Jesus the Alpha and Omega of Bible Study - Chapter 12

0:57You'll see the word originalism. If you read articles, you'll see the word originalism. And what is that? That's an approach to law that sees that the Constitution is to be interpreted in the words and the meaning of the words at the time of the writing and understand the principle given in its context and applying that to today. There's a whole nother school of thought, the living, breathing Constitution, which sees the need for the Constitution to change or to interpret it differently because the words change over time, and therefore law is able to change. Is it living and breathing? Is it original? How do we interpret that? Well, all that's back in the media, and closely follow. If you'll read and follow along, you'll hear a lot of the thoughts that we're talking about. Very important. How do we apply the law? How do we apply scripture? Very similar.

2:11How do we come to the law so that the law is over us? And how do we interpret the law so that the constitution governs us, not how do we approach the constitution to make it say what we want it to say? And that's really the issue facing scripture. Jesus was a master at interpreting text on a page. He interpreted the law in such a way that he would come under the law, not that he would take authority over the law. He was the giver of that. And so he understood simply a master of reading text on a page. And he expects.

3:00His disciples to read the scripture and to understand what it means. He believes that there's meaning in the text and he believes that it's readily available and accessible. And he expects his people and all people to understand. It's plain enough for believers and unbelievers to understand and apply. And so he expects that. And that was evident as you survey his life. Well, tonight, I want to continue in this vein of conversation and thinking. Specifically, I want to talk to you tonight about the principle of consistency, consistency.

3:48And the idea of this principle is simply: we approach every scripture with the same method of interpretation. We do not change the rules of interpretation from verse to verse. Seem pretty simple, a straightforward. We let the scripture speak for itself. We don't change the rules of interpretation from verse to verse. The idea that one thing that's very clear as you survey scripture is that God hates differing measures. Differing weights and measures are an abomination. To the Lord. He does not like partiality. God is impartial, and he hates partiality. And that's basically what you have with differing weights and measures. He doesn't like you to have different measures, weighted down. That's crooked, right? To have different scales.

4:53But God hates partiality. Accuracy and consistency are important to God, especially when it comes to the way we read our Bibles. And so, what we want to do is adhere to the same Christ-like principles of interpretation. It's necessary to let the Word of God achieve its desired outcome. So, we want to adhere to the same. We want to adopt Christ-like principles, and we want to be consistent in applying those methods of interpretation. That's at the core of what's going on in our Supreme Court right now in the big debate and change in our government and very fundamental. But why do we need to talk about this? Well, what happens sometimes is we come to a biblical text which brings us face to face with some uncomfortable truths. Listen, if you're just going to come to the text and you're going to let the text speak to you, you come to some plain language that is uncomfortable. Sometimes the plain meaning sets us at odds with the social pressures of our times. Or sometimes it doesn't fit within our theological pre-commitments. On the one hand, we live in a world that's growing more and more hostile to some of the teachings of Scripture, to many of the teachings of Scripture, surrounding the family, surrounding sexuality, surrounding morality, surrounding the exclusiveness. There is one way, only one way, our Lord Himself.

6:45He's the one that said He's the only way. All other religions are a sure way to hell. That's not very popular today. It's exclusive. There is one way. There is holiness and there is sin, and God holds people accountable for their sin. It's not judgment, it's truth. And this world is running headlong into judgment, already condemned. Christ didn't come to condemn the world. It's already condemned. He came to save the world. And there's only one way out.

7:39Only one way into the good graces of the Father, and that's through the sacrifice of the Son. So sometimes, on the one hand, the plain meaning of the scripture will take us into and set us at odds with the social currents of our time. On another time, we simply can be very well committed to our own theological pre-commitments. We all bring our own pre-commitments to the table. Just so you know, that's just the way it is. We bring our understanding of God with us when we read. We bring our theological system that we may have grown up in. We bring all this to the table when we read the scripture. And sometimes we read the scripture and we'll see something plain that contradicts our system. And what we're tempted to do is fix the text and not our system.

8:39And we come to this all the time. And the question is: how do we fix our systematic grid? But we let the scripture speak for itself, and we allow that to fix our grid, not the other way around. But what happens? In times like that, we come to something that sets us at odds, or we face an uncomfortable truth, and what we're tempted to do is come up with a more palatable interpretation by momentarily abandoning a sound principle of interpretation. In other words, the way around that is: let's abandon this principle of a sound principle of interpretation just for a while. Let's give that one a hiatus and let's interpret this the way we want so that we can go on, stay with our pre-commitments or conform to the social pressures, and so forth.

9:41But as you look at Christ's life, the gospel records give us no indication that Jesus approached Scripture with a double standard. He didn't have differing weights as he approached Scripture. Even when faced with uncomfortable truths that would lead to rejection, Jesus did not conveniently change the principles of interpretation to accommodate the preferences of fallen man. In fact, Jesus warned against inconsistency. In fact, some of the last words, Revelation 22, 18, and 19, Jesus said, I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them. God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. Those are strong words, right? He knows there's a tendency to come to take away or to add to. And how do we do that? By redefining words. That's how we've got a whole new America since I don't know, middle of last century. Got a whole new America because we had a whole new way we approached our Constitution and reading the laws. Well, the same is true. Jesus is very much mindful of the human, the fallen human inclination to not receive God's word, to either redefine them, add to them, take away from them, minimize them. And he warned against that. That's inconsistency.

11:36Why was Jesus so adamant about letting Scripture speak for itself? Well, because he knew that Scripture would accomplish what God intended. And if you allow Scripture to speak for itself, and you welcome those truths, as we looked at this morning, as truth is given and you receive that, you're connected to the source of that truth and the truth. Truth then brings that life, brings life and the fruitfulness that comes from being connected to the truth. But when you change the words, you take it from truth to non-truth. It has no abiding or fruitful effect.

12:23Remember the parable of the soils. Any questions so far? Remember the parable of the soils? I've taught on this a couple of times, once in some in Sunday school and some from the pulpit, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. But you remember the parable of the soils? That's really Jesus's exhortation to allow the word of God to have its way in your life. It is a strong exhortation to consistently hearing, consistently believing the word of God and not changing rules from verse to verse. But the parable of the soils really boils down to a simple truth that the ultimate author of the word knows what he is doing. God knows what he is doing. You see that in Isaiah. The word is not going to return boy. It's going to do what he sent it to do. And so in Mark 4.

13:30Can you read that? Can you in the back read that? Okay, good. Okay, so. No, way back there in the back. Sorry. I know. Well, in Mark 4, Jesus compared the word of God to a seed. The seed. And if you think about what a seed is, God has embedded all the instruction and desired outcome in the seed's genetic structure itself. So when you go and plant a seed, it knows what to do. If you plant a watermelon seed, it knows what to do. It goes and it makes watermelons, right?

14:05All a seed really needs is good soil, energy from the sun, water, and it'll do the rest. It'll transform the soil in which it's placed into something programmed, into whatever good thing it's programmed to do, right? So if you put berries, berries come. You know, you get the point, but the seed knows what it is going to bring about. All the instructions are there. It knows what it's going to accomplish. And that's the analogy that Jesus makes to compare to the word. God has programmed his word to do all that he intends for it to accomplish. He knows it's what truth does. He knows what his word does.

14:51And it has its outcome. Even if we don't understand what it's doing, it knows what it's doing. And so when we reach the Refuse to accept the plain meaning of a scripture in its given context, we refuse to let the Spirit of God use it to go to work in us. Is that clear? That's what the parable of the soils is about. And it really drives home what Jesus is driving home at the very early part of his ministry is the importance of effective listening. That's what following Christ, that's what being taught by the scripture, that's what Israel was supposed to learn. Hear, O Israel, hear, be hearing, be effective in your listening. And that's what the parable of the soils stresses: the importance of effective listening. And so, Mark 4, Jesus gave his disciples such a paradigm. The sower is the herald of the word, scattering the truth. The seed is the word of God. The soils represent the varying conditions of the listener's heart to whom the herald proclaims the word. So, even though this is in Mark 4, the parable is a herald of the word, it certainly is also applicable to the in scripture-rated word. And even as one proclaims the in scripture-rated word through the preaching, God is active in communicating his truth through the preacher, through the proclaim. It doesn't even have to be from a pulpit, in private. But when the word of God is shared and expounded, truth is going forth. But certainly, the soils, nothing wrong with the sowers, nothing wrong with the seed. The problems, the variation is in the soils.

17:08And so the whole parable Jesus told as an exhortation for us to listen, be receptive to the word. Emphasis upon hearing. In fact, discipleship hangs upon the quality of hearing. That's what discipleship is all about. How good of a listener are you? Discipleship hangs upon it. So there are four kinds of listeners to which the word of God comes, right? Four, each represented by one of the soils. There's the first soil represents unresponsive listeners. You know, that's the soil, these are the ones who are beside the road where the word of God is sown, and when they hear, immediately Satan comes. And takes away the word which has been sown. So, some seed goes out on that hard travelways where people walk, and the soil is so hard that the seed stays on top of the ground, and the birds come and take it away. And what Jesus is saying, these are like those who the word comes, but they Satan comes and takes it away through distraction, through interest in other things, through whatever. He, through his wiles, through his evil scheming, he comes, discredits, takes away the word. So, the seed that fell beside the road could not penetrate the soil and therefore remained on the surface and was eaten up by the birds. The birds represent the activity of Satan to destroy his work of the word before it even starts. Real spiritual. You want to know what spiritual, one element of spiritual warfare? It's this right here: snatching the word of God before it goes into the hearts. And Satan is crafty and skilled at that. There's a second soil, and this is represented, this represents superficial listeners. In a similar way, these are the ones on whom the seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and they have. Have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary. Then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

19:42So, what this soil may have looked good on the outside, or at least on the surface, but just before, just beneath the surface, was a hard pan layer of rock. So, you've got a very shallow soil. So, it's got some good soil maybe up on the top, but then right below it is this hard pan, hard soil. So, the seed is able to quickly be received and spring up because it's warm. That the soil warms easily. Okay? So, the soil warms easily, but then what happens is the sun gets up and it really gets hot, there's no deepness to it. So, these individuals respond hastily to the word of God. Their interest in the word of God is limited to the mild climate in which they hear the word. Now, sometimes there's a certain pressure in certain contexts to get excited about the word. Maybe it's something new, or maybe it's in certain settings where there's people that there seems to be a little pressure, or maybe it to receive the word. And so, there's some favorable conditions, but when those favorable conditions in which they hear the word give way to affliction or persecution, Persecution, they are gone, right? I see this in a lot of different situations. You may see it sometimes in youth camps or something like that, or you there may be a climate where somebody comes and is excited, but then they get back to their routine, or maybe they receive it during the church and then get out into the world and quickly are gone. Well, then there's a third soil, and this represents the divided listeners, not just superficial, but divided. And others are the ones on whom the seed was sown among the thorns. These are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word and becomes unfruitful. So this soil looks pretty good on the surface as well, except underneath it is a well-established root stock of thorns and bushes. So underneath there's this strong root stock, and so the seed goes in, it comes up, but the seeds, so it can penetrate, but the sprout is not the only plant competing for the light, the air, the water, the nutrients, and all of that in the soil. And so the thorn plants win the battle and kill the plant. So there's lots more going on in the hearts of these people.

22:26They are divided. Such people. People give their vitality to temporal things. They set their mind, will, and emotions on things that perish. The worries, the cares, and the anxieties of this passing age captivate them and impair their ability to listen. So they receive, but then there's other interests, and so it makes them fruitful. And so, all three of these, by the way, if you're, that's not what you want to happen. If you're a farmer, that's a loss, right? Some are more spectacular than others, but it's all a loss. All a loss. There's not a redeemed, there's not a saved individual. Jesus, those three are not saved individuals. None of them are. Loss. The seed did not accomplish what it intended, did not accomplish what it potential was. Let me put it that way. So then there's the fourth soil. And this represents receptive listeners, receptive. And these are the ones on whom the seed was sown on the good soil. And they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit 30, 60, and 100 fold. So these are contrasted with the careless hearing of those outside. These do not fall prey to Satan's wiles and agents. They do not fade or faint under persecution. Do not yield to the temptations of this world, the right kind of hearing always leads to the right kind of discipleship. And this is what Jesus is exhorting. And it's also important to note that there's a harvest of different kinds, right? There's a 30, 60, and 100. So you have three bad outcomes, you have three good outcomes, varying kinds of outcomes.

24:30Why the difference? Maybe they're not all equal in their hearing. Maybe even among Christians, there's varying fruits because there's not all equal hearing. We are to be good listeners. So, in all these comparisons, the problem is not with the seed. God knows that what he wants to accomplish with the truth by saying what he says. And so, the problem is not with the seed, the problem is with the hearts, the reception. So, Jesus exhorted, he warned against inconsistency. He taught on the importance of effective listening. And so, how do we apply this?

25:24How do we apply this? And this becomes one of the important Elements of how do we consistently read and apply the word and apply specifically this principle. And I want to mention a few areas in our brief time. These are kind of more principles, but these will help you as you try to consistently apply the word of God. I think we get into trouble. Even denominations get very can get into error. Entire denominations, individuals, et cetera, can get into trouble spots simply by being by not consistently applying good methods of interpretation. That's how our nation can get into a lot of trouble. In fact, I'd say a lot of our problems in our United States of America today are because of applying, inappropriate applying of good methods of interpreting the law.

26:38But that's where it's at. But I want to briefly mention a few areas where you're going to be tempted to be inconsistent. Number one, the literal principle. Talk about, okay, One of the ways we can be inconsistent is by being arbitrary in which texts we choose to interpret allegorically and which ones we choose to interpret literally. That's a big one. I'm going to talk about major school differences, even among conservative individuals who have a high view of scripture. In fact, I'm talking to people who have a high view of scripture and who want to come under its authority. And even among people in that category, there can be inconsistencies about what we choose to interpret allegorically and what we choose to interpret literally. That's a huge one. In fact, that's why we have some different denominations.

27:50And so, how do we do this? Well, how can we be consistent? And this is my suggestion, and this is how I try to approach and be consistent. Number one, we should interpret everything literally unless the text tells us to do otherwise. As I analyze Jesus' methods, I really believe that's how he interpreted scripture. He interpreted it literally. And I'm going to explain something about that in a minute. Now, here's a Text of Galatians 4, where the scripture actually tells you to interpret this allegorically. That's when you interpret it allegorically. When the scripture, the scripture will make it evident when it wants you to interpret things allegorically, figuratively. Usually, there's some triggers in the text that will tell you that. And here's one from Galatians 4:24.

29:04It says this: This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants, one proceeding from Mount Sinai, bearing children who are to be slaves. She is Hagar. Now, this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. How would you interpret that? Allegorically. And I give you many other examples of this, but that's what I mean. Interpret everything, let your default be literally. Because the problem is when you start going down seeing metaphoric language everywhere or allegorical language, all of a sudden you have become the interpreter. You're the one making decisions arbitrarily. That one needs to be interpreted allegorically, well, because it fits better in my theological grid. That one needs to be literal because, well, that fits together better in my theological grid. And so forth.

30:18It's interesting. There's just so many examples I could give you, but second principle: we should recognize that metaphor occurs as a dynamic of literal speech and everyday language. We use metaphor, we use symbolism, we use figurative language all the time as a dynamic of literal speech. And I'm not pulling your leg. Right? You get it? What did I just do? I'm not pulling your leg. That's metaphor, right? That's figurative language, right? To mean what? I'm not lying, right? Yeah, I'm not lying to you. I'm not teasing you.

31:06But we metaphoric language or figurative language occurs as a dynamic of speech all the time. And Jesus clearly affirmed this dynamic in John 16, 25. It says, These things I have spoken to you in figurative language. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you. You plainly of the Father. But just because there's figurative language being used does not mean there isn't a literal meaning behind that figurative language.

31:41Make sense? I'm not pulling your leg. There's a literal meaning behind that, even though I am using figurative language. That's done all the time in the Bible. And so it's not just a wooden literalism, but understand the dynamics of speech, that there is literal communication, even though symbolism is being used, even though metaphoric language, even though figurative language, simile, whatever. Any questions on that? Very important principle. Be consistent. Interpret things literally unless Scripture tells you to do otherwise and recognize that the scripture often and very colorfully uses metaphor to communicate literal truths.

32:46Another principle that I call in here is the nothing superfluous principle. Nothing superfluous. This principle deals with consistency really with every unit of scripture, whether it's a section, paragraphs. Sentence or clause or even word. We want to consistently let every unit of thought contribute to the meaning of the whole. That's the idea that every unit was put there for a purpose. Nothing is superfluous. That it has a reason for being there. And it, even if it's a small contribution or seemingly small, it makes a contribution to the meaning of the whole. And we understand the whole because of its little parts. That makes sense?

33:47I remember listening to a sermon one time, and a renowned expositor was preaching on Galatians 6:16. And he preached, and he got to this word, this phrase, Israel of God. He says, and those who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. And the one phrase he wouldn't deal with in the text was the Israel of God. Who is the Israel of God? Is that the church? Is that the Jewish believers? It makes a whole difference, a big difference, in what's happening in the book of Galatians.

34:27And so. But that thought is there and it plays a role. And to just to move through that, say, well, I don't understand what that means. I'm just going to go on and just see that as really meaningless, as this preacher did, obviously, didn't see something major, didn't bring out the significance of this little phrase and treated it, at least in his preaching, as superfluous. But nothing is to be disregarded as meaningless. It's there. Nothing is superfluous. In fact, Psalm 119:160 says, The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting. The sum of your word is truth. Every part of it plays a role.

35:25Then there's a unity principle, and I'll go through these quickly and then we can ask some questions about them. Unity principle. This principle deals with consistency on the whole scripture level. Packer said it really well. You've often heard this as the analogy of scripture, or scripture interprets scripture, that kind. You'll see that a lot. But here's the thought. J.I. Packer says it well, so I don't want to try to improve on that. Each book proceeded from the same divine mind.

36:00The teaching of the Bible's 66 books will be in complementary and self-consistent. If we cannot yet see this, the fault is in us, not in Scripture. It is certain that scripture nowhere contradicts scripture. Rather, one passage explains another. This principle of interpreting scripture by scripture is sometimes called the analogy of scripture. For example, 1 Timothy, and by the way, I got it wrong in the book. I have to, I got the wrong reference. I don't know how that made it through, but it's not 1 Timothy 1:15, it's 1 Timothy 2:15. See, I've got it, it's not 1:15, it's 2:15 as I wrote it down. But 1 Timothy 2:15 says, Yet she will be saved through childbearing. Speaking of the woman, woman is going to be saved through childbearing. Does that contradict the clear teaching of salvation by faith alone? Well, and I could give you scripture after scripture that scripture teaches salvation is by through faith, which is in Jesus Christ, and faith alone. So, does this, if you read that and just at first glance, okay, now women are going to be saved by having children?

37:31That isn't affirmed anywhere else in scripture, right? So, what is it? Well, it's not salvation in a soteriological sense. There's an issue going on there that may have to do with being, it may be referencing Christ. It may very well be getting dignity, having propagated the human race. Anyway, there's some thoughts there, and I won't get into all of that, but the point is: if you allow the scripture to interpret scripture, you understand that this is an outlier. One scripture like that, one interpretation like that, can be off.

38:23And it's not, one witness isn't allowed to contradict a whole teaching of scripture. And so it gives you pause to say, okay, let me go back and look at 1 Timothy 2:15 a little more clearly. Let me understand, because at first glance, it's saying something that surely is at odds with something that I see over and over in Scripture. So that's the Scripture Interpret Scriptures. There's another principle that I think is important for us all to remember, and that's this irreconcilable tension principle. Principle. And this principle deals with the consistency in respecting major doctrines of Scripture. And I would say it like this: it's important to leave mysteries as mysteries.

39:17Sometimes we come across major teachings of scripture that at first glance appear to be in contradiction. However, after you're looking at it, like with the unit, you apply the unity principle and you're like, no, the scripture really is saying this. In fact, it's saying this in several places. And then, yet, on the other hand, scripture is saying this, which appears to be in contradiction or seeming to say. And this isn't just like one bad interpretation against a whole lot of other things. This is like, okay, I'm seeing a tension here in Scripture. And I think it's best to look at these teachings like this, not as in contradiction, but in tension. Scripture is adamantly affirming both.

40:12And the temptation when dealing with such doctrines, when you've got these two doctrines that are seemingly in tension, is to explain away the tension by overemphasizing one. To the detriment of the other. We don't like the tension, so instead of leaving the tension, we'll side one way or the other. Let me give you some examples. For instance, the Trinity, right? Scripture affirms that God is one, right? But also, Scripture is very clear that three persons are revealed as God. The Spirit is clearly referred to as God. The Son is clearly of the same essence. He is God. The Father is God. So you have three persons. So you've got three, yet you have one. That's tension. Scripture is affirming both. And you get, like, if you really get too far on one side or the other, and it's like, well, he's one or he's three, you might get into, you'll get into the ditch.

41:29It's what the early centuries of the church was about, sorting that out, right? And there are a number of these throughout. One of the ones we see that we interact with frequently is in John 6:34 to 37. It indicates that a person must exercise faith and come to Christ in order to be saved. However, it is also clear in these same verses that God must actively draw. Before a person will come. So you see God's sovereignty in that salvation. You see man's responsibility in that salvation. And there's a tension there. God justly holds man responsible for his sin. There is no injustice with God. And yet at the same time, we understand that without God working, there is no salvation.

42:23And so you see this tension, and there's this desire and temptation to say, I'm going to overemphasize man's responsibility. And then you get a free will view of man's responsibility that trumps God's sovereignty. Then on the other hand, you can neglect, you can overemphasize God's sovereignty and reduce man's responsibility to nothing and even put the responsibility of people going to hell because of God, that God is ultimately the one responsible, not man. You see a tension there. I liken the, and you think about the impeccability of Christ. Was he really God?

43:16And was he really man? I mean, if he's man, how can he be? I mean, if he's fully God, how can he be tempted in every way like us? And you just go, there's spend any kind of time in these theological Issues, and you'll see there's a tension. And I liken these to like, you've probably heard me use this analogy before, but like, picture yourself two teams of horses, right? If you pull the reins on one, you're back in the 19th century, you know, horse and buggy with teams of horses. But if you pull too hard on the one, set a team team, you're going to end up in one ditch if you pull too hard on the other. But if you keep those reins in tension, you'll go where Scripture is taking you.

44:04But to solve a biblical tension by neglecting one teaching in favor of the other is to show partiality. And some of these things we're not going to fully understand in this world. So just leave mysteries. We don't have to solve biblical mysteries. And go forward. There's irreconcilable tension. And some things have been revealed. Some things, there's tension. And this is a good one. The omission principle. I almost think you shouldn't have to say this, but be consistent in what's not written. This principle seeks to be consistent in the way we handle biblical silence on an issue.

44:50When the Bible doesn't speak on something, we should assume it doesn't speak on something. I know it sounds basic. But an example of the gap theory, they read into the white spaces between Genesis 1 and Genesis 1-1 and 1-2, billions of years, and the destruction of the earth with all of its plant and animal life by some unknown catastrophe. So between Genesis 1-1 and Genesis 1-2, there's the complete destruction of earth. There's billions of years in there. Let me just read that. Here's 1-1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Here's the second verse. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. So between verse 1 and verse 2, billions of years, complete destruction of plant and animal life. Now, where do you get that? Not from there.

45:53You've got a grid that you're wanting to make the scripture fit, and it's not going there. So you have to read such things in the white spaces. And then all of a sudden, but you see the danger of this. If you can read that kind of information into that white space, you can read anything into any white space and make the Bible say what it says. And then you're not coming under truth. But do you see how we need to be consistent?

46:27It's not incumbent upon us. To improve what isn't there. And so I can give you another example, one about baptism. It's interesting to me how many discussions about infant baptism and the mode of baptism come from Acts 16:33. You remember the Philippian jailer, and this is what it says: 16:33. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all of his household. So, did the Philippian jailer baptize his babies?

47:08Does it say? Does it say how he baptized them? It doesn't, does it? So, it's a real poor text to start proving infant baptism. In fact, you could go back a verse before, and it's even saying, and they believed, they believed. So, there seems to be that there's evidence that his children have at of age to believe. But, regardless, it's just there's just not enough there to make a case for infant baptism and really against infant baptism, right? It's just and the mode of baptism. Did he sprinkle? Did he, you know, what happened?

48:01Be careful of your grids. And so it's not our role to supply that which we think is omitted. It should go without saying, but it needs to be said because there are a lot of mistakes and errors that come from this. If the author had intended additional statements or clarifications or expectations, he would have done so in clear language. And all of this, last principle is the humility principle. You can study the scripture, and we're growing. As I often say, life's the thing that happens as you're working through your theology. I also like to say life's the thing that happens as you're learning how to read your Bibles. And even as I stand here, I'm talking like, okay, I know how Jesus interpreted Scripture. Think about that. I'm going to give it a count for that, right?

49:12I mean, the highest name, and he's listening. And so that ought to strike a little fear, right? But God makes it very clear that he opposes the. Proud, but favors those who are humbled by his word. He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Isaiah 66:2 says, This, For my hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and is contrite of spirit and who trembles at my word. That's the one who catches his attention, the one who trembles at his word. That's a state of humility, right? One who isn't coming to run roughshod or be cavalier, but one who is wanting to come under and understand.

50:17How do we consistently approach God's word to simply receive its truth? I won't go into 1 Peter, but I'll just say a few thoughts from it. I'd like to read it, but we're about out of time. First of all, we must recognize that the Word of God is inherently eternal. We did not bring the Word of God into being. It brought us into being. We are born of the imperishable, enduring Word of God. That's what gave us life.

50:51Second, we must put aside our personal and fleshly agendas. In 1 Peter 1:23. 25 and then on into chapter 2 and verse 1 is about how we respond to the word. We must put aside our personal and fleshly agendas, therefore, putting aside all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander. You think about it, we can bring all that to the word. We can bring our malice. We may approach the word with certain malice in our heart, deceit, trying to be dishonest with the word and hypocrisy and envy and slander, and trying to, we may have, there's levels of things going on here that involve our grid, our agendas, our, and we are to put aside all of that. And we must assume the posture of a disciple. And what does that look like? Peter provided the image of such posture, like newborn babies, long for pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. That is the posture. There's no, can't be a more humble posture, right? A baby needing some milk, right?

52:09That's the posture of someone who's ready to receive what's given. And that's what. So I like to close this thought by quoting Spurgeon on this. I think Spurgeon had some good things to say about humility. He said this, you must grow downward, that you may grow upwards. For the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls and by them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, with all its riches and treasuries. The whole, and I'll translate, treasury of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what is safe for him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it's because it is not safe for you to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in his holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy, you would fall a victim, so that you are kept low for your own safety. When a man is sincerely humble and never ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace. And certainly that humility must be seen in our posture. Before the scripture.

54:03So, just in summary, it's our tendency to be inconsistent when it comes to reading our Bibles. We naturally gravitate to our own personal preferences. How do we get out of that? We must recognize we're tempted in our day to reinterpret uncomfortable truths through personal or social grids that make them more palatable. And so, learning to be consistent in applying these sound principles that come from Christ Himself is a key discipline in being a follower of Christ.

54:42So, Jesus was consistent. We should too. Well, it's 7:15. I'm going to go ahead and close, and there seems to be good discussion that happens up here. If you want to be, if anyone has questions, come on up here and bring your Bible with your finger in the text, and we can talk about it. So, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your consistent love for us. We thank you for your consistent administration of truth. And, Father, we pray that you would teach us to be a consistent and good hearer, that we may be students, postured. That we might learn, so that your word might accomplish its desired effect, its good desired effect in us. And so, Father, go with us this night into our weeks. May you bless the activities of all of us in here. Keep us safe, keep us well, keep us growing in your likeness, and Father, to the praise of your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.