?

"Storge" also technically isn't in the Bible, but its opposites "astorgoi/astorgous" to refer to 'unloving' or 'no love' appear in 2 Timothy 3:3, condemning the traits of people to be avoided, and in Romans 1:31, describing those whom God delivered over to corruption.

"Philia" appears many times throughout the Bible, largely in reference to friendship. Any time you see the term "brotherly love" in the Bible (such as in Romans 12:10 or Hebrews 13:1), it's likely a reference to this word.

Every other (NT) use of the word "love" in the Bible is "agape". "Love the Lord your God/your neighbour as yourself" (Matt. 22:37+39)? Agape. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)? Agape. "Love your enemies" (Matt. 5:44)? Agape. "Love is patient, love is kind" (1 Cor. 13:4)? Agape.

Every other word for love is absent from the Bible. You can see the enduring pragma kind of love lived out by some figures, like Ruth, and verses like Ephesians 5:29 about not hating your own flesh could be read as the natural state of philautia that is also the basis of the Golden Rule. But otherwise, these versions and interpretations of love are not explored strongly by the Bible.

So what does that teach us? That only agape and philia love really exist? That they're the only forms of love that matter? No, I would never advise reading too far into what the Bible didn't say. Rather, I'd say that given the Bible's predisposition towards these two terms, especially the massive amount of emphasis on the former, we should consider the Bible's instruction regarding love (which, to recap, involved loving God, loving your neighbour, loving your friends enough to die for them, loving your enemies, valuing love as the greatest virtue and loving Jesus enough to love the whole world through our love for him) to be paramount.

In other words, love exists and is seen in many forms, but our calling is to embrace and be embraced by the universal agape love that Jesus has for us. A love so pure and all-encompassing that he called for the forgiveness of those who were killing him as he was dying. That takes priority.

Any reading of love - whether defined as four loves, seven loves, eight loves or five hundred loves - that compromises that calling is wrong. It's in opposition to God and in service of the self, so it is sin.

But what's the ultimate authority by which we answer that calling and temper our emotions to answer it properly? Why should we seek an authority on how to love at all? Why should we regard love as something good and right to pursue and therefore pursue properly? When we put aside all these Greek words and human definitions, what actually is love?

3. God's Love

God is love.

That's why we do those things. Because God is love. Love is God.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

BOOM! Brought it all back together!

But seriously, this is foundational. Whether we're pursuing a relationship with someone that we feel an eros kind of love for, flirting with a stranger we feel a ludus kind of love for, devoting ourselves to our children with a storge kind of love, or even embracing the blessings of being who we are with a philautia kind of love, we must always, always, always know the source of all true love and the definition of love in its greatest form, which we should always place above all of these kinds of love expression.

Because that love is God. And we're to love him above all other things. He loved us first, enough to die for us. We have no excuse for choosing nor right to choose our own definitions of what sinful form of love we would sooner pursue.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love [agape] for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8)

What is love? God is love. It's a love that rescues us from fear, is patient and kind with us and a love that gracefully sacrifices for us.

Too much of modern mindsets want to justify selfishness and dress it up as self-love, often insidiously inserted into the messaging of stories, even ones aimed at children. This is not truth. It's certainly not love. Seek the Bible's definition of love and recognise how God is calling us to sacrifice and give of ourselves selflessly for others.

I love love because I love God! It's a love we should never compromise on, not even a little, not when his Son was crucified to act on that love. If we let ourselves do that, we might end up more disappointed than Haddaway ever was.

You want the answers to those questions about what love is? Follow God. Read his word. Seek his example. There's no better way to better understand what love looks like than going to the source.

[divine-exhale]

Hello! I'm a member of the Christian community on tumblr- or I was. I am so glad that someone else has begun to notice they they have pardoned sin and accepted it as if God doesn't tell us to rebuke those kinds of things. It's really sad to see people getting banned for speaking the truth of the gospel just because it doesn't serve their purposes.

I'm so sorry you (and others) have had such an awful experience.

Thank you very much! It's encouraging to hear that from you! From what I understand, it's always been like that, sadly, and it is terrible to see a community claim the name of Christ yet be so open to sin at best and outright encouraging it - if not demanding it - at worst.

But still, at the end of the day, to use a Mike Winger quote that stuck with me, "remember: the gospel isn't in danger; the person is". They can control the community as much as they want, they can deceive themselves and others as much as they can, but they cannot change God and they will never affect the truth. Blocking people for challenging them on it with Scripture only proves they'd rather hide from the truth than stand up for it.

It brings to mind these verses, which speak into that futility but also encourage us to respond with love and prayer for them:

"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!" (Matthew 18:6-7)

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[Deut. 32:35] says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;     if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” [Prov. 25:21-22] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:9-21)

"Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (2 Timothy 4:14-18)

[divine-exhale]

Honestly, dont be afraid to say what the gosple says. If ppl in that group get so easily offended then thats their problem, but its mot a crime to simply say what the gosple says. Afterall, last time you did it brought me to the lord! And Ive seem the fruits of that.

Thanks, friend! My conviction was and is the gospel first, which comes before any man-made law, as any commission from God naturally should. I can't tell you how glad it makes me that my witness was helpful to you on your journey!

Still, to update you, this did result in comments getting removed with no justification other than a lazy "Off-topic":

And later, despite doing nothing other than posting comments of this nature, passively posting Bible verses with a little commentary attached, I was banned from that 'Christian community' without warning:

Let me say again: I was banned from a so-called 'Christian' community primarily for quoting the Bible.

When you truly worship God, you understand the heirarchy. Like in a workplace, if you get conflicting orders from your boss and your boss's boss, and you've explained the disparity to both of them and they both double down, which one do you listen to? You listen to your boss's boss of course, the one higher up the heirarchy who has the power to fire both you and the one whose orders you follow.

You should respect the authority of your Bible teacher, but it doesn't come before God's. You should respect the authority of your pastor, but it doesn't come before God's. You should respect the authority of your Tumblr community guidelines, but they don't come before God's. Any Christian who has given their life to Jesus, who would be willing to lay their life down for him, knows this. So what does it say that the Christian community moderators don't?

"Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." (John 12:25-26)

"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice." (Matthew 23:1-3)

The Christian community on Tumblr prides itself on being the largest, but its priority for popularity is its undoing. It loosens the definition of 'Christian' in order to be as inclusive as possible, to the point of censoring the Bible and silencing actual Christianity.

Conformity to the world is not Christianity. Vengeful spite is not Christianity. Silencing the voices of your opponents is not Christianity.

That community is not a Christian community.

That was why it needed the gospel, which was why I went there and was, by the grace of God, able to be of help to people like yourself for a time! But it was also why it didn't want to hear the gospel, why I was kicked out and why, from what I've heard, there's been a crash out taking place there, furiously demanding everyone fall in line or get the same treatment.

So yeah, that's the latest! But feel free to keep up with me in one of the other Christian communities, including the Bible Study one that I run! In the meantime, I'm still praying for that community and its members! And for you as well!

[glowsticks-and-jesus-deactivate]

Hey Christian tumblr! You’ve been invited to a church potluck on my blog!

What are you bringing? Post a pic below and tag a Christian to invite them!

I’ll start:

@the-kirbe-anon @coffeeman777 @rolkientolkien @banana-with-a-bow-tie

[anxious-ailurophile]

I'll bring a casserole of mac and cheese!

@the-hype-dragon @cardioat3am @hannah-ceilidh you're all invited!

[the-hype-dragon]

@i-used-to-be-an-anti-feminist @doodleoo @exxhaustedhope @2coolsnowboard @cardboard-houses-swaying

[doodleoo]

I'm bringing pannenkoeken (dutch pancakes)!

@homelessnerd @selemercy @sunflower-chai @sunflowerrosy

[selemercy]

I brought snickerdoodle cookies!

@platoniclace @eighthmelody @i-am-phroggie @geminiagentgreen @moscazorro @freeze-rae @lilbit-o-sunshine @cat-servant @artsyannierose what're you all bringing?

[geminiagentgreen]

Hmmmm....I'mma bring more carbs! I'll bring

@minimoll7 @soundlessdragon @scarabesque-returns @pinestripe37

[pinestripe37]

Yay, thank you for inviting me! 😊

I'm bringing sandwiches and cake- and (most important part) a cute chicken to feed crumbs to. 🥰

Inviting @ghosts-and-blue-sweaters @awfullybigwardrobe44 @friendrat @astro-mango @accidental-spice @darknesscannotsaveyou and @liuisi <33 :)

Thank You Lord for friends and the food we eat. 🙏 <3

[astro-mango]

Omg, heyyyyy thanks for inviting me! I didn’t see many deserts so I’ll bring some vanilla pound cake!🙌 (I guess you can say it’s just as sweet as Jesus😩)

Inviting: @kwispydoodles @jabbloo @imjustanobody2024 @seetangus @drag0nfly-artist @yahwmichael @prodigalpages @helpihavenoideawhatimdoing @coolpokerfox @light-between-lines @lightshade07 @amymichael7 @saved-by-god-grace @tearsofthemagdalene @lizzygrant1o1 @catsandantiques @noirpoetica @concentrated-whimsy @ghaliarthefierceknight @chosowifee

[yahwmichael]

well, given I noticed most of ya are already on here 😂 @pinestripe37 @geminiagentgreen @4thouglory @astro-mango

I invite the rest of ya! @plurpblob @divine-exhale @deltasimaginaryland @hobbiefroggie @lucylavander

[divine-exhale]

Is no one bringing drinks? I've got you covered!

Looking that is making me thirsty. Join in if you'd like, @northernhealer, @onethousandwords, @etharithecraftsmen, @queer-as-used-by-tolkien!

[divine-exhale]

"God-breathed"

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV

This passage is the namesake of my account, so I wanted to do (what will hopefully be) a quick devotional on it. [EDIT: It wasn't.] This is only a couple of verses near the end of what's believed to be Paul's final letter, but how crucially we take this short passage can't be understated. It affects how we read, study and understand the Bible, which by extension affects our Christian understanding and identity.

God-Breathed

Starting with the titular segment, other translations may say 'inspired' or 'breathed out', but "God-breathed" is perhaps the most straightforward way to translate "theopneustos", which appears only once in the entire Bible: this verse. It combines Theos with pneustos, the former meaning 'God' and the latter meaning 'breath/wind/spirit/etc.'

Ultimately, the meaning isn't hard - Scripture is divine. The term affirms that God didn't pen each stroke of ink or bequeath the documents from heaven like a loot drop. They were written by mankind, but their place in the Bible is no coincidence. They weren't dependent on lucky success nor limited by human error. What is communicated in the Bible is communicated by God.

All Scripture

All of it is communicated by God, not just direct quotes. We have no excuse for making exceptions. We have no right to cherry-pick the Bible. By God's authority, the entire Bible should be regarded as of his word.

It's funny, you can almost try to argue that if you make an exception for this verse, you're then free to make exceptions for the whole Bible, like God is testing us. The problem is of course that we find ourselves rejecting the word or assertion of Paul, who wrote half the NT, in his last letter when he was at his most experienced, which in the first place undermines Paul's entire reliability despite multiple records of Jesus personally stepping in to choose Paul on the road to Damascus, as well as Peter affirming the authority of Paul's letters in 2 Peter 3:15-16.

Ultimately though, this is a principle, like much in the Bible, that makes sense of the whole when applied. Jesus quoted the OT with a tenth of his dialogue in the Gospels and the NT reaffirms reliance on God's word in verses like Romans 15:4 and Hebrews 4:12. The more you see each and every book as one big story with one ultimate message for us, the more you see the full scope of God's wisdom laid out before you. Scripture is our ultimate tool for discerning truth because it has God's stamp of approval on it. All of it.

Useful/Thoroughly Equipped

Interesting word, right? "Useful". Other translations say things like 'profitable' or 'beneficial'. But not 'essential' or 'necessary' or even 'needed'. So what, the Bible is good but it's optional? Is that the takeaway?

Well, in one sense (and stay with me on this) yes, technically we don't need to read a word of the Bible to become a Christian or live life as a Christian. We can follow the faith in other ways, such as by learning and committing ourselves to the gospel at church, or by being ministered to by friends or missionaries (Romans 10:14-17). The early church used Scripture in their evagelism (Acts 17) but it wasn't the core tool of spreading the gospel as much as the message itself.

However, that isn't the point of this passage. Paul is encouraging believers to apply Scripture to various forms of growth (that we'll get onto in a second) which are all in service of being "thoroughly equipped". We're not to take this meaning as an excuse to live life without looking deeper into God's word - quite the opposite!

The Bible has no shortage of instructions on seeking what is good and/or lawful (Luke 6:45, John 15:14, Romans 12:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Titus 2:1+3:1, 3 John 1:11), but how do we know what is good? How does that help us? (Romans 7 is a good chapter on this subject.)

The fact that Scripture is beneficial to us is exactly why we should seek it out, live it out and take it as seriously as if God is saying those words to us in person, directly. for our benefit. Because in a sense, he is. How else are we to be 'thoroughly equipped' in order to fight the fight and run the race that is following Jesus?

Teaching/Training

I could come up with another ten paragraphs going over why Bible study groups study the Bible in groups and why God's church gather together to study God's word, but I feel like that would be redundant, yeah?

Only thing I will say is this: be incredibly wary of anyone who tries to teach Christianity but doesn't use the Bible. The Bible stresses caution about encountering false teachers multiple times, especially in the NT, even just one chapter prior to this very passage! This is why (again, using the 'useful' wisdom we gain from Scripture) we are taught that we'll know them "by their fruit".

The Bible teaches us how people ought to teach and what fruits they ought to produce, so let's not try to determine the length of something without bringing our measuring rod.

Rebuking/Correcting

The controversial one! You hear a lot of "the Bible says 'don't judge'," which is a whole in-depth topic for another time, but it gets almost flatly rejected here with just these two words, alongside the usual caveat on that topic of *mind the authority by which you judge, or in this case, by which you rebuke or correct. That authority, as Paul says here, is the Bible.

Rebuking is sometimes necessary, as Scripture acknowledges (like in Matthew 18:15-17 or Titus 3:9-11) as is correction (such as in just about every religious argument Jesus got into or the entire letter of Galatians), and when it's needed, God's word is how we do so correctly.

This is not an excuse to pick any and all fights; some of those verses I've mentioned will make a point of saying to avoid needless conflict. But with God's word as our authority, Scripture is what we should be drawing from and should be following the instruction of to better follow God and to protect people from being misled. We can't afford to be passive. Standing for truth means standing against lies. Scripture helps us know the difference.

Righteousness/Every Good Work

There's no risk of misunderstanding the end goal of Scripture. The ways of the Bible, being God's word, are righteous. Just. True. Good. Put simply, equipping ourselves with what it teaches is spiritually healthy. It aligns us with what God approves of and against what God opposes.

It may feel like I'm stating the obvious here, but again, it cannot be understated: If there's one thing in this life that we cannot afford to do, it's get on the wrong side of God. The Bible teaches us how to avoid that.

And don't miss that last word. Ignoring the 'good' for a moment, this passage is showing how we're to be prepared for "every work". Having established that it's for our own good, let's not forget that studying the Bible is massively helpful in showing how we can apply ourselves towards service, whether it's the service of our own lives, the service of others or the service of God's kingdom.

After all, we are servants:

Servant of God

Who was this passage for in the first place? Who concerns themselves with Scripture? Who affirms the divinity of every book of the Bible? And why would that person use it to train, to teach, to rebuke, to correct or to equip themselves with that knowledge and wisdom?

Because they are a servant of God.

And the person who does not concern themselves with these things is not.

Let's be clear: rejecting the Bible's authority is rejecting God's authority. The Bible isn't the crucial ingredient of salvation but it is the core compendium of every truth a follower of the Christian faith needs to know and learn from. If you don't want to learn from it, you don't want Christ. You don't want God. You don't want to be saved. It is that simple.

So to wrap up this study, I leave you with a challenge:

Who is the God of your life?

If it's Jesus, then do you take the Bible seriously? Do you submit yourself to its authority? Do you want the things he wants, according to the Bible? Do you read the Bible often to apply the reverence that the God of your life deserves? Do you try to understand the things you find confusing or challenging? Do you listen when someone who knows the Bible well gives you an explanation? Do you make it your priority over every other law, rule or worldview that you live by?

If you don't do some of these things, do you want to? Biblical dilligence isn't a necessity, as said earlier, but would you prefer to be better equipped in your faith than not?

If you don't do any of those things, are you sure Jesus is the God of your life?

[divine-exhale]

I'm Christian and bisexual. King James I was Christian and bisexual.

How do you define your bisexuality? Is it something you know is wrong and struggle with or is it something you believe is right and proudly wear like a badge? Depending on your answer, I'm sorry, but you're probably not a Christian:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24)

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Made new "in the attitude of your minds". If your attitude towards bisexuality is that it's something God approves of, it's not:

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

"And such were some of you". These identities are things we're meant to give up as they're contrary to God's nature. Our attitude has to be one of surrender and acceptance that our old self has to die for the sake of being born again in God's new self for us.

It's okay if that's hard or a struggle; it's even to be expected. But it is something we need to push for. If we lie back and embrace sinful identities, bisexuality included, we are giving into "deceitful desires". We're compromising on the gospel by refusing to repent. Anyone who does that isn't a Christian, no matter who they are or how much they want to be one, even King James I (though I won't speak into the question of if he was saved or not - that's between him and God).

[yahwmichael]

Trust in God’s timing.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬

In life, things may not always go according to plan, and in all honesty it may lead you to depression or even questioning your value or existence. Sometimes you feel as, “if I fail this…what’s the point of it.” “I don’t want this, am I being selfish?” These are questions I’ve been asking myself recently, ever since I’ve arrived to a country I never had intent on going to. I had a dream, a vision, and I wanted to stay in the home I know. But you, pressure makes diamonds. The lord puts us through tests, and depending how we do, we either become stronger or weaker. I won’t shy from saying that I’ve weaken myself greatly, but now in this time of being lost and simply asking the lord “what’s my purpose” has made me realize the things I truly want to do in this life, and appreciate all the things I’ve had. Coming here, has made me realize my destiny, and although I’m very much can’t make it on my own, I know that the lord shall give me his strength and fulfill the dreams I have 2 Corinthians 9-10. Expect the unexpected, for you never know what the lord will have for you in the end.

[divine-exhale]

what are you most thankful to God this new year??

Call me corny, but I'm honestly most thankful to have a new year with new possibilities! I feel personally that I am growing with every passing year, even every passing month, so it's kind of just wonderful to have another year to see what more I can learn and how God will use me this time around.

It's a chance to learn from mistakes. I'd like this year to be better than last year and for the growth I undergo to snowball. To do that, I've ironically got to be willing to give God more control and surrender the ways that I'm often tempted to try and 'fix' my life, or even the ways that I take for granted the wasted potential God is calling me to fulfil.

Basically, I'm most thankful for change! Let me know what you're most thankful for, if you'd like!

[divine-exhale]

yo where would be the best place to move our discussion about the sinfulness of homosexual temptation? I want to respond to your verses and think through it more, and it'll probably turn into a more longform discussion. I also don't really want to bog down OPs post with it when she was looking for encouragement, not so much a clinical dissection of theology, lol. Also I'd rather discuss somewhere relatively private / Christians only to minimize the chance of being read poorly or misunderstood by unbelievers. I saw your Bible studies community that sounds right up my alley too haha!

Fair enough! You're welcome to have that discussion here in this post, but the Bible Study Community would be a welcome place for that discussion as well and is the kind of place I'd want to freely facilitate that kind of conversation! I'm also okay with PMs if that's what you'd be most comfortable with, but you've plenty of options!

[divine-exhale]

"I've heard it said that Paul is not 'building theology' so much as he's 'braiding theology'."

A very good video analysing some of the mistaken hermeneutics applied to Paul's letters. Some really good Bible interpretation principles here!

[divine-exhale]

Where to Start Reading the Bible

It's pretty common for people looking into the Bible for the first time or with unfamiliar eyes to ask "where do I start?" and I can't blame anyone for asking that when looking at the contents page of any Bible. So I just want to post a little quickfire guide here for anyone to dive in and get a summary of the basics. It's a bit of a "Bible Reading for Beginners" post. Here's what to know, what to consider and a few recommendations:

The Testaments

The Bible is a compilation of 66 ancient documents, but some are more ancient than others. The first 39 of them compile the Old Testament and the following 27 make up the New Testament.

The Old Testament starts with the creation of the world and goes through the many events that show God working through his people in the BC years of the world. It mainly focuses on the people of Israel and ends with their prophets calling forward to a coming saviour, as the nation recovers from exile.

The New Testament takes us to the AD years with the life of Jesus and then covers the early church of Christianity in the first century. It concludes with a book of prophecy written prior to 100 AD.

The OT was originally largely written in Biblical Hebrew while the NT was primarily written in Greek, although there are thousands of manuscripts even in other languages that allow for a massive level of cross-referencing that assures an incredible level of archaeological authenticity, if that's your jam.

The Old Testament scriptures are also kept by Jewish religion. Jews honour and believe the OT, but they don't recognise the NT as their faith parts ways with Christianity in their interpretation of Jesus.

The Categories

Context is key when reading any book of the Bible and different books are written for different purposes. Some things are descriptive; some things are prescriptive. Being unable to tell the difference can cause a lot of trouble.

Getting into the specifics would be an immense task and is better suited for another post, but on a basic overview level, it's essential to understand that the Bible has different genres:

History Books make up a majority of the Bible. Most of what you read are historical accounts and they are mostly in chronological order. In the OT, these begin with Genesis and carry on an uninterrupted streak until you get to the book of Esther. So the first 17 books in the Bible are sequential. (Minor exceptions include the book of Ruth which takes place during the times described in the prior book of Judges, and then the books of 1+2 Chronicles recount the books of Samuel and Kings from a more record-keeping perspective.) The NT only has the first five, with the four gospels that all recount the life of Jesus from different perspectives making up the first four, then the book of Acts (written by the same author as the gospel of Luke) tells the history of the early church.

Books of Law are tied in a bit with the history books at the beginning. While Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the first five books of the Bible, are all historical accounts that all carry forward a narrative, they all - the latter four especially - contain laws given to the Israelite nation (the famous 10 Commandments among them) that don't make for light reading but are a good study when we're looking to better understand God's moral principles.

Poetry and Wisdom Books can be found in the middle of the OT, compiling the books of Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Lamentations (separated out because it's authored by the writer of Jeremiah). These books are records from various points in history (the Psalms especially are a compilation of 150 songs or poems from many authors). They're all unique expressions of emotions, questions, philosophical studies and a lot of other interesting pieces of wisdom.

Letters make up most of the NT, specifically all 21 of the books between the gospels/Acts and the final book of prophecy at the end. Every book from Romans to Jude. These were all letters to the various early churches (Galatians was a letter to the church in Galatia, as an example) from various church leaders (such as James, a letter sent by James, the brother of Jesus). These contained instructions and explanations to the early church about Christian living and understanding that are still relevant to this day.

Finally, Books of Prophecy is the final category. The remaining 16 books of the OT are all accounts named after the prophets who wrote them at various points across OT history of their experiences and messages to the people of God. Some of these are like short stories and others are more like dictations of warnings, promises and commands that are often full of evocative imagery. The final book of the Bible at the end of the NT is Revelation, which was written by John, disciple of Jesus. It contains some letters to churches followed by remarkable visions of things to come that massively speculated about to this day but ultimately conclude the story of salvation and God's glorious kingdom.

If you'd like more details on what each book of the Bible contains, here's a helpful 17 and a half minute video by Redeemed Zoomer giving all 66 books a brief overview:

Translations

Aside from the hundreds of languages the Bible has been translated into, there are multiple English translations and revisions, some still being made to this day. As a general rule, the Bible is a massively influential book, so if you're choosing a translation to rely on for your readings, it'd be advisable to choose one that is largely considered trustworthy and accurate, which is fortunately usually the case.

Some translations take a very direct 'word-by-word' approach to the translation while others are more 'thought-for-thought'. Either way, they are always carefully communicating the meaning of the passage, and resources exist online if you want to see the original text. Whether OT or NT, the languages the Bible came from have a few tricky words with many meanings and the like, so there are variations in how the context of these translations are interpreted, but cross-referencing these understandings and exploring where we get them from only strengthens our ability to interpret them accurately.

Across the scale from literal to liberal, some recommended translations would include New American Standard Bible (NASB), the English Standard Version (ESV), the (New) King James Version ((N)KJV), the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT).

Here's a really fun and helpful video by Impact Video Ministries if you'd like more details on this topic:

Where to Start

Now, at last, we come to the question that started it all: Where should you begin reading the Bible? I have a few suggestions and where you pick things up is up to you.

Before I get into it, these approaches aren't even necessitating that you never skip a book or a chapter or anything like that. Frankly, it might be beneficial to skim over the parts that are a struggle (especially since there are some parts that are quite dense with technical details) and focus on what you're seeking for the time being.

It's very valuable to remember that some parts of the Bible are better studied than read. The purpose of reading God's word is to seek understanding. If that understanding is eluding you, I recommend you either seek help with it or leave it for the time being and try a different part of the Bible.

Here are a few different recommended approaches:

Start From The Beginning Classic. Never fails. Truly though, the Bible can be read from start to finish as one great narrative and I believe it's no coincidence that it starts with historical events and sticks with them for quite a while. You are seeing everything in order, after all, and the context of the whole OT is significant backdrop for the NT. This can bog you down, especially with how much slower things become once you're through the history books, so again I encourage discernment where needed. Still, this approach does make sense and even if you don't start with it, do try to come around to it at some point.

Start With The Gospels You might think this is like someone telling you to "skip to season 5" of their favourite show when getting you into it because "it's the best one" and, okay yeah, this is a little like that, but it truly isn't the point of this approach. The four gospels at the start of the NT recount the life of Jesus and to say he's an important figure is a bit of an understatement. He is THE key figure of the Bible. He's the most famous man in history for a reason. Above all, his story is the good news that 'gospel' is derived from. It's the message of Christianity. His coming is, by far, the most important part. Part of starting with the gospels is meeting Jesus first and understanding who he is. He's an enrapturing person, sure, but when you recognise him, you may recognise how every other part of the Bible is pointing to him. The OT points forward to our need for him and how he succeeds where others fail while the NT points back to him and explains how we need to understand his significance and apply it to our lives. The past of the OT is the context, while the present of the NT is the reflection. All of it pointing forward to the future when Jesus comes again. In choosing this approach, you can start with any gospel. Mark is the shortest and punchiest, Matthew is the first listed and has a lot of iconic teachings, and Luke is one of the most technically detailed. But people often recommend John, where we get a more personal look at Jesus from one of his disciples that also probably lays out the gospel message the clearest.

Start a Study Technically not a specific starting point, but not a bad approach, regardless. Going through the Bible is often best done with others - that's part of why we have church. If you're looking to explore God's word but you're not feeling confident, get a Christian friend to take you through the Bible, starting wherever they believe would help you most or they'd feel most experienced at showing you around. The personal touch is having someone recognise the variety of passages in the Bible and being able to apply a starting point custom made for you. They may feel the existentialism of Ecclesiastes or Job would be something that would suit you best, or perhaps they'd rather kick off with the story of David in the Samuel books. Maybe they'll take you through one of Paul's letters to sum up the gospel first, maybe they'll bounce you around different stories for variety, or maybe they'll even take up one of the approaches already listed. The point of this approach is guidance, not randomness.

Explore it Yourself Speaking of randomness, I don't recommend this one much, but yes, fair enough, you can pick and choose where you start and why. This is how most Christians tend to go into the Bible when they have an established faith or good existing experience with the Bible, after all. But that's exactly why it's better to do that with prior understanding, because you'll know these woods and which paths to take. For a beginner, you're more liable to get lost. But hey, sometimes that's how you learn and if you want to take the knowledge here and cowboy your way through the Bible, maybe that'll be what works for you. Just be ready to jump to a different approach if it doesn't.

To Conclude

Knowledge is knowing that the Bible isn't just one big chronological story going from start to finish. But wisdom is knowing that it is.

This isn't just a random compendium of old documents - it's the word of God. Perhaps you don't believe that right now, but that's all the more reason I encourage you to pick up a copy, apply the knowledge this guide has to share and see for yourself what he has to say. Put it to the test. Because the Bible doesn't end when you get to the last page and close the covers on text that concluded in the AD 90s. It's our story. It's your story.

But above all, it's Jesus' story. Open it up and go meet him.

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

How Do We Know The Bible Is True, Real, and Inspired?

The Bible was written by 40 different authors (from Moses to Paul to Peter to John, etc etc) over, iirc 1400 years. This is archeologically and scientifically proven. The Bible is written in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Greek, and smatterings of Aramaic) on 3 different continents (Europe, Africa and Asia). And YET, the entire thing is 100% completely consistent with itself. Every single supposed "contradiction" in the Bible has been disproven if you go look it up. The Bible is logically consistent, symbolically consistent, all the metaphors and even the meanings of numbers all line up across the entire 66 books.

The prophecies are specific (not vague like other prophecies or the ones typically made up for fiction) and almost all have been indisputably fulfilled either within the Bible itself (e.g. OT prophecy, NT fulfillment - again with a huge time gap between when the prophecy was made or written down, and when the fulfillment happened and was written down) or by history. I just read one in Deuteronomy that prophesied the scattering of the Israelites to all the nations. That's not just history, that's current events!

The Bible is also scientifically accurate in ways the people writing it wouldn't have known. For instance, I believe we've only found wellsprings in the ocean in the last 100 years, but the Psalms refer to the oceans having "waterspouts," and the account of Noah's Flood talks about "the fountains of the deep." iirc, the people back then also believed the ocean was simply smooth and sandy at the bottom, yet the Bible talks about cliffs and valleys within the oceans. There's a prophecy in Revelation that talks about Moses and Elijah preaching on the streets of Jerusalem, getting killed, and their bodies lying for three days. During this three days, the entire world looks upon them. This would have been impossible at any time prior to the invention of the internet and live streaming, yet the Bible foretold it.

Archeaology keeps discovering sites that are exactly as the Bible describes them, whether it's Jericho with the rubble of the fallen walls or the sulfur deposits near Sodom and Gomorrah with no scientific reason for them to be there. There's a fossil of a human footprint and a dinosaur footprint that had to have happened at the same time, which atheist scientists have refused to look at. Not to mention the overwhelming scientific evidence for a global Flood - fish fossils in mountains, geologic layers with no erosion (indicating that they were laid down all once rather than over millions of years), just to name a few.

On another angle, if the Bible was fictional, there's a LOT of problems with that, such as: who invented it? The twelve disciples? Nah bro. First of all, NOBODY would have the women at the tomb be the first and primary witnesses of the resurrection. The testimony of women WASN'T ADMISSIBLE IN COURT. A woman's claim carried no weight and would have been utter foolishness to include in a fictional narrative that pretended to be true. Their part of the story was included because it was TRUE, not because it was convincing.

There are non-Biblical sources confirming that Jesus was a man who existed. The Bible says that hundreds of people saw Jesus after he was resurrected, and hundreds saw him taken up to heaven. The disciples in their letters (the Epistles of the New Testament) explicitly pointed out these witnesses for people to go talk to if they wanted eyewitness confirmation or testimony. Nobody ever stepped forward contradicting anything the disciples wrote.

If Jesus hadn't truly been raised from the dead - the "wrong tomb theory" that they just found a DIFFERENT, empty tomb - then the Pharisees, Roman soldiers, or anyone else who opposed the disciples (which was a lot of people) could have simply gone to the right tomb, produced Jesus' body, and put the entire thing to rest on Day 1. But they didn't, because they couldn't, because it was TRUE that Jesus rose from the dead.

Moreover, the disciples died for this. People - especially religious zealots - die for lies they've been brainwashed to believe all the time, but they do believe it is true. Nobody dies for a lie THEY MADE UP THEMSELVES. The disciples and followers of Jesus earned nothing but hardship, torture, prison, shipwreck, starvation, and death in this world. There was no earthly motivation for them to adhere to what they taught so devotedly - except that it was true and they carried the Holy Spirit within themselves and had the promise of future reward to motivate them.

[divine-exhale]

Biblical Theology

I love Star Wars! Many people do, but it's fair to notice how big a franchise it's become. Over the years, so many different storytellers have added stories of massively different styles, tones, consistency and quality to this saga. So when I say "I love Star Wars," what do I mean?

There are some who dogmatically hold to accepting and embracing everything that gets released under the name of Star Wars as part of its canon, which is legally correct to do. But others like to pick and choose which parts of Star Wars they embrace in their own head as "their" Star Wars that they love, ignoring that which they don't, which they are at liberty to do.

But what is the truth? There is, after all, an author of Star Wars, and you may cut off that definition with the works of George Lucas, or you may pass the torch to the corporation of Disney as he did. Putting aside our preferences, however you define it, there will be a distinct truth to what canonically is Star Wars, and while we're free to our opinions of each of its works, that boundary line will inevitably include things we aren't so keen on and exclude things that we'd like to embrace.

When studying the Bible as the word of God, you really need to enter into a kind of unspoken contract about what it is you are reading. This is not a science-fiction+fantasy franchise. There are some who might treat it like that, but when you sincerely believe in the God of the Bible, in Christianity, you need to embrace the truth of the Bible in a similar way. We cannot let our preferences overwrite God. If we try, we will fail at great cost.

So here's a simple list to remind us what the Bible is:

The Bible is authoritative.

The Bible is inerrant.

The Bible is complex.

The Bible is equipment.

The Bible is Christ.

Authoritative

"...have you not read in the Book of Moses...?" - Jesus, Mark 12:26

"This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands." - 1 John 5:2

You might have heard 'Sola Scripture' before: Scripture Alone. You may not believe it, but it's a principle that teaches that the Bible is the only authority we need to follow God's word. We shouldn't only submit ourselves to that authority in our lives, but it is the essential compilation of God's truth that teaches us everything we need to know, including what other authorities we should also submit ourselves to. It is the highest authority that disciplines us in God's ways.

Even putting Sola Scriptura aside, we do not approach God's word with a desire to define it with subjectivity. God does not suggest morality and wisdom to us in the Bible; he instructs us. The Bible is the creator of the world stepping in and teaching us everything we need to know. It's in an old language so interpreting it correctly is valuable, but there is a correct interpretation and there can be false interpretations. We need to be discerning and wise in understanding which is which so that we can obey.

The Bible is not a self-help book by fellow man. It is the word of God. It will help us, but it doesn't do so with anything less than divine authority. So interpret, yes. Rewrite, no.

Inerrant

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

"Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." - 2 Peter 3:15-16

Following on from the last point, it's shocking how many people calling themselves Christians lack so much faith in God that they will argue that His Word is 'outdated' and 'contains errors'. People dismissing the words of the Bible because "Paul said that, not Jesus" is a shamefully common one.

No matter how you slice it, this argument submits to a belief that God was at the mercy of humans when writing His scriptures, not the other way around. It assumes that God expects us to contradict His own holy book with individual discernment based on the authority of our own hearts that in itself goes against what His word teaches (Genesis 6:5, Proverbs 3:5-6). It is inconsistent, illogical and blatantly corrupt.

Accepting the whole Bible as true may mean needing to swallow some hard truths, but it does paint a consistent picture of a God who is always in control, is absolute in His authority and provided this very Word to aid us in our salvation. It's no coincidence that the Bible is so accessible, so often translated, even so often rephrased to better mix and match interpretations and pick up on the unquestionable consistency that can only come from believing in God's sovereign fingerprints assembling these many works over thousands of years. It was written by humans but God is the author. All of it.

The Bible is inerrant because God doesn't make mistakes; we do. If you believe the Bible is in error, it isn't; you are.

Complex

"For the Lord gives wisdom;     from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." - Proverbs 2:6

"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;     though hearing, they may not understand.’" - Jesus, Luke 8:9

Having said all that, the Bible has a lot of context that is best understood when applying it. Again, we make mistakes, so it's easy to pluck out all kinds of verses devoid of their context and use it to warp or twist God's word into whatever message we want it to say. Understanding how to apply the Bible means understanding how to study the Bible in whole.

God is unchanging, but how He's worked in the world, from Abraham's family, to judges, to prophets, to kings, to Jesus and up to the present day in the church, has all been part of an evolving plan and narrative that fulfils His purposes. Covenants, laws, ceremonies, history, prophecy, exiles, missions, churches and the many songs and teachings contained throughout them all. There's a huge amount to cross-reference and a lot of it is hard to understand, some of it can only be understood when placed in the correct context, which may be geographical, cultural, historical or even potentially just personal.

But all of it is there for a reason. Again, this is God's word and He gave us this compilation with all of its pieces so that we would have the full picture. Yes, there's a core gospel message that matters above everything else and that takes priority. But that doesn't mean the rest of the Bible doesn't matter. Also again, there is always a correct interpretation of what God is communicating to us.

Equipment

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12

Twice in Scripture is the imagery of a sword used for God's word. It is here for us to be our weapon, our equipment, and our tool. (Maybe someday we can do a study on if Jesus wasn't partially alluding to this when he tells his followers to buy a sword in Luke 22:36.) The application of using God's word is preparing for combat. We will come up against lies, hardship, pain, persecution, hatred, and even enemies who would see us dead. We are in a battle with the world for the name of Jesus, some conflicts small and quiet, while others can cost us everything. In all of these things, the Bible is our greatest weapon.

When we read the Bible, God speaks to us. When we apply the Bible, God speaks to others through us. That's a responsibility that once again calls us not to fall into the trap of incorrectly defining the Bible as contrary to the prior points, and honouring that responsibility means equpping ourselves with the Bible's perspective over our own.

To grow properly as a Christian doesn't mean dogmatically reading the Bible daily out of obligation, but it does mean regularly coming back to the Bible to seek wisdom and truth. It is our daily bread, a form of sustenance that feeds our spirits. If we desire to follow Jesus, we should year to better understand the word that shows us who he is. On that note:

Christ

"He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." - Luke 24:44-45

"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." - John 20:30-31

I think a mark of distinction that can separate an okay church from a great church is when the preachers of that church understand that the whole Bible points to Christ, not just the gospels or New Testament.

It's all well and good to identify good behaviours to follow, even good and godly faith principles to honour, when we see Moses intercede for the Israelites, or we see David overcome a giant, or we see Elijah perform incredible wonders, or we see Daniel survive a death sentence he received for his obedience to God. But we should also recognise the patterns. The lessons that aren't only found in that person of the Bible. The cases of what those in the biz call "fore shadowing" but also the cases that directly indicate our need for a solution that was only found in one man.

The Bible is important to understand and interpret correctly not only because it's full of moral wisdom, cautionary tales, significant history and beautiful stories, but because all of those things serve the primary purpose of pointing us to Jesus. They reveal the character of God and as such reveal the character of Jesus Christ, our messiah, king and friend.

It's not all a matter of safeguarding ourselves in death as some would mainly seek. In fact, it's about recognising that eternal life starts now in Christ. We live that life out by aligning ourselves with him, identifying in him and repenting of our sins. The extremities of all of this are displayed in the Bible, all of it guiding us to that truth, that character, that heart and that glorious saviour who redeems us where we cannot redeem ourselves.

That's why studying the Bible correctly is so important. Not to 'be good' but to draw closer to the only one who is 'Good'.

Conclusion

There's debate about what counts as canon in Star Wars - what do you expect from such a long story made only by humans? The Bible has been debated too, naturally, but the core canon 66 books of it are the ones that have stood the test of time throughout the ages. Its authorship is not up for debate, its consistency is clear and its message is complete. The more you see that, the more clear God's communication to us through it becomes.

When we study the Bible, we must:

Submit to its authority

Trust all of it

Carefully understand it

Apply it regularly

Look for Jesus, not ourselves

These are the theological keys to good Bible study and are principles I hope to apply and encourage here on this website. Respecting God's word is not a matter of subjectivity or personal preference - treating God like that results in doom. His Scripture reveals his Word, the Word that died on a cross for our sins. It's all part of the same divine plan, orchestrated by the ultimate composer who, being nothing less that perfect and almighty, can do nothing less than equip us with everything we need in a tome that to this day holds up to test and scrutiny for the glory of this revelation - the Son of God, Jesus Christ.