Bible As The Source Of Authority And Wisdom Flashcards
Intro
- The term Bible means the books in Greek and this reflects that the Bible is composed of many different books that Christians believe they find the message of God within.
- Many books within the Bible refer to the Scriptures and again there is recognition that there are many different writings inspired by God
- christians believe that the Bible gives instructions on moral advice as well as the meaning and purposes of life and that it is a guide to every day living and a source of comfort and encouragement
The Bible used as a source of moral authority - Ecclesiastes
The first passage in the book of the OT is Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “fear God and keep us commandments for this is the duty of all mankind”
- The author of this book named the our purpose in life is to “fear God and keep his commandments”
- Only these two things matter in life.
- Therefore morality – what is right – derives from this
- obedience to the laws of the Old Testament
- this is expected in a book that’s in the canon of the Jewish religion because as a legalistic religion, the covenant is between God and Israel in which they obey the laws as he is their chosen God
- this similarly links the the divine command theory that an omnibenevolent God can only command something that is God
- therefore if God commands it it is good and therefore the right thing to due
- hence why we must “ fear God and keep his commandments” in order to retain salvation
The Bible as a source of moral authority - Luke
The next passage is from the NT and is Jesus speaking directly from Luke 6:36-37
- “be merciful just as your father is merciful.
- do you not judge and you will not be judge do not condemn and you will not be condemned forgive and you’ll be forgiven”
- Jesus is message is clear; morality is not simply about following laws.
- Christians are called to a highest standard of moral behaviour.
- They are expected to be merciful, not to judge or condemn others and above all forgive.
- This is echoing God’s ultimate act of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to save humanity so that we can have eternal life
The Bible as a guide to everyday living - psalms
- psalms 119:9-16
“. How can a young person stay on the path of purity by living? - According to your word.
- I seek you with all my heart do you not let me stray from your commands
- …Lord teach me your degrees.
- …I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways
- … I will not neglect your word”
- this passage says that what one needs to do in order to live a good life this is because in the old Testament it focusses on the obedience to the law
- this passage has numerous synonyms for laws
- this passage is also a guide as to how Christian should live.
- whilst Christian is in general would say that they are safely that behaviour and faith in Jesus, his word has the power to forgive sins and help Christians to follow God obediently.
- so when we talk about law as described here, we are talking about what God has commanded as Jesus is God and what Jesus has commanded - especially for Christians, if they follow that they will be forgiven.
The Bible as a guide to living - psalms 119
- psalms 119: 105- 122
- “ your word is a lamp for my feet, light on my path
- Preserve my life lord according to your word
- I will not forget your laws
- I have not strayed from your
- my heart set and keeping your decree to the very end”
- The teaching in this passage echoes that of the previous passage
The Bible as a guide to living - sermon on the mount
- in the sermon on the Mount Jesus is very clear about the laws
- Matthew 5:17-18
- “ do you not think that I have come to abolish the law or the profits; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them”
- this suggests that the law in the old Testament is meant to last forever
- Jesus then goes to tell his followers that their righteousness (Matthew 5:19) needed to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees
- it is clear from the gospels that Jesus did not object to the law but to mistaken interpretations of the law he criticised the Pharisees for obeying the ‘letter’ as opposed to the ‘spirit’ of the law.
- therefore Jesus is insinuating that actions are not the only things that I needed to be right rather it is the motive behind the action that is needed to be right as well
- and that is what is key to morality and how a Christian should live their life
- for example we should do good deeds for good reasons
The Bible as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life - genesis
- Genesis 1:26-28
- “let us make mankind in our image
- … Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it
- rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky…”
- this does not mean that God created humans to resemble him physically
- Rather it raises the idea that God gave humans and awareness, one which animals and birds and fish were not
- Humans have the capacity for: reason, morality, language, personality, and purpose
- morality and spirituality are unique to human beings among God’s creation on earth
- like God humans possess the capacity to experience and understand love, truth and beauty
- that is our purpose in life to understand our place in earth
- Humans are appointed as stewards and God is the maker and all creations belong to him
- However, God gave humans the responsibility to rule over all other life he has made on earth
- and in that sense humans would stand in God’s image, God’s representatives, on earth as we rule over and manage all the rest of his creations
- so the idea is to pursue this relationship with God because we are made in his image
- so the meaning and purpose of human like is first and foremost the pinnacle of God creation
- and for many Christians, rulers an maintainers of the created order
The Bible as teaching on the meaning and purposes of life - Ecclesiastes
- Ecclesiastes 9:5-9
- “for the living know that they will die but the dead no nothing
- God has already approved
- for this is your lot in life”
- this passage makes the point that they’re living know that death is inevitable,
- and this should lead them to make use of the opportunities given, to enjoy and profit by the present
- they should not stand idle, lamenting their fate, but they’re duty and the happiness except the inevitable and make the best of it
- they should not be viewed as pessimistic
- God clearly wants his creation to enjoy life but at the same time we must remember that life on earth is the only arena of opportunity for accomplishment
- what questions were saying is that what we do in this life has a direct impact of what happens to us afterlife which is eternal life after death
- so Christians it is the eternal life after death with God that gives us real purpose and meaning to our existence and what we do in this life directly impact on that
- for Christians the Bible teaches that there is more to life than material things
- Everyone has been created in the image of God and has been created for eternity
- Therefore the meaning and purpose of life for Christians is to define God, to know him, to do his will, to serve him and to show him to the world
- it is to worship God and to give him the glory that is due to him .
- so Christians believe that those who believe in Jesus and follow Jesus will share his resurrection and eventually receive the ultimate reward of eternal life
The Bible as a source of comfort and encouragement - psalms
- Psalms 46:1-3
- “ God is our refuge and strength and every present help in trouble
- therefore we were not fear”
- this passage reinforces the Christian belief that God is there for them during the storms and difficulties of of life
- Because Jesus has one victory over there so there is nothing to be truly
- this is reiterated in the new Testament when Jesus says in Matthew 6:25
- “ therefore I tell you do not worry about your life… is not life more than food and the body more than clothes”.
- if you look at the Bible as a source of comfort and encouragement and why it’s so good is because it deals with the issues of the human condition
- it recognises that humans struggle with: temptation, sin, bereavement, poverty, conflict, and fear of death
- in regards to sin, the Bible shows that even the most devout people such as King David gave in to temptation and sin
- however the key message is that with repentance God will forgive
- In regard to bereavement – death is not the end, eternal life awaits those who have faith in Jesus
