Energion Direct

Tag: Bible

  • Best-Selling Book of All Time

    by Nancy Petrey

     
    [ene_ptp]The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. But it is rare in some parts of the world where it is such a coveted possession that people will risk their lives to have one. In China, believers often share one copy of the Bible. Each person receives a page, and when they have memorized it, they get back together to exchange their portion of the Bible. (http://www.watersourceministries.com/bible-smuggling/) Many Christians in this country have several copies of the Bible, and yet few even read it, much less take it to heart.
    I love the Bible. It has been the guide for my life ever since I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. I have not understood it perfectly, but the Holy Spirit has been given to me to teach me, as Jesus promised. Seeming contradictions have sometimes cleared up, but even when parts of Scripture are puzzling, I trust that it is still God’s Word, and I will eventually understand it either here or when I see Him face to face.
    The assault on the authority of the Bible is troubling to me, because without this “anchor” for the soul, we will drift into dangerous waters and be destroyed. Jesus’ words are a gracious invitation from a gentle Shepherd to follow His way and His words: “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). And the Apostle John instructs his “little children” thus: “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:3). Remember that Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
    Many Christians declare that we are not under the law, we are under grace. But God has made a way for us to keep His commandments: “… the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the SPIRIT” (Rom. 8:4). Remember that Jesus said He didn’t come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. Heaven and earth will pass away, but one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18).
    How important is the WRITTEN Word of God? When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he said, “It is WRITTEN, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). Jesus was quoting from the law in the Old Testament—Deuteronomy 8:3. To apply these words of Jesus to the current debate about legalizing sodomy is irrefutable —“It is an abomination” (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13). To God it is so serious, it incurred the death penalty, as did any form of sexual sin!
    Before I myself get stoned, I will point out that Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, a sin punishable by stoning, that He did not condemn her! But He ALSO SAID, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus didn’t make light of her sin, but He forgave her. He knew He would soon be dying a tortuous death on the cross so that He could be her sin substitute and take the death penalty for her. “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). That is the GOOD NEWS He has commissioned all Christians to go and tell! But if a person will not admit what he is doing is sin and ask for forgiveness, how can he be pardoned? He can’t.
    One last point. The history of how we have the Bible today is a story filled with great sacrifice and death. For instance, John Wycliffe opposed the teaching of the organized Church, which he believed to be contrary to the Bible. He translated the Latin Vulgate into English in the 1380s. The Pope was infuriated, and 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the bones to be dug up, crushed, and scattered in the river! John Hus, one of Wycliffe’s followers, was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire! His last words were a prophecy that God would raise up a man in 100 years “whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” It happened when Martin Luther in 1517 nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention against the Roman Catholic Church on the church door. Luther translated the Bible into German.
    William Tyndale translated the Bible into English “illegally,” while he was in hiding. He was arrested, tried, and convicted, then strangled and burned at the stake in the prison yard, Oct. 6, 1536. His last words were, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” This prayer was answered three years later when King Henry VIII published the English “Great Bible” in 1539.
    In order to shorten this lengthy post, I will quote what I found online as a good answer to the question, “Is the Bible still the best-selling book in the world?” The best answer on www.answers.yahoo.com is: “Still the best-selling book of all time…. People are literally dying for it. People in countries where the book is banned, where getting one in, or taking one in, could get you killed, and people are literally risking life to get them the book anyways. Funny, I don’t see anyone willing to die for a lie. The faith flourishes where persecuted, so by all means, let the atheist taunt and jeer, it helps get rid of the chaff.”

    [slideshow_deploy id=’2727′]

    For more information on Nancy Petrey or her books click on a picture or book cover.

     

  • Inspiration of Scripture: Meaning What?

    Inspiration of Scripture: Meaning What?

    by Edward W. H. Vick

    l. Theory and Fact

    The incentive for constructing theories of inspiration is to provide a basis for asserting the authority of the Bible. The Bible, so the argument goes, has authority because it is inspired, and it is inspired in the way the theory of inspiration accounts for it. Since we know how the scriptural books came into being and how they became part of the canon, we simply have to reject any theories which do not take this process into account, or which do not take it sufficiently into account.1 The question how in fact a scriptural writing was produced is decisive: ‘the real question is whether in fact such a writing was ever produced to form part of the Bible as we know it today. It is by this criterion, and not by its inner logic or consistency, that the relevance of the scholastic theology of inspiration must be judged.’2

    The question how in fact a scriptural writing was produced is decisive. It is the criterion by which we must judge not only a scholastic theology of inspiration but any theology of inspiration. What is at issue is the relevance of any theology of inspiration. In view of what we now know concerning how the book came to its final form, we ask how a theory of inspiration can be helpful and what it is that it explains. We must keep the demands of what we know about the actual production of the literature always before our minds. We go seriously wrong if we do not constantly keep in mind what happened in the long story of the composition, compilation and acceptance of the Bible.

    A theory of inspiration may make claims that are easily shown to be false by carefully examining the facts. It will either ignore or explain away the facts. Any satisfactory doctrine of inspiration will take account of these data, and be compatible with them. It will take notice of the history of the Bible, and its great complexity. It will not take as an a priori principle that the Bible is inspired, and then proceed to build on it, saying something like, ‘The Bible is inspired, therefore . . . .’ and then proceed to fill in the claim, e.g. there were certain ways in which it could not have been written. The last time I confronted the argument it went: ‘The Bible was inspired, therefore its writers could not have borrowed or copied from other sources in any shape or form.’
    Rather one first asks: What, according to the evidence which is available, are the stages and the processes which took place before the end-product resulted? If you ask this historical question, you will have to keep an open mind. It is not fitting, nor is it honest (even if one is sincere) to say, ‘Scripture is inspired: therefore such-and-such did not happen.’ We must seriously take account of the historical data. We may not overlook any significant facts in building a doctrine of Scripture.

    2. Some Well-established Facts about Scripture

    Here, then, is a short list of some well-established facts about the Scriptures. They represent the dedicated efforts of competent and devoted scholars over several centuries:

    1. There is an enormous range of styles in the Scriptures. Some is literature of the very highest rank. Other is ungrammatical.
    2. There are literary relationships between some of the scriptural writings. That means that the similarities are so close that they come from common literary, i.e. written, sources. Simply, the writer copied from other people.
    3. Oral traditions lie behind our written documents.
    4. The traditions were reworked, often several times, before the product resulted as we now have it. The process of redaction was complex.
    5. It was a common practice for ancient authors to use pseudonyms. They hoped to give distinction to their work by connecting it with well-known figures.
    6. It is at times impossible to harmonize some biblical narratives with others.
    7. Each piece of writing has come from a quite particular historical setting. In the majority of cases we can reconstruct that particular setting and relate the writing to the setting.
    8. Often, e.g. in Genesis, Kings, Deuteronomy, several oral traditions were set side by side.

    3. How the Books were Put Together

    The following is a very brief and simplified summary of the series of events that went into the making of a book.

    ‘Literary studies lead to the conclusion that the process of composition of a typical Old Testament book was as follows: a. groups of unknown people composed oral form to help them with their work, their worship, their teaching; b. the oral forms were passed on through the generations, undergoing small changes from time to time; c. local men of letters wrote down the oral forms with which they were familiar; d. in some period of great literary activity, an editor collected these various literary products and combined them into one large work; e. the large work might be combined with others to make up a complete roll.’3

    Any doctrine of inspiration must reckon with these facts, take into account this complex process by which the books came into being and the manner in which they came to have a special recognition in the church.

    4. Norms for a Doctrine of Scripture

    Even if we do not wish to enter into discussion of a particular viewpoint because we do not consider it an issue, it is sometimes worth­while to say why it is acceptable or unacceptable. ‘Inerrancy’ is the term used to refer to the view which holds that the Bible is without error, that it must be interpreted in such a way that one may claim that it contains no kind of error. ‘Verbal inspiration’ is the theory which says that the words of the writing have their origin in the divine initiative. ‘Dictation’ is the theory that God ‘spoke’ the actual words of the biblical writer, who duly set them down. Hence, the words of Scripture are the words of God. Dictation theory is not always, but very often, called upon as support for a doctrine of scriptural inerrancy.
    We shall now simply list reasons why a verbal, i.e. dictation, theory of inspiration is in error.

    1. The ‘writers’ do not claim to be inspired in this way.
    2. Only the originals would be so inspired. We don’t have them. Translations are of secondary value.
    3. It says nothing about the function of the books. Suppose they had been inspired in this way and left in a box and not yet discovered?
    4. Dictation theory is a caricature of the actual process of composition and transmission, which is quite varied indeed. It was ‘in many and varied ways’ that ‘God spoke’ [Hebrews 1:1]. Luke was not dictated to. Mark and other sources were copied by other scriptural writers.
    5. It makes the writers into puppets. The theory of accommoda­tion is an obvious enough rationalization.
    6. Evidence from the writings themselves contradicts a verbal inspiration theory.
    7. It misconceives the idea of authority.
    8. Even if it were true it would not establish the authority of Scripture. It only tells us how the words got on to the page.
    9. The writings are not without error.
    10. It fails to consider the historical evidence and in doing so distorts basic definitions, for example, ‘writer,’ ‘author.’
    11. It does not do justice to the diversity of the biblical materials.

    The question which raises a worthwhile issue is this: Can a duly modified theory of inspiration take account of the facts, some of which we have just mentioned? That is to say, Can a concept of ‘inspiration’ serve as a theological idea which can provide an adequate explanation of those convictions the Christian wishes to express about the Bible? Rejecting a theory of verbal inspiration, where dictation is the means, can we defend a modified theory of inspiration and account for the Christian attitude to and use of the Bible?

    We can certainly set out check points for any such doctrine. By referring to the objections made above to a dictation theory of inspiration, we can derive some norms for an adequate doctrine of Scripture. Any adequate doctrine of the Bible must give a satisfactory account of the following:

    1. What the ‘writers’ themselves claim or do not claim.
    2. The history of the original text, of its transmission and translation.
    3. How the books actually function in the Christian community. How the church uses the writings.
    4. The complex and various ways in which the writings came to be, and in particular,
    5. The creative individuality and contextuality, i.e. the humanity, of the writers.
    6. Evidence from the writings concerning the origin of par­ticular oracles, ideas and pronouncements.
    7. That the authority of the Bible is religious and relational.
    8. That the words of Scripture come to have such authority. This involves an extended process of recognition or canonization.
    9. That the writings are not inerrant.
    10. The history of the composition and compilation of the books.
    11. The great diversity of the biblical materials: including style, culture, religious and ethical views, form, and aim.

    ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________________________________________

    1Cf. Leo XIII (Nov. 18th. 1893).

    2Bruce Vawter, Biblical Inspiration. London: Hutchinson, 1972 3.1, p. 75.

    3David Stacey, Interpreting the Bible, London, Sheldon Press, 1976. pp. 44-45.

  • Changing My Mind about the Bible

    [Editor’s Note: This is another post in our series of “Why I changed my mind.”]

    by Elgin Hushbeck

     
    PicI have changed my mind many times, often quite drastically. The most drastic was probably my journey from Atheist to Christian. But that took many years and many phases. One part of that journey was a softening in my attitude towards the Bible. This occurred while I was in the Air Force working on Minuteman missiles which brought me in contact with a lot of different people. Minuteman missiles were scattered across the country side, and so to work on them involved a lot of drive time. My team member and I would load up a truck, pick up a guard and drive out to the missile site, driving 1-2 hours each way on average. As a result, there was plenty of time to talk.
    Most of the time the discussion was on more mundane topics such as sports, but from time to time I we would get a guard who was a Christian and the talk would turn to religion. When that happened often the sparks would fly.
    Few of the Christians I would talk to actually knew very much about the Bible other than citing a few verses they had memorized. When I would point out the contradictions or problems from the list I had made, for the most part, they had never even heard of these potential problems, much less did they have any answers, other than to say that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be believed despite what might seem to be problems.
    All of this reinforced my belief in the error of Christianity, as it seemed a faith one could believe in only if one did not look too close, or ask too many question.
    Still, from time to time I would come across a Christian who knew something about their faith and the Bible. I would run down my list of potential problems, and they would actually have an answer that could stand up to my questioning. When that happened I was never too concerned, as there were many more items on my list and I would simply move to the next item.
    When someone did raise a serious objection to one of the things on my list of problems, however, it would tend to stick with me, and I would seek a way around it. While sometimes I would find some weaknesses in their proposed solution, there were also times when I had to admit, if only to myself later, that they had a point, and my alleged problem was not really a problem after all.
    As a result, over time, my list of problems and contradictions got smaller and smaller. In addition two other things happened. First, with each problem dealt with, the credibility of the critics correspondingly suffered. After all, if the critics were wrong on these alleged problems and contradictions in the Bible, perhaps they were wrong on the others as well. Second, my diminishing list of errors was being replaced by a growing respect for the reliability of the Bible. I did not yet believe the Bible was the Word of God, but I could no longer write it off as simply a collection of myths and legends either.
    It was at about this point in my odyssey that I had one of the more significant of these discussions. I think this was the only time we had this particular guard, and unfortunately his name has long since been forgotten. He was different than many of the other Christians I had met in the way he listened to my challenges without any confrontation in his responses. It wasn’t that he knew how to answer my remaining challenges all that much, but he did do something, none of the others did. He offered to set up a meeting with someone who he said could better answer my questions and I agreed.
    This someone was an officer at the base, and we talked for several hours one evening. I explained my spiritual journey to that point and we talked about some the remaining problems I saw with Christianity and the Bible. He was able to provide some answers. On a few others, such as why would a loving god allow evil, I was not convinced. But he did show me a different side of Christianity even when his answers were not completely satisfying. He showed me that Christianity and the Bible were something an intelligent thinking person could take seriously. Even if I did not agree with him, I had to respect him as someone who had thought seriously about his faith.
    When I left that evening, he encouraged me to continue my journey and seemed oddly sure and confident as to where that journey would lead me even if I had not reached it yet. I was still over a year from becoming a Christian. And even becoming a Christians was in many ways just a beginning of a new journey.

    [slideshow_deploy id=’2411′]
    Click on any book for more information and ordering

  • The Battle for the Bible

    by Steve Kindle

    I'm Right coverThe Christian church has never had a uniform understanding of how to interpret the Bible, nor has it had uniformity of belief over its now nearly 2000 years of attempts to do so. The historic creeds were an effort in this direction, but failed to unite all parties. Even among the proponents of the creeds, not all agreed on how to understand each proposition. There is no reason to expect that universal agreement will ever happen; in fact, there is every reason to believe it will never happen. Why? Because truth is ultimate and human beings are finite, incapable of accessing ultimate truth, though we likely touch the “hem of the garment” on occasion. I have no problem with that. My problem is with those who claim to have accessed the ultimate and want to make me (and you) conform to their notions of what the Bible means.
    The title of this post is also the title of a book written by a former editor of Christianity Today, the late Harold Lindsell, back in 1976. He argued that if an interpreter or institution began from the position that the Bible is not inerrant, it could only end in error. The battle that surfaced from this firestorm wasn’t among those Evangelicals who fought for inerrancy against the liberals, but over just what inerrancy meant among Evangelicals! Even here, agreement is hard to come by.
    My book, I’m Right and You’re Wrong! is an effort to understand why committed Christians, including even the loftiest of intellectuals and holiest of saints, read the Bible differently, and come to varying, even contradictory conclusions. This is no mere intellectual enterprise, for it involves the very nature of being human, our relationships with others, and our attitude toward those with whom we disagree. How we comport ourselves in relation to others who are involved in interpreting the Bible may well be the best evidence of our Christ-like spirit.
    The focus on inerrancy seemed like a good way to approach biblical interpretation until we dive even a little below the surface. Even if we acknowledge that the “autographs” (original canonical writings) were divinely inspired and free from error, we don’t have them. This makes that point moot. Add to this that the writings must, by necessity, be interpreted, and for inerrancy to have any immediate meaning, they must be inerrantly interpreted. And there are no inerrant interpreters (that I know of).
    Add to this that translations of the Bible are, themselves, interpretations. Any number of articles have been written to demonstrate that theologies often control how certain verses are translated. No matter how good a translation might be, it is always two to three thousand years removed from its origin, and replicating the mindset of the original writer is fraught with difficulty. Even knowing the biblical languages is no panacea as the linguists argue over interpretation as much as everyone else.
    Everything we read is filtered through our worldview, personality, and even our moods. Once, in an adult Bible study, I averred that there is no such thing as an uninterpreted verse in the Bible. One member said, “I can think of a Bible verse that needs no interpretation.” Tell us, what is it?” He quoted, “God is love.” My response? “What do you mean by God, and what do you mean by love?” My challenge is still on the table.
    I think the title of Lindsell’s book is a misnomer. It’s not a battle for the Bible as much as it’s a battle for my interpretation of the Bible to prevail.
    So, what’s a diligent reader of the Bible to do? That will be the subject of my next two posts. So, please stay tuned!

  • Faith vs. Mental Assent

    Note: Today we bring you a sermon from a brother in Kenya, Bishop Simon O. MacOnyango of the Kenya Center for World Evangelism. This sermon is reprinted here with his kind permission.
    bishopmaconyangoPreached By Brother S. O. MacOnyango on 11th August 2013 at Kahoya Believers Fellowship, Eldoret.
    Main Text: 1 Corinthians 1:21-29 … New Living Translation (NLT)
    ……20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.
    21 Since God in his wisdom (revelation or divine truth) saw to it that the world would never know (receive his truths or receive Him by revelation) him through human wisdom (head knowledge – mental assent), he has used our foolish preaching (revelation) to save those who believe (receive the truth or revelation). 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom (mental assent). 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified (the revelation), the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense (doesn’t make sense against all proven human facts)….24 But to those called by God (embrace the truth) to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom (revelation) of God.25 This foolish plan of God (revelation) is wiser than the wisest of human plans (mental assent), and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise (had revelation or had the capacity to receive the divine truths) in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish (not appealing to our mental faculties) in order to shame those who think they are wise (have head knowledge or mental assent). And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God (when and if we receive these divine truths)
    Note: words in brackets are mine and only meant for teaching purposes
    John 7:38….New American Standard Bible (NASB)….38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being (from the revelatory not mental assent) will flow rivers of living water.’”
    Many of us Christians have mental assent of things of God and take it for FAITH….We may know that God exists but actually DO NOT have faith that HE exists. Mental assent looks so much like faith that there is a very fine thin line between the two.
    Mental assent means intellectually accepting or knowing the Word of God to be facts but not receiving it as a Truth – admiring it and agreeing with it BUT not receiving the revelatory element of it …. That doesn’t do us any good. In essence, mental assent agrees with and knows more about God but does not believe in God.
    The mental assent agrees and knows that the Bible came from God and that it is God’s word BUT does NOT take it as revelation, and that every Word of it is a fact BUT NOT the Truth see! When a crisis comes however, s/he says, “Yes, I know (NOT BELIEVE) the Bible is true, but it does not work for me in this situation.” We often quote Scriptures we don’t really believe to be TRUTHS.
    We so many times mentally affirm the promise! In many years in my ministry and family life I  lived like that BUT wondering why I am not making any haed way despite my superb memory of the scriptures….. that …….  “God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19”,….. that in itself was beautiful ….  but for so many years I never took these bible verses as God’s TRUTHS by making them personal. Such a Christian may be successful in knowing much about the Word, but as far as spiritual life is concerned has failed. The true believer is a doer of the Word who receives it as a TRUTH. The believer builds on rock, while the mental assent builds on sand. (See Matthew 7:24-27.)…… In Africa witchdoctors, sorcerers, and fortune tellers keep Bibles as one of their paraphernalia….if you happen to consult one…the first consultation is for you the client to open a bible at random…. keeping the bible in itself DOES NOT help a thing….we can have so many of them in public places, in public schools etc, but who teaches people to receive it as GOD’S TRUTH not like any other novel!!
    A variation of mental assent is “sense/head knowledge.” This is the attitude that says, “If I cannot see it and weigh it against all available facts known, then it is not real. I’ll believe it when I see it.” The Bible tells us, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:17). This means that faith and sense knowledge are not compatible….I am not against teaching of critical thinking because I am a student of the same.
    Faith is the substance and evidence of things that our sense of conventional knowledge cannot see. (See Hebrews 11:1, for definition of Faith). Sense knowledge is the biggest obstacle to faith because; in many cultures we are trained and conditioned to live by our five senses. If we cannot analyze something and empirically conclude that it actually works, then we do not believe it is real. However, God says He has promised is already reality. Yet it won’t become manifested reality in our lives  until we believe it is real before we see it-through fully trusting in Him and His Word. That is how faith operates.
    Again, the Bible says “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. Note carefully that this verse does not say that faith is the EVIDENCE of things that do not exist. It says that faith is the evidence of the things you CANNOT SEE.
    For example, you cannot always see how God will meet your need. However, God says, “It’s already met; believe me.” That is living by faith. If you live by any other means, you will have high blood pressure, depression, and fear and end up in a mental institution. You will live in frustration because you will try to figure out how to meet your own needs (even spiritual) when you do not have that capability. God says, “I will supply all your needs. I have everything worked out. Trust Me to do it.”
    If we are mentally assenting to the God’s word and NOT receiving it as a divine truth, we will continue to live below your privilege for too long as SONS. We will need to start living by faith (the truth of God’s word) so that God’s Word can come to pass in our lives and ministries and in every spheres of our involvement.
    I may say “Well, I need more faith.”……Brethren Faith is SIMPLE BUT NOT EASY to obtain. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Here is the thing……..When we receive the Word then exercise that knowledge (the heard WORD) by the enablement of the Spirit we let it filter through our knower man to our spirit man then we receive it as a revelation (GOD’s TRUTH), it is then that our faith begins to grow…..
    I HAVE known many Christian that I have personally led to the saving faith and BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST who never went beyond the baptism leave alone to command anything in that NAME!…in fact one Brother remarked to me during one of my teaching sessions……Brother Simon, you are a remarkable teacher of the word…I realized that He truly agreed with every scripture I put forth…. But down the line what I did to the Brother at the river here in Eldoret was ‘DRY CLEANING IN JESUS NAME’ not ‘BAPTISM IN JESUS NAME’. Why? Because he did not receive my teachings on Baptism as the TRUTH but FACTS of the Bible!
    Mental assent is what defeats the child of God who regularly attends church more than anything else. Most Christians are not missing it in what they know about the scripture, but in what they believe (receive as truths). Faith is an act that emanates from our spirit NOT mental faculty! Mental assent just says; “I am blessed and highly favored” while refusing to receive it as a truth provided in the Word. Here is what mental assent is:
    • Mental assent knows 100% that the Bible is the word of God .
    • Mental assent agrees and knows that Jesus is the Son of God.
    • Mental assent agrees and knows that Jesus was raised from the dead.
    • Mental assent will say I believe the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. Mental assent knows that BAPTISM IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST …. Mental assent is beautiful, BUT IT WILL NOT embrace the truth …. Every time we read the Word or hear good teaching then we let filter through our mental faculty….that is the process…. by the enablement of the Spirit of God and put it to practice, our Spiritual life is strengthened a little more. The Word is the seed. Once we put the seed in the nursery (knower man) then it turns into a seedling then eventually transfer it to the actual garden (the spirit man) the seed is going to grow because the power is in the seed.
    James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.” This verse separates mental assent from faith. James says if we think listening to the Word by itself will make the difference, then we are deceiving ourselves. We must learn what we have heard and received by believing and then acting upon it in faith NOT AS A MATTER OF RITUAL.
    Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people…. There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ I will not, he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. (Matt 21:28-31)
    The second son mentally assented to the words of the father but never did anything beyond receiving the word.
    Although the first son was initially rebellious (hardened in the heart) he ended up agreeing to his father’s request and doing it. Jesus was showing us that we cannot just say we know BUT we must believe. WE HAVE TO LIVE OUT OUR FAITH BY DOING WHAT GOD ASKS. WE SHOULD NOT ONLY AGREE WITH HIS WORD AND WILL, BUT ALSO embrace it as a TRUTH not simply what the Bible says (facts)….
    Brethren, faith is not a feeling though it produces a feeling. Faith will make us feel good when our bodies are healed, our needs are met and our lives are victorious! But it is not a feeling! The feeling and the healing (manifestation) follows the saying and the doing (faith)! You say it by faith (knowing it to be the TRUTH not what the Bible simply says) when you feel nothing or even feel terrible and you act like what God has said is true. This is so simple that a child can understand it yet most children of God struggle with grasping it.
    May the Lord bless us and every one of us in the coming weeks!
    Brother Simon MacOnyango
     

  • The Word on the Street – Is It the Bible?

    (Energion author Nick May (Megabelt) posted the following on Facebook, and it is reproduced here with his permission. For his Facebook friends, the post is here.)
    Several years ago, I learned about something called “The Word on the Street” which is a take on the Bible whose modernized terms make The Message read like T.S. Elliot. This is how the author, Rob Lacey, tells the story of Peter walking on water (in beautiful, scripturally appropriate italics):
    Sometime, three maybe four in the morning, Jesus walks out to them across the waves. Freaked out, they scream, “Ghost!” as one man. Before they’ve time to scream again Jesus shouts, “Whoa! Don’t panic! It’s me.” “If it’s you, Boss,” shouts Pete. “give me a go?!” “Come on, then,” says Jesus. So Pete swings his leg over the boat and tests out the water – and his foot doesn’t go under! The other leg joins it. It takes his weight. Seconds later he’s walking across the lake towards Jesus – on the water! He’s doing fine till a face full of wind slaps him back to normality. He freezes, loses focus and starts going under, screaming, “Grab me, Jesus!” Jesus does and holds Pete there saying, “Chicken! Why’d you bottle it?”
    Lacey refers to his own rendition of the story as a paraphrase–saying on the back cover, “This is not THE Bible.” I can appreciate that (though I think it’s a bit of a cop-out). Whereas Lacey takes all kinds of liberties with chopping things up, cutting things out and mixing things around, he never attempts to do anything it shouldn’t by claiming it is something it isn’t. Listen, it’s okay if you were thinking, “Dang, it’s too bad the Bible can’t speak to me the way a friend would at a urinal.” That’s a normal reaction to experiencing something simple; however, despite the striking resemblance the story bares to it’s more widely accepted translations, you’re probably still a little apprehensive about some of the language. What if a chunk of divinity got left out when Lacey switched some of the adverbs around?! Give me a break. If it’s root words you’re worried about, get a Strong’s Concordance or a Greek & Hebrew Bible and go nuts just like you have to do with all the other translations which don’t include any words ending in the suffix, -os.
    I’m sure I’m just now joining a debate that’s nearly a decade old, and this isn’t me arguing for The Word on the Street’s inclusion into The Family Christian Bookstore’s Biblical canon (not yet anyway). I just have a hard time believing that a translation like The Message deserves to be treated any differently than ones like the NIV or NASV did when they first came on the scene. It both sickens and comforts me to think there are probably still those who believe the New International Version is merely a paraphrase of the almighty King James Version–commissioned under and named for King James I who was a real tool (in case my holiness audience didn’t know). There’s not an inch of me that believes I’m only getting an abbreviated dose of inspiration when I read The Message. The story is what it is. We’re all kidding ourselves if we think anything we read that doesn’t come in a scroll is anywhere close to accurate. That doesn’t worry me. The Council of Nicaea worries me. If Rob Lacey decided to ever write a Street version that didn’t leave anything out or include personal commentary, I’d read that thing like it was infallible too, and I wouldn’t apologize for it.
    My musical friends always rag me for not accepting the gospel of Jack White. They say the guy is worthy of being counted among the ranks of guitar greats despite his age and length of time spent in the sphere. I say different. I say old Jacko hasn’t paid his dues, and therefore, doesn’t deserve to be showered with praise and glory just yet (regardless of his undeniable skill)–sharing DVD features with dudes like Kieth Richards and “The Edge” (that pompous tool). It’s this way of thinking that leads people to believe that a translation like The Message hasn’t earned it’s place amongst the pews. Anyone still go to a church with pews? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Sorry for the outdated imagery. It hasn’t paid it’s dues yet, so it doesn’t deserve to be counted with the rest, right?. It’s like that pocket New Testament Message came dribbling along back in ’93 or whenever, and all the other Bibles were like, “Woah there, LeBron! Not so fast. We know you’re a star, but we’re still going to bench you for a few seasons, just so you know your place.”
    I think we’re all just being a little too nice and a little too respectful of some elusive crowd of traditionalists that we abdicated from a long time ago. Jesus spoke in simple terms–teaching through the vehicles of farming and fishing because of the application value. I don’t think there’s a diagram that shows acceptable Bibles and unacceptable Bibles. It’s more like a gradual time-line where the difference is never the content but the context. It would be one thing if Rob Bell came out with a version where Mary wasn’t a virgin or eternal Hell wasn’t a circumstance…oh wait.

Energion Direct
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.