Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, “The Scriptures a Safeguard”, pages 593-602, in The Great Controversy.
Tradition, experience, culture, reason, and the Bible are all present in our reflection on the Word of God.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
The decisive question is: Which of these sources has the final say and the ultimate authority in our theology? It is one thing to affirm the Bible, but it is something else altogether to allow the Bible, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to impact and change the life.
In one sense, culture, experience, reason and even tradition, in and of themselves, might not of necessity be bad. They become problems when they contradict what Scripture teaches. But that is, often, to be expected. What’s worse, however, is when these things take precedence over the Word of God. So much of the history of apostasy in both Old Testament and New Testament times is when outside influences took precedence over divine revelation.
Discussion Questions:
- Why is it easier to uphold details of some human traditions than to live the spirit of God’s law: to love the Lord our God with all my heart and soul and mind and my neighbor as myself (see Matt. 22:37-40)?
- In class, discuss your answer to Sunday’s final question. What role should tradition play in our church? Where do you see blessings and challenges in religious traditions?
- How can we make sure that tradition, no matter how good it may be, does not supersede the Written Word of God as our final norm and authority?
- Suppose someone claims to have had a dream in which the Lord spoke to him or her, telling him or her that Sunday is the true day of rest and worship for New Testament times. How would you respond to that person, and what does a story like this teach us about how experience must always be tested by the Word of God?
- In class, talk about the culture in which your church finds itself immersed. How does that culture impact your faith? What examples can we find from history in which culture greatly impacted the actions of church members in a way that, looking back now, we see as negative? What lessons can we take from this for ourselves today, so that we don’t make similar mistakes?
|
<–Thursday
(14)
Interpretation – “The prince of preachers Charles H Spurgeon he had been called the greatest contributor to the spread of the gospel in the 19th Century. One of his contemporaries said that the chief secret of Charles Spurgeon’s attractiveness is that in every sermon no matter what the text or the occasion he explained the way of salvation in simple terms. “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself."
https://www.spurgeongems.org/spurgeon-audio/
Tradition – A powerful instrument for good and bad use it wisely. When the tradition has lost its meaning, we must be willing to let go of the tradition.
Experience – Coronavirus experience teaches of all the weapons in the world we have no control and reminds us of a sovereign God.
Love – HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS WINS! We believe in satan’s lie running around like chicken with its head being cut off to accumulate not realizing in the end thereof is death.
Reason - “Reason became the new authority before which everything else had to bow, including the authority of the church and, more dramatically, even the authority of the Bible as God’s Word.” Frank M. Hasel Sabbath School Lesson April 22, 2020
The Bible – “First, we should always remember that Christ is the center of Daniel, as He is of the entire Bible.” 2020Q1 Sabbath School Lesson 1 January 4th 2020
It is only the living fish swims against the current of the stream. As Christians, we are not of the world; therefore, very often we will be found going against, culture, tradition and human reasoning. When we trust and surrender to Him, the impossible becomes possible in and through Him.
The sticking point about believing the Bible for the average unchurched person is the expression of supernatural events. Miracles and epiphanies simply do not occur for them, and worse, often the modern claimed miracles turn out to either coincidences or hoaxes. We live in a culture that is highly cynical. It is worth reflecting on how difficult it is to change a person's mind on something. Once we have made up our minds on something it is very difficult to change our minds. It should be no surprise then, that for most people, changing their minds about the supernatural, and consequently, the Bible is a difficult task.
To those of us who do believe in the Bible and who want to tell unbelievers about its importance, the message is clear. We have to be a living expression of the Biblical principles embodied in the saving grace of Jesus. I will repeat something I have said before:
The miracle of the resurrection of Jesus makes no sense at all if we do not let Jesus live in our lives. Salvation is not just about eternal life beyond the grave or close of time, but about living now. If Jesus is not living in us now, he may as well be still in the grave. The believable "supernatural" for the cynics and sceptics is to see and experience the life of Jesus in practising Christians. We have a whole raft of expressions that say this; "the Holy Spirit working through us!", "Living in Christ", "maintaining the relationship with Jesus", and so on.
The key point in today's lesson says it so well:
It is another way of saying that the way you practise your beliefs gives credence to what you believe.
Maurice, I want to thank you so much for your daily analysis. I find it both enriching and sometimes more relevant than the bible studies themselves.
With regards to your comment that the only evidence to we need for unchurched people is to have people see God through our lives, have you read the book "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel? I think it provides some good historical evidence that the Bible is actually more credible than people may initially think. I'm curious what your opinion is to use reason in addition to faith to explain the Bible, given your background with science?
I don't think that God calls us to give up our reasoning in order to believe in him.
Isaiah made a really significant link between reason and salvation:
... and I don't think he used the word reason just because it sounds poetic.
When it comes to science and faith, there is an obvious tension but what causes tension for some provides a challenge to others to resolve. I look at science as revealing something about how God works. I am currently reading a book on DNA - a very hard topic for Christians when we really look into it - but I find that the data organisation and structure of DNA gives me an insight into how God has given life the flexibility and robustness to exist.
I have not read the book, the Case for Christ, but I have seen the movie. I am not a big fan of movies because they have to condense a whole argument into roughly 2 hours of entertainment and that is simply not the media for a serious evaluation. Never-the-less, I did see enough to be impressed with the argument as presented. It avoided the rank assertiveness of some apologetic arguments and that really stood in its favour. I have access to the book and will read it in due course.
If we want to do as the lesson suggests in discussion question 3 and hold the Bible as "our final norm and authority", then we need to keep in mind that the English and modern languages translations of the Bible are a reflection of the traditions, culture, experience, and reason of the translators.
And even when we go back to looking at the original languages wording, we still need to keep in mind that the original writers were writing from within their traditions, culture, experiences and reason.
Thus the influence of tradition, culture, experience and reason is unavoidable. What we therefore need to do is to acknowledge such and take it into account when studying the Bible as our norm and authority.
This is not to say that the Bible is not authoritative - but that we need to do more digging and unpacking within our Bible study under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:14) to progressively more rightly divide/interpret its contents (2 Timothy 2:15). Do not be daunted by this process for God has promised that all who genuinely and persistently seek to know Him and the way to abundant life (John 1:3; 10:10) will find it (Matthew 7:7,8). The process of Bible interpretation is not primarily a process for intellectually 'smart' people - it is more dependent upon the hunger of the seeker.
For those who are hungry, God will ensure they are filled if they unite with Him and put in the effort under the guidance and empowering of His Spirit. Doing so will result in both knowledge and life-transformation.
Phil, I would point to passages such as Prov 22:20-21, and then ask ourselves if God is able to bring to me in my language sufficient evidence of Truth, no matter who wrote/translated it?
I believe that Truth is self-evident and that, as Jesus taught, the Holy Spirit will "convince the world" of what that truth means to each individual in their sphere of culture/tradition/experience/reason. The Bible is the Word of God, and He has not lost track of it in the least, though some may think He has. Every writer/translator was under the eye of an infinite God and true Author. Yes, careful study is required, but not out of anyone's reach, regardless of their ability and experience. Look what the boy Jesus achieved in 12 years, which is possible for any who would follow Him.
As the psalmist wrote: The truth of the Lord endures forever, praise ye the Lord!"(ps 117:2)
“...for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (1 Pt 1:20,21). It was the Holy Spirit’s influence and culture that “spoke”. When humans spoke according to their culture they spewed lies. Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”(Matt 16:15-17), by the Spirit. When he spoke according to his culture he swore that he would never deny Christ. Furthermore he spoke satanic language in his effort to turn Christ from His mission. Balaam intended to prophecy against Israel according to his culture, but by the Spirit spoke heavenly things. His donkey spoke the word of God to him, not in donkey-speak or culture. God’s prophet speaks the words of God uninfluenced by culture. Christ advised that when brought to trial under persecution we need not prepare any speech “... for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”(Matt 10:19,20).
God is not influenced or persuaded or limited by earthly things. He created all things.
Help me Jesus, when the roll is call up, I want to be there.
Quote from above. In one sense, culture, experience, reason and even tradition, in and of themselves, might not of necessity be bad. They become problems when they contradict what Scripture teaches.
Yes, that is true. For example, some culture might eat meat from the cow as allowed in the bible. Some culture might not eat meat from the cow because they are vegetarian. Still yet some might not eat the cow's meat because they believe in reincarnation. Others might not because they believe the cow is holy and is good for worship or for the purpose of doing work. Which of these culture are correct and why?
Why do we study the Bible?
Do we "study the Scriptures diligently because (we) think that in them (we) have eternal life(?) These are the very Scriptures that testify about (Jesus),"
JOHN 5:39
In Jesus times, perhaps many Jews studied the Scriptures because they longed for an earthly Savior from Rome. Are we looking for salvation from our earthly misery too? Christians found out only after Jesus death that God's reign was not from here.
"the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures" ROMANS 1:2
If we are not conscious about the error, would that make me free from judgement? Do we claim these excuses too?
“Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?" MARK 12:24
What matters most in the Scriptures/Bible is Jesus! Because
"everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." ROMANS 15:4
I like the first question JC asked, “Why do we study the Bible?”
I’m sure each person has a different answer, but I had to sit and digest that question. Why am I studying the Bible. Having grown up SDA, I knew all the Bible stories, all the Bedtime Stories and had memorized the memory verse so I would get my card at Sabbath School filled with gold stars, but had not actually learned what the Bible was telling me. It wasn’t until the last 3 or 4 years, that I felt a deep desire to know, for myself, what is in the scriptures. How to know that what I blindly believed my whole life, was true. It’s been amazing to go through scripture and see prophecies unfold, to finally understand what God’s desire is for my life and why do I want to be in heaven. The Holy Spirit is a faithful guide, and He will lead you into all truth, if I follow and obey. Why else would Satan work so hard at tearing down scripture? Why else would he put doubt in our minds about Gods law?
Maurice - responding to your comment that there are many obstacles to believing that there is a God.
Respectfully, but - obviously, Yes! They always have been and always will be! These 'sticking points' are the hurdles that men's words can not overcome - no matter how eloquent or well reasoned.
Because we have to come to God through faith, this is the real obstacle for the unbeliever!
Conveying the message of the risen Savior with OUR words is ineffectual on the people who do not believe in the Creator God of the universe and all that is in it in the first place.
Psalm 14 speaks to that.
Desiring to walk in God's ways starts with Faith.
How, what and why?
First, He created the Light that reaches out to find/resonate within man's heart, eventually awakes/enlightens him and then teaches him the how and why to walk in it.
Heb.11 - can we explain the way faith works better with our own words?
Maybe asking the unbeliever to read this chapter and engage with him in a conversation about it will move the heart that even so slightly and 'clandestinely' seeks the Truth.
One of the many obstacles is the Social Gospel. There is great danger in looking through the lens of the Social gospel - doing good works - in order to establish value of himself within his heart.
It is in direct conflict and in competition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Actually, I believe that it is one of the most effective tools of the usurper to deceive mankind. To trap mankind and lock us into looking toward ourselves as the source of good and therefor elevate/boost our ego (self-will) - which we are informed needs to die if we want to enter the kingdom of God.
Man is at the center of their effort in the first, Christ is at its center in the other.
As long as man looks at himself as the source of the effort and the deeds to do 'good', he is still walking in the darkness of this world.
Remember that God is Light/Spirit - in Him there is no 'darkness'. Jesus is the manifestation of this light/God to man so that we can see Him and come out from the darkness into His Light.
Those that reject this Light do so because they still walk in darkness and can not comprehend it and we have compassion on them.
The physicist in his work can, maybe, one day find the light, but he still will never be able to understand its creative source and power. If he did, he would be God.
Thank you for your many interesting comments. If you are not already doing so, I encourage you to include heartfelt prayer for those that have not come to live in the Light, to ask our heavenly Father to reveal Himself to them by His Mercies as we 'practice our beliefs that give credence to what we believe.'
This is, in my opinion, the only way for all of us to effect the 'blindness to the Truth', which is spiritual darkness.
Thank you for your response Brigitte. I appreciate your thoughts and I understand where you are coming from on the issue of the social gospel.
I would like to add that while we are critical of the "social gospel" as defined, there are still social aspects of the Gospel which cannot be ignored. Preaching the gospel has to be done in the social context of interaction with others. Jesus appreciated that and it is evidenced by his attendance at weddings, funerals, family gatherings, and synagogue meetings.
In our modern context, I have to have social contact with my unchurched friends in order to be a witness to them, and I have to witness to them in a language which they understand. It makes no sense for me to tell them that they need Jesus in their lives, because many of them carry baggage from hypocrisy and abuse from those bearing the label "Christian" in their past. The only hope of communication is to live a Christ-like life in such a way that they are drawn to him. That has to take place within social interaction. Our business is to break down the walls of prejudice and let the love of Christ shine though into their lives. Two things stand out as important: (1) arguing the Christian case does not work. (2) Listening communicates more than most of us realise.
Yes, I agree, Maurice -
I am pointing to the philosophy behind and promoted through the social gospel. In my understanding, it is designed by the cunning power of the challenger to God's power to be the Trojan Horse that, once pulled behind the gates of faith, which are build to protect the believer from deception by the usurper, unleashes untold damage to our desire to live by faith alone.
The true Good Works are designed and executed by the Holy Spirit's power and benefit/bless the giver and the receiver.
'Unbelievers' have found a safe heaven in the social gospel promoters' call for doing good works and join them gladly. By doing many good works, the unbeliever is trying to fill a void that only the Holy Spirit's light can fill in a believer's heart.
They are falling prey to the counterfeit, the usurper's lie - works. Works without faith are not able to generate 'Light'.
This is the great deception in our day and time -
Replacing the work of our faith and the renewing of our minds and hearts (sanctification), available to the believer through the death and resurrection and faith of our Savior, with the boost of strength/identity derived from belonging to the community of organized, world-wide disciples of good works.
By this, the usurper does away with the need to know the savior and rather keeps the focus on doing good works, never meeting or knowing the true Giver and His power to impart Salvation for a new life.
To the believer, God is the Source of faith and love. He causes our cup to run over, to be motivated and go to serve all in any capacity we are called to serve - and to HIM be the Glory forever.
*Adventism & Tradition/Culture*
I grew up in an urban set up but almost every holiday, my Father would, a day after school closing day, put me and my elder brother on the next public transport to our rural home. He was a strong believer that the village set up was a necessary part of training and discipline for children and especially his children. We loved going home and would look forward to school closing day but that is not really plot of my story.
I came to learn that there was a difference between tradition in the village and the urban churches we congregated in and for fear of being "judged," we had to adapt to the traditions in both churches even though both were & still are SDA churches. In the beginning it was all confusing but later we learnt to live with the difference.
While culture played a great role in how some parts of scripture was interpreted between these two Adventist churches, tradition dictated how ones faith was "looked" at in the two Adventist communities.
For example, being a Luo by tribe, culturally we don't circumcise and even in the modern world, it is left for the individual to decide. This cultural difference between the Luo dominated village church and the metropolitan urban church saw scripture dealing with the issue of circumcision interpreted differently. Some within the urban church felt, and it is still so today in some places, that they were a superior tribe because they were circumcised in the flesh and as such whenever the Apostle Paul's letters touching on circumcision were key points of study in the urban set up, there was discomfort and consequently some Sabbath School teachers and preachers avoided such scripture altogether for fear of being misunderstood and/or offensive.
Another example is that in the village set up where there was only a few benches in the church building, members were required to carry chairs from home. One interesting tradition back then was that on Sabbath, carrying anything on your head was considered "work" while carrying the same thing on your arms or beside you was not "work". As children, we would struggle with heavy chairs and "produce-tithes" carrying them with our hands as one would be "judged" to break the sabbath by carrying a load on their head. Carrying a Bible on ones head was frowned upon and considered breaking the Sabbath.
Today, As Adventists, we still keep good traditions handed down to us from generation to generation including
1. No lighting fire or cooking on the Sabbath.
2. Abstaining from "unclean" diet.
Although these traditions are good, they have in modern times brought not only conflict but Narcissism among believers where it is not uncommon to hear one believer gossiping about a fellow believer accusing them of breaking the Sabbath by lighting fire and cooking on the Sabbath and/or using forbidden beverages and flesh in their diet.
It is true, as the author observes,that "Tradition, experience, culture, reason, and the Bible are all present in our reflection on the Word of God." Some have gone to the extreme of forbidding taking a shower on the Sabbath, the use of deodorants and perfumes, just to mention a few.
As the Lesson author further puts it; "The decisive question is: Which of these sources has the final say and the ultimate authority in our theology? It is one thing to affirm the Bible, but it is something else altogether to allow the Bible, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to impact and change the life.
In one sense, culture, experience, reason and even tradition, in and of themselves, might not of necessity be bad. They become problems when they contradict what Scripture teaches. But that is, often, to be expected. What’s worse, however, is when these things take precedence over the Word of God. So much of the history of apostasy in both Old Testament and New Testament times is when outside influences took precedence over divine revelation." Like the Pharisees we risk instituting extra biblical tradition as the standard of measure for believers teaching the commandments of men as God's Word if we are not careful.
And instead of the laity being directed to Jesus as the Author & Finisher of our faith as the standard of Christian character, tradition and man made laws take precedence and those who excel thereof are looked upon as the cream of our faith but those who fall short are frowned upon and relegated to the bottom of the brotherhood.
May God give us the wisdom to tell the difference.
Hello, Walter -
Thank you for your contribution 'Adventism & Culture/Tradition'. I have read it with great interest.
I am very happy to find you understanding the dangers lurking in the organized churches when man's traditions and culture overtake Jesus' clean message to the believer and add the burdens of man's rules to weigh him down.
Yes, to just live by faith in the word and work of God and to become a free man requires the careful maintenance of a delicate balance.
Faith - Hope and Charity (Love) will always strengthen us when working to keep this balance.
I pray with you that God give us the wisdom to tell the difference!