Thursday: The Bible
The Holy Spirit, who has revealed and inspired the content of the Bible to human beings, will never lead us contrary to God’s Word or astray from the Word of God. For Seventh-day Adventists, the Bible has a higher authority than human tradition, experience, reason, or culture. The Bible alone is the norm by which everything else needs to be tested.
Read John 5:46-47; and John 7:38. For Jesus Christ, the Bible is the ultimate source for understanding spiritual matters. How does the Bible confirm that Jesus is the true Messiah?
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Some people claim to have received special “revelations” and instructions from the Holy Spirit, but these go against the clear message of the Bible. For them the Holy Spirit has attained a higher authority than God’s Word. Whoever nullifies the written and inspired Word of God and evades its clear message, is walking on dangerous ground and is not following the leading of God’s Spirit. The Bible is our only spiritual safeguard. It alone is a reliable norm for all matters of faith and practice.
“Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself”. — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 671.
The Holy Spirit should never be understood to replace the Word of God. Rather, He works in harmony with and through the Bible to draw us to Christ, thus making the Bible the only norm for authentic biblical spirituality. The Bible provides sound doctrine (see 1 Tim. 4:6), and as God’s Word is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. It is not our task to sit in judgment over Scripture. The Word of God, rather, has the right and the authority to judge us and our thinking. After all, it is the Written Word of God Himself.
| Why is the Bible a safer guide in spiritual questions than are subjective impressions? What are the consequences when we do not accept the Bible as the standard by which we test all teachings and even our spiritual experience? If private revelation were the final word in spiritual questions, why would this lead to nothing but chaos and error? |
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At last we come back to the primacy of the Bible. The issue is that in spite of our protests about the clarity of purpose of the Bible, it has been interpreted in multiple ways both culturally and historically. How else could we have ended up with so many different interpretations today? Why did the Jews develop the oral Torah known as the Misha and Talmud, which were really interpretations of the written Torah? Why do Seventh-day Adventists need the writings of Ellen White to improve our understanding of the Bible?
Here is something to think about. The Bible comes to us through a number of filters. Some of then we know about, and others we choose to ignore or are deliberately hidden from us by those who want to control our minds. None of us read the Bible without filters over our eyes. One of the effects of filters is that they often obscure parts of the detail (a photographer talking here) but rarely do they obscure the big picture itself. Ultimately it's the big picture that is the most important thing.
What is the big picture that the Bible presents? I suggest that it is that God has spent a lot of effort into letting us know that he loves us in spite of our awkwardness. And when we get that picture right, the detail either makes sense, or is just background.
The elephant in the room is that so many religions use the Bible as a weapon of control to keep the multitudes in check so that they maintain the structure of their religious organisation. To this end they surround Scripture with explanations (Mishna, Talmud, catechisms, lesson quarterlies(?)) so that their members believe what they want them to believe about the Bible.
We need to remind ourselves again of the Bereans:
And if the Berean Jews with their limited access to probably one set of scrolls of the OT were able to do this, how much more should we with all the online resources of multiple translations of the Bible be able to search the scriptures and find out for ourselves what is true today?
Does that stop us from coming to different conclusions? Does a difference matter?
Maurice, take a look at Ellen White, MS 24
(MS Release #898) available on line. Starting with the sentence "Christ prayed that his disciples might be one even as He and His Father are one."
This is Ellen White's answer to the question of varying interpretations and is good food for thought.
Is this the one you mean?
Yes. The next paragraph after the one you quoted deals with the differing interpretations,"But if a man makes a mistake in his interpretation......"
She goes on to discus the impact of different interpretations on church unity and how official church action cannot bring unity. A word for our time!
Richard what a wonderful find, we all need to read the whole manuscript release. I did, I do believe this manuscript release is a recipe for a stagnant church, and answer to Christ prayer if we heed this. I do believe this is good criteria for reasoning together. After all we live now in a criteria filled world. Example: wear a mask, wash your hands, don’t touch your eyes or mouth, keep a distance of 6 feet, stay at home, have church at home on the internet, get fresh air, sunshine, sleep, drink water, and eat well.
I agree with Karen, several post down stream in this blog. “What a blessing I get from Sister White’s writings.”
1 Bible, and 40,000+ denominations that claim the Bible as their guide. How does this happen(which I believe your question Maurice)? Jesus warned us to "beware, lest any deceive you", and went on to say that "many will come in my name..." which would "deceive many". This tells us that not all who claim to follow the Word of God are sincere. Satan will use many to appear as followers of Christ who are far from Him. Introducing error and unbelief in the church is Satan's greatest weapon.
Paul urged all to "speak the same things, that there be no divisions among you"(1 Cor 1:10). Division works against unity, and unity is not "agree to disagree" as I have been told by some who would promote a contrary belief in our congregation(not where I am now).
Jesus taught that we would "know the truth" which would then set us free. What do we need to be free of? Falsehood, error, sin, unbelief, etc. He will lead us in the path of righteousness, if we will follow where He leads. We are promised a Helper to lead us and a Light to follow.
In the end, it matters no what others say about the meaning of the Bible, it only matters what the Holy Spirit teaches me and my acceptance of this Truth. Any known departure from what God has brought conviction on will leave me in darkness, and in danger of false interpretation.
I love the promise in Prov 22:20,21.
Why do we need the Testimonies? A personal experience of reading them will make this need clear. They were given because of the great perils that exist in these last days from supposed brethren and the increasing amount of departure from the will of the Lord among all professed followers of the Lamb of God. No one can read for another. Also, Jesus had told the disciples that there were many more things to tell them that they were not ready to hear, and since the end is without doubt very close, it seems we need to know them to be prepared for that great day. We also believe that this gift would be present in the church until Jesus' return in glory. I am blessed daily through these messages of the Holy Spirit.
I think our church having the same lesson quarterlies throughout the world is amazing! Rather than divide us, or cause us to be brainwashed in our beliefs, I think they cause us to study the Bible in ways we may not otherwise. I know friends that attend other denominational Sunday Schools that are surprised by our approach, study materials, and organization. They find the fact that we have lesson plans from birth up through adults very interesting. My only wish is that more church members would attend Sabbath School to discover the blessings in group study!!! They are missing out on so much by only showing up for church.
Hi Kay. I too feel that Sabbath School is a great blessing and also wish more would attend and contribute. Sadly, many members in my church don't attend Sabbath School. Moreover, probably half who do attend never opened their lesson the week before.
Our Sabbath School lessons are not perfect, but they are a wonderful way to interactively study the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 19:15-16
The Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses
15 A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
John 5:36-40
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Here Christ places before us two witnesses as required by the law in Deuteronomy to establish he is the savior of the world.
1) When the disciples of John came and asked Him are you the Messiah? Answer: Luke 7:18-23.
Jesus points John to the work He was doing and the scriptures to affirm He was the Messiah.
2) The Father testified concerning Jesus Christ.
A) Baptism
Father and the Holy Spirit testified this is my beloved son.
B) Transfiguration
Father sent Moes and Elijah to strengthen His son and testifed this is my bleloved son listen to Him.
C) Annointed at Bethany – John 12: 27 - 30
Jesus said this testimony is given for your benefit.
All who believe in Christ will always point you back to the scripture to establish faith in Him. Any work that does not point us to Christ is of the devil.
All of scripture is the love story of God's love for humanity.
There are several filters that have led Protestants down different paths to understanding the Bible and God.
One of them is their view of the nature of God.
Excerpt from a Pastor's article:
"From the Protestant Reformation there emerged two primary camps: first, the Calvinists, who taught God had predetermined all things including the fall of man, who would be redeemed and, in some circles, who would be lost, and, second, the Arminians who taught God had granted humanity freedom to decide between being saved or lost without Him having to “predetermine” their choices.
Calvinists developed a "whole Bible" approach based on their filter but Arminians as a group did not, concentrating more on individual salvation.
This absence of a “whole Bible” approach meant that the same movement that began by passionately seeking to redeem the character of God from what they felt was the wrong picture of the Calvinist worldview never developed a system of thought that could interpret the entire Bible from that view. As a result, this God-is-love movement never advanced cohesive answers to questions related to the covenants, the law of God, the prophetic timeline, end-time events, the Israel/Church relationship, the judgment of the wicked, etc. Consequently, the movement splintered with some tending to either adopt already accepted views in those areas, others refusing to answer certain questions and many more caught in endless nuances in-between. For example, while Arminians rejected the deterministic Calvinist conclusions (God determines everything that happens), they never rejected the timeless view of God which led to that conclusion. This resulted in a system of thought that was internally incoherent. In addition, while Arminians rejected some of the philosophical speculations that Calvinism embraced, they never identified the philosophical speculations they themselves continued to adhere to such as Platonic dualism which gave entry to the doctrine of the immortal soul in Christianity. As a result, to this day Arminianism continues to embrace the self-contradictory view that God is love and has granted freedom of will to His creatures yet torments sinners in hell for all eternity simply because they rejected Christ by exercising the freewill He so lovingly gave them. Likewise, how God performs His judgment over humanity was left as a blank area with no real answer—an odd posture for a movement that claimed to defend the justice of God’s moral government and His dealings with men.
Enter Adventism
Like the Arminian-Wesleyan world, it was this concern and passion for a renewed understanding of the heart of God and His government that gave birth, though the study of Scripture, to the “great controversy” theme—Adventism’s Middle Story. This theme not only answers questions related to the origin of sin and suffering in the universe but also vindicates God’s character from the charges made against him by Satan. And it is in this theme—which emphasizes the loving character of God over and against the presence of evil and suffering—that Adventist theology finds its heartbeat. Adventism took these “love-of-God” glasses and embarked on a journey of rediscovering the love and character of God in every single theme of Scripture.
But how? How did Adventism do that which the rest of the Arminian world had not successfully done? While tracing the history of this is out of the scope of this article, the key that made the difference was the sanctuary. In the sanctuary the early Adventists discovered the key to applying the love-of-God theme to the entirety of Scripture, not just the parts associated with individual justification or holiness. In addition, the sanctuary was foundational in moving Adventist thought from the “timeless God” concept present in both Calvinism and Arminianism to a “God-in-time” view that radically impacted the way in which Adventists think of and relate to God and His relationship with man. As a result Adventism began to revolve around one central theme in Scripture: God’s desire to be with people—which is the essence of the sanctuary.
EG White wrote:
The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close of time, and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between righteousness and sin.
White, Ellen G., “Great Controversy,” p. 488."
Article by Marcos Torres
https://lightbearers.org/blog/why-is-adventism-so-weird/
Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path Ps 119:105
BIBLE means to some. Basis Instruction Before Leaving Earth.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gently unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness .......recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 2 Tim 24-26.
Quote-'the Bible is the ultimate source for understanding spiritual matters'. 2 Tim 3:16-17 all scriptures from Gen-Rev were given for 1.Doctrine. 2.Reproof, 3.Correction, 4. Instruction in righteousness. The bible when used for its true purpose as listed will make all humans perfect and thoroughly furnished to all good works.
This basic instruction manual is for our survival while we are living on this earth. How to live with and understand the giver of the manual. How to take care of our physical life; eat, sleep, drink, take care of our bodies.
How to take care of our mental life; stay and remain calm in spite of the mental storm, worries and anxiety, depression and loneliness.
Social lives; how to form relationships with others even if we do not agree with their point of views.
For Emotional stability; he said, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication we present everything to him.
Let us cont to use our manual as our guide as a group lost in the wilderness.
God is wonderful! He gave us the Bible because we lost the close relationship with Him. He gives us everything we need, but we always try to follow our own hearts! Men have a problem with authority! What we need to do is "to prove and see"!
The crucial issue is stated by Jesus in John 5:39,40: "You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."
This is the Alpha and Omega of the message of the Bible. It's all about Him. This fundamental truth will lead us into all truth. Let's put the emphasis where it truly belongs.
EGW compares her ministry and writings to the ministry of John the Baptist. She said that John the Baptist's ministry was a lesser light (his ministry) pointing to the greater light (Jesus.) John the Baptist said about himself "I must decrease" and about Jesus "He must increase." We as SDA's must get to where we make The Bible and The Bible only "increase" in our spiritual lives and make EGW's writings and ministry "decrease."
Pete There is definitely a balance that needs to be Met, And of course the Scriptures are the greater part of that balance. I guess what I am trying to say is there are some Adventist churches who quote Ellen White all the time and to them I would say read your Bibles more. But just like John the Baptist served a purpose Ellen White serves a purpose in our church, and there are some churches who totally disregard her and the light that she sheds on the Bible, and to those churches I would say read her more. Not more than the Bible, just read her more than you do now. We need to avoid extremes in either direction. I mean that regarding Ellen White’s writings. You cannot go to extremes with the Bible.
William, it is interesting that Ellen is always pointing the reader to the Bible and the Lamb of God. Those who read her will find themselves into the Bible more than before, and much more often in prayer.
Exactly Robert. That is the plan. Thanks.
Amen, Robert Whiteman. Believe it or not, there are people out there and especially Mormons that see us SDA's as trying to be "better" than they are as to their Book of Mormon etc. with how we SDA's tend to be with EGW and her writings and always quoting her more than the Bible.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, it appears SDA's are looking more to EGW writings than the Holy Bible. On the internet, there are SDA "evangelists" that are stating all kinds of info from the plagues to time to leave the city, probation closing, the sunday law, etc. We must be very careful at this time to be sure we are about our Father's business: proclaiming the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ & the 3 angels messages. Because we are unable to go the our Churches, we are all online. And with this vacuum, come everyone to fill the void with their flavor of present truth. God bless us all.
In my limited experience, I can only trust in the Holy Spirit to guide me in my bible study. Maurice mentioned Ellen White, and for myself, what a blessing her writings are to help me see a bigger picture that enhances scripture. No, we don’t “need” her, but what a blessing.
There are many translations of the Bible available to us, and yes, there are some 40,000 religions that claim to be bible based. In the end, all those who trust & obey the light we’ve been given, will come to the same unified belief, the way we were created to live and believe in the beginning. Satan loves confusion and uses it, along with hostility and anger, to divide us (I’m not suggesting anyone here is doing that), to keep us humans distracted from working together to learn the truth. But if I put self aside, I can find the truth written in the Bible, if I invite the Holy Spirit to guide me. Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. That’s a pretty cool promise.
I want to ask what it is that those that read the Bible really look for.
I think, that the reason why the Scripture was given to mankind and understood by the believer is obvious. It was given in essence to shine the light into the dark world, to wake us up and to direct us to walk safely by the Creator's light on the path to everlasting righteousness.
Do we, Christians, really want to debate/stipulate the reason or the quality of the light that our Creator has revealed to us - questioning His authority!
Isaiah 45:8,9 - . . .Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. . . .
We will find answers to 'why' questions in the revealed word of God. A few examples:
John 1:1-13 - v.6,7: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.
And what does the LIGHT do?
1.John 2:8-11 - v.10: 'He that LOVETH his brother abideth in the light and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Eph.5:6-11 - v. 8,9: For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light;(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth).
2.Cor.4:3-11 -
v.3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
v.5: In whom the god of THIS world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, should shine unto them.
v.6: For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the Light OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.
Do we still want to ask about the reason and the why God's word was revealed to us through the Scriptures?
Is there controversy about the authenticity of the Scripture and the Bible? Obviously! We can read about it in Prose in 'The Great Controversy' if we can not understand it clearly from the reading of the Scriptures.
In today's lesson is a quote from Ellen White. I suggest to replace one word of this quote - replacing 'subdues' with 'elevates'. Because this is what happened when we came out of the darkness that covers everything about this world.
Hallelujah! - we have come out of the world's darkness into His marvelous, heavenly Light; can now understand how lost we once were and now walk by faith in His light, humbly accepting our Creator's love for us.
All things will be made new new by the magnificent power of His Light.
Brigitte, one good reason to study the word of God is pointed to in Prov 2:1-5, and Eph 5:17. Every blessing comes through this knowledge of God(and thus His will) through a proper understanding of "the fear of the Lord".
Those who understand the fear of the Lord will keep His commandments, which is the "whole duty of man"(Eccl 12:13).
I'm sure I don't need to explain the true meaning of "keep the commandments" for most but just in case...we fulfill the law through love for God and our fellow man. In short, we are a blessing to others, reflecting Christ in every way.
Brigitte, I do believe that you have a great point, however taking out the word subdues and replacing it with elevates, takes the context out of the paragraph. I do believe that the author’s intention of the word subdues, is to point out the process in coming to Christ. We are drawn to Christ and if we do not resist this drawing, we give of ourselves to Him without reserve. We surrender our bad habits, we surrender our heart of stone, and He replaces it with a heart of flesh. Then the rich current of His love flows through our veins(elevates us to Himself).
John - I want to follow up on your comment regarding replacing 'subdue' with 'elevate'.
Do you really believe that Christ 'subdues' the person who is in the process of seeking for the Truth? Can you explain to me how He does that?
Maybe your understanding of the word 'subdue' is different than mine.
Definition from American Heritage Dictionary:
Subdue -
1. to conquer and subjugate
2. to quiet and bring under control
3. to make less intense
Elevate -
1. to raise to a higher place, lift up
2. to promote to a higher rank
3. to raise to a higher moral or cultural level
4. to lift the spirits of; elate
Do you still think that 'subdue' is a better word than 'elevate' to express what is happening to the believer in the process of coming to Christ?
I said I see your point and now I see it even greater. The next paragraph of DA 670-672 talks about the elation, joy, happiness, etc. a Christian has by allowing the Holy Spirit to deal with successfully the old man or woman of sin.
Hello..have got a concern...during this pandemic we are worshipping from our homes in kenya...we are due to celebrate the passover but we haven't...is it wrong to the church to organize we have the passover in our home
I assume that you mean communion when you say Passover. Passover is a Jewish festival, whereas we partake communion. I personally do not see anything wrong with home communion. It should not replace church communion, but in the current circumstances home communion could be quitemaningful and very appropriate.
Hello Filex,
Passover is celebrated in family (and neighbour, that is, friend) groups, not by big congregations in a church (synagogue). Read Exodus 12 and you will see this clearly.
Communion is a ritual based on church (Catholic) tradition. We obviously do not celebrate "communion" as did Jesus and his disciples with a real meal and fellowship.
You will also note that Jesus did not ask us to wash each other’s feet in remembrance of him either. That is another tradition our church has adopted. Nevertheless, I think there is nothing wrong in engaging in humble acts of service, especially if there is a symbolic need to re-establish relationship that has been broken by pride and striving.
Just some thoughts for your consideration.
Richard Ferguson
Hello Filex,
Passover is celebrated in family (and neighbour, that is, friend) groups, not by big congregations in a church (synagogue). Read Exodus 12 and you will see this clearly.
Communion is a ritual based on church (Catholic) tradition. We obviously do not celebrate "communion" as did Jesus and his disciples with a real meal and fellowship.
You will also note that Jesus did not ask us to wash each other’s feet in remembrance of him either. That is another tradition our church has adopted. Nevertheless, I think there is nothing wrong in symbolically engaging in humble acts of mutual service between those who have a need to re-establish relationship that has been broken by pride and striving.
My wife and I have celebrated communion together as a symbol of the mutual submission the apostle Paul writes of in Ephesians 5:22-33. The foundation of true humility is true love, as it is expressed in Jesus from the God and Father of us all. As Paul states in verse 32, this is a great mystery that mirrors the love and humility between the Messiah and his church.
Just some thoughts for your consideration.
Richard Ferguson