Reasons to Believe the Bible, part 1

Testimony of Archaeology

This is not about placing your faith in archaeology.  This is about striving to have intelligent reasons for what you believe.  Archaeology is a little more than a century old and compared with the centuries of information that are available; it is still in the infantile stage. 

Only a fraction of the archaeological sites available have been surveyed.  Only a fraction of the surveyed sites have been excavated.  Typically only a fraction of an excavation site is actually examined.  Only a fraction of what is examined actually gets reported and published. Sometimes the issue is priority.  In Israel, the priorities of time, money and resources have gone to the preservation of the nation. 

Point: There is more to learn that we already know.  There is more information coming available to us.  However, what we do know gives us support in what we believe.  I would like for you to know about some of the more recent discoveries in archaeology that can be connected to the people and events of the Bible.

In 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

The scrolls found in the Dead Sea region gave us the ability to look at the process of copying the text of Scripture from one generation to another.  This represented 1000 years in the process of copying Scripture and it is accurate.  If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In 1961evidence of Pontius Pilate was discovered. A stone was found in Caesarea that was discovered in some ruins of a theater in 1961.  We had some mention of Pilate outside the Bible but could never find anything in terms of archaeological support until 1961. If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the Dead Sea Scrolls.  If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the Pilate stone.

The first physical evidence of crucifixion was discovered in 1968.  There was widespread mention of crucifixion outside of the NT but we had no physical evidence of crucifixion until a victim of a crucified man in his 30’s was found.  The remains of this man indicate the leg bones had been broken.  If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the evidence of crucifixion in the ancient world.

1986 a New Testament era fishing boat was found in the mud of the Sea of Galilee.  This gives us support for the emphasis on fishing in the gospels.  If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the evidence of fishing in the ancient world.

In 1990 evidence of Caiaphas was found.  A tomb was found in Jerusalem that was very ornate which typically belonged to a the wealthy in a high-ranking positions.  This tomb was identified as belonging to the family of Caiphas.  This is significant because Caiaphas was the high priest who handed Jesus over to be crucified.  If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the evidence of Caiaphas in the ancient world.

In 1993 evidence of King David was found on a stone discovered in the city of Dan in Israel.  The inscription on this stone referred to King David.  In 1994, two more fragments of the same stone were discovered again mentioning David.  If you are going to dismiss the Bible as contrived, you will have to explain away the evidence of King David found outside the biblical world. 

A lot of important discoveries have been made in our generation.  We can only imagine how much more will be discovered in the next generation.  I will stand with the Bible because it is defensible through the science of archaeology.

Thanksgiving

I had a few moments today to think about the ancient world at the time of Christ and the beginnings of the Church.  During the early days of the Church, there were Christians who resisted the oppression of the political government and they were persecuted, even to the point of sacrificing their lives.  These were brave men and women who never had the political freedom nor the religious freedom we enjoy today. 

In essence, with the sacrifice of their lives, they cast their “vote” against the status quo in the only way they could.  When political oppression extinguishes the rights associated with freedom, people will find ways to freely express their values.

Through the years there have been many occasions when simple freedoms were extinguished by tyrannical leaders.  This thread of tyranny caught the attention of our founding fathers.  In response to the mistakes of heavy-handed leaders, some of whom persecuted the very pilgrims who settled here, our early leaders established this country with unheard freedoms entrusted to the people.

Today I will sit with my family and enjoy a big Thanksgiving meal.  I will give thanks to God for our Savior, my family, my life, my country and this day.  I will read Scripture with those in our home and we will truly be thankful that we live in a land where we are free to follow Jesus as Lord.   

What's Right With America?

What’s right with America?  I have heard from a number of Christians in the few days since the election that feel as if America is doomed.  I have to admit, I had some moments as well.  My wife Julie was out of town on the night of the election.  Somewhere late in the evening I texted her and said, “Can we move to Israel?”  I didn’t get what I wanted on election eve.  No one got everything they wanted but many of you feel as if you didn’t get anything you wanted.  The tendency is to let your attitude spiral downhill and complain that there is nothing right about America anymore.  I have a different perspective.  Consider the following: 

What’s right with America?  How about our foundation?  I have spent years researching this one question: Were we Christian in the very beginning?  I have found the evidence to be clear and compelling.  Here’s just one piece of evidence that should encourage you.  A ten year study was conducted by the University of Houston in which they collected 15,000 writings of the founding fathers.  Ninety-four percent of the founding fathers’ quotes were based on the Bible – either directly or indirectly.

There is good reason to believe that in our early days, our foundation was Christian and Biblical.  Do you know of another nation that can make that claim?  Yes, we have drifted from our foundation but we have a great foundation to which we can return.

How about today?  What’s right with America today?  How about every home where the parents teach the Bible to their children?  That’s something that’s right with America.  How about homes that teach character – that’s also something that’s right with America.  You cannot teach character without some type of standard or frame of reference.  The standard used by the founding fathers was the Bible and they quoted it more than any other book.  Our founders understood the connection between the Bible and personal character.

Patrick Henry was an attorney and the Governor of Virginia about the time of the Declaration.  Henry understood the value of character He saw it this way:

“Bad men cannot make good citizens.  It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.  A corrupt public conscience is incompatible with freedom.”

John Adams was a leader of American independence and our second president:

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

According to Adams our government was designed for a people with a moral and religious foundation that produced an internal value system.  It was the values of the people that produced a successful self-government.

Daniel Webster, lawyer served in the House and Senate and as Secretary of State around the time of the American revolution: 

“Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.” 

This is not just about leadership.  This is about the people who elect the leaders.  This is about the people from whom the leaders are chosen.  This righteousness that our founding fathers speak of does not start with the leaders, it starts with the people.  What’s right with America – how about every person who pursues integrity and honesty; how about every person who treats other people with respect; how about every person who pursues a life-changing relationship with God. 

Where did these men get this notion that character matters?  Some of it is a reaction to what they had seen in their lives and heard about in the lives of their forefathers.  There were abuses in government that they had experienced at the hands of the King of England.  There were freedoms that were deemed to be reasonable that had been denied to them.  They concluded that a just society came from a people who lived with moral integrity and could choose leaders who also lived with moral integrity.

Some have dismissed these ideas as coming from men who were biased and spoke from the prevailing world view.  It is true that 53 of the 56 signers of the Declaration had some type of church affiliation but their observations do not simply stem from popular culture.  They were applying truths that had been written down centuries before their time.

The founding fathers observed this connection of character and citizenship in Scripture.  That’s where they got it.  Long before anyone in our country wrote “good men make good citizens,” the Bible said it this way:

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice.

Proverbs 29:2

When the righteous thrive you have people who are right with God living among you.  You have people who are seeking the good of other people living among you.  When the righteous thrive you have statements like the Declaration of Independence which declares the value of all people as well as our dependence upon God.

Here are some things that are not going to make the news.  These are things that are right with America.  This first one is controversial in today’s culture but given what we’ve heard today, we can’t get around it.

Every time someone says yes to following Jesus that is something that is right with America.

Young people who make a priority to go on mission trips to share the love of Jesus with people they have never met and will never see again – that’s something that’s right with America.

Teachers and leaders who carve out time from a busy schedule to make an impact on kids in Sunday School or AWANA or some other youth program represent something that is right with America. 

People who work hard and still put time into their family represent something that is right with America.  People who care for those who are sick or visit those who have lost their mobility – that’s something that is right with America.  People who build a church with their finances and/or their labor – that’s something that is right with America.  People who pray for their city and their nation and the world – that’s something that is right with America. 

I could go on but I think you get the point.  There is plenty that is right with America, some of it is right here in our congregation.  Unfortunately, a lot of what is right is overlooked and goes unnoticed.  No matter.  We serve a Sovereign God who has is changing our world one person at a time.  There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about America but don’t miss this: There is also much that is right with America.

Reformation Day - Oct 28, 2012

Why We Remember the Reformation

1) The power of the gospel is not in its presentation but in its purity.

The reformation called the Church back to the purity of the gospel.  The gospel is always primary.  The Apostle Paul said he did not preach with wise and persuasive words or even with eloquence but in the power of the Holy Spirit and with a focus on Jesus Christ.

2) We do not live in a vacuum. 

God has always had a people who were faithful to Him.  Our roots include those who were persecuted to make sure we could have a Bible in our own language.  We benefit from their sacrifice every time we open a Bible or hear the gospel preached.  The heritage of the Reformation is our heritage.

3) The Church is always reforming.

The Reformation is not limited to the 17^th century.  Today, the Church is reforming.  The Church is still striving to conform to the authority of God’s Word.  Understanding our Reformation roots serves as an example of how we need to reform today.

4) We must contend for the faith. 

This is involves more than contending against blatant heresy.  Every generation is susceptible to drifting away from the essentials of the faith.  The Reformation reminds us of how far the Church had drifted and much it needed to be called back to the centrality of Christ and the gospel.

Singles, Waiting & Weddings

I was the pastor of a singles ministry in CA which means I did a lot of weddings.  I was involved in premarital counseling with a certain couple and somehow it came out that they were sleeping together.  There is no verse in the Bible that says “Engaged couples shalt not sleep together” but that didn’t mean it was okay for them to enjoy what God has reserved for marriage.

To be clear: God is not against sex, He is the creator of sex.  God has created sex as a celebration of relationship to be expressed within the boundaries of the marriage relationship.  What God is against is the misuse of sex. 

I told this engaged couple: “Here’s my problem.  You have taken your relationship outside of the will of God.  How can you tell me that it is God’s will that you should be married when your relationship is now sitting outside the will of God?  You want me to stand before my church family, preside over the ceremony and give you my blessing but I can’t do this wedding.”  Those were hard words to hear so I took them to the Bible for clarity.

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.  1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 (NIV)

After seeing this in Scripture, this young couple responded with tears and repentance.  This is what we did:  We set up a system of accountability.  They met with an older married couple who walked with them the last 6 months of their engagement and on their wedding day, they were able to tell me, family, friends, and Jesus their Lord that they were marrying each other in pursuit of God’s will. 

I drew a line that was Biblical.  They kept it and they celebrated.  To this day, they are a happily married couple and have a great family.  I noticed that they weren’t mad at me for drawing a line nor did they accuse me of hating them because I told them there actions were wrong.  They appreciated my care and concern for them.  In fact, a couple of years ago they drove from California to Washington in part, to see me and my family.

If you are married, God wants you to succeed.

If you are getting married, God wants you to succeed.

If you have never been married, God wants you to succeed.

Measure your success by doing what it is right in the eyes of the Lord.