Walking in Faith

The passage starts by reminding us that, in the past, God has used prophets to speak to our fathers. Now, He speaks to us through the words and life of Jesus Christ, His Son. The new covenant is a wonderful thing! Under the old covenant, we had to make atonement for our sins through sacrifices of animals. Now, we are not required to sacrifice anything because the death of God’s only son was sufficient for all of our sins. This is a huge doctrinal statement that one must believe in order to truly accept the death of Jesus Christ for their personal sins. There is nothing a person can do to earn their way into heaven. It is only by the blood of Christ that atonement for our sins can be found.

God appointed Jesus the heir of all things. Everything in the world, Jesus will own. This is the portion allotted to him. Why? Because Jesus is the very print of God — only flesh. We are all part of the family of God once we believe in Christ Jesus as our Savior. However, we are not entitled to everything. Why is that? We are not worthy of that! Christ deserves everything! We deserve nothing! God, in His grace, allows us to follow Christ so that when we are brought home to Him, we can spend eternity in His home. How beautiful will that be!
God created the world through His Son. What exactly does this mean? I think of versus like John 1:1-3:

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus was with God in the beginning. As God created the world, Jesus was there. But, wait a minute. This said that God created the world through His Son. If I look up the original word (Dia) and find the definition, I am a bit awestruck.

1. through
   1. of place
      1. with
      2. in
   2. of time
      1. throughout
      2. during
   3. of means
      1. by
      2. by the means of
2. through
   1. the ground or reason by which something is or is not done
      1. by reason of
      2. on account of
      3. because of for this reason
      4. therefore
      5. on this account

The ground or reason by which something is done. As I think about that… God created the world for the sole reason of glorifying Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ! He created the world so that He could send His only Son to the earth, as flesh, to die for His creations! Wow. If that doesn’t start to blow your mind, I don’t know what does! God is simply amazing!

[original posted in the TTP forums which can be found here.]

1. Discuss again the importance that we have the right canon?

The “right” canon will always be a controversial topic. The OT and NT canon is the inspired word of God. It has the authority of the LORD and is determined solely by Him. Practicing believers read, study, memorize and practice Scripture contained in the canon. If the canon is wrong, our ideologies may be wrong. I am a firm believer that we have a fallible collection of infallible writings. Does that mean that I need to alter my faith because there are other writings that should be included? No. The historicity and the instructions of salvation are the key to the canon.

2. Are all books of the canon equally important? Do you think that you would ever have noticed if 3 John did not make “the cut”?

Another tricky question. Important, yes. Application to current situation, perhaps not. The example of Philemon given in the video illustrates that point precisely. While I don’t know that I would comment on 3 John specifically, I don’t believe that I would have noticed if any one book was excluded. In my mind, if that book was not included that was because God felt the canon sufficient without the book. He can accomplish His purposes with or without selected books in the canon.

3. Further discuss the importance of the early acceptance of the Gospels and the Pauline corpus.

Acceptance allowed for a clear, concise and consistent message. This message became the foundation for the unity of the Church. Then, and now, debates over controversial topics creates problems. Paul addressed these problems in the Pauline corpus allowing people in the first century (and continuing into the 21st century) to know the Word of the LORD.

4. Can you think of any essential doctrine that is not dealt with in the Gospels and the Pauline corpus? How is this significant?

I cannot think of any essential doctrine that isn’t covered. I would be surprised if Romans doesn’t cover every essential doctrine alone! This is significant for several reasons:

• unity - again, unity in the Church is key! Christians do not need to be arguing over matters of doctrine — they should be witnessing to others!
• uniform - the Scripture is not changing. The message is the same 2000 years ago as it is today. All one has to do is read the Scripture to find the answers to questions. The Bible is constantly changing to adapt to the modern society. The doctrines would become more blurry as the message became corrupted.

5. Are you more or less confident about the canon of Scripture after this lesson? Explain.

I am more confident based on the sources that give validity to their acceptance. From an OT perspective, the controversy mostly circles around the Apocrypha, the Gospel of Thomas, etc. While I have not read these works, I would imagine that the message of salvation through Christ alone is not altered. The information around the NT was much more affirming to me beliefs. There seems to be solid evidence from all sources that the NT testament is fairly well accepted. As I understand more how other’s reference this text, that helps to strengthen my confidence.

6. How does your view of the providence and sovereignty of God affect this study?

God is able to accomplish His plans through whatever means. I am confident that He enabled the current Bible to be constructed with the books we have included today. If the Apocrypha or other works were meant to be included, He would have made that happen. He is control of every situation and ensures that things happen precisely the way He wants them to happen. That is extremely reassuring!

7. How has this lesson most challenged your thinking?

The biggest impact to me from this lesson is my ability to present this information to others. It has challenged me to think about how I can take this knowledge and share it with others so that they may be equipped to explain to others why we, as believers, have the hope that we have.

⁴So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. ⁵When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.”

It is curious to me how the beards play a part in this passage. After some quick research, it becomes evident that the act of shaving off half the beard of each servant was an act of disrespect. The Jews were compelled to maintain a well-trimmed beard as prescribed by several verses in the Bible (Lev. 19:27, Lev. 21:5, Ezekiel 5:1-4, Ps. 133:2, 2 Sam. 19:24, Isa. 15:2, Jer. 41:5). I recall a conversation I had with a Muslim that had a beard. He told me that his faith believes that you do not shave off your beard because you want to mimic as much as possible of Jesus Christ and Mohammed. They both had long beards, so in turn, a faith-practicing Muslim should do the same. I can’t say as I know right from wrong on this one (let’s call it a non-essential, shall we?) but Hanun’s act was clearly one of disrespect and indignation. David instructs the servants to return to Jerusalem, grow back their beard and then return. I’m not educated enough about the Jewish culture at the time to state for certain but I believe that this was more a statement around regaining their composure, their pride and their focus. It was almost as if he wanted to say to Hanun that he could cut off their beards but he couldn’t take away their spirit or their purpose. Do I have a similar mentality? If someone hurts my pride or insults me, do I take it personally and then react inappropriately (spitefully, revengefully, etc.)? The Lord instructs us to turn the other cheek. After all, He will judge them according to their deeds. I am not to judge them. This is a great reminder to those who struggle with pride issues, like myself. Remember, the servants of David returned home only to return and defeat the Syrians.

The Ammonites realized that David was not pleased with this act. They decided to go hire the Syrians of Beth-rehob, the Syrians of Zobah, the men of Maacah and the men of Tob. When David heard of this, he didn’t go hire anyone or call for reinforcements, he went to battle them. He took his existing troops and went to attack them. Now, the Scriptures aren’t clear on this point but I have to assume that David prayerfully considered this move. His troops were being attacked from the front and the rear, yet they were able to successfully defeat the troops. This was clearly the will of the Lord. Do I rush into things or do I wait for the word of the Lord to come to me? I am horrible at this. I am very much an impulse person. If I think about things too long, I will think of all the reasons why not to do something. In effect, the Lord isn’t getting His say in my decisions — it is all about me. This is an area of my life the Lord has been working on. I still have problems with saying ‘no’ to people regarding spiritual things/commitments, but I am doing better!

Father, I thank you for your Word. I thank you for a role model like David. He was a human. He sinned, but God he cared about you and had a heart for me. Your Word gives me examples of his behaviors that allow me to learn and grow. I am so glad that You are working in my life and changing me. I want to have a heart for you. My desire is to find complete joy in You and not look anywhere else. I thank you for opening my eyes to your Word tonight around my pride and my impulsiveness. It is amazing to know that You care enough about me to bring these things to my attention in order to help shape me into the man You want me to be. I pray these things in Christ Jesus holy name. Amen.

Canon is a term describing the collection of books called Scripture.

Whether the canon is closed or not is an argumentative point; however, for sake of argument, I hold to the view that the canon is currently closed. God has the ability to open that back up whenever He desires though. As is, the message of salvation has been captured and there is no need for further Scriptures to validate God or Christ’s message.

If you are interested in the Old Testament canonization notes, please refer to this link.

Development of the NT Canon

The Scripture was authored (Formation) between AD 40 and (roughly) AD 100. The NT Scripture was then recognized (Recognized) between AD 100 and AD 300. The Scripture was then declared (Declaration) between AD 300 and AD 400.

Formation Period (AD 40 – AD 100)

1. NT presents words of the apostles as being on par with that of God (2 Thes 2:15, 1 Cor 14:37, Gal 1:8-9, 1 Thes 2:13). Did the apostles know that they were writing Scripture? While they were speaking with the authority of the Lord, they most likely didn’t realize they were writing the letter assuming people would be reading the letter hundreds (even thousands) of years later.
2. NT attests to the acceptance of other NT books as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Tim 5:18, Rev 1:3)Are there books that are more application to our situation today than other books? Certainly. Romans as compared to Philemon, as an example. The books still carry the same authority, but they do not have the same application in modern day society.

Recognition Period (AD 100 – AD 300)

1. Writings of early church fathers attest to the acceptance of many NT books
   • Quote them as Scripture
   • Draw a clear distinction between writings and that of Scripture
   • Marcion (c. 140), a Gnostic heretic, created his own canon — created a “different” view that was not accepted
   • Important because early church fathers were close to Christ (less important) and they were discipled by the apostles. They also set precedence (similar to a George Washington situation).
2. Origen (185-254 AD) writes commentaries on many of the NT books commenting on their inspiration.
3. Muratorian Canon (170 AD) attests to the canonization of all NT books except Hebrews, James, and 1 & 2 Peter.

Declaration Period (AD 300 – AD 400)

1. Diocletian persecutions (c. 302-305) — Christians were killed for possession of Scriptures
2. Eusibius (fourth century Church historian) speaks about condition of canon. Agreed upon books were Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Letters of Paul (including Hebrews), 1 Peter, 1 John and Revelation (Homologoumena). Mostly agreed upon books, but controversial to some were James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John and Jude (Antilogomena). Books that were not agreed upon where Acts of Paul, the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas (Pseudepigrapha).
3. Athanasius (fourth century bishop of Alexandria) affirms the 27 books of NT (AD 367).
4. Council of Hippo (AD 393) and Council of Carthage (AD 397) both affirmed canon of NT.

Translation Theories

• Formal equivalence (word for word)
• Dynamic equivalence (thought for thought)
• Paraphrase

All translations are interpretations. The language does not translate word for word so every translation will have some level of interpretation (e.g. the “long nose” of the Lord instead of the anger of the Lord).

Study Bibles are closer to the original. The more literal translations, instead of the paraphrasing translations, are “better” for studying the Bible and memorizing Scripture. We should study (and memorize) the text closest to the original content.

A good site to read for more information can be found here.

It almost reads like a bad religious joke, but the pope came out and made some comments that many are construing as very negative. Given the open statement, I would tend to agree. The media is reporting on the Muslim community’s reaction to the statement which is simply amazing to read. Challies came out with an article that speaks to the negative stereotypes people tend to apply to Muslims, but I have to say that the Muslim’s making the most noise about this certainly aren’t helping their case. Instead of being focused on how to peacefully respond to the pope and his remarks, the Muslim’s are burning churches, shooting people and causing mayhem around the world. Oh, that will solve the problem!

What I don’t understand is the approach of these violent people. I understand that if you have true faith, you should be willing to die for it; however, in discussing with several of my Muslim friends, no where does the Koran teach that murder and destruction is the answer to bringing others to their system of belief.

I look forward to the day when Christ will return so that all of this nonsense will be resolved and people with faith convictions can live their life according to the truth of our Creator.