Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

• Daniel 9:2

Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

• Mark 14:49

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

• James 4:5-6

“Simply put, the Bible is the rock on which the Church stands or falls. It is the ultimate authority for all Christians —Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox alike. It is revealed propositional truth. The texts were written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and thus are revealed to us. It is propositional because it makes a series of claims. It is truth because it is from God, and thus must certainly be true; God could not have spoken something that is not true because that would be contrary to His nature. This is why all true Christians take the Bible as their ultimate authority— and why no Christian should ever be intimidated in defending it. …
“Christians have no reason to be intimidated. The evidence that God has spoken is overwhelming.?”

• Charles Colson (with Harold Fickett), The Faith

As I did last week, I am taking Chuck Colson’s summary at the end of the chapter to discuss this foundational point in Faith.  Between these two paragraphs that are quoted, he talked about attending a conference to give a message.  He was introduced to another presenter who had more theological degrees than any man should ever need.  The man turned to Chuck and said that since Chuck had an Ivy League degree, certainly he did not believe all of that stuff in the Bible.  Chuck replied that he certainly did believe it.

The Scriptures are just a few selected Scriptures.  First, Daniel knew from what Jeremiah had written that the exile would last seventy years.  He used this prophecy as the foundation for what happened next.  There was no guesswork.  Daniel knew.  He trusted that the words of Jeremiah were God-breathed.

Then Jesus submitted Himself to be arrested and crucified so that Scripture should be fulfilled.  Jesus, being fully human and fully God, could not violate the God-breathed Words from His Heavenly Father.

Then, we get the God-breathed notion driven home by the passage to Timothy.

In this chapter, Mr. Colson starts with the history of the Christians in the late second century when the emperor blamed the Christians for the famine they were experiencing.  The Christians were persecuted, but they took comfort in the Scriptures, protecting them.  Then he tells the history of Christians in China in 1974, Henan province.  They were also persecuted.  In both instances, the church survived the persecution by holding fast to God’s word.  He uses those two instances as bookends, with many moments of church persecution in between, the entire time safeguarding the Scriptures.

Colson points out that the Scriptures were God-breathed, from the Holy Spirit to the authors.  He talks about how the Bible has more ancient manuscripts found to confirm what we now read as being what was originally written (considering translations and nuances that change within those languages).  When he wrote the book, there were over 14,000 manuscripts from the Old Testament.  The closest secular text is Homer’s Iliad with 600 manuscripts.

And God reaches many people through a chance, seemingly random, glance at Scriptures.  Chuck Colson used the example of St. Augustine having Romans 13 open and a child singing a line from a game saying “pick it up and read.”  The words St. Augustine read convicted him of his sin and he repented, drawing close to Jesus in the process.

Then we could look at archeology and recent discoveries in genetics and the DNA that point toward the biblical narrative being true, although the world pushes an unprovable godless agenda toward Creation.

Yet, with all of this mountain of evidence that the Bible is God’s Word, even people who claim to be Christians do not read the Bible.  If it is our foundational information about God, why ignore it?  Why question it?  And why, as Colson completed the quote above, are we intimidated in defending the Bible?

Lord, show me what are the foundations of “the Faith.” Keep me in Your Holy Word.  Give me the knowledge and strength to defend You through our knowledge of Scriptures.  And help each of us know that the Bible is true and can be relied upon.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.