cyberjosh
Member
The Scriptures have a powerful way of performing on all of its readers and hearers a spiritual diagnostic that reveals the state of men's hearts and souls. Thus the reactions and approaches of men to Scripture are driven by the state of their soul. Below are some quotations of great Christian men of the past whose astute observations about this truth are quite insightful and to the point on this matter. It may also help us to see that when men have occasional issues with accepting the words of the Scriptures (the Bible) that it cannot be something that is solely intellectually borne but is also something spiritually wrought. So we must also realize that no one can come to a deeper or even a 'sagacious' (scholarly) understanding of God's word unless they first plainly listen to Scripture and stop trying to out-maneuver the forcefullness of its message and working upon the spirit and soul.
“The only real argument against the Bible is an unholy life. When a man argues against the Word of God, follow him home, and see if you cannot discover the reason of his enmity to the Word of the Lord. It lies in some form of sin. He, whom God sends, cares nothing at all about human wisdom, so as to fawn upon it and flatter it; for he knows that ‘the world by wisdom knew not God,’ and that human wisdom is only another name for human folly.â€
– Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), Pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England
“I believe one main cause of objections to the Bible lies in its power over man’s conscience. The Book will speak for God, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. But all critics are not so open as the poor East-end lecturer, who, when asked by one of his hearers, ‘Why is all your criticism turned against the Bible instead of against Shakespeare or Homer? Why don’t you let the Bible alone?’ replied with English outspokenness, ‘Why don’t I let the Bible alone? Because the Bible will not let me alone.’ It ever has been a witness for God, and still will be, while men need a light in a dark place.â€
– Andrew J. Jukes (1815-1901), Pastor of St. John’s Church, Hull, England (The Names of God, pgs. 225-226)
“Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself!â€
– Charles H. Spurgeon
"Many read the Bible the way a mouse tries to remove the cheese from a trap without getting caught."
– Søren Kierkegaard
"Either the Bible will keep you away from sin, or sin will keep you away from the Bible."
– C. S. Lewis
"St. John Chrysostom says that it is a great blessing from God that some parts of the Scriptures are clear while others are not. By means of the first we acquire faith and ardour and do not fall into disbelief and laziness because of our utter inability to grasp what is said. By means of the second we are roused to enquiry and effort, thus both strengthening our understanding and learning humility from the fact that everything is not intelligible to us."
- Peter of Damascus (The Philokia, Volume 3)
To the observations of Andrew Jukes and Charles Spurgeon (both contemporary English preachers) as well as C.S. Lewis above I would add my own quotation:
“Those who do not believe the Bible claim that those who do are ignorant of the supposed ‘facts’ of science and history, to which I reply in turn that those who do not believe the Bible are ignorant of the state of their soul.†- Me
The latter reply, granted, is not exactly a direct answer to the former claim, but it is rather a counteraction of its accusation of 'ignorance' and the impetus from which such claims arise. Jesus in the Gospels on several occasions would answer someone according to what they needed to hear, not exactly according to what they had asked. So first we would be wise, overall, to examine ourselves first and see if anything is keeping us from God and from hearing His word rightly. We should not rather be trying to snatch only the pleasing parts from God's Word without applying the necessary self-judgement and repentance (snatching the cheese from the mousetrap) because - God forbid! - conviction of the truth would be a deadly trap to our fleshly ways. It is repulsive to the worldy minded that to be a follower of Jesus is to be, blessed paradox that it is, a living martyr (a witness/testimony - Greek marturia) who signs their death warrant the day they believe in Christ, dying daily to themselves and living through Chirst. The Gospel then, as the Word of God which tells us how we should follow Jesus, is a stumbling block for our flesh. The analogy of the mouse and the cheese in the mousetrap is not perfect, as to portraying the method in which the Gospel calls to us, but it serves its purpose as pertains to those who approach the Gospel carnally.
Also then, if once we have examined ourselves and still yet find that we have questions about the Scriptures we would do well to realize that "some parts of the Scriptures are clear while others are not" and some things require additional "enquiry and effort". That additional enquiry to gain understanding cannot be apart however from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and especially "humility", because of, indeed it is true, "the fact that everything is not intelligible to us." The one who instead comes to the Bible, apart from God and saving belief, and pontificates theories and hypotheses about the Word of God confidently within their academically clever frameworks - apart from any examination of self or their own receptiveness to what Scriptures say - balks at the idea that not all things are intelligible about God's truths to their carnal mind, and that such truths are in fact hidden from those who profess to be wise (Romans 1:22). About such people the words of Spurgeon ring true: "that human wisdom is only another name for human folly". Nevertheless, to those who are humble enough to approach the Scripture with no pretense, it is yet still also true that a great portion of Scripture is abundantly clear to all men that those who hear may believe and "acquire faith" to "grasp what is said" and benefit in their understanding and practice of godliness. This abundant clearness also leaves men without excuse for neglecting to properly respond.
And most of all we must remember that the Word of God is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). Yes, doubting man; yes, mature believer; yes, you who are now hearing God's word; it can judge your thoughts, desires, intentions, and also subconscious motivations, even penetrating to your very soul and spirit - and with great effectiveness it will expose what is therein. For those who have sin in their heart the Word of God is like salt in a wound and is like the stench of death (1 Corinthians 2:16). To such "sin will keep you away from the Bible". Nonetheless, God's word will not return void and His calling and persistent pressing by His Spirit to present the word of truth to all people will not "let you alone" or permit you to remain untouched. Though you may rail against it the Word of God still stands, as voidless and full of authority as when it went forth from God. However for those who feel that sting of death, and the agitation of the flesh to God's spiritual ways (for the two are perpetually contrary to one another), and the true "power over man's conscience" that the Scriptures wield, and repent of that sin and believe in Jesus for salvation from sin and death: to them God's Word is "a light in a dark place" and they come to realize that it "ever has been a witness for God". And yes, to them it is even a "fragrance of life" (1 Corinthians 2:16).
[cont...]
“The only real argument against the Bible is an unholy life. When a man argues against the Word of God, follow him home, and see if you cannot discover the reason of his enmity to the Word of the Lord. It lies in some form of sin. He, whom God sends, cares nothing at all about human wisdom, so as to fawn upon it and flatter it; for he knows that ‘the world by wisdom knew not God,’ and that human wisdom is only another name for human folly.â€
– Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), Pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England
“I believe one main cause of objections to the Bible lies in its power over man’s conscience. The Book will speak for God, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. But all critics are not so open as the poor East-end lecturer, who, when asked by one of his hearers, ‘Why is all your criticism turned against the Bible instead of against Shakespeare or Homer? Why don’t you let the Bible alone?’ replied with English outspokenness, ‘Why don’t I let the Bible alone? Because the Bible will not let me alone.’ It ever has been a witness for God, and still will be, while men need a light in a dark place.â€
– Andrew J. Jukes (1815-1901), Pastor of St. John’s Church, Hull, England (The Names of God, pgs. 225-226)
“Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself!â€
– Charles H. Spurgeon
"Many read the Bible the way a mouse tries to remove the cheese from a trap without getting caught."
– Søren Kierkegaard
"Either the Bible will keep you away from sin, or sin will keep you away from the Bible."
– C. S. Lewis
"St. John Chrysostom says that it is a great blessing from God that some parts of the Scriptures are clear while others are not. By means of the first we acquire faith and ardour and do not fall into disbelief and laziness because of our utter inability to grasp what is said. By means of the second we are roused to enquiry and effort, thus both strengthening our understanding and learning humility from the fact that everything is not intelligible to us."
- Peter of Damascus (The Philokia, Volume 3)
To the observations of Andrew Jukes and Charles Spurgeon (both contemporary English preachers) as well as C.S. Lewis above I would add my own quotation:
“Those who do not believe the Bible claim that those who do are ignorant of the supposed ‘facts’ of science and history, to which I reply in turn that those who do not believe the Bible are ignorant of the state of their soul.†- Me
The latter reply, granted, is not exactly a direct answer to the former claim, but it is rather a counteraction of its accusation of 'ignorance' and the impetus from which such claims arise. Jesus in the Gospels on several occasions would answer someone according to what they needed to hear, not exactly according to what they had asked. So first we would be wise, overall, to examine ourselves first and see if anything is keeping us from God and from hearing His word rightly. We should not rather be trying to snatch only the pleasing parts from God's Word without applying the necessary self-judgement and repentance (snatching the cheese from the mousetrap) because - God forbid! - conviction of the truth would be a deadly trap to our fleshly ways. It is repulsive to the worldy minded that to be a follower of Jesus is to be, blessed paradox that it is, a living martyr (a witness/testimony - Greek marturia) who signs their death warrant the day they believe in Christ, dying daily to themselves and living through Chirst. The Gospel then, as the Word of God which tells us how we should follow Jesus, is a stumbling block for our flesh. The analogy of the mouse and the cheese in the mousetrap is not perfect, as to portraying the method in which the Gospel calls to us, but it serves its purpose as pertains to those who approach the Gospel carnally.
Also then, if once we have examined ourselves and still yet find that we have questions about the Scriptures we would do well to realize that "some parts of the Scriptures are clear while others are not" and some things require additional "enquiry and effort". That additional enquiry to gain understanding cannot be apart however from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and especially "humility", because of, indeed it is true, "the fact that everything is not intelligible to us." The one who instead comes to the Bible, apart from God and saving belief, and pontificates theories and hypotheses about the Word of God confidently within their academically clever frameworks - apart from any examination of self or their own receptiveness to what Scriptures say - balks at the idea that not all things are intelligible about God's truths to their carnal mind, and that such truths are in fact hidden from those who profess to be wise (Romans 1:22). About such people the words of Spurgeon ring true: "that human wisdom is only another name for human folly". Nevertheless, to those who are humble enough to approach the Scripture with no pretense, it is yet still also true that a great portion of Scripture is abundantly clear to all men that those who hear may believe and "acquire faith" to "grasp what is said" and benefit in their understanding and practice of godliness. This abundant clearness also leaves men without excuse for neglecting to properly respond.
And most of all we must remember that the Word of God is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). Yes, doubting man; yes, mature believer; yes, you who are now hearing God's word; it can judge your thoughts, desires, intentions, and also subconscious motivations, even penetrating to your very soul and spirit - and with great effectiveness it will expose what is therein. For those who have sin in their heart the Word of God is like salt in a wound and is like the stench of death (1 Corinthians 2:16). To such "sin will keep you away from the Bible". Nonetheless, God's word will not return void and His calling and persistent pressing by His Spirit to present the word of truth to all people will not "let you alone" or permit you to remain untouched. Though you may rail against it the Word of God still stands, as voidless and full of authority as when it went forth from God. However for those who feel that sting of death, and the agitation of the flesh to God's spiritual ways (for the two are perpetually contrary to one another), and the true "power over man's conscience" that the Scriptures wield, and repent of that sin and believe in Jesus for salvation from sin and death: to them God's Word is "a light in a dark place" and they come to realize that it "ever has been a witness for God". And yes, to them it is even a "fragrance of life" (1 Corinthians 2:16).
[cont...]
). Some teachers like over-achieving but some frown on it. One teacher told me to cap it at 10 pages maximum (for an expected 6 page paper), and he gave me a high B because he said it was great for most of the paper until it fell apart on the last page (because I had to highly condense and suddenly summarize the rest of the biography of the person I was writing about). I was thinking, "Yeah because you didn't let me finish!"