Question of the Week: What is Biblical Inerrancy and is it a non-negotiable?

The Bible is the primary way Christians believe that God has revealed Himself to mankind. Every non-negotiable belief of Christianity that sets us apart from cults and non-Christian religions; There is one God, God is Triune, and Salvation is through God’s grace alone, are all things we find in scripture. If the source of these three foundational truths of Christianity is faulty, then the very definition of Christianity itself is in question. Without the belief of Biblical Inerrancy, our understanding of God and His ability to reveal Himself to mankind is meaningless. Therefore, the belief in the Bible as Inerrant is a necessary belief for anyone who claims to take Christianity seriously. Biblical Inerrancy is the belief that God inspired, preserved, and communicated factually true statements about Himself and His interactions in human history. Biblical Inerrancy does not mean that textual variants can’t exist, that it will always agree with what’s popular in culture, or that it can’t be misrepresented by critics.

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:19-21 (NKJV)

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

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Question of the Week: Is the Bible vague on the topic of Abortion?

The simple answer is no. The only mindset that would allow this kind of conclusion is one that doesn’t want to hear the answer. Or at least, wants to avoid a conclusion that is unpopular or uncomfortable. If the Bible is going to be clear or vague about anything, we need to first clarify how the Bible presents information. Once our standard for a proper handling of scripture has been set, we can use it to determine whether the Bible’s stance on abortion is vague or clear.

If our standard for something being clear is for it to be spoken in a yes or no format in plain English, we’re reading the wrong books. The Bible is a collection of books originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic in order to record history, present the character of the God of Israel, and verify His authority through predictive prophecy. If we were looking for a rulebook, we’d need to limit ourselves to the laws of ancient Israel given in Exodus 20-24. Obviously there’s more to the Bible then a list of ethics. A Christian isn’t using to Bible to determine what set of rules will make God bless them. We establish our understanding of His character through the witness He’s left of Himself throughout history. From that understanding of who He is, we are given more reasons to trust Him and recognize He will do right by us. The relationship is based on knowing who you love. It’s not about memorizing a list of His likes and dislikes.

All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
Proverbs 8:9-10 (NKJV)

Now that the Bible has been properly defined, how do we recognize its position about certain issues like abortion? Looking for modern terms like Abortion, Pro-Life, or Pro-Choice are non-starters. They didn’t exist at the time scripture was revealed. We shouldn’t expect them to be used. In order to address an issue based on a Biblical worldview, we have to clarify what the issue actually is. The dividing line for those on either side of the Abortion issue is what defines a human life. Those on the side of abortion do not recognize an unborn child as a human life. Thus the accusation of murder is unfounded based on this worldview. Those against abortion believe that life begins at a point within their mother’s womb, rather than at an undefined point outside of it. If Christian scripture makes truth statements that exclude or promote one of these positions over another, then we can come to a clear conclusion about whether the Bible is vague or not.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)

“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
Isaiah 49:1 (NKJV)

These passages form the foundation of a Christian’s understanding of abortion. In the Old Testament, we have statements made by David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, where in their contexts we have them being known by God in their mother’s womb. Thus having identities. They are all given spiritual callings while still in their mother’s womb, thus having agencies. And they are speaking these words both in and outside of a poetic context. If an observation is made in exclusively a poetic setting, one could claim these aren’t necessarily doctrines. Symbolism could be an alternative. However, Isaiah and Jeremiah are speaking in the context of prophecy. If God’s perspective of human life includes the ability to know, speak to, and identify people while they are still in their mother’s womb, then the premise of a pro-abortion worldview is something God disagrees with.

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:41-44 (NKJV)

Moving on to the New Testament, we have the plainest opposition to the truth claims a pro-abortion argument puts forward. The mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth are both pregnant with their future children. If they were not yet human, then the only individuals that should be interacting or reacting are the conscious women involved in this situation. Yet this passage claims that a fetus developing within the first trimester was in fact the same Jesus who was recognized as God outside of Mary’s womb. And to verify this, John the Baptist was the one reacting to the presence of his Lord while still in the second trimester of his mother’s womb. There is no room for this passage to be reconciled with the presumptions made by those in favor of abortion.

Is the Bible clear on the topic of abortion? That depends what you mean by clear. If what you mean by clear is that there is a yes or no statement that denounces or promotes abortion in a modern sense, you’re setting up a standard that most legal documents won’t pass. If what you mean by clear is that there are truth statements made in scripture that recognize the life and agency of a child before they are physically born, then it is absolutely clear. The willful ending of a life is murder. If a Christian justifies murder by redefining life in direct contradiction to scripture, they’re not in line with a biblical worldview and would have a hard time applying the same standards to the very things they believe that make them Christian.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

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Question of the Week: Is Isaiah 53:5 talking about physical healing from the effects of disease or spiritual healing from the effects of sin?

Sherlock Holmes had an interesting method of coming to the truth. Once you have ruled out the impossible, whatever is left must be the truth no matter how improbable. In order to understand the true interpretation of this passage, we are going to take a page from Sherlock Holmes and apply the three rules of reading and understanding the Bible. Context, Context, and Context. Does God heal physical diseases? Is this passage quoted anywhere in scripture as the reason someone’s physical disease was healed? And if not, what did the people who witnessed its fulfillment take it to mean?

Does God heal physical diseases? Yes. We have direct reference to Jesus doing exactly that in His earthly ministry. We have further affirmation that the Holy Spirit does this in the church following the Resurrection. And we have celebration of the Father’s goodness including physical healing. This isn’t an area of controversy at all.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
Psalm 103:2-3 (NKJV)

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:14-16 (NKJV)

Is Isaiah 53:5 quoted anywhere in scripture as the reason why someone was healed? Old and New Testament examples of people who were allowed to experience physical infirmities for a purpose beyond human understanding wouldn’t apply here, since they took place before Jesus received the stripes that produced access to this kind of healing. (If the text is in fact saying that) We will allow the man born blind in John 9:3 and Job’s physical affliction from Satan in Job 2:8-9 to not apply to this interpretation. The problem is we have people after Jesus’ resurrection that were allowed to remain sick despite this promise being in effect. This leaves us only two possibilities; They were unaware of this promise, or they understood this wasn’t the meaning of that promise. Paul the Apostle was allowed to suffer a physical affliction of the eyes and Jesus allowed him to remain in that state. Paul’s disciple Timothy was encouraged to take advantage of Roman medicine to deal with his frequent stomach problems. And at the end of Paul’s life, he mentions one of his closest companions wasn’t with him due to the fact he was still physically sick. These passages either suggest God failed to keep His promise (the impossible), or that God was promising something else entirely.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
1 Timothy 5:23 (NKJV)

Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
2 Timothy 4:20 (NKJV)

Since we have ruled out the impossible, where is Isaiah 53:5 actually quoted in the context of healing?

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:21-25 (NKJV)

The Apostle Peter quotes Isaiah 53:5 in the context of our dying to sins and living for righteousness. This is made possible by the fact that He had bourn our sins on the tree He was nailed to, and died for them. Thus the healing we have before God. The fancy seminary term for this is substitutionary atonement. Jesus was our legal substitute before the Father on our behalf. If God’s justice understands the penalty for sin is death, (Romans 6:23), the mercy of God complimented this further by fulfilling the just penalty of death to the letter. Anyone who trusts in Jesus shares in His bodily death to sin, and thus will also benefit from what followed three days later. He rose from the death free from the power of sin and death forever. An ultimate and permanent healing took place on Jesus’ physical body through the Resurrection. This is something we also participate in through the spiritual healing that redemption has made available to us. That is what the entirety of Isaiah 53 was talking about and we have further quotation from the eyewitness of their fulfillment to confirm it.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

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Question of the Week: Are the Abraham Accords the covenant predicted in Daniel 9?

The short and simple answer is no. While peace in the Middle East is a historical exception rather than a rule, the Antichrist’s covenant with many is going to involve more than the nations currently participating in the peace accords being signed right now. It is certainly a foreshadowing, but not a fulfillment of this prophecy.

“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Daniel 9:26-27 (NKJV)

The prophecy as a whole is as follows;
1. After the Messiah’s execution, a foreign nation will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. We know this today to be the Roman Empire in 70AD.
2. A covenant will be made with many for 7 years.
3. A man from the nation that destroyed the Temple will violate that covenant half-way through and persecute the Jewish nation religiously. This also implies that the Temple his nation destroyed in the past will be rebuilt during or leading up to his reign.
4. At the end of this 7 year period, the 70 weeks (7 year periods) will be completed as detailed in Daniel 9:24-27.

As stated already, phase 1 of this prophecy has been fulfilled to the letter. Phases 2-4 are referred to as the time of Jacob’s Trouble or the Tribulation Period. It is from this passage and others that we identify the Antichrist ethnically as Roman. And it is also from this passage that we make a distinction from any other peace treaty made in the Middle East involving Israel. The Antichrist will be the one to make this peace treaty for a very specific period of time. The nations involved in it will form his 10 nation kingdom through which he will establish global influence. This understanding of the End Times politically is fairly uncontroversial apart from those who reject the concept in its entirety. We understand these extra details about this prophecy from within Daniel itself, within the Old Testament itself, and further emphasized in the book of Revelation as well.
(Daniel 11:21-28, Zechariah 13:8-9, Revelation 13:1-8, Revelation 17:12-18)

If we compare these statements to what we already know about the Abraham Accords, there are key details missing if we are going to claim that this is a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.
1. We are not told the length of time the peace treaty will hold effect. It is expected to go on indefinitely, rather than a 7 year agreement.
2. The only nations explicitly stated to be involved in the treaty are the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Saudi Arabia has announced cooperation in the treaty to allow unimpeded flights between the two nations, and various Sunni states in Northern Africa have also recognized the deal, but it is more out of a mutual distrust of Iran than actually participating in the treaty.
3. The Jewish Temple has not been rebuilt nor has restored Jewish worship through animal sacrifices played any part of this treaty.
(All of the official information about the Abraham Accords can be read on the White House’s own website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/abraham-accords-peace-agreement-treaty-of-peace-diplomatic-relations-and-full-normalization-between-the-united-arab-emirates-and-the-state-of-israel/)

We certainly do not want to turn a blind eye to anything that Israel does involving peace treaties. However, we also don’t want to be so reactionary to these events that we cry “Prophecy Fulfilled” when that simply isn’t the case. Our prayers as Christians should always be for the peace of Jerusalem. This is a good start. However, the false peace established by the man of sin/son of perdition/cruel king of the north/antichrist/etc will be a peace established with more nations than the U.A.E. And even if you consider the United States and Saudi Arabia’s affirmation of the treaty significant, it is still too little information to go on in order to conclude that this is the peace spoken of in Daniel and that Revelation 6:2 is currently taking place.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

[email protected]

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.