But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 1 Peter 3:15-16
Does the Bible have anything in common with Jerry Springer? A fellow I had a conversation with recently said, “Yes. The story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah is worthy of Jerry Springer.” There have been several articles recently that have set forth the same thesis: The Bible is a terrible authority for morals.
Consider just a few charges and questions that are thrown at us: Cain and his wife, Abraham and his wife, Jacob and his wives, Judah and his daughter in law Tamar, the sons of Jacob selling Joseph their brother; and then there’s all the violence; on top of that, the audacity of God to carry out judgements on people. Their conclusion is a heavily sacrcastic, “The Bible is a great source for morals.”
This is being reported so often now that it seems like an orchestrated attempt to discredit the Bible and anyone who makes any statements based on it. And based on the fathers of the 2nd and 3rd century, this has been going on for a long time!
What do we do about this? How should we respond?
First, take comfort. Since this has been going from the beginning, we should not be alarmed. Oh I know, they write and talk like they have discovered the dirty secret of the Christian faith, the one thing that will bring the Faith down to the dust of obscurity. But if these kind of scurrilous charges have been made since the beginning, and the Faith is still intact – there must be an answer. And, of course, there is.
Next, Peter tells us be ready always to give an answer. These attackers make the same mistakes, same assumptions, and we need to answer them. Consider:
+ Not everything is normative. They seem to think that every statement and deed recorded in the Bible is intended to be the norm. “The Bible also says…” But the Bible is not a series of unrelated texts, each and every one laying down ordinances and statues. Just look at the Jewish community, how normal was it for them to get a wife by working seven years for her, only to get the wrong sister first?
+ The Bible is a book of redemption, so it tells everyone’s story, warts and all. So naturally there are people who do dumb things, bad things, ridiculous things. They are people. They are sinners. But, God uses them anyway?? People stumble over this, “They are the heroes of the faith…” I wrote about this in an earlier post
+ Not everything in the OT applies to the NT. There is revelational and covenantal development in the Bible. God is growing us up.
+ Nevertheless, we have to admit, there may be some things in the Bible that are hard to understand. Our approach to these is based on what is clear: God is good, loving, kind, merciful, just, holy, and all knowing. What we may not understand or be able to explain, we trust to God.
But the real question is, Do they want an explanation or are they seeking for an excuse? I believe many just want an excuse. After all, even when you answer them, they often respond, “Well, I don’t care what you say, I still don’t believe it.” For many this is justification for removing the Bible from public discussion, It’s old and has a bad moral message - “It’s illegal today to sell your brother yet the Bible teaches it.”
So this next step is important, we need to be careful how we speak to them when answering them. Peter wrote: be ready always to give an answer…with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. In other words, speak to them in a kind and loving way. And, be sure to be living right.
Paul also spoke about this, And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
So, when people raise questions, wild questions, ignorant questions, intentionally misleading questions, I should try to answer them, meekly and gently teaching the truth, all the while praying that God would open their eyes.
I confess, it is tempting to get drawn into the controversy and focus on winning the argument. However, I need to remember, we are not preaching the Bible. The message of the gospel is not, Believe the Bible. It is Jesus. The problem is not that they struggle with the Bible, their problem is they don’t believe in Jesus. So I have to focus on this: “Yes, there are some rather interesting and unusual stories in the Bible (and don’t you think the people then thought so, too?), but that’s because it is a story of God’s redeeming love.”
I thank the Lord for whatever opportunities I have to speak with unbelievers, even when they are angrily denouncing the Bible and throwing around outrageous accusations. I just have to be careful not to get caught up in the striving, but to patiently and gently teach truth, and pray that God will grant them repentance.
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