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November 2018

The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: A Response to the Influence of Bart Ehrman

A Guest Post by Peter Kozushko

Since 2005, Bart Ehrman, a distinguished critical New Testament scholar, has authored four New York Times best sellers challenging the historical accuracy of the Bible. That is a significant readership for a Biblical scholar. Ehrman has succeeded in popularizing the efforts of The Jesus Seminar which sought to undermine confidence in the Gospels a decade before. Ehrman may have also won a significant number of converts. A 2016 report by the American Bible Society revealed that the percentage of American Bible skeptics rose over the previous six years from 12 percent to 22 percent. Whether a correlation exist between Ehrman’s popularity and this sudden increase in Bible skepticism in America, Ehrman has certainly had an impact. It is common place in our day to hear skeptics credit Ehrman for their personal doubts and questions about the historical accuracy of the Bible. In recent years this has been my experience conversing with skeptics and my latest doctoral work on the historical reliability of the Gospels has introduced me to many more. How should Bible believing Christians respond to Ehrman’s influence?

Distinction between the visible and invisible church

Starting around the 4th century - the expression "Visible Church" was referred to by theologians, not to a building, but to the members on the rolls of a local church. In other words, all persons who are members of a local church are considered to be a part of the visible church.

On the other hand, the invisible church refers to those persons who have actually been regenerated or quickened by the Holy Spirit, God's elect or true believers. Augustine referred to the church as a mixed body, a visible people, but this people has both tares and wheat, as described by Jesus. In other words, there is no such thing as a perfect church, and there will always people in the church there with bad motives or are there for the wrong reason. There will always be people who claim to love Christ but whose heart is far from Him. Many, Jesus says, will say on that day, did we not do this and that in your name? Jesus will then say, "I never knew you". These are descriptions of some people now sitting in your local church and Jesus says of them that he "never knew them!!!" Some persons are in church for show, to be seen by men as pious, others perhaps for a social club or to show of their ability to wax eloquent when discussing theology. These persons hearts are completely invisible to us, but of course, they are not invisible to God and only He can know who is truly regenerate, so we must be generous in our judgements.

What does it mean to "fall away"?

The visible church of Christ is mixed; having both wheat and tares. It is the characteristic of God's people to persevere to the end because God preserves them (John 6:38-40, John 10:28-29, Romans 8:28-39). Those who fall away demonstrate that they had spurious faith. (See 1 John 2:19) The Holy Spirit quickens His people and since His seed abides in them He keeps them from falling away because they have been born again (1 John 3:19). He also preserves His own by disciplining us when we fail to judge ourselves, so that we won't be condemned along with the world (1 Cor 11:31-32). God also uses his word as a means of preserving us by calling us to persevere and giving us warnings of what will occur if we don't.

The warnings in scripture given in the context of the visible church are directed at both the regenerate and unregenerate, both wheat and tares, both sheep and goats. These kind of warnings serve two purposes:

1) The elect (sheep) hear his voice in the word and take heed.

2) The non-elect (goats) do not hear his voice and fall away.

In other words, the warnings serve as a means of grace (or hardening). - when the elect hear warnings in scripture it causes them to persevere. When the non-elect hear it, their heart hardens over time and they fall away completely, revealing that they have been trusting in something other than Christ alone for salvation.

"He will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever." - Psalm 37:28

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Chapter XVII. Of the Perseverance of the Saints

Jesus Christ, the Savior from Sin

John Calvin once said, "...this is everlasting life: to wit, to know God the Father, and to receive Christ as our only Savior."

Here John Calvin partially quotes John 17:3 and then tacks on the the suffix about receiving Christ as the only Savior. As you probably know, the fact that Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners is emphasized heavily throughout the New Testament. That He comes into the world with the name or title of "Savior" ought to be a constant reminder to us that we cannot save ourselves.

"Isn't that obvious John", you may be thinking. Don't worry I am going somewhere with this.

The Severity of God

The Gospel can never be preached without consequence of ultimatum! And the presentation of the Wrath of God is not optional but mandatory, not suggested but required. But know this that the Wrath of God is never intended to scare sinners into salvation (for fear is never a proper motive for salvation), but is always there to condemn those who will never come unto salvation.

For God has so prepared His message for both groups of hearers, seeing that the preaching is done before a mix of those that are to come and those who are to turn away. And it would appear that the Gospel preached in its entirety must have both ingredients within to be the one and only true Gospel.

Therefore it makes no difference whatsoever how well one presented the truth of God's Mercy, for if he did not present alongside of it God's Wrath, the Gospel complete was not preached.

What are the effects of only preaching a message where the Mercy of God is lone presented? The effects are tremendous, in that what we fail to see is something revealing about the Wrath of God. For where God's Mercy is presented as the only part of salvation, it is here where we will find both believer and unbeliever alike coming forth to receive what only the one could ever receive. And it's the Wrath of God that reveals in truth the true believer. Because it's something that's tied to the unbeliever that this Wrath of God brings out from within.

For Unto Us a Child is Born - Isaiah 9: 1-7

I have been reading from Calvin's Commentariy on Isaiah and I had to included this portion because it is so sublime. I would encourage you to open you Bible to read the first seven verses of Isaiah 9 and may the Lord use this expostion to richly bless you..

by John Calvin

1. Yet the darkness shall not be. He begins to comfort the wretched by the hope of alleviation, that they may not be swallowed up by the huge mass of distresses. Many take these words in quite an opposite meaning, that is, as a threatening which denounces against the Jews a heavier affliction than that with which Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15:29) and Shalmanezer (2 Kings 17:6) afflicted them. The former inflicted a heavy calamity, the latter inflicted one still heavier, for he carried the twelve tribes into captivity, and blotted out the name of the nation. Some think that he now foretells the heaviest calamity of all, for if it be compared with the former two, it exceeds both of them. Though I am not prepared to reject this view, for it does not want plausibility, yet I rather favor a different opinion. The other interpretation is indeed more plausible, that the Prophet intended to deprive hypocrites of every enjoyment, that they might not imagine that this calamity would quickly pass away like a storm as the others had done, for it would be utterly destructive; and so we shall take the particle ky (ki) in its literal meaning. [138]

Parents and Children on the Lord's Day - Together on Purpose

By Pastor John Samson

We believe it is a great privilege for a child to grow up in a Christian home and for the entire family to worship together, week in and week out in the Sunday morning worship service. Over time, this teaches the child much in the way of what a normal life as a Christian is to look like as well as the necessary connection each of us is to have with the local church. Here at King’s Church, we believe parents should keep their children with them throughout the entire service.

Let me say this again (in different words) – rather than children or teens attending their own meetings separate from their parents, we believe that the Biblical pattern is for families to worship together. The only exception we see to this (both now and in the future) is to provide a safe place for the under 3’s in a nursery. However, we do not wish to segregate older children and teens from the rest of the congregation – sending them off to different rooms or buildings. Instead, on earth, as it is in heaven, young and old together, with one voice in unity, we the gathered people of God worship Him together.

We also believe that there are times when it is entirely appropriate for specialized ministry to take place (outside of the Lord’s Day morning service). One Biblical example of this is that older women are exhorted to teach the younger women (Titus 2:3-5), which presumably means that men are excluded from such a gathering.

While in no way wishing to be divisive or suggest that we are the only church in town obeying God, we practice “Family Integrated Worship” because of certain convictions we have. As we examine the Biblical data, we find that throughout the centuries this has been the normal way in which the people of God have gathered. This is clear from both the Old and New Testaments.

Regeneration

by Dr. Robert L. Reymond

from A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith 2nd Edition

Why do some people repent and respond by faith in Christ to the divine summons to faith while others do not? Concerning those who believe in Christ’s name John immediately says in John 1:13: “[These are they] who have been begotten [egennēthēsan], not by blood, nor by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of a husband, but by God.” By this particular reference to God’s “begetting” activity John refers to regeneration, and clearly suggests by his statement that, while faith is the instrumental precondition to justification and adoption, regeneration is the necessary precondition and efficient cause of faith in Jesus Christ. In short, regeneration causally precedes faith.

November 2018

A Guest Post by Peter Kozushko

by John Calvin

By Pastor John Samson

by Dr. Robert L. Reymond

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