Torch, Spring 1990

These human authors of the Bible which human wisdom teaches, but confessed, however, that their words which the Holy Spirit teaches.. ." came from God. Peter declared, "For (1 Corinthians 2: 13 NKJV). On his prophecy never came by the will of deathbed, David confessed,"The Spirit of man, but holy men of God spoke the Lord spoke by me, and His Word was 1 ·~..... • •• • • .. • • as they were moved on my tongue" (2 Samuel 23:2 NKJV). ff ·-.1': , • .. by the Holy Of course, the God of the Bible is ff J~ /~ "~ ·w· · 'Spirit" (2 Peter eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27) and never- IB. # .t ~ "' ,.. ~ ........ ~' ./--.. ;~ ~,,,· 1:21 NKJV). The changing (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:10- . ... • · ~ .. --~. Apostle Paul 12). Thus, "The grass withers, the '•n.,,,. .,. ,. .,. .. insisted, "These flower fades, but the Word of God stands 1 , .. •• .. • .. • ....... ~~ings we also speak, forever" (Isaiah 40:8 NKJV). ·. '·· e h • .. .. · not in words The Bible is a "now" book because · Jts s God is the great Now. He said to Moses, ··_ .. . ·.. a11 .,.-;, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14 - pr~ NKJV). As the Eternal One, God has .. · .. .. .. .. . .. qlJ C is no past nor future. Everything is • ~--- .. ,.~ ~ w CQ prese~t to Him in the now of His ~ ~ / ~ \yi"' eternity. ; ~ ...;,# J·•·\ ~· . The God Who can see the end from .,;;, .$. . I the beginning (Isaiah 46: 10) has no problem making something said yester– day relevant today. It is as though we humans are at a railroad crossing watching a passing train. With our tunnel vision, we see only one car of the train at a time as it passes by. But God sees the entire train spread out before Him. In like manner, He sees time from His eternal vantage point. Therefore, the truths of the Bible are as timeless as is the God of the Bible. id's crimes detailed Is The Bible Out of Date? Many things in the Bible seem to be dated. Certainly Christians today are not bound by the Old Testament .,,,,_,,,,, .,,,, ills 87 ·, . '··· . laws to offer a lamb as a sacrifice for sins. Christ is "...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29 NKJV). Neither are we obliged to be circumcised according to the law of Moses, as Paul made evident (Galatians 5:6,11). Nor is it our duty to avoid "unclean" meats, such as pork and shrimp. These were cleansed by Jesus (Mark 7:19; Acts 10). We are not under the Old Testament law of Moses (Romans 6: 14); we are under the New Testament law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). However, there are some things even in the New Testament that seem time-bound. Surely, "Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss" (1 Thessalonians 5:26 NKJV) and "lift up holy hands in prayer" (I Timothy 2:8 New International Version) are not obligatory in the present. Then how do we know what is for today and what is not? What Are Timeless Truths of Scripture? The answer is simple: whatever reflects the nature of God is timeless. Every attribute of God is eternal and changeless. Two of God ' s attributes which are desperately needed in our world today--love and truth--may serve as illustrations. God is love (1 John 4: 16). So, love is as changeless as God is. Our understand– ing of love may change, but love itself does not change. God is love, and God does not change. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Paul exhorted husbands to love their wives as their own bodies (Ephesians 5:28). This truth is as timely today as when Paul wrote it. Even the famous , unbelieving philoso– pher, Bertrand Russell , acknowledged that the world needs Christian love. Neither the need for love nor the nature of true love has changed in the last 2,000 years. Love is not an incidental truth of Scripture. Jesus declared it to be the greatest commandment (Matthew 22: 37 ,38) and the very essence of the Law (Matthew 7: 12). So, when we speak of love, we are speaking of the central moral message of the Bible. In this very basic sense, this ancient Book is as modem as the morning newspaper. To be more specific, love can be so general that it is possible to miss its message in particular. For example, intentionally taking an innocent life is an unloving act. Thus, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20: 13 NKJV) also is a timeless truth of Scripture. Long before Moses gave the Law to Israel, God told Noah, "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:6 NKJV). Judging by the astronomical number of human beings we kill each day in America, this timeless truth is more needed today than ever before. At the rate of 1.5 million per