Monthly Archives: July 2015

Remarks on the Book of Proverbs

28 Tuesday Jul 2015

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The following introductory remarks on the book of Proverbs are from volume 3 of my Interpretive Guide to the Bible. This book is available here.

Although the entire Bible is a book of wisdom, Proverbs is the one book of the Bible whose central subject is wisdom. “A variety of terms, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discretion, subtlety, are indeed employed, to set forth under different aspects the nature of the instruction to be given; but the one comprehensive word which includes them all is Wisdom” (T. T. Perowne, The Proverbs: With Introduction and Notes [Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges; Cambridge: Cambridge, 1899], 9). The Hebrew word חָכְמָה (wisdom) has been defined in various ways by Christian commentators, but is not expressly defined in Scripture, except by the numerous parallel concepts which it encompasses, and by the things which characterize it. Wisdom encompasses many concepts and many applications to specific situations, which makes learning it a lifelong process; it involves one’s total way of thinking and worldview.

For Solomon, wisdom is inseparably linked to the practice of true religion and the worship of the living God. The stated theme of the book in the prologue is that the fear of Yahweh (i.e., the belief in and proper devotion to God) is the starting point of the quest for wisdom, and the condition which necessarily accompanies its acquisition (1:7). This same principle is reaffirmed in the exhortation to the son to obtain wisdom (2:5-6), in the final call of wisdom at the end of the address to the son (9:10), and at the end of the book’s capstone, as a summary of the worthy woman’s character (31:30). Solomon makes no apology for linking his religion so explicitly to his practical instruction, and in fact asserts that any attempt to describe wise principles apart from deep personal piety toward the living God would be the height of folly. Religious themes are profuse throughout the book of Proverbs. Solomon exhorts his hearers to weave true religion into the fabric of everyday life in order to be wise, righteous, and blessed. The name יהוה (Yahweh) occurs some eighty-seven times in the book, including multiple instances in most chapters. Yahweh must be the central reality in the wise man’s worldview. Many of the proverbs simply mention Yahweh’s relation to man, with the assumption that the reader knows Yahweh and believes His Word. An entire paragraph in the address to the son exhorts him to serve and honor Yahweh (3:1-12), as do many individual proverbs. The proof of wisdom’s worth is Yahweh’s use of wisdom from before historical time began to bring the world into being (8:22-31). In the capstone of the book, the great sage Agur opens his speech with a statement of his commitment to fidelity to God and His Word (30:1b-9). While it would not be possible to mention Yahweh explicitly in every single proverb, fear of God is specifically stated to be the key to wisdom, and various aspects of God’s relationship to man are spoken of frequently throughout the book. Solomon’s absolute refusal to acknowledge the possibility of wisdom apart from fidelity to the one true God sets his wisdom apart from all other so-called “wisdom” of the ancient world. It also explains why the wise men of this world do not regard Solomon’s writings as special, or even as worth reading—in spite of the fact that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived (so 1 Kgs 3:12; 4:31; 10:23; 2 Chr 1:12). Since one cannot understand wisdom without an accurate knowledge of God and of His Word and a personal relationship with Him, the unsaved cannot recognize Solomon’s wisdom for what it is.

The “wisdom literature” of ancient pagan cultures, by contrast, is really not wise. Much of it is self-serving, telling you how to get what you want in life; it is superstitious; it is polytheistic; it often attributes the bad things in life to demons; it calls on the influence of magic; and it is involved with cultic sensuality. Likewise, the intellectualism of the twenty-first century world is not true wisdom, for it is clear that the more the world develops technology the more it uses this technology to push back the limits of depravity, so that man is now in the process of destroying himself through his own devices. The world is more broken, unstable, and confused than ever before, and yet it continues to insist that one must separate his Christian religious devotion from his studies in order to obtain objective truth—a philosophy which the book of Proverbs asserts is guaranteed to produce folly.

Much of Solomon’s wisdom was developed simply by careful reflection on things which he saw and experienced (cf. Prov 16:23; 24:30-34). One who thoughtfully analyzes everything that happens and learns from it will become wise over time, even with limited experiences, for it is possible, through keen observation, to garner momentous lessons from seemingly insignificant experiences. When Solomon saw the most ordinary things in life, he pondered them deeply, and they became metaphors and object lessons: “This is like that” (cf. Prov 11:22; 17:12; 19:13; 21:9, 19; 25:19; 26:17, etc.). Solomon did not have to see everything to learn about everything, nor did he need to read handbooks and manuals. When he saw ants in his courtyard, he learned a profound lesson about hard work (Prov 6:6-11), and a walk past an overgrown vineyard produced the same effect (Prov 24:30-34).

In Solomon’s case, one would suppose that his life experiences must have been very limited, and far removed from the hard realities of human existence. He was born and raised in a king’s palace, and simply inherited an empire that had been won for him by his father. Throughout his long and peaceful reign, he possessed more wealth and power than anyone else on earth. Yet his writings are firmly connected to reality, and are imbued with a strong sense of the hardships and injustices of life. If it were not for the biographical information recorded about the author, the reader of Proverbs might think the book was composed by a poor man who had suffered much in life. The vastness of Solomon’s understanding of life apparently grew out of his rather limited window on the world as prince and king. He was able to lean from every experience, and to extrapolate much concerning the ways of people and the nature of life. Solomon’s example proves that one ultimately does not have to experience or read everything to be wise, but only needs to reflect on the things he does see and experience. That said, broad and varied experiences are usually eye-openers, and wise men tend to be experience-gatherers.

So, do you want to be wise? Then carefully observe ordinary life and deeply ponder it, rather than living by event and instinct like everyone else. Of course, gaining wisdom is a lifelong process, and the one who properly seeks wisdom will become wiser and more mature as he grows older.

The proverbs express timeless, universal truth, and are as relevant today in the Western world as they were in ancient Israel. In a world where technological changes are continually rendering obsolete skills that were once highly valued, wisdom is a timeless skill that gives those who have it an advantage in all of life’s situations. The best way to train children for the unpredictable changes in our world is to teach them wisdom. The proverbs are practical truths, about the nuts and bolts of how to live life, and yet are philosophical at the same time. In a world in which knowledge has been replaced by technology, smart people are ridiculed as “geeks,” and the Bible is despised, the church needs more than ever to exalt wisdom.

The book of Proverbs eschews debate as a means of arriving at truth. The proverbs in the book do not so much argue for truth as present it and allow it to commend itself to the man who has a heart of wisdom.

Some of the proverbs are not prescriptive (Do this!), but observational (This is the way things are—cf. 10:15; 21:9; 27:8, 14). The intent of the observational (descriptive) proverbs is to move the reader to act in light of the observations noted, or just to improve the reader’s understanding of life. Many of the insights and observations are seemingly obvious ones, yet very often, if we do not read or hear the obvious, we do not think about it on our own, and ultimately we do not apply common sense in our daily decisions. A man who studies the Proverbs is likely to have the right sayings come to mind at critical moments as he goes about his daily business.

Many of the proverbs are statements of general regularities and not hard-and-fast rules, though some are. However, this is no different than commands and observations in the rest of Scripture. When Peter says, “Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake” (1 Pet 2:13), it is understood that this is a generally applicable rule. It would be unnecessarily pedantic for Peter to write, “Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, except if the king tells you to worship an idol, in which case you have an obligation to obey God rather than man.” Common sense is needed when interpreting the Bible. There is no need to make the simple complex by introducing theories about genre, or by claiming that the exceptions negate the literal meaning of the text.

Proverbs is frequently quoted by the NT writers, “who considered it as a treasure of revealed morality, whence Christians were to derive their rules of conduct” (Thomas Hartwell Horne, An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures [9th ed.; London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846], 4:119). Thus, the whole of this book is applicable to believers today; it was not just for the dispensation of the Law. Proverbs does contain a theme of temporal reward for right living—if you live wisely, you will be blessed, whereas if you live foolishly, you will suffer for it—but so does the NT (cf. 1 Pet 3:10-17). There were exceptions both then and now (cf. Ps 73), but in the end it is better for the righteous (cf. Eccl 8:12-13).

Proverbs is a vital book to understand, because without wisdom it is impossible to live a life that is pleasing to God or that is successful in the true sense of that term. Proverbs is a book that fathers ought to teach their sons from an early age to start them down the right path in life (cf. 4:1-9). It is a book that pastors should teach their congregations, and it is a book that laymen should study on their own. It is a book that ought to be a focus of academic study by Christian scholars who write to a specifically Christian audience with the aim of edifying the church (as opposed to those who write to a general academic audience, with an aim to participate in the mainstream academic discussion that is dominated by critical scholars). It is vital for the man of God to master the art of living. He must understand and apply common sense; he must learn how to handle the practical, ordinary issues of life. Many ministers and laymen alike have been ruined through a lack of practical wisdom.

It is ironic that the three books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, which preserve the greatest words of wisdom from the wisest man who ever lived—words which were also inspired by God’s Holy Spirit—are not recognized by secular scholars as being special in any way. They think that the wisdom of these books is mostly borrowed from or similar to the wisdom of the surrounding pagan cultures, and that Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs were compiled or edited by Hebrew scribes long after the time of Solomon—whose very existence most deny. Even many conservative evangelical Bible scholars and pastors deny the basic message of Ecclesiastes, despite its special place as the summary statement and culmination of all of Solomon’s thought. The men who have the reputation for being the wisest in this age cannot recognize true wisdom when it is waved before their eyes, because it is a wisdom from above which is not understood by the natural man, nor apprehended by culturally-conditioned ways of thinking (cf. 1 Cor 2). The queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear this wisdom, whereas modern man, who has free access to it, has no appreciation for it. It is not unlikely, based on Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31, that the queen of Sheba will stand up at the final judgment and condemn those who have brushed aside Solomon’s wisdom.

Churches today have a huge number of programs for helping people with their marriages, with their finances, with addictions, and with any other problems they may be facing in life. Yet no church that I know of has a program to encourage its people to pursue wisdom. There are no “wisdom retreats,” “wisdom seminars,” or “wisdom fellowships.” Pastors do not passionately call their congregations to make the search for wisdom the great priority of their lives, nor do they preach sermon series in which they work desperately to convince their people that wisdom is the most precious thing in life, the foremost thing they should be directing their time and energy to pursuing. Youth pastors do not challenge teenage boys to embark on the quest for wisdom in order to be successful and responsible adults. Yet it is a direct result of the depreciation of wisdom that there are so many other problems in the church, and that all of the programs that have been developed by the church have failed to mitigate these problems. If people understood the value of wisdom, they would give all that they had for it, yet wisdom is for the most part wholly neglected. People pursue money, relationships, and status instead. In fact, many of the church’s popular programs are essentially designed to make life manageable while continuing to live by event and instinct, without embarking on a great quest for wisdom. It is our prayer that the church will make its priorities the priorities of this book of Proverbs.

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The Rationality of Faith

19 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by in Theology

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The relationship between faith and reason has long been the subject of both philosophical debate and popular misunderstanding. When people today say “I believe it on faith,” what they often mean is that they do not have any reason to believe something. Society conditions us to think of faith as irrational or as having no basis. But not only is biblical faith rational, to not have faith is to be completely irrational. It is rational to trust someone who is competent and honest, and it is irrational to reject the testimony of a witness of high character.

The skeptic’s motto, “Question everything,” is self-contradictory and impossible to live by. It denies the certainty of all knowledge, but is itself a propositional statement, and therefore is self-contradictory and illogical. If one really believes the statement “Question everything,” his response will be to ask “Why should I?” Either he will come to the conclusion that he should not, and therefore that the motto is wrong, or else he will descend into a downward spiral of contradictions, doubts, and confusion. There must be some things, called properly basic beliefs, that we do not and should not question. These beliefs form the basis of other beliefs that we develop through experience and sensory evidence. The scientific method, for example, cannot be used to prove itself, and so acceptance of it must precede the discovery of anything that it is used to prove. One can compare basic beliefs to the definitions given in a dictionary. Each word in the dictionary is defined by means of other words, so that one must have a vocabulary of basic words before he can understand anything. There is nothing irrational or incorrect about our understanding of these words, but they are in fact something that can only be learned by some innate process. Not all basic beliefs are specifically religious in nature, but belief/trust in God, which is faith, is properly basic.

Having faith in God entails having faith in God’s Word, and therefore the Bible is the basis for all Christian belief and practice. Although the Bible does not make specific statements about every issue, it provides a solid foundation on which other beliefs can be based and by which other beliefs can be measured. A great many commonly held beliefs can easily be disproved by showing that they are in some way contradictory to the Bible. The Bible may not say anything in particular about the subject or premises of a particular theory, but very often the conclusions or implications of scholarly research are at odds with a biblical Christian worldview.

There is no conflict between faith and reason. Everything taught in the Bible is coherent and rational, and there are no contradictions. If someone says he holds some extrabiblical belief “by faith,” and this belief is incoherent or contradictory in some way, then it is not truly by faith that that person holds that belief—it is just irrationality.

People who come out of an Enlightenment or modern scientific background tend to struggle with the concept of faith. They are trained to exalt human reason above all else, and to seek verification through the scientific method as a prerequisite for belief. These things are so ingrained in their way of thinking that it never occurs to them to step back and consider that the scientific method cannot be used to verify itself, nor can it give absolute certainty. In fact, postmodern culture and academia have taken rationalism to its logical conclusion, and as a result have become relativists. Reason itself becomes circular without a foundation—namely, a foundation of faith in God and in His Word—and one is left with no ultimate standard for adjudicating among competing truth-claims. Faced with these competing truth-claims, the postmodernist becomes confused and frustrated, and simply follows the herd or believes what seems pragmatic, without being able to sort anything out in a satisfactory manner. Without any ultimate standard or basis for what they believe, postmodernists say that there is no absolute truth, although in fact they contradict themselves by stating this and many other things absolutely. Thus, relativism is really an expression of frustration with the unbeliever’s inability to make sense of the world apart from faith in God and His Word; it is anything but a reasoned conclusion which results from careful study. A relativist is, properly speaking, an irrationalist. Someone who knowingly accepts logical contradictions is irrational. Thus, the attempt to live by reason alone without faith is unreasonable.

The Bible is very clear that faith is a requirement for salvation (Eph 2:8; Heb 11:6). But because the modern scientific worldview says reason demands that everything must be proved, rather than trusted, there are many well-meaning apologists who seek to prove the Christian faith through science and reason. In some cases apologetic ministries supply helpful means for Christians to defend what they believe against critics. But some models of apologetics seek to do away with the need for faith by claiming that all Christian belief can be proved by rational argument. The problem with evidential arguments, such as Richard Swinburne’s, is that they deal only with probabilities. They can show that Christian doctrine is very likely to be true, but they cannot prove it indubitably. Faith is needed for absolute assurance because we cannot yet see everything we believe in (Heb 11:1). While Christian faith is reasonable, reason cannot by itself arrive at its tenants, for any process of human reasoning must begin with foundational, a priori, truths which are arrived at by faith. Both human reasoning and the scientific method are too limited to produce the bedrock truths of which saving faith consists. Of course, since Christianity is true, its truths can be demonstrated by scientific analysis of the evidence and by logical argumentation. However, if one only believes Christian truth because of his ability to argue for it and to verify evidence, he will be quickly shaken if someone presents only one minor piece of evidence which appears to be out of place, or one minor argument which seems like a valid criticism. He will always be wondering if there is some piece of evidence out there that he has missed that will disprove his beliefs. In contrast, the man who has faith (belief + trust) in God is like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but stands forever (so Ps 125:1).

One final point about faith: faith is by its very nature simple, and the attempt to mix it with other things will weaken it. Second Corinthians 11:3 speaks of “the simplicity and purity which is toward Christ,” and warns Christian believers of being tricked, like Eve, by Satan’s craftiness. Christianity is, to be sure, philosophically sound and hermeneutically sound, and the critics are fighting against the evidence. But if your “faith” rests in what is “out there,” it will be quickly shaken by every new argument, by each new archeological discovery; if your faith rests in the Word of God, it will stand firm against all assaults. Keep going back to the plain and simple truths of Scripture, and do not let others lead you down rabbit trails. Beware of being drawn into philosophical debates about the Christian faith. There are spiritual issues involved in philosophical discussions, for which reason critics will raise endless objections and produce endless excuses for not believing, all of which are smokescreens to cover for a wicked, rebellious, prideful heart. Beware of becoming too sophisticated. The truth is always, clear, simple, and straightforward.

To summarize some key points from this blog post and the previous one: (1) Faith is a virtue which can be defined as a mean between gullibility and skepticism. (2) Faith always takes an object. (3) Our faith is no better than the object in which we place it. (4) The Christian’s faith (= belief + trust) is in God and in His Word. (5) We, as Christians, do not take a leap into the dark, but a step into the light. (6) According to Romans 1:17, there is a difference between initial faith and continuing faith. (7) Unlike rationalism and empiricism, faith gives total, permanent assurance (Heb 11:1).

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The virtue of faith

08 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Apologetics, Theology

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The word “faith” is used in many ways today. It is important to understand correctly what faith is, because the Bible is very clear that faith is a requirement for salvation (Eph 2:8; Heb 11:6). The faith which is necessary for salvation is, specifically, faith in God, in His Son, and in the Christian gospel. But the New Testament also uses the term “faith” in a broader sense, such as when Jesus admonished Peter for having little faith (Matt 14:31). Faith has two components: belief (intellectual) and trust (volitional). Faith is never a leap in the dark. It is rational trust.

It is common for people today to speak of misguided or false faith—that is, a belief/trust in the wrong thing. But the Bible presents faith as a virtue. Faith is listed among the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Faith is listed among the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:9 (cf. 1 Cor 13:2). Faith is everywhere spoken of positively in the New Testament.

The classical virtues are often defined as a mean between two extremes, and faith may be defined as a mean between gullibility and skepticism. Faith, like love and joy, is always a virtue if exercised according to the proper sense of the term. There is therefore no such thing as misguided or false faith, properly speaking. One may have misplaced trust or false beliefs, but the English word “faith” traditionally was used solely to describe a virtue. Faith is always right, if it is true faith (cf. 2 Thess 3:2). Today, non-Christian religions are commonly called other “faiths,” but properly speaking they are other religions or cults. Their truth-claims are lies, and their followers are gullible, deceived, and depraved. They have no claim to the virtue of faith.

How does one avoid both gullibility and skepticism, and only place his faith in what is true and right? How does one know whether to be trusting or skeptical? The answer has to do with character and holiness. Every truth-claim that one is presented with is made by some person or group of people. If the person is honest, moral, upright, and holy in every respect, we ought to be inclined to believe the claims he makes. However, if the person has some character flaw, we ought to be skeptical or disbelieving, no matter how convincing he may sound. In the end, there is only One whom we may trust absolutely, and that is the One who is absolutely holy—namely, the triune God. What God says is to be believed without question, because it is impossible for God to lie or deceive or to be mistaken (Num 23:19; Tit 1:2; Heb 6:18). The Bible presents a moral standard that is higher, holier, truer, more pure, and more just than any human standard ever devised. The character of God’s people is qualitatively different than the character of unbelievers. This shows that the Bible is God’s Word, and that God is absolutely holy and trustworthy. What godly men say, we are to be inclined to believe, though we must compare what they say to what God has said as the ultimate standard. This is an important principle, which therefore bears repeating: faith is to be exercised in proportion to the character of the one making the claim, with all claims to be measured against the claims made by the triune God, who is the only perfectly trustworthy One. So how do you know whether to believe someone? You know on the basis of his character.

An illustration: in a court of law, if two witnesses tell different stories, the court examines the character of the witnesses. If one witness has a bad reputation and poor character, and the other witness has a good reputation and high character, the witness with the better character is trusted. When it comes to spiritual matters, the contrast could not be any clearer. God is holy, and the fruit of the Spirit is entirely good. Satan is evil, and he and his followers are entirely bad. So when Satan contradicts what God says, what should you do? Should you say, “Well, that sounds plausible—now I’m confused”? No way! Believe the Witness whose character is perfect, for He can be trusted to tell the truth.

In my next post, I will look more specifically at the rationality of faith—that is, the relationship between faith and reason.

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