Part One of this series. Audio of the whole sermon.

The Authority of the Bible

Since the Bible was authored by God, it bears His trustworthiness and authority. We cannot disconnect the truth of the Bible or its authority from its author. Bishop N.T. Wright put it this way: “the phrase ‘authority of scripture’ can make Christian sense only if it is shorthand for ‘the authority of the triune God, exercised somehow through scripture.’” In regard to the Bible’s trustworthiness, we believe it is utterly true because it comes from God who is utterly true. Likewise, we believe the Bible is authoritative because it comes from the God who is supremely authoritative.

Carl discussed the trustworthiness of the Bible in his message; I would here like to briefly explore its authority. Obviously there are other sources of knowledge we believe to be authoritative. For example, we look to those more educated than us for their knowledge in specific areas. If I want to know about VW Things, I talk to our pastor. If I want to know about finances, I talk to David or Jana. If I want to know about being sanguine, I talk to Alexis. I consider them authorities on those subjects. But the Bible conveys special revelation, and so there is something different about its authority than any other source of knowledge.

We might describe the Bible’s authority in two ways: Primary and Final. When we say the Bible is the primary authority, we mean that on all matters of faith and practice we look it first. When we say that the Bible is the final authority, we mean that every claim or idea must be checked against the Bible. If there is contradiction or inconsistency, the thing foreign to the Bible is wrong.

For example, here is a hypothetical matter of faith and practice. Through reading my Bible, I discover that self-sacrifice is a virtue of Christian living. This illustrates the primary authority of the Bible. On the local news I hear about a man who dies attempting to save a squirrel stuck on the ledge of a tall building. I may think to myself, “Perhaps this is how I might practice self-sacrifice.” But in returning to the Bible, I discover that though many animals are cute and cuddly, they are not made in the image of God as man is and they are not worth the life of a man. I conclude, then, that sacrificing myself for an animal is not a virtue of Christian living.

Living out the authority of the Bible in our lives means that we allow the Bible to inform and shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

The Role of the Bible in Evangelism: The Content of the Gospel

These truths that we’ve unpacked so far- that the Bible is necessary, trustworthy and authoritative revelation from God- tell us why the Bible has a role in evangelism. Now we must explore what exactly that role is.

First we may say what it is not.

Picture from Saved- It is not a missile to be launched at sinners as was done by Mandy Moore in the movie Saved.

Picture of Roger w/ Kiefer- Additionally, the Bible is not a torture device such that it might be used by Jack Bauer to get a confession out of someone.

Rather, the primary role of the Bible in evangelism is to provide the propositional content, or matters of fact, of the message of the Gospel. Though in evangelism we might discuss reasons to believe in God’s existence or some other aspect of Christian faith, the Bible alone provides the ultimate message Christians are to bring to the world. We have already seen this through Romans 1 and 10. Wayne Grudem explains: “The Bible is necessary for salvation, then, in this sense: one must either read the gospel message in the Bible itself, or hear it from another person.” Yet even if the message is heard from another person, its ultimate source is the Bible and the message preached must adhere to what is taught in the Bible to truly be good news.

We often claim that the Bible teaches the Holy Spirit alone can regenerate a sinner and give them the gift of faith. Regardless of how great our arguments are or how nice we are, salvation is ultimately from the Lord. So why, then, are we to evangelize? God has decided to use the members of His church to proclaim the truth to the lost. I do not know why, and I don’t believe we are privy to God’s reasons for doing this. But the Bible is clear that God does want us to go, teach, disciple, and baptize, as was commanded by Jesus before He ascended into heaven. I’d like to give you two examples of the necessity of the Gospel being preached by God’s people.

Acts 10:1-8 “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.”

The verses that follow tell of how Peter arrived and preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his household and how they were all saved and baptized as a result. Why did God choose to use Peter in this situation? If God can give a man a vision of an angel, why wouldn’t simply have the angel tell the man the good news? We might come up with some speculative answers, but they would remain speculations.

Just over a year ago I met a man who had just converted to Christianity from Islam. His Muslim parents had raised him to be an educated defender of Islam. Just as we have Christian apologists who argue for the truth of Christianity, so was this man a Muslim apologist who spent his time attempting to make a reasonable case for Islam. In college, he had a Christian friend who repeatedly debated with him and told him about Jesus Christ. He found the Christian apologetics formidable, but not enough to shake his Muslim faith. Over time, however, he claimed he had two visions and a dream, each where the Lord came to him and told him he would convert to Christianity. He believes that both his Christian friend’s message and his visions were necessary for his ultimate conversion.

I could offer other stories of Muslims coming to faith through supernatural circumstances, and they would each illustrate the same points. On one hand, God is sovereignly deciding whom He will save. Only those whom God has chosen receives these visions and dreams. On the other hand, God is still using Christians to proclaim and defend the good news of Gospel. This is quite humbling. Though God could save every person in the world without us, we find in the Bible and in the world still today that God uses His people to advance and enlarge His Kingdom. Why is this? The only answer I can give is that He does so for His own glory and good pleasure.

This past Sunday I preached the fourth (and last) sermon in our church's series on Sola Scriptura. It was a bit of a rush job and I was rather nervous since I hadn't given a sermon in over 3 years, but I think some of you may find it interesting. You can find audio through our church's podcast or via this link. I'll be posting my notes (pretty much the full-text) in four parts over the course of the week.

Sola Scriptura: The Bible & Missiology
January 28, 2007
Sermon- The Portico Church in Orange, CA 10:30 am
Roger N Overton
Romans 1:16-20

Thesis: The Bible is essential to evangelism due to its nature as special revelation. In evangelism, the Bible provides the content of the Gospel and the foundation for means of presenting the Gospel. The Bible most readily fulfills its role when Christians hold each other accountable to it and study and mediate on it regularly.

Scripture Reading, introduce liturgy.

Romans 1:16-20 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Revelation in Romans

In thinking about the role of the Bible in evangelism, we must first look to the nature of the Bible. What is it? Carl did an excellent job in the first message of the series showing that the Bible is comprised of God’s trustworthy words. I’d like to unpack that a bit further by looking to Romans 1:16-20.

We might divide this passage into two parts which describe two different groups of people. The first group is described as those who believe according to the power of God. Paul, the author of Romans, says that in the Gospel the “righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.” There is some debate among interpreters as to what is meant by “from faith for faith.” I will simply suggest here that it refers to the righteousness of God being revealed as a gift to those who have faith, who believe in the promises of God.

There is much to be treasured in these two verses, but I would like to point you to one specific point. Some sort of revelation is being described here, and that revelation is limited. Not everyone has faith, and so not everyone receives this revelation.

Moving on to verse 18 we see another sort of revelation. In this case, the wrath of God is being revealed to the unrighteous in the world. But not just the wrath of God, it continues and claims that the things that can be known about God have been revealed to the unrighteous and they have suppressed this knowledge. Who are the people who have received this revelation? Everyone, since everyone is born in unrighteousness and live out ungodliness.

Special v. General Revelation

So we see two sorts of revelation being described here: one is limited and one is not. These are often referred to as Special revelation and General or Natural revelation, respectively. Paul’s comment “so they are without excuse” at the end of verse 20 shows that general revelation, which everyone has access to, is enough to condemn us. However, the righteousness of God is only revealed to a select few, so while all are naturally condemned, not all are eventually saved.

Without special revelation, then, salvation is impossible. The heathen who does not hear the good news of Jesus Christ has no chance for being saved. He is justly condemned for being a sinner, as we all would be if it were not for the saving gift of faith. Remarkably, some Christians claim that people can be saved on the basis of general revelation. They claim that it would be unfair of God to condemn those who have not had the opportunity to respond to the claims of the Gospel, so, if they’re good enough, God will have grace on them and save them anyway.

Apart from having to biblical justification for their view, the Bible clearing teaches against this. First, in this passage of Romans, Paul is clear that everyone is without excuse because everyone has enough basic knowledge of God to know of their unrighteousness. And if we move further along Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome, we find it rather directly stated:

Romans 10:14-15 “But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”

Paul deductively shows the necessity of special revelation by claiming that there is no other way for someone to believe in and call upon the name of Christ and thus be saved. This Gospel, this special revelation, is a gift of faith to God’s chosen children who are saved by faith. To claim otherwise, to claim that some may be saved without special revelation, is to claim that some might be saved on the basis of their good works. This path dead ends at heresy and is a dangerous teaching in a world so desperately in need of the grace of God that is revealed through the Gospel.

The Bible is Necessary Special Revelation

Where does the Bible fit into the categories of Special and General Revelation? It is Special revelation. Not everyone in the world has access to it, innately knows what is discussed in it, nor do we naturally have the ability to understand what is discussed in it. Indeed, it is only by through the gift of the Holy Spirit that we understand anything spiritual found in the book.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 “As it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”

Because the Bible describes God and His work, the Spirit is necessary for us to understand it. This separates the Bible from any other book. With enough literary, philosophic, linguistic, and scientific study, we can understand any book that man has ever written. But no amount of sole human effort can bring understanding of God’s Word. The Bible is the only book authored by God or by men “moved along by the Holy Spirit” as is claimed in 2 Peter 1:21. Thus, the Bible is Special Revelation.

Well, looks like Amy let the cat out of the bag :) As Amy replied in the post below, The A-Team paid the set of 24 a visit while they were filming in Santa Monica last Friday night. We learned a bit of plot information, but nothing substantial, and nothing we'll be sharing anyway ;)

So here are some pictures... The first is my picture with Adoni Maropis, the actor who plays the lead terrorist this season, Abu Fayed. As Amy noted, he was incredibly friendly. The evening would have been great had we just met him. But we also met some other guy from the show named Kiefer Sutherland. You might know him as Jack Bauer.


Don't worry, Amy got a picture with Agent Bauer as well...


I didn't want to look too fanboyish taking pictures of everything (well, I kind of did), but here's a couple of random shots. The first is the camera crew ready to film Jack running down the pier.


I know this one didn't turn out great (no flash allowed), but oh well. From left to right in this picture is one of the executive producers (Howard Gordon), cinematographer Rodney Charters (white hair), and director Brad Turner (wearing the yellow coat):

A New Yorker article about Adam Gadahn's transformation from Southern California resident to Al Qaeda "media committee" spokesperson surprised me with a familiar name:

Gadahn wrote of a yawning emptiness, and he sought ways "to fill that void." He began scrolling through AOL's religion folders on the Internet and tuning to Christian programming on the radio. That summer, he attended several Christian lectures and events, including one led by Gregory Koukl, an evangelical talk-show host who argues against religious pluralism. But Gadahn found evangelical Christianity's "apocalyptic ramblings" to be "paranoid" and hollow. As he later recalled, "I began to look for something else to hold onto."

Now, Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason (known for "equipping Christian ambassadors in the areas of knowledge, wisdom and character") is anything but "apocalyptic" and "paranoid," and he is certainly no rambler.  Yet this is the one name Gadahn recalls on his road to becoming a spokesperson for Al Qaeda?

I'll give Gadahn this--he did become an ambassador.  Hmmm.  It's like he's a super-villain who learned the way of Greg's ambassadorial powers and then turned to evil and became Greg's arch-nemesis, using his powerful knowledge for destruction, and apparently holding a longstanding grudge.

Just look at how Darth Gadahn has used his ambassador training for evil:

Last year, shortly before the fifth anniversary of September 11th, Al Qaeda's leadership featured Gadahn in a video titled "An Invitation to Islam." The video began with an introduction from Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's main theoretician, who referred to Gadahn tenderly as a brother and as "a perceptive person who wants to lead his people out of darkness into the light."

All kidding aside, since Roger and I have both worked with Greg, I can confidently say that Stand to Reason is not in the business of creating the winsome terrorist leaders of tomorrow.  On the contrary, the Ambassador Basic Curriculum has been a helpful force for good for thousands of people.  Why, just last month, this nice young man, Abu Fayed, took ambassador lessons from us.

Strange, though...he was only interested in getting his ambassador skills off the ground--the first part of the training.  He insisted that he didn't need to learn how to land any follow-through discipleship situations.  Um...uh oh....

As I’ve matured in my faith, I’ve changed my theological views on a number of occasions. I grew up in a dispensational-premillennial General Baptist church. In college, I became convinced of covenantal theology (as opposed to dispensational). I went from Arminian to Molinist to Calvinist and from believer baptism to infant and back to believer. Through all those changes (and others), eschatology is one subject I never felt well equipped to give an opinion about. That is, until I began learning from Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim. Dr. Riddlebarger was the first person who made sense of the eschatological questions I had and helped me come to solid conclusions about what the Bible’s talking about.

I offer that background as a caveat: I was convinced by the author about his book’s thesis before reading his book. That said A Case for Amillennialism made me ever more confident in the ammillenial interpretation of the Bible. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 lays the foundation for eschatological discussion by defining terms, surveying the various views, and examining the how prophecy is to be interpreted.

The second part of the book is the meat of the case for the amillennial interpretation of the Bible. Dr. Riddlebarger deals with issues related to covenant, prophecy, interpretation, the Kingdom of God, Israel, and much more. If Part 2 is the meat, then Part 3 is the bones as it examines four critical passages: Daniel 9:24-27, The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 & Mark 13), and Romans 11, and Revelation 20.

While the whole book is a treasure, my favorite is the beginning where Dr. Riddlebarger defines the terms and provides a survey of the various views. Understanding the landscape of eschatology is utterly crucial to studying it, but few people seem to have such understanding. There and throughout the book, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger presents opposing views (pre- and post-millennial) fairly and offers precise criticisms. Though he admits that much more could be said, he presents a thoroughly compelling case for his position that cannot be ignored by those with opposing views. A Case for Amillennialism is a necessary read for anyone interested in eschatological issues.

One might say that in season one of the television series 24, Jack Bauer was having a bad day. His wife and daughter were kidnapped by terrorists who wished to manipulate Jack into assassinating Senator David Palmer. His ex-girlfriend and trusted co-worker turned out to be a mole and killed his pregnant wife. In the midst of the story line revolving around Jack Bauer, author Tim Wesemann believes there are spiritual truths waiting to be explored.

Jack Bauer’s Having a Bad Day is an “investigation” into those spiritual truths to be found in season one. The chapters are divided into 24 “faith truths” ranging from issues of trust, dependence, and integrity. Most chapters begin with a snippet from the 24 plot line before exploring the spiritual implications. At the back of the book is a reader’s guide with 5 study questions per chapter for personal or group use.

While not every “faith truth” discussed in the book is obviously present in the plotline, each one bears important insight for Christian living. Tim Wesemann mixes personal stories and skillful writing with a keen perception for spiritual wisdom. Jack Bauer’s Having a Bad Day is a witty, fun, and meaningful book that helps to make one of America’s favorite shows more edifying.

The winner of the Jack Bauer Fact contest is John from Verum Serum. He'll be receiving a signed copy of Jack Bauer's Having a Bad Day by Tim Wesemann.

John's winning entry: "The anti-Christ is hoping Jack Bauer won’t be left behind."

Other top entries:

Jack Bauer is an Arminian…if you cooperate you can cut a deal.

Jack Bauer once baptized someone until he talked.

Pray with Jack Bauer but if he offers the laying on of hands, decline.

Jack Bauer giving the sacraments: “You have no idea what it cost to secure this…”

The only reason you're reading this blog is because Jack Bauer is letting you.

Last year's Jack Bauer Facts.

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And remember, today is "Talk Like Jack Bauer Day." Be sure to yell more than usual and punctuate your propositions with DAMMIT!

Wanna know what the absolute most viewed post in A-Team Blog history is? You might think it has to do with some controversial political or theological issue, but it actually has to do with Jack Bauer. Last April I posted the Theological Jack Bauer Facts. It made its way around the internet and we eventually found it linked on Hugh Hewitt's blog and he read the post on his national radio show. (How's that for publicity?)

With Season 6 starting next Sunday, we decided to throw Jack a welcome home party. (Jack's been tortured by a foreign country between seasons.) This time you get to write the Jack Bauer facts and submit them to us for a prize. Send your Jack Bauer facts (theological preferred) to rogeroverton@hotmail.com subject "Bauer Facts." Entries will be judged by Amy and I according to our own subjective standards. "Facts" that constitute or come close to blaspheme will probably not make it. We'll post the top entries on the blog and the author of our favorite entry will receive a new signed copy of Jack Bauer's Having a Bad Day by Tim Wesemann. The deadline for entry is 11:59 PM PST on Saturday January 13th. You may submit as many entries as you wish.

To get us started, here's my pastor's entry:
God rested on the seventh day because He knew that Jack Bauer was taking care of business.

vs.

From FoxNews.com:


The Wikipedia entry on Season 6 of 24:

Obviously, Pat Robertson fell asleep while watching the trailer for season 6 of 24 and dreamed God was trying to tell him something. He just got the timing a little wrong.

What seriously disturbs me the most about what Robertson said in relation to his prior failed prophecies according to the FoxNews article: ""I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."" Apparently he skipped the passages (e.g. Deut. 18:22) of the Bible that speak of determining a true prophet by ALL of their prophecies coming true. God doesn't "miss." By claiming to speak for God with falsehoods, Robertson makes God out to be a liar. Robertson is a false prophet plain and simple.

I’ve never been a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions. I actually don’t understand all the hype about the new year in general, but resolutions seem especially odd since so many people make promises to themselves they seldom keep. Sure, it’s good to strive to loose weight, read more, watch TV less, etc., but for most people it lasts a few weeks at best and then they go on with life as it used to be. Over the past week or so I’ve been reflecting on Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions. His 70 resolutions weren’t trendy goals for the new year, but purposeful steps for discipline for his entire life and ministry. Here’s a bit of background on Resolutions from Stephen J. Nichols:

“When he wrote these seventy resolutions, Edwards was completing his schooling and ministerial training and was anticipating setting out on his life’s work. He took advantage of the opportunity to pause and reflect on the type of person he wanted to be and the way in which he wanted to live his life.

In a manner that would typify his entire career, he took up his pen and, in the moments of quiet he could wrest from a busy day, wrote the guidelines, the systems of checks and balances he would use to chart out his life—his relationship, his conversations, his desires, his activities. In short, through these resolutions he offers himself his own advice…

Edwards prefaces his Resolutions with an exhortation to ‘remember to read over these resolutions once a week.’ Perhaps this bit of advice is also worthy of our imitation. The Resolutions are as relevant today as they were when he first penned them so long ago. Reading through them on a regular basis may very well help us also to live with all of our might to the glory and praise of God.” (Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions and Advices to Young Converts ed. Stephen J. Nichols, pages 5 & 12)

You can read the resolutions online, and it may be good to also print them out and post them somewhere. The booklet by Dr. Nichols I quoted from is handy to have on the nightstand and gives some background on Resolutions, as well as Advice to Young Converts.