The Bible Answers Every Basic Problem which Faces Human Beings
Some Introductory Thoughts
As human beings, men, women, boys, and girls face many kinds of problems. Some of these problems are very important indeed. We want and we need not merely an answer to some of these questions; we need the answer—God’s answer to them! And we can all be thankful to Him that He has given us His answer to every really important question we face.
The Theme of the Entire Bible
Without presenting supporting evidence, I will simply affirm that the theme of the entire Bible is: the glorification of God and the salvation of man through Jesus Christ. Every book in the Bible makes at least some contribution to the development and explanation of that theme.
Some Crucial Questions Which Are Faced by Men Living
I will make no effort here to classify these questions according to the way I have set them out earlier. My role here is: (l) to set forth and discuss in some detail some of the more fundamental issues presently facing us, (2) to discuss in less detail some other important issues, and (3) to merely list a number of other very important issues which merit the close attention of everyone who loves the Lord and the souls of men. I will give some explanation of the issues raised in the first two sets of questions. Here are some of the crucial questions faced by men living today.
I. Some Fundamental Issues Considered in Some Detail
l. Is truth absolute? To say that a proposition is true is to say that it accurately describes reality (where reality is what is, has been, or will be). Or, it might be said that a proposition is true if, when it says that a certain state of affairs exists, that state of affairs actually does exist.
To say that truth is absolute is to say that the truth of a proposition is not changed by the conclusions regarding it which are drawn by individual persons. This simply means that the truth of a given proposition is not changed by the mental states of the subjects (individual persons) who consider or think about it. More specifically, I want to insist that the Bible teaches today just exactly what it taught when the writing of it was completed. The fact that various men down through the centuries have drawn differing (at times, even contradictory) conclusions as to what the Bible teaches does not change even one thing it taught centuries before any of them had even read it. For example, the Bible plainly teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. The fact that some so-called Bible scholars (modernists) have denied that Jesus was born of a virgin does not change the truth which the Bible teaches on this matter. Again, we note that the Bible teaches that there is one baptism (Ephesians 4:4-6). If men now living read the Bible and conclude, “There are two baptisms,” their so concluding does not change the truth which is stated in the Bible.
2. Is truth attainable? To say that Biblical truth is attainable is to say that it is possible for men to learn—that is, to come to know—what the Bible teaches. (Jesus plainly affirmed this very point, John 8:32). By saying this, I do not mean that any mere human being has learned everything about every position affirmed in the Bible. One can know some things without knowing everything! However, I do mean to say that it is possible for one to learn the truth concerning that which is necessary both to one’s becoming a Christian (Galatians 3:26-27) and to his living the Christian life (2 Peter 1:5-11). These and related passages in the Bible are not as difficult to understand as some men seem to wish us to believe. I have long been astounded by the apparent arrogance of men who make clear that they expect the rest of us to come to knowledge of what they tell us but who, at the same time, insist that none of us can come to knowledge of what God has told us in the Bible. They thus blasphemously imply that they are wiser than God because they know how to write (or tell) a message so that men can learn whereas God cannot. I wonder: do they regard the rest of us as being so “dull” (intellectually) that we do not see both their blasphemy and their inconsistency? Do they think we are so “dull” that, when they affirm that no one can really be certain of anything in regard to the will of God that we will not ask them the obvious questions, “Do you know that no one can know? Are you certain that no one can be certain?” For these men to answer candidly these questions will only make clear that their position is a self-defeating one.
3. Can we know that God exists? Of course we can know that God exists! This is the case in spite of the fact (l) that atheists claim that they know that God does not exist, (2) that agnostics claim that no one can know whether God exists or does not exist, and (3) that even some brethren (under the influences of the “Romantic” philosophy—which stresses feelings as being more important in religion than evidence and valid reasoning—which is pervasive of our society today) are now claiming that no one can really know that God exists. This position is really a form of agnosticism and must be rejected if one is to be faithful to God. If cannot know that God exists, then we cannot know that the Bible is His word. If we cannot know that the Bible is His word, then we cannot know that Jesus is the Son of God and has been raised from the dead. If we cannot know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has been raised from the dead, then our faith (as Christians) is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:12-17). Peter made clear that we can know these matters to be true (Acts 2:22-36). But to hold that men cannot know that God exists is to imply the falsity of the claim to know that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Son of God! And, any doctrine which implies a false doctrine is itself false!
4. Can we know that the Bible is the word of God? Yes, we can also know that the Bible is the word of God. It is not the word of mere men; it is the word of God (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21). All Scripture is inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This means that it is “God-breathed.” Thus, it is clear that, even though God used men in the actual writing of the Bible, no man is the author of any of the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible, the Bible is verbally inspired. This means that the very words of the Bible are inspired. The Bible itself makes this clear (1 Corinthians 2:9-13; Matthew 5:18). The inspiration of the Bible is also plenary—that is, all of the parts of the Bible (all of the parts of all of the books in the entire Bible) are inspired.
5. Can we know that the Bible is inerrant? To deal adequately with this question in confrontation with a skeptic, it would be necessary to set forth a sound argument which does something more than say “The Bible is inspired simply and only because it claims to be inspired.” This would be like man A saying “X is true,” and man B asking, “Why is X true?” And man A answering, “Because Y is true,” and man B asking, “But why is Y true?” And man A (thinking that he thus settles the matter) replies, “Because X is true.” This is called circular reasoning. It doesn’t really get one anywhere: seemingly the truth of the conclusion depends upon the truth of the premises, but it also turns out that the truth of the premises is dependent upon the truth of the conclusion. The full circle has been traveled.
Of course, the claim of the Bible to be the word of God is a vital element in the sound argument which proves that the Bible is the word of God, but it quite obviously is not enough to merely say, “I know that the Bible is the word of God because it claims to be such.” We can avoid circular reasoning, we can prove that the Bible is the word of God, but lack of time on this occasion forbids by setting it forth here. Presently, I must content myself with briefly noting that since we can know that God is (Romans 1:18-20; John 17:3; Psalm 19:1-5) since we can know that the Bible is the word of God, and since we can know that God does not lie (Hebrews 6: 18; Titus 1:2; 1 Samuel 15:29), then we can also know that the Bible is inerrant. There are no errors in God’s word.
6. Can we know that the Bible is authoritative? Can we know that we must have Bible authority for what we do? Yes, the Bible sets forth the truth on this matter in a simple, straightforward manner (2 John 9-11; cf. 1 Chronicles 15:1-15; Leviticus 10:1-2).
7. Shall we defend the truth in public discussion and other Bible authorized ways? It appears to me that some brethren are trying to be “nicer” and more “loving” than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus was an ardent controversialist! In fact, He was the greatest controversialist who has ever been on this earth. His faithful followers—such as Peter and Paul—were obedient to Him and became great defenders of the faith. We today cannot be faithful to Christ and not be involved in controversy. Some people try to be greater (more kind, more loving) than God when they say, “I wouldn’t send one of my children to a never-ending hell.” But God will—if they die in disobedience to His will (2 Peter 2:20-22; Revelation 20:10-15; Galatians 5:6; Luke 8:4-15). In much the same way, some men try to be “greater” (more kind, more loving) than Christ when they say, “I wouldn’t support—in any way—a public debate on any Bible subject, because debating is unkind and unloving!” One who so contends has read the Bible to little profit (Jude 3; Titus 1:9; the work of John the Baptist, the work of Jesus Christ as set forth in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the work of Peter, Paul and others in Acts). We must not only preach the gospel in an affirmative way; we must defend that gospel against every “gainsayer” (contradictor of the gospel, Titus 1:9), being all the while motivated by love both for the Lord and for our fellow-man.
8. Must all that we do be done in love? The apostle Paul made clear that in spite of whatever else one may believe and/or practice, if he is not motivated by love he cannot be pleasing to God (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). But does that fact entail that one cannot be motivated by love if he not only preaches the gospel in an affirmative way but also defends it against the attacks of false teachers? Not at all. Jesus and His apostles constitute proof that such is not the case. Alexander Campbell well said of Jesus that He drew His sword (to do battle with false doctrine and sinful deeds) on the banks of the Jordan and threw away the scabbard. By this he meant that Jesus began His earthly ministry in full knowledge that His work would entail an abiding confrontation with false doctrine. And, His ministry was literally filled with controversy. Yet, even when men hated Him for having exposed their lives and doctrine as being unacceptable to God, Jesus was at that very time knowingly and willingly on His way to the cross to die for all men, including those who hated and persecuted Him, so that they might be saved from the just consequences of their sins (John 10:17; 3:16; Romans 5:8-10; 1 John 4:17-20). Love does not exclude defense of the faith (Jude 3).
When one truly loves both the Lord and his fellow-man, that love will manifest itself in certain ways. Paul lists at least some of these ways in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). The love of both God and man is a truly crucial issue. It will be discussed in detail during this lectureship.
9. Are grace, law, and love mutually exclusive? There are some—both in denominations and in the Lord’s church—who hold that since men are now under grace, they are no longer under a law of any kind. But this is a false position. It is true that we are saved by the grace and love of God. The Bible clearly teaches this (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Romans 5:8-9; Romans 8:32). But the Bible just as clearly teaches that we are saved by the law of Christ, the gospel. We are made free by “the law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2). The “law of the Spirit of life” is the law of the Holy Spirit. The law of the Holy Spirit is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Among other things, the apostle Paul (l) plainly refers to “the law of God” (Romans 8:7), (2) makes clear that we are “under law to Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21), and (3) tells us that by bearing one another’s burdens we thus “fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). And James unmistakably refers to the gospel (by which we are saved, James 1:21; Romans 1:16) as “the perfect law, the law of liberty” (James 1:25).
Quite obviously, the fact that we are saved by the grace and love of God does not entail the position that we do not obey the law of Christ in being saved!
10. The proper role of logic (principles of valid reasoning) in understanding the Bible. Before anyone can become a Christian, he must properly interpret the Bible. Before one can be faithful, as a child of God, in work and in worship, he must properly interpret the Bible. One cannot be saved without believing and obeying the gospel of Christ (Hebrews 5:8-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). But one cannot believe and obey that gospel unless he understands it. Before one can be a good student of the Bible, he must understand that the basic constituent elements of the total situation involved in proper interpretation of the Bible are: (l) the total evidence (that which purports to be supportive of the conclusions drawn and/or asserted), (2) the handling of that evidence by the handling of it. No one can understand the Bible without the proper use of the principles of valid reasoning. This is made clear in such passages as 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and Acts 17:11. Within the past few years there has occurred a tremendously significant revolt against reason. This manifests itself in general in philosophical “Romanticism” and in particular in such philosophies as “Existentialism.” Those who have espoused such philosophies develop a rather severe case of “logophobia” (fear of logic) and a very strong inclination to lean (for their religious questions) on their own feelings rather than upon evidence and sound reasoning concerning that evidence. Such people are very antagonistic to the study and teaching of Christian evidences. Among other positions, they hold: (l) that no one can prove that God exists, (2) that no one can prove that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and (3) that no one can prove that the Bible teaches that denominationalism is wrong.
11. Christian evidences. With at least one-half of the world now under official atheism (the philosophy of dialectical materialism of Karl Marx) and with much even of the western world caught in some kind of anti-Christian philosophy (such as positivism, atheistic existentialisms, phenomenology, pragmatism), with the oncoming generation of young people in America being taught in school and college the anti-Christian theories of evolution, modernism, etc., there is no more important issue facing the church today than that of a militant proclamation and defense of the gospel against the skeptical theories which are so widely taught around the entire world.
Brethren, please awaken to this terrible danger!
The issues which I have just mentioned—and discussed very briefly—are so fundamental that those who love the Lord dare not be reticent in confronting those who teach falsely concerning them. If we do not both meet and refute the onslaughts of false teachers at these points, then we will not be faithful to Him who died for us (Hebrews 2:9; 5:8-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 3).
But now let us note very briefly some other very important issues which presently face God’s people. I plan to discuss these issues mote briefly than I did the ones I have mentioned already, and I will leave more detailed discussion of them to the speakers on the individual books of the New Testament.
II. Other Important Issues Discussed in Less Detail
By discussing these issues in less detail, I do not mean to minimize their importance. Let me emphasize in no uncertain terms that these problems are of tremendous importance!
1. Instrumental music in the worship of the church. This issue really goes back to an issue I have mentioned earlier—that of the necessity of having Bible authority for what we believe and practice in religion. No Christian or congregation can be strong if not thoroughly instructed in this matter (2 John 9-11; Revelation 22:18-19).
2. Relationship of knowledge and zeal. We must have knowledge of the truth (John 8:32) and we must have zeal in doing the will of God (Revelation 3:15). Neither zeal alone nor knowledge alone can save. Zeal must be “according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). It isn’t enough to draw big crowds; one must know the will of God and be zealous according to it.
3. The essentiality of the church. The Bible makes clear that, since no one can be saved without the blood of Christ and since that blood was used to purchase the church, no one can be saved out of the church (Hebrews 9:22; 10:4; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 20:28).
4. Christian fellowship. This issue involves at least these questions: (l) how is fellowship attained and (2) how is fellowship maintained?
5. How to build a truly successful marriage. Since the Bible is the all-sufficient will of God, it teaches men how to be good husbands and women how to be good wives. Marriages fail because human beings fail to learn and obey plain Bible teaching. The church cannot be strong if the homes of which its members are a part are not strong.
6. Divorce and remarriage. Crucial to this basic issue are the following questions: (l) are people out of the church amenable to Christ’s law on divorce and re-marriage: The Bible plainly teaches that all responsible people both in and out of the church, are amenable to Christ’s law. (2) Is a second marriage allowed to anyone on any ground other than the death of his (or her) spouse? The Bible makes clear that fornication is the only ground other than death for remarriage. (3) Is the guilty party (in a case of marital infidelity) free to remarry just as the innocent one is? The Bible answer is: the guilty party is not free to remarry.
III. Listing of Some Other Important Issues
Here I shall merely list a number of other important issues presently before the church. No doubt other speakers in this lectureship will discuss these problems in detail: (l) what can women scripturally do in the work and worship of the church? (2) What about “youth church”—is it authorized by the Bible? (3) May one church scripturally assist another church in the preaching of the gospel? (4) Is it scriptural for a congregation to take money from its treasury in order to feed a starving baby (who, of course, is not a member of the church)? (5) Have miracles ceased? Does anyone now living have the miraculous gift of “tongues”? (6) What is involved in the living of the Christian life?
Although I have not discussed any of the issues listed in this section, let me urge you to regard all of them as being very important.
Conclusion
The church faced problems (“issues,” if you will) even during New Testament times. So it should be no surprise that problems presently face the church. But, let us remember that the Bible is God’s all-sufficient word; it provides us with the answer to each and every one of these problems. We have only to learn (by prayerful, diligent, systematic study) what the Bible teaches and accurately apply that teaching.
Let us be about that task.