Southwestern Gets Some Dead Sea Scrolls

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth recently acquired some pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

You can read an article in the Star-Telegram about the acquisition.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the late 1940's in some caves beside the Dead Sea. The writings found were well preserved and contained some of the oldest copies of the OT scriptures ever found.

What is so significant about the scrolls? By the late 1940s we had the Old Testament for a long, long time. But, the majority of copies of the OT text were not nearly as old as the scrolls found in Qumran. What is remarkable is that the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that what we have is an amazingly accurate copy of the OT.

I can't wait to view them the next time I am down at the Seminary.

Privacy Please, Pt 3

“No church for me, because my faith is private.”

Another way this excuse manifests itself is with church. Some people have quit the church and their reasoning is “my faith is private”. These people are claiming that they can have a private relationship with God and, therefore, do not need to go to church.

People have a plethora of excuses for avoiding church. There are also some wrong reasons for attending church. There are two false ideas that I battle against when it comes to church.

False Idea #1 – Church is my ticket to heaven. This is false, and yet many people buy into this idea. They go to church a lot, but they do so because they think it somehow earns them credit towards heaven. This is patently unbiblical.(Eph. 2:8-10) Salvation is not found on a church attendance chart. Salvation is found only through the blood of Christ. Attending church cannot save anyone.

False Idea #2 – I don’t need church, faith is a private matter. This idea is the other end of the spectrum. People who espouse this idea don’t want to go to church and rationalize it by the claim that “faith is private”. This, too ,is false.

This group of people really don’t want to be inconvenienced with church. It is too much of a chore to get up so early on a Sunday morning and spend a couple of hours worshiping the God who loved them so much that He gave His life for their very soul. They don’t want to be bothered with fellowshipping with other believers who need their help in their walk with Christ. They don’t want to waste time being obedient to God’s command to assemble with His family. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

No! This excuse is one of selfishness, pride, and laziness. It is unbiblical. Church is not optional and your faith is not that private.

It might sound like I am trying to have it both ways. On one side I am saying that just going to church is not good enough. On the other side I am saying that if you don’t go to church that is not good enough. How do I answer that charge?

It is really rather simple. If I have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ who died for my sins to save my soul; then obeying Him in all matters, including church, is not a chore and it is not a check mark. It becomes a privilege that I can obey my Lord, worship Him among the family of God, and be involved in His service to others.

If your faith is THAT private, it might not exist.

Privacy Please, Pt. 2

You can’t see my faith because it is private. My faith is a private matter.

I’ve heard this expressed in different ways. “He is just very private about his faith.” “They are quiet about God.” “They believe, but they are just not very religious.” “I believe, I just don’t show it like others.”

The problem with this excuse is that it is an attempt to justify something that probably doesn’t exist. James addresses this very issue(James 2:14-24). If someone claims to have faith, but there are no outwardly visible indicators of faith in action, it is not biblical faith.

I believe that it is impossible for someone to have truly experienced the power of salvation by the Almighty Lord Jesus Christ and it have no outward effect on their life. It just ain’t so! (See also John 15:1-5)

If your faith is so private that it has no public demonstration, it might not be a true, biblical faith.

Privacy Please, Pt 1

I have heard people occasionally say something like this, “My faith is a private matter.” Or, “they were private in their faith.” Or, “Don’t ask me about my walk with God, it’s a private matter.”

Is it true, that faith is a private matter?

There is an aspect of faith in which you could say it is private. But, I don’t think the way most people use that sentence is true.

If you are truly a follower of Christ, i.e. soundly saved, there are some aspects, but not all, of your relationship with the Lord that are personal and private in a sense. If I commit a sin by having a thought in my mind, I need to confess that sin, but not to you. That is a private aspect of my walk with God. Jesus said, that I am to go into my “prayer closet” to pray, instead of standing on the street corner for all to see. There are times for corporate praise of God, but there are also private moments of praise between just me and the Lord. Those are a few examples of how faith can be private. Your confession of sin, and praise of the Lord, or the things that the Lord speaks to your heart, does not have to be published for the entire world to see. In that sense, your faith can be a private matter.

I do not think that is what most people mean when they refer to their faith being private. Most of the time, “private faith” is a bad excuse. Many times it is the retort of someone who claims to have faith but doesn’t have much in their life to back it up.

Stay tuned for more to come

A Little Sound vs. A Powerful Voice

A man's word is a little sound, that flies into the air and soon vanishes; but the Word of God is greater than heaven and earth, yea, greater than death and hell, for it forms part of the power of God, and endures everlastingly; we should, therefore, diligently study God's Word, and know and assuredly believe that God himself speaks unto us.


quote from Martin Luther