BIBLE TOPICS

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path". Ps 119:105

Subjects

ONE BIBLE, MANY CHURCHES:

WHY?

WHAT IS TRUTH?

The most urgent task facing the Christian today is the achievement, not of Church unity, but of Christian purity.

True Christian unity can only be achieved on the basis of total identification with the doctrine and way of life which Jesus taught and demonstrated. This is 'the truth' the emphatic, constantly recurring theme of the apostles' teaching. They spoke of:

• ' knowing the truth' (Hebrews 10 v 26)
• 'believing the truth' (2 Thessalonians 2 v 13)

• 'obeying the truth' (1 Peter 1 v 22)

• 'being established in the truth' (2 Peter 1 v 12)

They feared the dangers of:

• ' resisting the truth' (2 Timothy 3 v 8)
• 'erring from the truth' (James 5 v 19)
• 'turning from the truth' (Titus 1 v 14)

Fears that have been all to amply justified.

The apostles who were inspired by God, made it clear that there was only one authentic definitive form of Christianity. Present day liberal Christianity, in common with most philosophy, regards truth as essentially personal and subjective; what is valid for one individual may not be so for another. It is a view which rejects or ignores the inspiration of scripture, and essentially rejects the most dramatic and far-reaching claim of Christ himself - to be God's revelation, God's unfolding of himself to man. There can be no unanimity, no possibility of Christian unity, whilst such fundamental issues are at stake and the underlying authority of Christianity is in dispute.

The first and only possible step toward regaining the truth is to recognise the Bible, Old and New Testaments, as what it claims to be, the Word of God. This recognition does not entail the sacrifice of reason or intellectual integrity; there has never been such a mass of historical, archaeological and scientific evidence confirming the authenticity and reliability of the biblical documents. To recognise its innate wisdom and authority, one must read it. It is often asserted that 'you can prove anything from the Bible'. Certainly some of the more extreme sects today interpret Scripture with scant regard for context or historical background. The fact remains however, that whenever throughout Christian history men have returned to the Bible as the only authoritative divine witness, there emerges a remarkable unanimity on all the essentials of the Christian message. The fundamentals of first-century Christianity can be established beyond reasonable doubt from the historical evidence and the clear teaching of the New Testament. The following is the briefest possible summary (for more detailed treatment of individual subjects please contact us at the E-mail address given on the Home Page):

• God is a unity, and created all things by His Spirit (or power).
• Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and died as the representative of the human race to make possible salvation from sin;
• Man, because of sin, is destined only to complete oblivion apart form the love of God and the saving work of Jesus:
• The reward of righteousness will be eternal life spent on the earth after bodily resurrection;
• The Kingdom of God has already existed in the past as the Kingdom of Israel, and will be re-established on earth in the future under the rulership of Christ when he returns in person to the earth;
• Belief in the gospel ('good news') and baptism by immersion in water are essential to salvation.

Every one of these simple, logical propositions has at some time in the course of the last nineteen centuries been distorted, corrupted, denied or elaborated beyond recognition in the name of Christianity.

Having established 'the truth', the demands of Christ are simple but comprehensive: 'he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved' (Mark 16 v 16). Again the examples of the earliest Christians shines as a beacon through the muddle and obscurity of contemporary Christianity: 'they that gladly received his word were baptised ... and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers' (Acts 2 v 41 & 42). Submission to one of the simplest but most humbling commands of Jesus, followed by a 'patient continuance in well-doing' (Roams 2 v 7) - these are the hallmarks of the true Christian. Jesus said:

"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8 v 31 & 32).

In 'the truth' alone lies the hope of true freedom for the individual, freedom from sin and death, freedom from the imponderable dilemmas which face mankind. Only on the basis of such belief in and obedience to 'the truth' can Christian fellowship exist, and genuine peace become a reality. For all man's cynicism and vaunted self-sufficiency, never has he needed the voice of authority more than he does today. Read and re-read the Bible, and then read it again. There alone is the authoritative, unchanging witness of God himself. There alone, undistorted by human prejudice and speculation, uncompromised by intellectual arrogance, is the real Christ, "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever" (Hebrews 13 v 8).

These articles are produced with the intent of stimulating personal Bible study. If you would like to make use of our Bible studies which cover a wide variety of subjects, or have any comments or questions, we will be happy to hear from you. Please contact us at  Bible Light

or

Goodnews Publications

c/o The Dawn Book Supply

66 Carlton Road

Nottingham

NG3 2AP

England