Tim Hayes – Snapshots

Flee From the Wrath

The Bible says God is very angry with all who aren’t believing on Christ (Jn 3:36), and that Christ Himself is angry with all who aren’t worshipping Him. (Ps 2:12). How do we flee from the wrath of God and of His Son? (Lk 3:7)

Whether one believes in God or not, the possibility God might exist and that He might be angry ought to be sobering. (Ac 17:30) If God might exist it is rational to act as if He might, and if He might be angry then acting accordingly is likewise rational.

This follows from Pacal’s Wager: given the remotest prospect (any non-zero probability) of suffering the infinite fury of an angry God, the expected loss of neglecting to avoid it is infinite. (2Co 5:11) What does this look like in practical terms?

We might try to flee from God, but how does one flee Omnipresence? Presuming there’s a place where God is not is foolish at best. (Ac 17:28)

The only rational response is to order our lives to please God as well as we can (i.e. repent) (Lk 3:8-9) and search for a way to be reconciled with Him. No other path is acceptable. (Ro 1:18-19)

Once we start looking in earnest for evidence of God and of His ways, it’s not so difficult to find. Irreducible Complexity in Nature becomes sufficient proof of God’s existence, power and wisdom: only those blindly presuming Philosophical Materialism as a faith-axiom can miss this. (Ro 1:20)

Acting as if God exists also implies giving Him the benefit of the doubt regarding His nature: acting as if God is good – that He’s both loving and just. For if God is not good there’s no rational way to minimize our expected loss (i.e. all bets are off). Presuming God is good is rational since this minimizes the likelihood of offending Him.

Following this reasoning, seeking reconciliation with God is also straightforward: only Christianity portrays God as both just and loving; all other religions both downplay the potential of human sinfulness and offer reconciliation with divinity apart from justice, as if repentance and personal merit can somehow atone for eternal sin — all the while rejecting this concept in all of our civil institutions: no one really believes proper order can exist in the universe without justice.

And no other religion addresses how any sin against an infinitely good and holy God can be less than infinite … or justly atoned for without paying an infinite penalty. Christianity offers us both.

As we earnestly seek, we find we’re all guilty before God: He is justly angry with us for our sin and will punish us eternally unless we flee to His Son as our propitiation (1Jn 2:2), God Himself suffering the infinite penalty for our sin (1Jn 3:16), and hide ourselves in Him. (Ps 119:114) This is the only way to flee from the wrath to come.

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Repent of Uncleanness

Living in willful uncleanness as a manner of life evidently grieves God (2Co 12:21), yet we may not even be aware of this type of sin. What is uncleanness? How do we avoid it and repent of it?

Though there are about a dozen New Testament references identifying those living in uncleanness as inherently evil, having no inheritance in God’s kingdom (Ga 5:19-21), these passages provide no definition of uncleanness; we find this only in Torah.

Leviticus describes several types of uncleanness: chapter 11 says touching an animal carcass makes us unclean; chapter 15 says having any oozing from the skin or genital area (2), including nocturnal emissions (16-17), sexual activity (18), menstruation (19), or coming in contact with an unclean person, related fluids, or anything they have touched makes us unclean.

So, the biblical concept of uncleanness doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with becoming dirty, as after a long day in the field when one is covered in dust, grime and sweat; it relates more to the kinds of biological contamination which leads to infection and disease when left to accumulate and decay over time.

The proper response when we become unclean is to wash ourselves and all contaminated clothing and wait until the evening before engaging in any temple-related activity. (5-7, 11, 16-18, 31) Cleansing from oozing that continues over time (a running issue, including menstruation) requires a full week after the oozing stops and a small sacrifice at the temple. (13-15, 19, 28-29)

Numbers 19 describes a different level of uncleanness due to touching (11) or being in an enclosed space with a corpse. (14) This type of uncleanness requires being sprinkled with water containing the ashes of a red heifer sacrificed at the temple. (17-19)

Deuteronomy: 12-14 tells us how to properly dispose of bodily excrement so we don’t become unclean: bury it in a dedicated space well away from our living area, which modern toilets conveniently and effectively accomplish for us.

Since the earthly temple is inactive for now, and since it is not necessarily sinful to become unclean, washing ourselves, contaminated clothing and other objects comprises a godly protocol when we do. This is natural for most in first-world countries and should be routine for believers.

Certain types of uncleanness are intrinsic to human nature, such as the female menstrual cycle and marital sexual activity; they’re good and wholesome, designed by God and part of the natural rhythm of life. (He 13:4)

Uncleanness becomes sinful when we neglect to follow God’s prescription for dealing with it as well as we can and maintain lifestyles free of unnecessary uncleanness. (1Th 4:7) Wanting to live in a state of uncleanness, as an end in itself, is certainly contrary to the spirit of Torah and characterizes the spiritually corrupt. (2Pe 2:10) Such a lifestyle is not Love (Ro 13:10); it’s rooted in selfishness and indiscretion.

Repenting of uncleanness evidently requires a change of mind about the spiritual aspects of physical cleanliness, making it a point to become familiar with God’s instructions and obey them. Perhaps there’s wisdom in the old adage, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

And as with most all of God’s instructions related to physical things, there are spiritual principles embedded within them. As we live in a world of spiritual darkness and uncleanness, we invariably react in ways which are misaligned with Torah; unholy feelings and attitudes ooze out from our fleshly nature, and we cannot help but become spiritually contaminated. (Ro 7:18)

As we reflect on our lives (Ps 119:9), we can often identify areas or instances where we have become spotted by the flesh. (Ja 1:27) The remedy is to regularly bathe our hearts, minds and spirits with Scripture, asking God to sanctify and cleanse us with the washing of the water by the Word as we meditate on His Way (Ep 5:26), displacing uncleanness with truth as God speaks the Word into us by His Spirit. (Jn 15:3) We should be doing this daily, not letting spiritual uncleanness accumulate, harden and fester within us.

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First Partaker

“Practice what you preach”; I heard it often growing up, like a bedrock shaping my character and values. I’m grateful for the parental and cultural influences, but I never realized where this wisdom originally came from.

Turns out the credit goes to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when He says, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” (Mt 23:2-3) He calls out the “Do as I say, not as I do” crowd, unwilling to submit to the counsel they impose on others. Instinctively we agree; this is weak, undisciplined, presumptuous, hypocritical, harmful. (Mt 7:15-16)

Christ’s wisdom here may be key to understanding His exhortation: “The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.” (2Ti 2:6) It’s an interesting insight to offer His servants and it isn’t obvious what He’s driving at. Like any obscure spiritual nugget, it’s worth some prayerful meditation.

The immediate context is finding strength in Christ to live out the practical reality of the spiritual life (1) while discipling others in the Way. (2) God recognizes how incredibly difficult this is and exhorts us to think like soldiers, hardening ourselves, toughening up for battle. (3) He’s inviting us into 100% commitment and dedication, minimizing unnecessary temporal distractions to focus on pleasing only Him. (4)

He then employs the metaphor of athletes training to win the gold: we must compete according to the rules of the game. (5) Such is God’s set up for this intriguing insight: the laboring farmer must first partake of his harvest. (6) We should ponder what He’s saying, looking to God to help us understand it all. (7)

The farming metaphor appears to reference the Torah precept regarding a man who’s planted a vineyard but hasn’t yet eaten anything produced by it: he is not allowed to engage in battling God’s enemies. (De 20:6) Evidently, spiritual warfare is for those who’ve grown strong in Christ by living out of what they’ve been sowing, who’re thriving as they eat of the fruit of their own journey. (2Co 10:3-5)

As we encourage each other in living for Christ (as we’re all called to do – He 10:24-25), we must be living for Christ ourselves, working out the practical details of what it really means to follow Him in every aspect of our lives. In other words, our theology and doctrine must be down-to-earth, livable, and we must be following our own teaching: we must be practicing what we preach. (Php 4:9)

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The Same Loveth Little

In the story of the forgiven woman (Lk 7:47), Christ reveals a natural correlation between love for Him and a perception of how much one has been forgiven. So, if I only love Christ Jesus a little bit, this is because I think I have only been forgiven a little bit.

This is certainly a key to help me grow in my love for Yeshua Messiah, into an overwhelming appreciation and thanksgiving for His willingness to redeem me: I may explore my own forgiveness by exploring my own sinfulness, for all my sin is primarily against Christ, the eternal Creditor with Whom I have to deal. (He 4:13) So, how much have I been forgiven?

It isn’t hard to acknowledge that my sins are many, and that they’re inexcusable. (Ro 3:19) Yet these are merely the sins I am aware of, which I can recall, and I happen to think they are not so very bad; I have never been drunk or murdered anyone, nor ever even wanted to experience sex outside of marriage. I’ve been pretty good so far, at least by human standards. (2Co 10:12)

But there are certainly many other sins long forgotten, where I knew I was sinning against God and was only afraid of being caught. Of these I have also been freely forgiven. Yet even then, being forgiven a bit of youthful mischief doesn’t move my heart to tears. (Ps 25:7)

Then I must proceed in faith to acknowledge that these are not the worst of my sins, for I have learned to measure sin by the harm I think it causes others, and whether I think they deserve it or not. (Ge 3:22a)

Yet God does not measure sin this way; He evaluates sin based on how I have disvalued and dishonored Him — in other words, He is looking at my behavior in light of the First and Great Command, that I love Jehovah God with my whole heart, with my entire being. (Mt 22:37-38)

In other words, the greatest of my sins are in violating the greatest command, and these sins are against an infinitely worthy God, so they are effectively infinite in degree or magnitude (Ps 103:11): I really have no idea how much God has actually forgiven me. (Is 6:5) So, I am, in fact, largely clueless about the very worst of my sins; the severity is largely hidden from me. (Is 64:6)

And further, as if this were not enough, what of all the sin I would have committed, even as a believer, if God had not mercifully intervened and restrained me? (Ge 20:6) What manner of sin lies hidden here, for which I would certainly be guilty had God not been holding me back all this time? (Php 2:13) This is certainly real, yet also a bit clinical and academic: I struggle to appreciate it fully from my heart.

Ultimately, I must also consider my eternal fate if Father God had not chosen me to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. (2Th 2:13) What horrendous crimes might I have committed apart from the irresistible grace of God? These might have exceeded the depravity of every other living soul, past present and future. Since I would certainly have committed them if God had left me entirely to myself, I must account that I have been released even from these, though I did not actually commit them. (1Ti 1:15)

Until I can stand alongside the forgiven woman, weeping with rejoicing before Jesus Christ in overwhelming appreciation for the infinite mercy He has lavished upon me, washing His feet with my tears, I need God to continue to help me understand the infinite magnitude of my sin, and the incredible mercy He has shown me in saving my soul from death. (1Ti 1:16)

The place to return and wait for such grace is the foot of the Cross, the throne of grace (He 4:16), contemplating the infinite price Christ Jesus freely paid on my behalf. (2Co 5:21) Any lesser penalty would have been insufficient to atone for my crimes.

The King Himself, Who has every right to be angry with me (1Th 1:10), has chosen instead to wash me from my sins in His own blood. (Re 1:5) and adopt me as His own son. (Ro 8:15) It cost Him everything to do this for me … literally everything. (He 4:16) It makes perfect sense to start here, and stay here, until I get it. (1Co 2:2) He will help me. (Ro 7:24-25a)

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Jehovah by Wisdom

The vast wisdom and understanding Jehovah God displayed in creating the universe is indeed profound (Pr 3:19); His works are manifold, all designed with infinite precision. (Ps 104:24) One way to explore them lies in what physicists call the fine-tuning of the universe.

Pillars of Creation, J. Webb Space Telescope

For example, the gravitational force G, describing how objects are attracted to one another, must be within a range of one part in 10⁶⁰; if it were slightly stronger or weaker, the universe would not support complex life forms. This is like randomly selecting a particular atom out of all the atoms in the Milky Way galaxy.

There are evidently at least a dozen other parameters, such as the strong and weak nuclear forces, the electromagnetic force and the cosmological constant, which must each be set within a very narrow range (say 2-5%) along with G in order for the universe to support human life. If any of these values are not set correctly, our universe doesn’t work for us.

The obvious implication of this fine-tuning is that there is a wise Creator Who designed the universe very wisely for a specific purpose (Ro 1:20): to support human life so He can reveal Himself to us and through us. While this conclusion isn’t scientific per se (since it isn’t an experiment we can repeat), it is exceptionally strong circumstantial evidence, especially when considering similar arguments in Origin of Life research, that should be a slam dunk in any rational discussion of our existence.

The reason this particular evidence is so strong is that there are only two basic alternatives here: either the universe is designed by God, or it isn’t, in which case it happened randomly by mere chance. Since atheists typically reject the first option a priori, they try to explain how the apparent design of our universe could be the result of purely random processes.

Since atheists can’t rationally expect anyone to believe an entire universe (ours) exploded spontaneously out of nothing with all of these parameters randomly set perfectly correctly on the first go-round under such astronomically low odds, they ask us all to believe there must be an infinite number of universes randomly springing spontaneously out of nothing. An infinite number of randomly generated universes is the only way to overcome the fine-tuning argument, to get a universe with all the right physical properties without a Creator.

But there is no scientific evidence of the existence of any other universe except our own, and it would appear there never could be, by definition.

There is also no scientific explanation for how any universe springs into existence ex-nihilo (out of nothing) all on its own without an independent causal agent to create it. The very concept is inherently self-contradictory on a very basic level.

So, the only way to evade the fine-tuning argument for an intelligent Creator God appears to be to presume the existence of a mindless, inert machine (effectively, a sort of god) randomly creating universes with no purpose or intent. In other words, we can believe in a living God or an inert, mindless one.

Why would anyone cling to the remote and unscientific concept of an inert, mindless god rather than trust in the Living God? Perhaps it is an unwillingness to submit to the living God and honor Him. (Ro 1:21) I don’t see any other reasonable way to account for such behavior.

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The Elders

The Church of the Living God has both a distinct leadership structure and a unique purpose, and each of these complements the other; if we get either one wrong, we’ll likely get the other one wrong as well.

Many churches today are led by a pastor, yet a pastor isn’t one who is called to lead the church; the Holy Spirit calls pastors (i.e. shepherds) to care for the spiritual well-being of others, part of His overall design for edifying the body of Christ. (Ep 4:11-12) This includes counseling, encouraging teaching and mentoring others, but this is not the same as leadership. When the pastor leads the church, the intended purpose and function of the church is largely stifled.

Many other churches are led by a group of men called elders, as if Elder is an office or leadership position in the local church. Yet, once again, this is not found in Scripture: there is no church office of Elder; the term refers to the older men of the congregation (1Ti 5:1), not to an official position. Yet, even the elders aren’t called to lead the church, they’re not supposed to be calling all the shots. The church is in fact largely incapacitated by such a dynamic.

The older men of the congregation are expected to be spiritually mature (Ti 2:2), instructing, mentoring, counseling and guiding others to help nourish and protect spiritual community. (1Pe 5:1-3) This is organic leadership by example, not by having any official position. (1Ti 5:17)

The Scripture defines the role of Bishop (1Ti 3:1) for providing a more general oversight of the church, and it clearly describes the qualifications for this function. (2-7) The older men of the congregation (the elders) who meet these character qualifications may be ordained (Ti 1:5) (appointed, set in place or acknowledged) to be bishops (7); these men accept more accountability for the general health of the local Body of Christ (He 13:17), engaging in broader, more encompassing responsibility to take care of the church as a whole. (1Ti 1:5)

This role of Bishop comprises the character qualities expected in elders who have lived a godly life, so the older men who are spiritually qualified may be officially recognized and ordained to fulfill this role in the Church. Indeed, in some churches, most or all of the elders might qualify, so the terms elder and bishop are sometimes used interchangeably (Ac 20:17, 28), yet there are still key differences which should not be overlooked.

An older man who isn’t fully qualified to be a bishop (such as the Apostle Paul himself, since he was unmarried and had no children or household to manage) will generally still have much wisdom and experience enabling him to mentor, care for and disciple others. Such men are still considered leaders in their civil communities and families (De 22:15), so it will be natural for them to have similar roles within spiritual communities (1Ti 5:19-20), though the responsibility of officially representing the church to the outside world falls to those who are entirely qualified and above reproach: the bishops. (1Ti 3:7)

Yet none of these giftings or roles qualify one to lead the church: oversight is not necessarily the same as leadership, in the sense of making decisions. The church is to be led by the brothers: the congregation of men as a whole. This is the key leadership role in the church, and if we don’t get this right, everything else breaks down. (1Ti 3:15)

The brothers are all expected to actively participate in meetings to edify each other (which is the purpose of the church) (1Co 14:26) and to reach decisions by consensus (Mt 18:17), effectively defining the leadership structure.

In God’s design, all the men of the congregation come together to share out of their own personal life experiences, of their struggles and victories, offering up their own understanding of scripture for the entire congregation to consider, the brothers debating and validating everything as needed for the edification of all, teaching, challenging, edifying and exhorting one another in the Faith. (He 10:25) This just doesn’t happen when a small group has decided they’re in charge, and this is no coincidence.

It should not be surprising that it is nearly impossible to find any churches meeting now like the early church did; the biblical leadership model of the local church is completely foreign to most of us today, yet we wonder why the churches are so broken, failing to see the connection. In working out the details of obeying key biblical patterns and principles for the local church, we find these two concepts of purpose and leadership inextricably interconnected by divine design.

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If We Confess

Being forgiven by God is part and parcel of what it means to be justified (Ac 13:38-39) or saved (Ro 5:9), to be His child. If we die with any sin which isn’t forgiven by God, which is not washed away by the blood of Christ (Re 1:5), the consequence is spiritual death (Ez 18:4), separation from God forever in Hell. (Ro 6:23) So, it’s vital to ensure that all our sins are forgiven, every last one of them. (Co 2:13)

If we make forgiveness of our sin conditional upon our confession, then by definition this behavior becomes a means of earning or maintaining salvation, since it implies we’re lost forever if we don’t faithfully confess all our sins.

This is effectively salvation by works, or legalism, which the Scripture rejects as inconsistent with the Gospel: we’re justified by faith (Ro 3:28), not by works. (Ga 5:4)

God’s salvation doesn’t require that we act a certain way to keep it; rather, it produces behavior within us reflecting the divine nature; we become new creatures (2Co 5:17), moving away from sin to walk with God.

Striving against sin is an ongoing process where we’re growing over time; no believer is perfectly sinless this side of Heaven (Ro 7:21); we continue to sin in ways we hardly even comprehend (1Jn 1:8), but we don’t commit ourselves to a life of willful, presumptuous sin. (1Jn 3:8-10)

As believers, once we realize we’ve sinned we acknowledge this before God; we confess our sin, agreeing with God about it, and look to Him to help us overcome sin, knowing He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9)

He doesn’t forgive us because we confess our sin, Father God forgives us because Jesus died for us and paid our sin debt once for all. (He 10:14) Confession is how we restore our fellowship with God, how we walk in the light (1Jn 1:7), not how we get Him to forgive us.

Confession does not cause forgiveness; we believers are forgiven of all our sins — past, present and future sins. Confession of sin is simply the natural response for us as we become aware of our sins, and when we do confess we can rest assured we’re forgiven: He never even charges us with sin. (Ro 4:7-8) This is the only way we can be sure of our salvation: God has already accomplished it for us. (Ro 7:16)

We may confirm 1^st John 1:9 does not teach this cause-and-effect relationship between confession of sin and forgiveness by carefully noting what it says, and what the text doesn’t say. It says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The text does not say, “If we don’t confess our sins, God will not forgive us.”

This latter statement, which many infer from this verse, is called the Inverse and it’s not logically equivalent to the original (it means something different). To illustrate, I might say, “If it rains I will go to the store.” If it doesn’t rain and I do go to the store, I’m not being inconsistent; I didn’t say what I would do if it didn’t rain, only what I would do if it did rain. So, 1^st John 1:9 says nothing about what God will do if we don’t confess a particular sin; it simply affirms that as we confess our sins we may be confident we’re forgiven.

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Striving Against Sin

Overcoming sin in our lives is a really big deal; Scripture presumes we’re earnestly striving against sin (He 12:2) and that we aren’t done yet. (Ro 7:21-23) What does this struggle look like and how do we engage in this fight?

Firstly, we must become aware of the specific sins we’re committing, either doing what we shouldn’t (1Jn 3:1a) or not doing what we should. (Ja 4:17) To do so we must start paying attention to what we’re thinking and doing and how we’re feeling. We must take heed and observe how we’re living (Ps 119:9), focusing in on what’s motivating and driving us. We can’t intentionally correct our sinful behavior unless we’re aware of it.

Secondly, we must correctly classify each behavior as holy or sinful, which requires properly understanding the divine moral standard and accepting God’s definition of sin: sin is breaking Torah. (1Jn 3:4) Whenever we’re sinning, we’re violating God’s Law, and whenever we’re violating God’s Law, we’re sinning. This is how God defines and identifies sin. To even begin to fight against sin, we must first get this straight.

Then we must put these first two steps together: start paying attention to our behavior with a proper understanding of sin. Whenever our behavior is violating God’s Law, especially in a repeating pattern, we have a stronghold of sin to contend with, to strive against and overcome. (2Co 10:5)

Identifying sin is easier when we’re suffering from it, but we’re often blind to our worst sins, the ones we should really be focusing on. We can be asking God to search our hearts (He 4:12), exposing our sin and helping us identify it (Ps 139:23-24a), and guide us on what to work on next. (24b) This is when we can begin to fight, when the struggle begins in earnest.

Then we must do a bit of earnest root-cause analysis: why are we sinning? (Lk 6:46) There’s a reason we’re committing any particular sin; to stop we must find the underlying problem and correct it: we’re believing a lie related to this particular behavior. Sin is grounded in deceit (Ro 7:11); believing the truth sets us free from the dominion of sin. (Jn 8:32) We must pinpoint the lies we’re holding on to, which are deceiving us into desiring sin (Ja 2:13-15), and start believing the truth. (2Th 2:13)

There might be a whole web of lies keeping us in bondage to a particular lifestyle (Ro 7:23), but the Son can set us free by helping us believe the truth. (Jn 8:36)

As we prayerfully and regularly expose our minds and hearts to His Word (Ps 119:11), which is the Truth (Jn 17:17), pressing in on those particular verses which relate specifically to our struggle (Mt 4:3-4), He can help us believe His words and deliver us from sin. (Ja 1:21) He gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God. (Ga 1:4)

If we aren’t making good progress, try as we might, we should engage spiritual community, confessing where we’re struggling so others can pray for us to be healed (Ja 5:16) and point us to the truth. (Ja 5:19-20) At times we need help from our brothers and sisters, and this is God’s wonderful design.

And we shouldn’t be surprised if it takes time to correct deeply held beliefs. If we’ve been training ourselves to think a certain way most of our lives, it might take some prolonged effort to renew our minds in the truth. (Ro 12:2) Just as it takes time to heal and retrain our bodies when we’re in poor physical health (1Ti 4:7-8), we should be consistent and disciplined in our pursuit of godliness (2Pe 1:4-8), patient with ourselves and thankful for any progress we see.

This is striving to believe (Mk 9:24), a faith-struggle to rid ourselves of all the lies holding us captive and keeping us in bondage. This is war, a fight to the death; we should engage like soldiers in combat (2Ti 2:3-4), not expect to overcome as we watch passively from the sidelines.

Wherever the enemy has taken us prisoner, Jesus Christ is offering us the key to freedom and fullness; we shouldn’t be content to remain in our chains. Yeshua has fully committed Himself to this fight (Ti 2:14); He’s all in and will set us free as we cleanse ourselves through Him. (2Co 7:1)

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Unskillful in the Word

It is often claimed the Bible does not teach Sola Scriptura, that Scripture itself does not teach that Scripture is our only authority in faith and morality and that we’re each responsible to interpret Scripture for ourselves.

If something as important as Sola Scriptura is true, one would expect it to be evident in Scripture. Perhaps it is, and just we can’t see it; maybe we’re expecting it to be stated in a certain way, unable to perceive it as He’s actually stated it.

Or it may be that we don’t want to see it because we’re unwilling to obey it. (Jn 1:17)

One way to tackle this is to observe that if any scripture is inconsistent with rejecting Sola Scriptura, Scripture is effectively stating Sola Scriptura via Proof by Contradiction. To recognize the truth in such a context we must carefully think through the implications of the passage, or we’ll likely miss it.

Consider the last part of Hebrews 5, where God accuses believers who’ve been in the Faith a while with neglect for being unskilled in interpreting Scripture. (He 5:12-14) They are expected to have a reasonably good handle on Scripture by this time, able to use it to parse out difficult moral dilemmas and articulate their faith. If we’re not expected to interpret Scripture for ourselves, and to interpret it properly, this passage makes no sense. This proves Sola Scriptura by contradiction.

And when Paul exhorts Timothy to be diligent to demonstrate he’s approved by God, a laborer in the Word who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly interpreting Scripture (2Ti 2:15), he’s telling Timothy to immerse himself in the Word, pondering it day after day, comparing Scripture with Scripture, until he can demonstrate how all of his personal beliefs are consistent with all of Scripture. Again, if we aren’t expected to interpret Scripture for ourselves, and accountable to God for how we interpret it, this passage makes no sense, proving Sola Scriptura by contradiction.

And when Paul exhorts Titus to ordain to the office of bishop older men who have a firm grasp of Scripture, who are able to challenge and expose false teachers (2Ti 2:15), he’s telling us all by example to immerse ourselves in the Word, pondering it day after day, comparing Scripture with Scripture, until we can reason properly from Scripture to expose those who are trying to exalt themselves through false teaching. Again, if we aren’t expected to interpret Scripture for ourselves, and accountable to God for how we do so, this passage makes no sense, proving Sola Scriptura by contradiction.

And when God commends the Ephesian church for exposing false apostles (Re 2:2), He presumes we have an infallible authority by which to evaluate and expose deceptive authority figures who would lead us astray, which by definition cannot merely be other men claiming the apostolic role. Disqualifying one claiming to be an apostle of Christ requires showing their message to be inconsistent with the words of Christ. This requires having the written, infallible Word and the ability to interpret it correctly. Again, if we aren’t expected to interpret Scripture for ourselves, and accountable to God for how we do, this passage makes no sense, proving Sola Scriptura by contradiction.

If we’re unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of rightly dividing the Word, since that takes a lot of investment on our part, a lot of soul searching, much prayerful pondering and digging, if we don’t care much about finding the truth for ourselves and owning our personal beliefs before God, thinking we can delegate this to others and that God won’t mind too much if we’re wrong, we’ll be looking for ways to support that mindset, and be totally blind to what the Word is actually saying.

When God tells us to labor to enter into His rest (He 4:11), to strive to enter the heavenly kingdom (Lk 13:24), to give diligence to make our election sure (2Pe 1:10), to search the Scriptures to ensure we have eternal salvation (Jn 5:39), to obediently receive His Word into our inmost being since it’s able to save our souls (Ja 1:21), He’s warning us we have no excuse if we neglect His offer of salvation (He 2:3), if we don’t personally seek the Lord until we’re absolutely sure we belong to Him. (Mt 7:13-14)

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Ga 6:7-8)

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What Saith the Scripture?

The Bible is an amazing, self-referencing work of art: interwoven within it are 63,779 cross-references which elaborate on and explain what it means, depicted in this beautiful diagram.

The base comprises a vertical line for each chapter in the Bible, with Genesis 1 on the left, where the length of each line reflects the number of verses in that chapter (the long line in the center is Psalm 119) and complete books alternate in shades of grey. Each cross-reference is depicted by an arc with a color corresponding to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect.

And these are the explicit references, inviting us to explore the innumerable interconnections embedded within and among the various concepts and how they all interrelate with, build on and flesh one another out. (Ps 139:17-18) God has breathed out this entire text: He inspired it (2Ti 3:16), and surgically leverages these living interconnections as He pleases in the hearts of those who are seeking Him. (Ja 1:21)

Through His Word He comforts and guides us in our individual, particular circumstances (He 4:12), enabling us to engage with His Spirit and understand His Heart, to fully furnish, guide and equip us in living with and for Him. (2Ti 3:16-17)

God inspires His Word like this, with infinite depth, precision and scope, so we can meditate on it endlessly (Ps 1:2), comparing Scripture with Scripture (Mt 4:4), searching out all the treasures of His nature and Way. (Pr 2:4-5)

For example, through part of a verse hidden in an obscure, messianic prophecy written by Isaiah hundreds of years earlier (Is 49:8), the Apostle Paul discovers salvation is available now (2Co 6:2) to all who earnestly seek Him. (1)

Moments later, Paul weaves a thread from Leviticus (Le 26:12) into another from Ezekiel (Ez 3:27) to understand how God indwells and infuses the community of believers as a living temple. (2Co 6:16) In his very next breath (17-18) he blends several more distinct references together to call all believers to come out and separate ourselves from the world (Is 52:11) so God will receive us into His family as sons (2Sa 7:14) and daughters, just as He has promised. (Is 43:6)

Paul leverages these exceeding great and precious promises (2Pe 1:4) to exhort all believers to pursue perfect holiness in the fear of God. (2Co 7:1)

How does Paul do this? As he memorizes the Old Testament (Ps 119:9) and meditates on it continually (Ps 119:97), God shows up, teaching him and revealing precious truths to him (Ep 3:3-4), to equip him in his calling to preach the Gospel to the nations. (6-7) God is showing us His willingness to personally nourish and instruct each of us Himself through His written Word. (Ep 4:21)

The Scripture foresees and preaches (Ga 3:8), speaking as though it were alive (Ro 10:11); we’re to let His words dwell in us richly (Co 3:16), saturating our minds and hearts with them (Je 15:16), focusing and seeking infinite riches (Ps 19:10-11): His very words are Spirit, and they are Life. (Jn 6:63) They will never pass away. (Mt 24:35)

What treasure remains hidden in these vibrant, living texts, just waiting to be discovered? (Pr 2:3-6) They are vast, the unsearchable riches of Christ await us. (Ep 3:8) O God! Open our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of Your Law. (Ps 119:18)

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