Author: Todd Dow

Acceptance of the authority of Scripture over all other documents and traditions

Have you ever had someone challenge your faith by asking if you really believe what it says in the Bible? In today’s post, I will provide my response to this question. I must preface this article by saying that this is a difficult topic and I can only pray that I will do this posting justice. Many great theologians throughout history have provided their input on this topic. I do not hold a candle to many of the greats. Thus, I will standing on the shoulders of giants in my meagre attempt to do this topic justice.

According to the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective:
4. We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God through the Holy Spirit for instruction in salvation and training in righteousness. We accept the Scriptures as the Word of God and as the fully reliable and trustworthy standard for Christian faith and life. Led by the Holy Spirit in the church, we interpret Scripture in harmony with Jesus Christ.

Most other Christians follow a similar doctrine. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association stresses the importance of scripture as the infallible word of God as the first and foremost belief in their statement of faith: The BGEA believes: “The Bible to be the infallible Word of God, that it is His holy and inspired Word, and that it is of supreme and final authority.”

I could go on, listing many other Christian organizations that stress the infallibility of scripture. As we can see, this is considered one of the core beliefs of Christianity.

But why? What is it about scripture that makes it so important. There are many reasons, including:

• The Bible outlines God’s commands to us.
• The Bible contains the history of humanity from the beginning of creation.
• The Bible displays God’s power.
• The Bible shows Jesus’ ministry and his message of hope and salvation.
• The Bible contains God’s direction on how to live.
• It is filled with birth, death and rebirth.
• It is filled with miracles both great and small.

The Bible is quite fascinating… The Bible has provided comfort and guidance to Christians for hundreds of years. It contains guidance for both the layman and the minister. It contains messages that are layered with meaning. Consider Jesus’ numerous parables and the duplicate messages contained in his messages.

Leading scholars have debated the truth claims of the Bible for years. Scholarly research continues to validate the historical accuracy of the Bible. And, for those passages that are troublesome to the rational mind, metaphorical interpretation is acceptable.

The spectacular thing about the Christian scripture is that it captures the good news of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, in great detail. Religious studies scholars weigh source documents using a concept called multiple attestation. In a nutshell, this concept holds that the more original source documents provide the same facts, the more historically accurate the story in question is held to be. Thus, a source document that has no other “attestations” or collaborating documents, would not be considered very strong. In the case of Christianity, we have four original gospels, or accounts, of Jesus Christ and his ministry. Further, there are scores of additional source documents that also speak of Jesus as our Messiah. This large number of original texts suggests that there is strong compelling evidence to support the truth claims of the New Testament. I therefore hold that the burden of proof is on the skeptic to show me that my beliefs are not valid. I have yet to find anyone that can shake my firm belief in the historical accuracy of the good news of the New Testament.

Now, why would I take this scripture to be the ultimate authority? Well… The Old Testament is filled with numerous commands from God. Further, Jesus’ directions in the New Testament are equally important. As a follower of Jesus, it is my duty to follow his direction. Therefore, the scriptures that contain these directions are considered the authority over all other documents and traditions.

That being said, many would ask me if it appropriate for me to follow the law as laid out in Leviticus. According to this book, numerous offenses demand punishment by death. Jesus alleviates us of these severe punishments by forgiving us for our sins. The New Testament provides us with a more humane way of dealing with our human failings. Thus, I defend this book against those that would criticize it as backwards or inhumane.

The heart of the Bible is the message of Christ’s salvation and our direction to love God and our neighbour. To lose sight of this clear message is to get stuck in the weeds. Legalistic interpretations and arguments do nothing to enhance the community-building gifts that Jesus gives us. We must not lose sight of the fact that Christianity is God’s Way and it is the way of peace, tolerance, harmony and love. Missing this point means to miss the true meaning of living in spiritual bliss with our creator.

I urge you to look to scripture with an open mind, looking for the positive influence that it can bring to your life. Learn from its historical failures. Learn from the numerous wisdom texts contained within. And most of all, absorb the life-changing influence of Jesus’ message of love and peace.

So here we are… Acceptance of the authority of Scripture over all other documents and traditions.
Now that we have laid this foundation, I urge you to reacquaint yourself with scripture. Whether this is a continuation of a bible reading from earlier today or your first time looking through the good book in quite some time, there’s no time like the present to remind yourself of the power of God’s word.

‘Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom’ (Psalm 90:12, KJV)

Next, we’ll tackle the concept of “rebirth” that is so important to Christians.

Until next time, may God bless you and keep you safe.

Todd Dow

Title: Lent Time
Key Verses: Galatians 6:7-10
Topic: Following the calling of God’s spirit in our lives

Part 4: Putting the call into action
So how do we go about living in this way? Paul provides a pretty good rulebook of do’s and don’t’s. We could spend a lot of time talking through each of the items mentioned in Galatians 5:19-26, but we’ll leave that for another time. For today, let’s all try to take away at least one tangible way of enhancing our spirituality.

We’re all different. In our fall Christian parenting Sunday school class, we discussed the personality differences in birth order with children. We also looked at the different dynamics that tend to develop in families between boys and girls as well as between male and female parents. In today’s society, we accept that people have different learning styles and that each of us is expected to express ourselves differently from our neighbours. This is okay. In fact, it is encouraged. Such a rich diversity is bound to confuse those of us that thrive on structure and formulas for success (I’m one of those “structured types”). Lucky for us, there are many different ways to achieve success in the area of spiritual growth. I can guarantee you that for each one of us, there is a method for enhancing our spiritual health and well-being.

For starters, we need to understand what it is we want to accomplish. In what ways do you want to enhance your spirituality? Do you want to increase your ability to pray out loud? That’s one of my personal goals. I struggle with public prayer. As a student pastor, I’ve made that one of my learning goals for this year: public prayer. It’s hard for me and I want to improve it. So I’ve committed myself to practice. And now that I’ve shared it with you, I’ve committed myself further. Now I have to improve. Otherwise, others will know. That’s a lot of pressure! Haha

Other goals:

• Increase your knowledge of the Bible;
• Connect with other like-minded Christians;
• Enhance your marriage relationship;
• Or maybe even go back to the basics (The Alpha Program and Baptism);

Thinking outside of the box, we can see opportunities to build relationships with people outside of our immediate church and family communities in areas such as:

• Helping the poor in our communities and beyond;
• Caring for the sick; or
• Participating in public discussion about peace, war or some other cause that might interest you;

The possibilities are endless. All of these are examples of ways to connect with God and to position ourselves as a Visible Community of Christian believers. Just as we are called to be stewards with our money, we should also be called to be stewards with our time and with our intentional worship.

It’s one thing to identify these goals. It’s quite another to execute on them. How do we turn these goals into action? Looking within Niagara United Mennonite Church, we can see plenty of opportunities coming up in January:

• Our Sunday school program is filled with classes that are sure to appeal to everyone here;
• The library has a ton of great material that can be borrowed for free;
• The pastoral team is approachable and well equipped to help as well;

And there are plenty of other ways to get involved here at Niagara United Mennonite Church. The volunteer opportunities are endless. Each of us is uniquely skilled and we are all able to contribute in our own distinct ways.

Outside of NUMC, the resources are endless:

• Take a wander down to Chapters or Mitchell’s Bookstore and you’ll see a ton of material just waiting to engage you and inspire you;
• You can take classes at local schools. There are plenty of opportunities for those interested in pursuing Christian spirituality in an academic setting;
• Almost every hospital, nursing home, educational institution and many other facilities have volunteer programs that are looking for help;
• MCC: If your local neighbourhood isn’t challenging enough, then Mennonite Central Committee just might be able to find an offsite missions trip that will keep you challenged and spiritually invigorated;

This is only a small sampling of the many possible opportunities and methods of connecting with God. And remember, you don’t have to go big or go home. This isn’t about who can volunteer the most or who can raise the most money for a cause. It’s about being involved in Christian community in a way that pleases the spirit. Whatever your calling, whatever your interest and whatever your skill, I can guarantee that there is a need for anything that you can provide. We are all uniquely skilled and we are all uniquely valued within our community.

There’s one last one that I’d like to mention that I haven’t touched on yet. This is perhaps the simplest and the most effective method of developing spiritual well-being: Direct communication with God. The gift of prayer is something that each of us can do. And we can each do it in our own way and in our own time. Before bed, after waking in the morning, at a special time during the day or even while commuting to and from work, there are many different ways to connect individually with God. The important thing is to be intentional about it and to do it on a regular basis. Make it a habit. Make it a routine. Make it meaningful. And make it happen. Just as we communicate with our spouses, our children, our parents and our friends, make conversations with God a regular part of your day. Nurture that relationship and watch it grow.

Alright… We’ve been given clear instructions. What is holding us back? I challenge us to identify those barriers and find a way to overcome them. We don’t want to be caught off-guard. Embrace the freedom that faith can provide. And remember Paul’s words: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” We all want to be there for that harvest.

So… set your personal spiritual growth plan for 2007.

This is about intentional living and making every day count. We’ve been given the gift of life. Should we squander it, or should we use it for God’s glory? Should we use this time to be a “Visible Community”, or do we hide under the cloak of anonymity? Use our Lent Time to honour God in ourselves and within our community.

God bless you in the year to come. I wish each of you a very exciting and spiritually rewarding year in 2007.

Todd Dow

Title: Lent Time
Key Verses: Galatians 6:7-10
Topic: Following the calling of God’s spirit in our lives

Part 3: Understanding the call
But what exactly should we do to satisfy our Spiritual nature and to avoid our sinful nature? There are numerous lists in the Bible of positive and negative acts. Galatians contains a pretty good overview of appropriate and inappropriate actions. Consider:

Galatians 5:16-26:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

I don’t want to dwell on each of these items at this time. What I do want to highlight again though is the intentionality of these acts. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

We must understand that our motivation is the key. As I mentioned earlier, if my family doesn’t meet our family goals for 2006, we haven’t necessarily failed. Circumstances change. We sometimes miss the mark. We all suffer setbacks. The important thing is how we deal with those setbacks. Do we simply give up and call it failure, or do we reassess the situation and modify our plan so that we can keep moving forward? Do we quit, or do we persevere as Paul tells us to do in verse 9: “we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer provides us with the concept of “The Visible Community” in his book, The Cost of Discipleship. Consider:
Thus the life of the Christian community in the world bears permanent witness to the truth that “the fashion of this world passeth away” (I Cor, 7:31), that the time is short (I Cor. 7:29) and the Lord is nigh (Phil. 4:5). […] The world is growing too small for the Christian community, and all it looks for is the Lord’s return. It still walks in the flesh, but with eyes upturned to heaven, whence he for whom they wait will come again. […] They show the love of God to all men, “but specially to them that are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10, II Pet. 1:7). […] But they are only passing through the country. At any moment they may receive the signal to move on. Then they will strike tents, leaving behind them all their worldly friends and connections, and following only the voice of their Lord who calls. They leave the land of their exile, and start their homeward trek to heaven.
Bonhoeffer: pg 269-270.

As Christians, we are a Visible Community. We live within the world, yet we are striving for a life of salvation in heaven. The question to ask here is, “Are our eyes upturned to heaven”? And do we use Jesus’ example to live our lives?

Are we making the most of this time that we have been lent? As Paul mentions in Galatians 6:9: “for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’” Thus, it is important to be disciplined and to intentionally use the time that we have been given, this Lent Time, to make every day count and to look to that long awaited harvest.

Coming up next: Part 4: Putting the call into action