How does the bible fit together?

(Taken from Bob Evely's blogsite, 6/22/09)
Most churches preach from the Bible, and believe the Bible is God’s Word. But if this is the case, why are there so many different opinions as to what the Bible actually means? Why are there so many drastically different interpretations, often leading to church divisions?

Just because the entire Bible is God’s Word, this does not mean we can simply reach in … grab a passage … and make it apply to our present situation. God is always the same; but this does not mean He always works in the same way in all eras. He once worked thru the Law of the Old Testament. In Galatians Paul announces freedom from the Law.God works progressively.

To properly understand what the Bible is revealing to us for our present day, we must take great care when reading it. We must always ask, “Who specifically is this being written to? Is it the Jew, or the present-day church? Or all mankind? And does this situation being described apply in the same way today?”

As we read the Bible from beginning to end we can see God working systematically through the ages, and we see Him revealing to mankind His plan in bits and pieces. Some information He revealed to the patriarchs in the Old Testament. Some things He revealed through His prophets. Some things He revealed through Christ Jesus. But some things were concealed until God was ready to reveal them through His servant Paul, after the Jews had been set aside so that the complement of Gentiles could be incorporated into the fold.

Studying individual portions of God’s Word is like analyzing a tree, and we can learn many marvelous things about the tree in this way. But sometimes we must step back to look at the entire forest, to see how all of the trees fit together to comprise the forest.

The Garden of Eden
Genesis describes the beginning of mankind in the Garden of Eden. It is interesting that despite this being a Paradise where Adam and Eve lived in the presence of God, and where there would be no death, evil existed even in this place. The serpent lived in their midst, and had access to Adam and Eve so as to tempt them. This was not a neutral setting, where Adam and Eve would simply live in obedience to God. The evil one lived among them, and tempted them.

What an interesting parallel to Jesus who was led by God to the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. (Matthew 4:1) Adam and Eve are “led” by God to the Garden of Eden to be tempted by the serpent. The difference is the outcome. Adam and Eve succumb to the temptation, and death enters the world. Jesus overcomes the temptation, and defeats death. Paul later makes the same comparison, and reveals to us the impact of these events. As in Adam all are dying, thus also in Christ will all live. (1 Corinthians 15:22)

Mankind Deteriorates
Once expelled from the Garden, mankind follows a steady course of self-destruction. Cain kills Abel. Evil runs rampant. In Genesis 6 we start over, with the wicked being destroyed and only the righteous Noah and his family surviving. But we read on, and mankind continues to show no promise. At Babel (Genesis 11) God finds it necessary to confuse the tongues of mankind, and scatter them.

God Chooses One Man, to Bless ALL People
From all of mankind God chooses one man, Abram (later Abraham), promising to bless all people on the earth through him. (Genesis 12:3) We see here God’s purpose or intent: To bless all people upon the earth. His method at this point is to choose one man, Abram, as His instrument (or channel) to bless all people. Later God chooses a descendant of Abraham, Jacob. He repeats His promise to bless all people through Jacob. (Genesis 28:14) God later re-names Jacob “Israel.” (Genesis 32)

To be continued...
Grace, MB

A Changing of the Guard

Our church family is experiencing a changing of the guard. Over the last couple years we've mourned the passing of many key people in our local congregation. Most recently a long time saint and stalwart, Vonie Mills, passed on and is now awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ for His saints. (1 Thess 4:13-18) Vonie was a women of God and her shoes will never fully be filled. She was my youth minister when I was in high school and had a big impact on my life. I would not be where I am today without Vonie. I don't remember one lesson she taught us, but I remember her life and how she lived it. Vonie lived the kind of life that I would love to be remembered for. She made people like her, that's right, she made them. They had no choice. She was authentic in her love for other people and there was no hiding it. Dale Carnegie wrote a book, "How To Win Friends And Influence People", and in that book he has a chapter titled "Six Ways To Make People Like You". Vonie lived these six principles and judging from her life they worked.

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

This is not religion, this is living out what the bible teaches. It's being authentic. It's loving others. It's doing unto others as you've have them do unto you. It's being like Jesus.

Vonie, you will be missed.

Grace, MB

Our part in salvation...?

My understanding of this subject has so radically changed over the last few months, I look back at some of the blogs I've posted and shudder. I'm sorry for throwing you so many curve-balls but consider who wrote the bible (men inspired by God), and then consider who wrote these blogs (a mere man inspired on occasion by God but usually inspired by my own flesh and stupidity) That being said I do feel my understanding of the scriptures is growing and moving in the right direction, so don't exit this blog until you've read the rest of the story.

If God grants us the faith to believe, and it's a gift, not of works lest anyone should boast(Ephesians 2:8-9), and it's Christ's faith, not ours that justifies us with God, and makes us righteous in His sight(Romans 3:22), then what's our part in this whole process?

Our part is this...believing in or on Jesus Christ as the Messiah (the chosen One). What I understand now is that the object of our faith is not determined by God. God gives us the ability to believe in something greater than ourselves but we are not forced to accept the God of the Scriptures nor His Son - Jesus.

Romans 1:21 says, "because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God,..."

Paul says the God of the Hebrew scriptures was not automatically implanted into their faith, they never came to an understanding of "The God" and instead made up their own "gods". Granted sometimes God makes people blind to who He is on purpose (Romans 9:21), but we don't know who those people are.

Romans 3:25 says, "...through the deliverence which is in Christ Jesus..." or John 3:16 "...that whosoever believeth in Him..."

We shouldn't take for granted that "Jesus" is the object of man's faith. There are so many distractions in this world competing for our time and affections. Paul understood this and alluded to those who have faith in the wrong object (Person).

Romans 1:25 "who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

Grace, MB