What Does It Take to Understand the Bible? (Part 1)

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Wayne Davies

bible-john-426132__180I’ve been listening to a sermon entitled “The Essentials of Handling God’s Word (Part 3).” It’s vintage John MacArthur teaching – straightforward, easy to understand and saturated with Scripture. I highly recommend it.

http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-470/

MacArthur provides a compelling list of five requirements for comprehending Scripture. The sermon answers the question, “What does it take to understand the Bible?” What are the prerequisites for making sense of the Word?

Here’s a recap of those requirements:

1. Regeneration.
You must have experienced the new birth and thereby possess the Holy Spirit. You must be a true born-again believer in Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:14 is clear about this: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

2. Desire.
You must have a strong, overwhelming passion to understand Scripture. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk” (1 Peter 2:2). Is your craving for the Word as all consuming as a baby’s craving for milk?

3. Diligence.
Like the Bereans in Acts 17, would you describe yourself as someone who “examines the Scriptures every day”? The word “examine” means to conduct a judicial investigation. There’s nothing superficial about that, is there? It takes much time, energy, hard work and self-discipline.

4. Holiness.
If you’re living a life of habitual sin, you’ll have great difficulty understanding the Bible. It’s unlikely that you’ll even want to spend time in the Word, and if you do, your sin will get in the way because, as MacArthur says, “It clouds your understanding. It darkens your mind.”

To comprehend Scripture, we must “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, with can save you” (James 1:21). And in the 1 Peter 2 passage quoted above, it’s significant that Peter says to “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander” (1 Peter 2:1). Only then will you have that intense desire for the Word.

5. Prayer.
It’s essential to bathe your Word-time in prayer – before, during and after we read the Word, we should be asking for God’s help to understand it and obey it.

That’s quite a list, isn’t it? I’ve been thinking a lot about each of these things the past few days. This sermon has had quite an impact on me.

Did you notice what is not on the list?

A Bible college or seminary education.
Knowledge of Greek and Hebrew.
Being born and raised in a Christian home.
Being taught the Bible from a young age.

The Bible can be understood by anyone of any age or any background, regardless of how long you’ve been a Christian or what kind of life you’ve lived. God wants you to read, study and understand the Bible, but to do so, you must be a genuine believer in Jesus, have a compelling desire to know God’s truth, be willing to work at it, live a holy life, and spend time on your knees while doing it, crying out for God’s help.

Then, and only then, will you understand the Bible and proclaim with the psalmist, “O how I love your law” (Psalm 119:97).

As we reflect on this list, I’d like to focus on Requirement #1. There’s a reason it’s the first thing on the list. Each of these items is critical, but we must be sure to get first things first.

If you’ve had trouble understanding the Bible, could it that you’ve yet to experience the new birth? Could this be why it’s such a struggle for you to even read the Bible? And when you hear a sermon, could this be why what is said doesn’t make much sense to you?

Please take my words to heart. I’m writing this because I regularly encounter professing Christians who spend little if any time in the Word, and when they do, they find it difficult to understand and therefore receive no benefit.

This saddens me deeply and I want to help. To that end, I’ve created a Bible study on the foundational, essential, life-changing truths of the Christian faith. The title is Jesus: Who He Is, What He Did, and Why It Matters: A Bible Study for New Believers and Skeptics. I take you through the gospel of John, chapters 1-3, and explain the meaning of salvation and what it means to be born again and to have a vital, life-changing relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

If you’re having trouble reading and understanding the Bible, I highly recommend you read this book and answer the questions that follow each section. I urge you to heed the warning of 2 Corinthians 13:5 — “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”

This is also a great book for those who do spend much profitable time in the Word and would like to lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This book is ideal for a small group Bible study or one-to-one discipleship. If you or your church is involved in any type of outreach ministry, this is the kind of resource that can help you get the gospel into the hands of those who need it most, whether it be loved ones, co-workers or your next door neighbor.

Jesus: Who He Is, What He Did, and Why It Matters is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y1UXWMS/

Posted in Bible reading | Tagged | 3 Comments

Thoughts About God From Genesis 1-3

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Wayne Davies

heaven-blue-sky-382692__180What do Genesis 1, 2 and 3 teach me about God?

God is Creator of all.
Arguably the best known statement in Scripture is its opening verse. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” He made everything from nothing. Before Genesis 1:1, in eternity past, there was only God. Then He brought the world into being by speaking it into existence.

There is so much we can say about the creative power of God. What impresses me today is the mind-bending truth that God spoke the world into existence. Note the repetition of “And God said” in Genesis 1. This phrase appears here eight times!

Let it take your breath away: God made everything from nothing, and He did this by speaking.

How should I then live?
I respond with praise to the one and only Creator God! I join the psalmist by singing this hymn:

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded and it stood firm.”
Psalm 33:6-9

God is Sustainer and Provider of all.
God not only created everything, He demonstrates His greatness by maintaining everything. The universe and all living creatures continue to exist only because God allows it. He is the great Provider, the One who meets all needs for life to continue.

This is why Psalms 104 and 148 extol God for both his creative and sustaining abilities. Let’s turn our attention to the simple fact that without God, all life would cease to exist. These hymns unpack the glorious truth of Acts 17:25, “And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”

Never can we say to God, “What have you done for me lately?” For it is only His life-giving power that allows us to even speak such blasphemy. Go ahead, take a breath . . . and experience the grace-filled provision of God! Truly “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Go ahead, drink a glass of water, consume a delicious meal, and proclaim with the psalmist that it is only “when you open your hand, I am satisfied with good things” (Psalm 104:28).

God made Adam and Eve, then placed them in the garden, a place of provision. God met all their physical needs, water to drink (from a river) and food to eat (from the trees). He also gave them tasks to do. “God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:18). Not only that, but he made humans in His own image and gave them the responsibility of being God’s vice-regent on earth, to “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth” (Genesis 1:26). God provided purpose and meaning by entrusting us to be His representative here.

How should I then live?
By extolling God for not only His creative power, but also His sustaining, life-maintaining power. I should read Psalms 104 and 148 with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. I am alive today because God has seen fit to bestow His gift of life to me!

God is both Holy Judge and Merciful Savior
This is God’s world. He made it. He owns it. He decides how His creatures should live in it. God knows what is best and establishes standards that He expects us to live by. He makes the rules that are in our best interest, and warns us of the consequences of disobeying those rules.

When Adam and Eve chose to sin against God, God pronounced judgment upon them and their tempter, the serpent/devil. God is holy and He must punish sin. The first act of rebellion is followed immediately by the first act of justice.

The holy Judge must punish sin. But note how God does so while wrapped in a robe of love. He comes to Adam and Eve in the garden and initiates a conversation with them about their sin. They hide; He pursues. He rebukes them gently by asking questions: “Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:9, 11, 13)

God pronounces judgment upon all parties in the rebellion: the devil, the woman and the man are all guilty of treason and receive a fair sentence. Amazingly, in the same breath, God also puts in motion a plan to provide salvation from sin and its deadly consequences. With this one promise, the seed of the gospel is planted in the garden of Eden: “He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

The offspring of the woman (the Lord Jesus Christ) will deliver a death blow to the skull of the devil. One day, on the cross of Calvary, Satan will be defeated, justice will be served, mercy will pour down like rain, and the eternal victory of God over evil will be secured!

The stage has been set for both the unfolding and the final outcome of God’s One Big Story – the story of salvation from sin and death and hell which God provides through the Promised Redeemer.

How should I then live?
I must preach the gospel to myself every day and live in the joy that comes from the promise of forgiveness and eternal life.  I must immerse myself in God’s story of redemption as both recipient of its benefits and communicator of its life-changing truth.

I will praise God continuously for His pursuit of me. I will remember daily that God has done for me what He did for Adam and Eve in the garden. Even though I rebelled against Him and disobeyed His Word, He has graciously tracked me down, following me with goodness and love all the days of my life.

I pray that my understanding of God as the Great Initiator will continue to grow. May I comprehend in increasing measure that “We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. ‘No one can come to me,’ said our Lord, ‘unless the Father draw him,’ (John 6:44) and it is by this prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming” (A.W. Tozer).

Genesis 3 has taught me the meaning of 1 John 4:19 – “We love because He first loved us.” Any love I offer to God is the direct result of His love for me. Praise be to the God who comes to the garden to seek us in our defiant state. Praise be to the God who pursues us while we hide from Him in futility. Praise be to the God who sent the seed of the woman to die for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).

NOTE: This post is part of a series prompted by my desire to read through the Bible over the next two years (Old Testament in 2016 and New Testament in 2017). For more information on this Bible Reading Plan, Click Here. To check out our Facebook group devoted to this endeavor, Click Here.

Posted in Thoughts About God | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Bible’s One Big Story (When Reading the Bible, Are You Missing It?)

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Wayne Davies

bible-coffee-276067__180People have been reading the Bible for centuries. This is one very old book! Yet its appeal remains as strong as ever. People are hungry for truth and meaning, and the Bible provides both.

It’s important to remember that the Bible is both one book and many books. The word “bible” comes from the Latin “biblia,” which simply means “books.” There are 66 books in the Protestant Bible, so one could say that the Bible contains a library of books.

Within these books are dozens of stories. In Genesis we find story after story: Adam and Eve and the serpent, Cain and Abel and the first murder, Noah and the flood, the tower of Babel, Abraham and Lot, Hagar and Ishmael, Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham and the offering of Isaac. And that’s just the first half of the first book! These stories are both fascinating and captivating. They teach us much about God and his people.

At the same time, the Bible is also one book because it tells one story, God’s story. It is God’s story because it is primarily the story about God – who He is, what He is like, and what He has been doing from the beginning of time. When reading the Bible, we can get caught up in a multitude of details – the hundreds of characters and events and individual stories – and forget the One Big Story that is being told, the big picture that is being painted about God.

Bible scholars have a name for this One Big Story – “metanarrative.” This “big narrative” is all about “the whole universal plan of God worked out through his creation. Key aspects of the plot at this top level are the initial creation itself, the fall of humanity, the power and ubiquity of sin, the need for redemption, and Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice” (Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, p. 91). Other names for the One Big Story include “the story of redemption” or “redemptive history” or “salvation history.”

When reading the Bible, let’s always keep this One Big Story in mind, for everything that happens in the Bible is somehow related to it, is part of it and gets its meaning from it.

Again I quote Stuart/Fee:

“Let’s be clear: The Bible is not merely some divine guidebook, nor it is a mine of propositions to be believed or a long list of commands to be obeyed. True, one does receive plenty of guidance from it, and it does indeed contain plenty of true propositions and divine directives. But the Bible is infinitely more than that.

It is no accident that the Bible comes to us primarily by way of narrative – but not just any narrative. Here we have the grandest narrative of all – God’s own story. That is, it does not purport to be just one more story of humankind’s search for God. No, this is God’s story, the account of his search for us, a story essentially told in four chapters: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation. In this story, God is the divine protagonist, Satan the antagonist, God’s people the agonists (although too often also the antagonists), with redemption and reconciliation as the plot resolution” (How to Read the Bible Book by Book, p. 14).

Stuart/Fee go on to unpack these four “chapters” of the One Big Story in the first seven page of their book quoted above, a section entitled “The Biblical Story: An Overview” (pages 14-20). This wonderful introduction to and summary of the Bible is written brilliantly, and is reason enough to invest in this book. I have read these seven pages repeatedly over the past several years, and I never tire of seeing the big picture of the Bible laid out so well.

When reading the Bible, always be asking this question: “How does this particular passage fit into the One Big Story, God’s story of redemption?”

NOTE: How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (aka “How to Read 1”) and How to Read the Bible Book by Book (aka “How to Read 2”) are available on Amazon.

Posted in Bible reading | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

My 2 Year Bible Reading Plan (How to Read the Bible in 2016/2017)

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Wayne Davies

bible-hand-453220__180I’ve decided to read the Old Testament in 2016 and the New Testament in 2017.

I need a plan to stay on track, so I ran the numbers on what it takes to read the OT in a year.

Here’s what I came up with.

The Plan
There are 929 chapters in the OT. I’d like to read 6 days a week for 52 weeks, leaving one day each week for reflection and catching up, should I miss a day from time to time.

Reading 6 days each week, here’s what it takes to read the OT in a year:
6 days/week x 52 weeks = 312 days of reading.
929 chapters divided by 312 days = about 3 chapters per day.

I like this plan! It’s simple to understand and easy to remember – 3 chapters a day, 6 days a week. By the grace of God, I can do that.

This should take about 20 minutes a day — 30 minutes max (I’m a slow reader). If I’m too busy to spend 20 minutes a day reading God’s Word, I’m too busy. Something is amiss and my priorities are way out of whack. Amen?

I will read and then reflect on the text by asking questions. The first question I’ll ask is “What does this passage teach about God?” By “God,” I mean God the Father, God the Son, and/or God the Holy Spirit.

A second question I’ll ask is “In light of this teaching about God, what is my response?” Or, to paraphrase the title of Francis Schaeffer’s book, “How should I then live?”

I’ll record my answers to these questions in a Bible reading journal. And as time permits, I’ll post some of my journaling as blog articles.

The Motivation
How did I arrive at these questions? And why the question about God first? I can think of three reasons.

Reason #1. My primary motive for reading the Bible is to know God. I want to know Him better – more intentionally, more intensely and more intimately. Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

The essence of eternal life is knowing God. Shouldn’t my Bible reading align with that?

Reason #2. This one comes from the book How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. In chapter 5 (entitled “The Old Testament Narratives: Their Proper Use”) we find this statement, which I believe to be the most important point of the entire book: “The one crucial thing to keep in mind as you read any Hebrew narrative is the presence of God in the narrative. In any biblical narrative, God is the ultimate character, the supreme hero of the story. . . To miss this dimension of the narrative is to miss the perspective of the narrative altogether.”

In other words, if I read the Old Testament and don’t look for (and find) what it is saying about God, I’m going to miss the point of any passage entirely. Whoa! This is huge. This is critical.

There are other questions that I may ask of the text, too. But for now, these two will be my main concern: “What does the text teach me about God?” and “How should I respond?”

Reason #3. I’ve been reading the whole Bible for the past 10 years. I’ve done it several times, and I’m thrilled to say that the Word is starting to make more and more sense every time I read it in its entirety. I’ve also been reading books about the Bible and sitting at the feet of experienced Bible teachers (some living, such as J.I. Packer, John Piper, John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Paul House and Wayne Grudem) and some dead (like Charles Spurgeon and A.W. Tozer). Through this exposure to the Word and good Bible teaching, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Bible is, first and foremost, about God, not man.

I realize that not all Christians would agree with me on this. But I’m convinced that the Bible is primarily God’s revelation of Himself — His glory, His kingdom and His salvation. Sure, mankind is there – on virtually every page. But we are not the main point. God is. This book is mainly about Him, not us.

A.W. Tozer says it like this: “The Christian religion has to do with God and man, but its focal point is God, not man. Man’s only claim to importance is that he was created in the divine image; in himself he is nothing . . . That God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible” (The Knowledge of the Holy).

The Mentors
As I read through the Old Testament, I will not do it alone. When I study the Bible, I need help. I’m so thankful that God has raised up godly men and women to teach His Word to His people. I find it most beneficial to take advantage of these teachers. Two men who have helped me tremendously in my reading and understanding of the Bible are Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee. I’ve mentioned them already; I’d like to introduce you to them now.

They have written two books that I’ve used repeatedly over the past 10 years:
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
How to Read the Bible Book by Book

I highly recommend both of these books, for they complement each other well. I’ll be reading these books again as I read through the Old Testament.

If you are looking for Bible study resources written from a conservative evangelical perspective, I highly recommend these two books.

I will follow the authors’ lead and utilize this shortcut when referring to their books on the blog:
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth = How to 1
How to Read the Bible Book by Book = How to 2

The Method
I will be reading the books of the Old Testament in a slightly different order than you’ll find in your typical English Protestant Bible. I’m going to read the OT books in the order of the Hebrew Bible. From Genesis to 2 Kings, the book order of the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible is the same. But after 2 Kings, the order is different.

I first learned about reading the OT in the Hebrew Bible order from Paul House, a gifted Bible teacher, OT seminary professor and one of the contributors to the ESV Study Bible. In the weeks to come, I’ll be posting more about this approach on my blog, so stay tuned!

Here’s a list that shows the order of the books in the Hebrew Bible, the Bible that Jesus used. He refers to this 3-fold categorization of the Old Testament books in Luke 24:44. NOTE: The content of the books in the Hebrew Bible is exactly the same as our Protestant Old Testament. It is only the sequence after 2 Kings that is different.

The Law
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

The Prophets
Joshua
Judges
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

The Writings
Psalms
Proverbs
Job
Song of Solomon
Ruth
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Esther
Daniel
Ezra
Nehemiah
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles

I have read the Old Testament books in this order once before, and found it quite helpful in understanding the big picture of what God is doing in the Old Testament. I look forward to reading the OT this way again!

The Invitation
Would you like to join me? If so, here are the links to the 2-page reading schedule I’ll be following:
OT Bible Reading Plan (Page 1) (January – June)
OT Bible Reading Plan (Page 2) (July– December)

You are welcome to print out these schedules and use them to track your progress. (If you find any typos, please let me know.)

I will also provide each week’s readings in my weekly email that goes out on Sunday. To subscribe to this weekly email, please visit www.GodWroteTheBook.com.

Please note that Week 1 begins on Monday, January 4, 2016. In fact, each week will begin on Monday. We’ll read for 6 days, Monday – Saturday, with Sunday being an “off” day to allow for catching up and reflection. If you are able to keep up with the schedule, I highly recommend using Sunday to go back and do additional study on any passage(s) you found especially beneficial, or to research a passage you found problematic.

I will also post suggested reading material from How to 1 and How to 2 that would be good to read on Sundays or during the week, if you like.  These optional readings will dovetail with the Bible passages we are reading each week.

Another suggestion is to start a Bible reading journal. Each day, record your answers to the two questions mentioned above:
1) What does this passage teach about God?
2) What is my response?

In 2017, I’d like to read the New Testament using the following schedule, developed by the Navigators, known as the Discipleship Journal “5 x 5 x 5” Bible Reading Plan. It’s a very simple plan: 1 chapter a day, 5 days a week. Here’s the NT schedule:
NT Bible Reading Plan

In 2014 (OT) and 2015 (NT), I read through the Bible using the schedules mentioned above. I look forward to doing this again in 2016/2017, and would love for you to join me!

If you’d like to follow this Bible reading plan, please let me know by sending me an email. And if there’s enough interest, I’d like to start a private Facebook group for people doing this with me. We would use the Facebook group to encourage one another, ask questions, offer accountability to those so inclined, and share what God is teaching us. So please let me know if you’d like me to send you info on the private Facebook group. What do you say?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Posted in Bible reading | Tagged , | 12 Comments

My Top 10 Favorite Quotes of 2015

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Wayne Davies

#1:
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (A.W. Tozer)

#2:
“It is staggering that God should love sinners; yet it is true.” (J.I. Packer)

#3:
“Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a man’s heart” (J.I. Packer)

#4:
“Never resist the least urge to pray” (Tim Challies)

#5:
“God is immovable, unbreakable and unshakable in his promises, commitment and goodness to us” (Tony Opliger)

#6:
“The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

#7:
“Reading God’s Word is less dependent on our schedule and more dependent on our desire and discipline” (Woodrow Krull)

#8:
“I believe we’re in a generation of biblical illiteracy. I believe it’s our greatest sin and our greatest weakness” (Kay Arthur)

#9:
“God made man small and the universe big to say something about himself . . . namely, that he is infinitely great and powerful and wise and beautiful” (John Piper)

#10:
“Scripture alone is our reliable truth” (Beth Moore)

 

 

Posted in Quotes | Tagged | Leave a comment

My Top 5 Books of 2015 (other than the Bible)

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Wayne Davies

bible-books-610334__180As another year comes to a close, I like to reflect on the past 12 months and ask myself: “How could I have better spent my time?” And I usually come up with the same answer: “I wish I had spent less time watching TV and more time reading.”

 

I’m thankful that God has been patiently weaning me off the screen and giving me an increasingly greater desire to read His Word and good Christian books. I’ve gotten into the habit of reading the Bible and praying to start the day. I also like to read the Bible during my lunch break. Or I take a walk and listen to a sermon.

In the evening and before going to sleep, I find myself reading books other than the Bible, and I like to focus on books about the Bible and the God of the Bible. There are plenty to choose from! And for that I thank God. He has raised up many excellent evangelical Bible teachers who have written a plethora of God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, Scripture-expounding books.

Amen?

I read many wonderful books in 2015, but these five made the strongest impression on me. If you’re looking for a worthwhile Christian book to read in 2016, you can’t go wrong with any of these.

#1. Knowing God
By J.I. Packer
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NZ66RC
I rejoiced with trembling as I blogged my way through this book, and even wrote my first Scripture poem, largely due to Packer’s brilliant Bible teaching. You’ll find my posts here:
https://godwrotethebook.com/category/knowing-god/

#2. The Pursuit of God
By A.W. Tozer
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z959CAU/
Have you not yet read one of Tozer’s books? What are you waiting for? This would be a good place to start, and the Kindle version is free.

#3. Yawning at Tigers:
You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying
By Drew Dyck
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GUTB3JW
My review of this book is here:
https://godwrotethebook.com/yawning-at-tigers-book-review/
Mr. Dyck writes with wisdom way beyond his years. 

#4. The Truth War:
 Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception
By John MacArthur
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006IEFLAQ/
Ever wonder why evangelicalism has become so wishy-washy? This book explains why.

#5. The Holiness of God
By R.C. Sproul
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007V698MW/
“It may be a bit early to call R.C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God one of the classic theological works of our time. But if it does not have that status yet, it is well on the way to achieving it.” High praise indeed from James Montgomery Boice. I would add that it’s not too early. This is a classic.

Posted in Bible memorization, Book Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Why I Believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Wayne Davies

candles-435410_1280 Imagine a husband hearing these words from his wife: “Honey, I’m pregnant. And you’re not the father.”

That is exactly what happened 2,000 years ago when a man named Joseph had a conversation with a woman named Mary.

 

They were legally married but the relationship had yet to be consummated. That’s how marriage worked back then. What we call “engaged,” they considered “married.” And during the engagement, or what the Bible calls “betrothal,” there was no physical intimacy.

If you were Joseph, what would you do?

The Bible tells us what Joseph wanted to do. “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). That would have been the “right” thing to do because Joseph doesn’t yet know that this baby was supernaturally conceived. He only knows that Mary is pregnant. The only logical conclusion is that she was unfaithful to him.

Joseph must have been devastated. And he could have had Mary stoned to death, for that was the penalty for adultery in the Law of Moses. Instead, he decides to divorce her “quietly,” which would have been hard to do in a small town like Nazareth.

Fortunately, God had other plans, and He intervenes and sends an angel to tell him, “Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Now Joseph knows what Mary knows, for God had already told Mary that she was carrying the Son of God in her womb.

As I reflect on this story, the way it plays out seems quite reasonable and believable – at least as far as the interaction between Joseph and Mary. But what about the words spoken to Joseph by the angel – “what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”. What are we to make of that?

Matthew tells this story in such an understated manner, it is easy to miss its mind-blowing significance. A woman got pregnant without sexual relations! That’s incredible. That’s unheard of. That’s impossible!

Yes, the virgin birth of Jesus Christ is the most unbelievable story in the history of mankind – unless there is a God who can do the impossible. And that is the kind of God we find in the Bible. This God created the universe out of nothing. Since He created the natural world, doesn’t He have the power to circumvent the laws of nature whenever He wants?

So, yes, I believe in the virgin birth. And the reason I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin is because I believe in the God of the Bible, the God who can do anything. I believe in the virgin birth because the angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

Questions to Ponder:
Has the story of the virgin birth become so familiar to you that it has lost its earth-shattering, world-changing significance? What can you do this Christmas season to renew your wonder and awe of the God who can do the impossible?

A Prayer to Make Your Own:
Father, thank you doing the impossible by sending your Son to be the Savior of the world. Please increase my gratitude for this amazing miracle, and please increase my faith in your ability to do what only You can do.

Posted in Christmas, Jesus Christ | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The True Meaning of Christmas Is Found In the Birth of a King

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Wayne Davies

crown-goldWhen you open the New Testament, have you ever wondered why the first chapter contains the names of over 40 men who died centuries ago? This list is identified as “the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1).

The true meaning of Christmas is found in this genealogy, for Matthew makes an incredible statement in this verse about the identity of Jesus, and it is easy to miss the significance of it.

For Matthew to say that this is the genealogy of “Jesus Christ” is huge, because “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name; rather, it is his royal title.

“Christ” is from the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which means “anointed one” – a reference to the anointing, or pouring, of oil on the head of a person chosen for a leadership position. In the Old Testament, three types of leaders were anointed – prophets, priests and kings. The anointing was done at a special ceremony, similar to an inauguration or ordination.

To refer to Jesus as “Jesus Christ” is the same as saying he is “Jesus, the Christ,” or “Jesus, the Messiah.” This man Jesus was chosen by God to fill the position of King of Israel, just as we would say, “George Washington, President of the United States”.

The Old Testament is filled with prophecies about the coming of this Messiah, or King, to establish his kingdom and reign over both Israel and all nations. If Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah, he must come from the royal line. Kings are not elected, they are born. For Jesus to be the Messiah, he must have a royal lineage. And this is why Matthew begins his book with the genealogy of Jesus. His purpose here is to demonstrate the kingly credentials of Jesus.

The key Old Testament passage in this regard is 2 Samuel 7:5-16, where God tells David that one of his descendants will reign forever. “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body . . . and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (v. 12-13).

Matthew 1 shows us that Jesus comes from the line of David through Joseph’s side of the family. There is another genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament (Luke 3) which demonstrates that Jesus also comes from the line of David through Mary’s side of the family. So the evidence that Jesus has royal lineage is indisputable.

Did Jesus understand his role as Messiah? Luke 4:14-21 answers that question. Here we read that early in his public ministry, Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth and read a passage from the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1-2):

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

After Jesus reads this well-known messianic passage, he says to those who knew him best, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus knew he was the Messiah, and he said so right from the beginning of his ministry. And for the next three years, he repeatedly preached “the good news of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23). Why? Because the King was here! That King of Israel had arrived!

As his earthly life came to an end, Jesus’ awareness of his kingship was still paramount. Just hours before his crucifixion, when the Roman governor Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”, Jesus replied, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:33, 37).

Yes, the true meaning of Christmas is found in the birth of a king. Not just any king, but the King of Israel and the world — the Messiah, the Christ who was to come and establish an eternal kingdom in the hearts of those who would recognize him and submit to him as King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is why we sing, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king!”

Questions to Ponder:
What place does King Jesus have in your Christmas this year? Have you made room for him in your home and in your heart?

A Prayer to Make Your Own:
Father, renew my understanding of the significance of the birth of King Jesus. Fill me with awe and wonder at the coming of the Messiah. May he reign in my heart today and every day.

Posted in Christmas, Jesus Christ | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The True Meaning of Christmas Is Found in the Names of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-25)

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Wayne Davies

star-437519_1280The story of Christmas focuses on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. This is no ordinary child, however.

Matthew 1 sheds much light on the identity of this baby through the names and titles he is given in the first chapter of the New Testament.


Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 1:1, 16, 17, 18)
The word “Christ” comes from the Hebrew word for “Messiah”, which literally means “the anointed one.” In the Old Testament, this is a reference to the promised King of Israel who would come to establish God’s kingdom on earth and reign over all nations. Matthew wants us to know that this Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. The king has arrived! The Messiah is born! This is reason to celebrate with much joy and thanksgiving, and this is why Christians around the world love to sing about the birth of King Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of David (Matthew 1:1, 17)
“Son of David” was a well-known messianic title among God’s people. If Jesus is the Messiah, then he must come from the royal line of David. In 2 Samuel 7:5-16, one of the most important passages in the Bible, God told David that one of his descendants will have an eternal kingdom – “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever . . . Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established ” (2 Samuel 7:13, 16). Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise, for the New Testament tells us repeatedly that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of Lords. After his death and resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven, where he now sits at the right hand of God, the place of honor, to rule the world forever.

This is why Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. This record provides the documentation that any Jew would want to see to verify Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. Matthew traces Jesus’ family line back through Joseph all the way to David.

Jesus is the Son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1, 17)
Matthew goes even further back than David, for Jesus is not only the “Son of David”, he is also the “Son of Abraham”. Abraham was the father of the Jewish people, the man God called to leave his native land of Babylonia and head west. In Genesis 12:1-3, God made three promises to Abraham. He promised to give him the land of Canaan; he promised to create a great nation from his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and he promised to bless all nations of the world through him.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). As Paul makes clear in his letter to the Galatians, Jesus is the descendant of Abraham who brings blessing to all peoples. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed . . . meaning one person, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

And what is this universal blessing of Jesus? The provision of salvation from sin through the death and resurrection of the Messiah.

Jesus is God (Matthew 1:23)
Matthew 1:23 is a quotation of Isaiah 7:14 – The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means “God with us.” Jesus was God in a human body — this is one of the foundational truths of biblical Christianity. When Jesus was born, God came to live among men by becoming a man. The element of mystery here is great, and this truth can be seen only with the eyes of faith. Unfortunately, the deity of Christ is a much-maligned doctrine; yet it is the clear teaching of Scripture.

Jesus is Savior (Matthew 1:21)
Why did the angel tell Joseph “you are to give him the name Jesus”? Because the name “Jesus” literally means “the Lord is salvation” or simply “Savior”. And so Joseph gave him the name Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” This, too, is a foundational truth of Christianity. Jesus was born to die, and through his sacrificial death he, and only he, is able to save us from our sins and their devastating consequences in both this life and the next. Those who receive this salvation by repenting of sin and embracing Christ as Savior and Lord know the joy of forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. We cannot help but sing praises to God for we love to testify that “the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, God and Savior. This is the true meaning of Christmas. And this is why we sing, “O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.”

Questions to Ponder:
What will you do this Christmas to acknowledge the identity of Jesus as revealed in Matthew 1?

How does the identity of Jesus make a difference in your life?

Which of these five names means the most to you in this season of your life? And why?

A Prayer to Make Your Own:
Father, may this Christmas be all about your Son. Show me what to do so that the identity of Jesus is foremost on my mind and in my heart in the days to come. Change me from the inside out so that the supremacy of Christ is my number one priority during the Christmas season.

Posted in Christmas, Jesus Christ | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Thanksgiving Acrostic: “T” is for Truth

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Wayne Davies

bible-350396__180

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”
Psalm 136:1

The truth of God is reason to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Today I’m thanking God for truth – His truth.

Can you imagine what your life would be like without the truth of God? Let’s see what happens when we remove God’s truth from our lives.

1-Without truth, there would be no salvation.

Without the Word of God, you’d still be dead in your sins, headed for a Christless eternity.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul describes unbelievers as “those who are perishing.” And why are they perishing? “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

The lost end up in hell because they do not love the truth. We can therefore conclude that God only saves those who love the truth.

Think about your own conversion experience. At some point in time, you heard the gospel, the message about your sin and its devastating consequences, and the wonderful saving work done on your behalf by Jesus on the cross, and you embraced the truth of this message with all your heart. You bowed the knee to King Jesus, repenting of your sin and believing that only He can save you. You became a Christian because of your love of God’s truth as revealed in His holy Word.

2-Without truth, there would be no sanctification.

God did not save you from the penalty of sin apart from the truth, and God does not save you from the power of sin apart from the truth.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus spent much time in prayer. John 17 records some of what Jesus prayed before He was arrested. Here is one of the most beautiful prayers in the entire Bible. Our Savior asked the Father to “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

He was praying for His disciples, that God would sanctify them. “Sanctify” means to “set apart for sacred use” or to “make holy” (NIV footnote). That’s a wonderfully concise explanation of the glorious process that begins the moment we first believe and continues until the day we die.

God loves us too much to leave us in the condition He first finds us. He desires that we become more and more like Jesus. He wants to change us from the inside out, purging the sin and replacing it with a life of holiness.

It won’t be easy. And it won’t be pretty. Make no mistake about it — sanctification is difficult and ugly.

And how does it happen? By the truth. And what is the truth? “Your word” is the truth that sanctifies us.

There is no mystery as to the means of sanctification – much quality time spent in the written Word of God – hearing it, reading it, studying it, meditating on it, memorizing it and obeying it, all because we long for it like a newborn baby craves milk (1 Peter 2:2).

3-Without truth, there would be no worship.

While conversing with the woman at the well, Jesus makes this well-known statement: “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

In this age of religious pluralism, the world believes that anything goes, spiritually speaking. Tolerance is the byword of today’s free-thinkers. It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere.

Jesus makes it clear that nothing could be further from the truth. If I’m not worshiping God in truth, then my worship is in vain. And how do I know whether I’m worshiping God in truth? By focusing my thoughts on the God of the Bible, not the god of my imagination.

This is why sound biblical teaching must permeate the life of the church. Our worship only pleases God when it is biblically informed. This is why the psalmist sings, “Know that the LORD is God” (Psalm 100:3). We must know our God before we can worship our God. And we can only know the one true God through the truth He has revealed in Scripture.

4-Without truth, there would be no Jesus.

God has not only revealed Himself through the truth of the written Word, the Bible. He has also revealed Himself through the truth of the living Word, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus declared “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Is this not one of the most breathtaking statements in the Bible?

Jesus is the truth. Truth is not only found on every page of Scripture, it is also found in a Person, the Son of God.

And so we are overwhelmed with the indispensable nature of God’s truth. Without it, there would be no salvation, no sanctification, no worship, no Jesus. This short list just scratches the surface of the meaning and significance of divine truth.

In light of this, how should we respond?

John MacArthur, in his book The Truth War, provides a fitting summary of how we should respond to the truth of God. “Scripture describes all authentic Christians as those who know the truth and have been liberated by it (John 8:32). They believe it with a whole heart (2 Thess. 2:13). They obey the truth through the Spirit of God (1 Peter 1:22). And they have received a fervent love for the truth through the gracious work of God in their hearts (2 Thess. 2:10).”

How do you know if you have a genuine understanding of God’s truth? You will “know it, believe it, submit to it and love it.”

And you will thank God for it.

On Thanksgiving Day, and every day, may we lift up our souls in praise to God for the matchless gift of His truth!

NOTE: For the other posts in this Thanksgiving acrostic, visit Click Here.
To date, there are 6 posts in this series, one for each letter of the word T-H-A-N-K-S.

Posted in Attributes of God, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , | Leave a comment