Proud Ignorance

The Dunning-Kruger effect is when people don't see their weak spots because they don't have enough knowledge or expertise to know they have weak spots. The less a person knows about a subject, the more confident they are in their limited knowledge. The less expertise we have, the more apt we are to be proud of ourselves and confident in our ability. That's why people who can't balance their checkbook think they could do a better job running the economy than those who do, with their 'fancy education'. Years ago, in a job interview, I was asked to rate my skills in an area, on a scale of one to ten. I thought for a moment, and I didn't want to seem proud, so I said a seven. Then they tested me. I was more of a three. I didn't get the job, but I did put the first part of Proverbs 29:23 to the test. I wasn't lying to get the job. I just had no idea how much I didn't know. Some of the most confident people I've ever spoken to about the things of God are people who know very little about the Bible, and some of the most humble believers are people who know a great deal. They know enough to understand the true scope of their understanding.

We are not born (or born again) with a perfect understanding of truth. It takes time, work, prayer, and God's grace. But it's not spiritual to remain in ignorance when the mystery is revealed. Ignorance means to be without knowledge. Over and over in the New Testament, the Bible says, " I would not have you be ignorant," and then proceed to give instruction on a particular doctrine or revelation of a mystery. Yes, there are the secret things that belong to God, but regarding that which is revealed, we shouldn't be ignorant, especially if the Bible says not to be.

Having a little bit of knowledge brings its own perils. The Thessalonians didn't have a good understanding of life after death and the resurrection of the body and so they worried about the death of their loved ones. The cure was knowing the truth and taking comfort in God's promises (1 Thessalonians 4:13). In Romans 11:25, Paul winds up a several chapter section on God's sovereignty in salvation, leading to a discussion on God's final plan for the restoration of the people of Israel. "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits…" Bible prophecy is important and should be known by God's people. I've heard many preachers downplay these truths and act, rather proudly, that only extremists worry themselves with the prophetic word. There is a good example of how willful ignorance makes a man wise in his own conceits – a man, rather boldly, telling people not to concern themselves with what the Bible tells us to know. They'll reap the consequences.

There is Unity in the Bible

I used to be sort of a Luddite, but then I couldn’t find that happy medium of when I would chose to decide technology became bad. Even those who shun reading on electric devices still are using a rather new technology in the book, when you look at it from world history. Starting somewhere around the 1st century, the idea of a codex came into the Roman Empire. Prior to that, the “books” were scrolls. But with the codex you have the idea of stacking the payprus and binding and it became the standard almost immediately. I’m sure there were a few people who said, “back in my day, we didn’t have these fancy ‘bindings’ . If we wanted to read something, we’d get the scroll.” But, the technology (thankfully) caught on. That being said, with scrolls, you would have collections of scrolls, not just one giant scroll of the “Old Testament”.

But, prior to the New Testament, the people wouldn’t have called their Bible the “Old Testament” because it wasn’t yet old. So why do we? Why are there two different sections? Jeremiah 31:31-34 tells us the old covenant was the promise made to Israel, but also tells us there was a new covenant coming. What is it and when did it come? Hebrews 10:12-18 tells us the new covenant comes with Jesus (Hebrews 12:24). The New Testament is the new covenant. You can think of it this way, it’s not the “last will and testament” but rather it is the promise of what the testament provided, the promises of God to His people. So the Old Testament is the first covenant God made with Israel, until the fulfillment of those promises in Jesus Christ. The New Covenant begins with Jesus. They don’t contradict, since it was part of God’s plan from the start.

The Bible is a little library, divided into sections of the Old and New Testaments and not each book is written in the same style. The Lord divided the Old testament into three sections, the law, the prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44). In the New Testament, you start with the gospels, which tells the story of Jesus from four different perspectives, for four different purposes. Luke, was a physical by trade, wrote his gospel as a historian, gathering the facts of eyewitness accounts (Luke 1:1-4). John said he wrote his gospel so you would have faith in Jesus Christ (John 20:31). Matthew wrote his gospel primarily for Jewish readers, and Mark gives a brief account of Jesus life, hitting the high points of His earthly ministry in quick detail. You have history (Acts) and the epistles (which is just a different way of saying letters) written to either individuals or churches, and closing out with prophecy in Revelation.

This is important to better understand what it is you are reading. For example, Psalms 23:1-2, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” Here is a truth taught in a poetic way. I don’t think the Lord will literally make me lay down in a pasture, but this is a poem and the image of a shepherd (the Lord) and a sheep (me) and from it I can understand the truth of the Lord’s care for me. Understanding the books and their purposes will help you to read it. Let’s imagine we are back in school, and it’s 8 am and it’s time for history class. You get out your book and you read about the American Civil War. What would you expect to find? Information about key people, important battles, political struggles. You might even find some interesting tidbits about minor players playing a big role. The bell rings and now it’s English Literature class and you get out your copy of Shakespeare’s King Lear and read, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Now, that’s a truth spoken it a way to make you stop and think about it. The child doesn’t literally have sharp edges, but metaphorically speaking, a sharp tongue. The bell rings and it’s time for Math. You get your book out and there is a brief section on the theory but it’s mostly examples to look at and formulas to remember. You read the problems, think about the theory, spot the concept in the example, then work it out yourself. God also teaches us in the Bible in various ways (Hebrews 1:1-2). Sometimes we read history, sometimes, a poem, or you might read the dimensions of the tabernacle or the sacrifices and offerings in Exodus and Leviticus and look at that pattern and formula for worship and sacrifice and work out from that picture truth about heavenly patterns (Hebrews 9:23).


That being said, just because there are two divisions doesn’t mean there are two different Scriptures. There is unity with the Bible. God inspired the Word from Genesis to Revelation and there is a common and unified plan of salvation, by grace, through faith, in Christ. The old testament saints were waiting on the promise of the Messiah and had faith in what he would do and we look back to the promises fulfilled and what Jesus did for us. The Bible points us to Christ because all of God’s people have always looked to Christ (Luke 24:27; John 5:39). The Bible developed, in time, as God gave more light. The more light added to the unity of the whole. But just because Moses didn’t have the full light of the finished Book, doesn’t mean you should read Exodus without the light of the New Testament. It also means that you can also study the Bible topically, since there is unity. You can learn the Bible as a whole, to see what God says about a topic to gain fuller understanding of God’s will in a particular area. The Bible wasn’t written in a systematic theology, where every truth is found in a certain chapter. There isn’t a Trinity chapter or a “family chapter” but, the Bible teaches those truths throughout, and we mine the depths of Scripture to learn God’s will for us.

Pray for the President

The Roman Empire was hardly friendly to Christianity and filled with gospel-minded men. It was full of corruption, and wickedness. Paul gives Timothy a list of how he can resist the government, fight back against the onslaught of corrupt politics, and take Rome back to her Republic principles. Timothy needed to focus much time and attention in spreading stories about Caesar, and making sure everyone knew his political stand. Oh, that's not what it said in 1 Timothy 2:1-7? 

Do you know what pleases the Lord? It's not political memes. The Lord says we should pray for our leaders, from our local representation all the way up to the White House.   Paul instructed Timothy that the church of God should be a house of prayer. Particularly, Paul narrows in on praying for governmental leadership. Sometimes we know we should pray, but don't know how to pray. Thankfully, this isn't the case here because 1 Timothy 2:1-7  says how to pray for those in authority.

We pray to be able to live quiet, peaceful, godly, and honest lives without persecution or government intrusion. We need to pray that the government would leave us alone and allow us to live Christian lives. To be able to work, and live for God's glory. To be able to raise our children as Christians in peace. To be good neighbors, in the name of Christ for the glory of Christ. To bless those that curse us and bless those we know and love.  To be able to quietly and peaceably, and honestly, live sacrificially for the good of others in our community for the glory of God. To be able to tell that blessed story of our crucified and risen Saviour and openly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We should, as Americans, thank God for the freedom of conscience have now and not take it for granted.

We should pray for our leaders because God has placed them in office for His purpose, and we don't know what that purpose is. I pray because I believe Proverbs 21:1  "The king's (and president’s) heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." Nothing is too difficult for God – and that includes directing the policies of politicians. Let's "lobby" to our God and not put our trust in men. We should also pray for the salvation of their souls and that they would come to the knowledge of the truth. Whether we like or dislike those in authority, they are men and women, flesh and blood. They have souls and will stand before a God who is no respecter of persons. May God send revival. This is one reason why Paul told us to pray for them, because God saves all types of people (I Timothy 2:4). 

Does your Facebook posts show that you believe this verse? If you are publicly mocking the president because he's old, then you are not praying for him. 

I pray for myself. That my words, thoughts, prayers following the election will be seasoned with love. Love for my neighbors  love for my Saviour, and love for my fellow citizens. It is so easy to get angry and hasty with our words when it comes to politics. Let's remember that no matter who is President, as Christians, we are loyal subjects to the King of King's.

Finally, this is a slight edit and repost from 2016. Why? Because it's still true, no matter who the president is and no matter what his politics are. 

The Bible is God's Word

 The Bible says its every word is pure (Proverbs 30:5) and that it shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). What this means, then, is that the Bible IS the Word of God. The quickest way a man can make himself seem rather intelligent, is to take a complicated issue and make it more complicated. Many scholars do that with Bible translations.  But let’s simplify the matter. My Bible is the Word of God. It’s doesn’t “contain” the Word of God, but it is. It’s not my view that causes people to doubt their Bibles. I want you to have confidence in your Bible. What does the Bible demand of us, God’s people, who have a vested interest in reading the Word of God? The Lord God has commanded us to read and study  (John 5:29; 2 Timothy 2:15). God has commanded His people to teach and preach the word, throughout all the world (Matthew 28:18-20). But the Bible never tells us we must learn Hebrew or Greek to hear God or to obey these commands. In fact, the New Testament quotes Greek translations of Hebrew, therefore affirming that a translation doesn’t contain the Word but is the Word of God. The Lord in His good will and providential dealings with man ordained His word to be translated into the language of the people because it does no good to have a word in another language that the people can’t understand (1 Corinthians 14:6-28). And since the Lord ordained God’s word to be preached throughout the world, and it is His will for His churches to know, possess, and keep His Word (Colossians 3:16) preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) and learn and live by the Word that transforms the heart and mind (Romans 12:2) which is also that same incorruptible seed the used of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration (1 Peter 1:22-25) which is also that same Word the Spirit uses in our sanctification and belief of the truth, you can know that we have God’s Word in English. If we don’t have the Word of God in our own language, then we cannot know God, know His will, or obey his command for us. God in His providence has persevered His Word for us, just as God in His providence preserved His church.

 When you read the Bible, it’s God’s Word. When the penmen wrote, it was the the Lord speaking through the prophet. Matthew 1:22-23, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us,” The internal witness of the Bible says it is God’s Word. Moses may have said it, but he was “moved by the Holy Ghost,” (2 Peter 2:21). Isn’t that a logical fallacy? The Bible is God’s Word because it said it is? I am of the opinion that all statements of ultimate truth are circular. You have to start somewhere for authority and then return to that authority. For example, the humanist, says reason is man’s way of understanding and through the process of science, logic, reason, man can understand the world. But how do I know that’s true? Through logic, reason, and understanding? So, when talking about ultimate, foundational truths, a circular argument isn’t a fallacy. Everyone MUST do that, because you have to have a place to start. I believe God’s Word is that starting point, not the fallible mind and structure of men. Besides, I don’t need or have to “prove” the Bible is true. But even if we did, the Bible is a historical document and isn’t determined to be true by “the scientific method” but by evidence. Simon Greenleaf, professor at Harvard  from 1833-48, who was instrumental in founding Harvard Law, wrote a book, “The Testimony of the Evangelist.” He treated Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as witnesses and whether or not what they wrote would be admissible in a court as reliable witnesses. Using the same guidelines he would use in a court of law, he found their testimony to be trustworthy and would absolutely be considered reliable witnesses.

The Bible is no ordinary book

The English word comes to us through the Latin and Greek language, that means “book”.  The Bible is a little library of 66 different books, written by around 40 different people over the space of approximately 1500 years. Smith’s Bible Dictionary says, “Twenty-two of [the books of the Bible] are historical, five are poetical, eighteen are prophetical, twenty-one are epistolary. They contain logical arguments, poetry, songs and hymns, history, biography, stories, parables, fables, eloquence, law, letters and philosophy. There are at least thirty-six different authors, who wrote in three continents, in many countries, in three languages, and from every possible human standpoint. Among these authors were kings, farmers, mechanics, scientific men, lawyers, generals, fishermen, ministers and priests, a tax-collector, a doctor, some rich, some poor, some city bred, some country born -- thus touching all the experiences of men extending over 1500 years.” That is a marvel, of itself. My guess is if I got 40 Baptist preachers to write 40 articles on the church, we wouldn’t all agree on everything and there would be some inconsistency in the work. But not the Bible.

 What is the Bible? Let’s ask the Bible! What does the Bible say about itself? It’s the book (Psalm 40:7). The Scriptures (John 10:35; 20:9; Romans 4:3; 2Peter 1:20), which just mean “the writings.” They are the Scripture of truth (Daniel 10:21) and the Oracles of God. The Word, the testament, and as Psalm 119 says, it’s the law, the law of the Lord, the precepts, the statues, commandments, righteous judgments, and God’s ways. The testimony of the Bible, about the Bible is it is the Word of God. Over and over again, you read, “the Lord said…thus saith the Lord”  or some such expression, attributing the words in the text to God. W.A Criswell said he found that formula around 3800 times. Therefore, it is no ordinary book.

What is the Bible?

 Acts 8:26-40 tells of when Philip spoke to an Ethiopian man of great authority about the Bible. This man was sitting in his chariot, reading the Scripture, a passage from Isaiah and Philip asked him, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” The man gives an interesting reply. If I was sitting on a park bench, and as stranger came up to me and asked me if I understood what I was reading, I’d probably wouldn’t have replied as the Ethiopian did — unless, I was really struggling to grasp what I was reading and desperate to know what it meant. So he said, “How can I, except some man should guide me?”  I remember, as a young boy, sitting in my room, trying to start to read the Bible for the first time. It’s a big book, and I had no clue where to begin. I knew in my Bible, the red letters meant Jesus was speaking, but that was a long way from the beginning of the book. Do you start at the beginning or with the New Testament? I knew the preacher would preach from various texts of Scripture and I tried to follow along. He read the Bible before the service, but also read in various passages, so is that how you also read it and if so, where do you start and how do you know where to start? And if you can start with John’s gospel, as recommended, how do I know what is going on since it’s toward the end of the book? What kind of book is this? It may be common knowledge, but it’s not knowledge that a person is born with. With that in mind, maybe you are in the same boat, and have some questions about the Bible.

 The Bible is a book. Yes, a spiritual book that needs to be understood spiritually (1 Corinthians 2:6-16) with the Holy Spirit. But a book nonetheless. The Ethiopian was not an unintelligent man. As far as education and learning, it is likely the Ethiopian was far more intelligent that Philip. You don’t put a dummy in charge of your treasure (Acts 8:27) if you want to keep it very long. It wasn’t a lack of intelligence but a lack of spiritual understanding. You need to read it prayerfully, with the dependence upon the Holy Spirit. But also, don’t make it overly complicated. Seminaries only get paid if people enroll. Book publishers only get paid if people buy the book giving deep insight into stratagems of study and reading. Websites need the clicks on why the Bible is so complicated, so the best way to do that is make a person feel like they need someone or some system to understand the Bible. Here’s God’s system. Pray, read, and go to church. Repeat. Certainly, there are some good resources on reading the Bible and they will be a great help to you. But that’s covered under the “going to church” part. Ask your pastor for some trusted resources or some helps. He cares for your soul, whereas Crossway and The Gospel Coalition do not, since you are their market, not the people the Holy Spirit has given charge over. But don’t think you must have those resources first before you can read the Bible and profit.  Any book you read, where you are unfamiliar with the people, the setting, the culture, will make you feel like you a little lost. War and Peace starts out written in French. Then, it goes to a party, talking about fictional characters, as if you are supposed to know who they are. It’s a little disorienting. But by and by, if you stick with it, you’ll figure out who is who. If you stick with the Bible and keep reading, you’ll get more and more comfortable with what’s going on. Not only will you know who Jeroboam is, you’ll know the Jeroboam type. So, not to be glib, but it’s a pretty simple formula. Pray, read, and go to church. It’s a spiritual book, but it is a book.

Principle Design

What do you think would be the principle design of the life of a Christian? John Owen, in his preface to The Glory of Christ wrote that it is to acquaint themselves with Christ, to Trust Christ, to love and honor Christ, and to endeavor after conformity to Christ. "In these things," Owen wrote, "consist the soul, life, power, beauty, and efficacy of the Christian religion; without which…it is a useless, lifeless carcass." This is actually a summary of Paul's statement in Philippians 3:8-12. Paul counted all his worldly attainments as loss that he might know Christ. I very much doubt a majority of people would count acquainting themselves with Christ a high priority, let alone a defining purpose of life. Everything else would fall by the wayside and be worthless compared to being acquainted with Christ and all efforts and all costs to obtain it would be small by comparison. To know Christ is to truly know Him intimately and personally. Not to know about Him, but to love Him. Yet while He is not here physically, the Spirit of God illuminates the eyes of faith, through His Word, that He speaks to us, comforts us, communes with us. He is present in the darkest trial, He is there in our greatest sorrow. He is there in the times of peace and rest when all is well. 

I know Jesus. He saved me from my sins. I know Him as a redeemer, His blood has washed me clean. I know Him as Lord, the shepherd of my soul. I know Him as king in the beauty of holiness. I know Him as the water of life that satisfies and the bread from Heaven that endures to eternal life. It is through Scripture that we grow in love towards Him. 

To know Christ is to want to be like Christ. To know Christ is to love him. To love him is to follow him. Paul loved Christ and wanted nothing more than to learn of him, to follow him wherever that may lead. His life belonged to Christ and He desired that life to be conformed in every way to be more like Jesus. Even in suffering, Paul saw it as a way to follow in His master's steps. Paul was not perfect. He was nowhere near where he desired to be spiritually. He desired Christ, that calling of holiness, the hope of eternal life. So Paul had his gaze fixed on Christ, and pressed on following him and calls us to do the same.

Is Jesus precious to you? Is Jesus the principle design of your life and do you long to know him and be like him? Can you see, with eyes of faith, the sinless lamb of God, covered in blood, dying for your sins, crying out "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and not be moved? If Jesus is not precious to you, then you have a religion without power and life.