Powerman and Mosquitoboy: Robot Invasion - Episode 3

Behold! Here is another video from back in my superhero days. This is part three in Powerman and Mosquitoboy: Robot Invasion. You can watch part one on the blog or on youtube, and you can watch part two on the blog or on youtube. 

In the previous episode, Powerman learned from The Designer that Princess Alethia's fiance, Prince Wimpe, is secretly behind the robot invasion and the robotic duplicates of Powerman and Mosquitoboy. Now, it is up to them to warn the Princess before it is too late!

Once again, we managed to smuggle a lot of theology into a superhero video for kids! This was originally used for a custom written VBS program. The teaching theme for this episode was Reboot: You must be born again. Verse: "In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.'" -John 3:3.

This was fun to write and create. There was great acting from all those involved. I hope you enjoy it!

If Scripture is Clear, Why Don't We Agree?

The fact that Christians disagree about so many issues seems to be an argument against the clarity ("perspicuity") of Scripture. If Scripture is clear, then why don't we all agree?

[Click here for the previous article on The Perspicuity of Scripture.]

Something that helped me with this question was a section in Erwin Lutzer's book Doctrines that Divide. Lutzer lists four of the reasons why Christians don't agree: the limitations of men, the perversion of man, the unbelief of man, and the traditions of man. These are problems that each of us should recognize.

The Limitations of Men
There are some doctrines that are difficult simply because human beings are limited in our knowledge and understanding. For example, discussions free will are notoriously difficult. The Bible is clear that God is sovereign over everything and that humans are morally responsible for their choices; but how to put those two truths together is a paradox. We simply don't have enough insight to understand how that works. We lack information and we lack mental ability. Our three-pound brains simply do not have the computing power for some problems. In addition, there are other truths that remain mysteries to us because God has not chosen to reveal them to us.

The Perversion of Man
What Lutzer means here is that we often twist the meaning of Biblical texts to suit our own desires or biases. We want something to be true, so we read the Bible in a certain way. This category doesn't merely include issues dealing with sexual perversion, although that would be one example. You need to work very hard to bend the Bible enough to say that sexual relations are blessed for anyone besides a husband and a wife who are married to each other. Yet, people write books to argue that. Of course, there are countless other examples of this category besides sexual issues. Sometimes people know full well that they are twisting Scripture, but often they want to see something in Scripture so badly that they see mirages.

The Unbelief of Man
Some people have a naturalistic worldview that absolutely rules out any involvement from God. There is no way to believe all of the Bible's teachings related to science, creation, prophecy, history, and miracles if you start with a precommitment to naturalism. The Bible is not anti-scientific, but it does include the core idea that God exists and that He can interact with the created world. For various reasons and pressures, some people refuse to accept that. Many professing Christians have been influenced by naturalism to one degree or another. There are Bible commentaries built upon a foundation of unbelief. It is a mistake to let our worldview shape our view of Scripture instead of letting Scripture shape our worldview.

The Traditions of Man
We all have inherited certain traditions about what Christians should believe. The only difference is that some people recognize their traditions and some people are blind to them. The person who says, "I have no traditions" may be like a fish that doesn't realize that it swims in water. In truth, many of our disagreements boil down to the fact that we swim in different ponds with different accepted beliefs. There is often little incentive to reexamine these beliefs, especially if it might mean having to find another pond.

In addition to these, let me add a few more:

The Desire to Please Men
We usually think about "traditions" being something old, but in reality any influence we have from the people around us can distort our view of God and the Word. For many people today, the new "tradition" is the desire to be seen as progressive. People want to be judged well by their peers. No one will be true to God's Word who craves the approval of the world.

The Failure of Men
Many Christians have no idea what they should believe because they are Biblically illiterate. Many churches have failed at discipleship. Many pastors have failed to faithfully preach God's Word. Many parents have failed to instruct their children. And many Christians have failed to take responsibility for their own spiritual growth. (Sorry to be so negative here! I wish I were wrong.)

In addition...
Beliefs are connected. One wrong belief often affects another. For example, if you have a low view of God's holiness, you will have a shallow view of man's sin. If you have a shallow view of man's sin, it would be difficult for you to see why sin is so awful that God should punish it with eternal condemnation. It would be difficult to see why it was necessary for the Son of God to come as a sinless sacrifice to pay an infinitely horrible price as our substitute. You see, false teaching leads to a chain reaction of error.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why professing Christians disagree. All of these reasons have one common core: man. The reason Christians disagree is not because God is a bad communicator. The problem lies with us.

[Note: The four original main points are from Lutzer but the comments are mine.]

See also: The Perspicuity of Scripture; and How to Silence God on a Subject You Don't Like

The Perspicuity of Scripture

Satan hates God’s Word and he will do whatever he can to keep people out of that book. One of his most successful lies is the myth that the Bible is too complicated to be understood by normal people. Don’t bother. Be afraid. Leave it to the experts. “Don’t try this at home.”

The word perspicuity is obscure, but what it refers to is the “clarity” of Scripture. (Ironic, isn’t it?) Perspicuity means clarity, plainness, transparency, or intelligibility. The perspicuity of Scripture means that Scripture is written so that it can be read and understood by ordinary believers.

Lie: The Bible is too complicated to be understood by normal people.

Truth: The Bible is meant to be read and understood. Think about these words from Deuteronomy 6:6-7:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

These instructions are given to parents, not scholars. In order for this to make sense, God’s message must be clear enough that it could be understood by everyday parents and communicated to everyday kids.

Lie: You cannot understand the Bible without special teachers.

In the early church, the Gnostics claimed that they alone had secret knowledge that was the key to true understanding. If you wanted true understanding, you were held hostage to these teachers. Over the years, many other teachers and authorities have implied the same thing. Some church authorities have claimed that everyone must look to them for the official interpretation of Christian teachings. Some scholars love to give people the impression that they are the only ones skilled enough to analyze and understand the complex labyrinth of God’s Word. In addition, even evangelical teachers write books and publish videos claiming that they have discovered the keys to finally unlock God’s mysteries. You too can have these keys—if you buy their book or pay to go to their conference.

Truth: The Holy Spirit is given to all Christians to help them understand His truth. Read these words from the Apostle John in 1 John 2:27:

“But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true…”

John’s point was that believers didn’t need to be held hostage by the false teachers that were claiming that Christians needed them to give them the true interpretation of Scripture. Instead, John taught that all Christians have the anointing of the Holy Spirit and that part of the Spirit’s work is to illuminate the message of God’s Word to them. I don’t think that John is saying that teachers aren’t useful for Christians (there is a spiritual gift of “teacher” after all), but what he is saying is that Christians don’t need to be dependent on human teachers.

What Perspicuity Doesn't Mean

Having said that, we need to make sure we don’t swing to the opposite extreme. There are several things this doctrine does not mean:

·         The doctrine of perspicuity does not mean that nothing is difficult to understand. Some parts of Scripture are difficult. Even the Apostle Peter recognized this (2 Peter 3:15-16).

·         The doctrine of perspicuity does not mean that you will understand everything automatically. Effort is involved. Sometimes, a great deal of effort and practice is involved.

·         The doctrine of perspicuity does not mean that you will understand verses out of context. You couldn't even understand a sentence from a simple children’s novel out of context. Why would you think you could do that for Scripture?

·         The doctrine of perspicuity does not mean that you will understand everything.

·         The doctrine of perspicuity does not mean that you will understand Scripture infallibly. Be humble and open to correction.

However, this doctrine does mean that the most important doctrine of Scripture are clearly set forth for those who are willing to read it, seeking God’s help with a heart that is willing to hear and obey God’s Word. I believe some of these clear teachings include the deity of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and basic instructions about God’s moral will for our lives.

Sometimes the real reason why people think God’s Word is unclear is because they do not want it to be clear. They don’t like what it says. They want to pretend that God’s Word is cloudy so that they do not have to obey it.

Is God is a competent communicator?

Ultimately, it comes down to either believing that (a) God is a good communicator, or (b) God is a lousy communicator. Yes, there are challenges for an infinite God to communicate to finite beings like us. And yes, there are problems even with communication between human beings—context, perspective and background information can all shape or distort the message that is heard. Still, the same people who write books about the impossibility of communicating truth still assume that you can understand  their books, blogs, and comments well enough. How arrogant it is to think that we can communicate better than God.

God does not have a speech impediment. We have a hearing problem. Our problem is that we have our hands over our ears to keep ourselves from hearing what God is saying. God’s Word is clear because the God who made us is a good communicator. Take your hands away and hear His voice through His written Word.

This article was part of a series, Five Things I Hope You Believe are True About Scripture: (1) Necessity, (2) Authority, (3) Inerrancy, (4) Sufficiency, and (5) Perspicuity. Also related: How to Silence God on a Subject You Don't Like and If Scripture is Clear, Why Don't We Agree?

The Sufficiency of Scripture

If you want to write a bestselling Christian book, tell people about hidden truth that isn't in the Bible. Write about your trip to heaven. Write about the personal information that Jesus channeled to you during your time of listening. Give people something newer and fresher than the dull pages of their dusty Bibles. A quick look at the top selling books at Meijers or Walmart will confirm that these are the books that fly off the shelves.

What does it say about Christianity that these are our most popular books? I’m afraid it indicates that we are enamored with the novel. We are more interested in privileged information than in the public record of the Bible. Our attentions are more perked by fresh finds than old truths. 

In the early days of the church, the Gnostics were a major problem. The word “Gnostic” means “knowing ones.” The Gnostics taught that salvation came from receiving hidden wisdom. They believed they had secret, insider knowledge that was only known by the privileged few. Men and women were drawn to Gnosticism because they were attracted to the idea of getting the inside scoop. People in those days had the same tendencies as people today.

In contrast to this, I hope that you believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. The sufficiency of Scripture means that the Bible contains everything we need to know to be saved and to live the Christian life. Everything that God meant to tell us for this age is written in the completed pages of Scripture. It is the full measure of revealed truth that God intends for humanity for this stage in redemptive history. Until Christ returns, it is all that we need.

There are no extra-biblical Easter eggs to go looking for. Scripture is enough.

Many of you will go camping this summer. If you go to a store to be outfitted for your camping trip and they have a sign in the window claiming they carry "Everything You Need!" then you shouldn't have to go to another store to buy something else for your trip. If they can give you everything you need, then you would be thoroughly equipped. If they didn’t have everything you need, then you wouldn’t be thoroughly equipped. With that in mind, think about what Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15-17:

…and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul tells Timothy that Scripture is able to make him thoroughly equipped for every good work. Timothy did not need revelation from another source to equip him thoroughly. Neither do we.

The sufficiency of Scripture does not mean that the Bible tells us everything there is to know about how to build nuclear reactors or how to remove someone’s appendix. However, it does mean that everything we need to know about God, salvation, and the Christian life is found in Scripture. It means that we don’t have to look to someone’s (very doubtful) trips to heaven for a secret glimpse behind the curtain. It means that we don’t have to buy someone’s book to get their secret knowledge. It means that we shouldn’t look for spiritual short-cuts. There are no divinely inspired Cliff-Notes for Scripture. There are no deleted scenes. It means that we don’t have to feel like “there’s gotta be something more.”

Satan will do anything he can to get us away from the Word of God. If he can make something else seem more interesting, more fresh, more authoritative, or easier... he will do it.

Years ago Rene Pache wrote this wisdom:

Why be tied to a book out of the past when one can communicate every day with the living God? But this is exactly the danger point. Apart from the constant control of written revelation, we soon find ourselves engulfed in subjectivity . . . Let each remind himself of the prohibition of taking anything away from Scripture or adding anything to it (Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18-19). Almost every heresy and sect has originated in a supposed revelation or a new experience on the part of its founder, something outside the strictly biblical framework. 

James Montgomenry Boice once warned that the great issue of our day would not be the authority of Scripture, but its sufficiency. The alternative to the sufficiency of Scripture is the insufficiency of Scripture. Either you believe that Scripture is enough, or you will turn to other experiences and teachings to supplement it. 

Remember, God is omniscient. When the Holy Spirit inspired the words of Scripture, He knew exactly what we would need today—even in the 21st century. Our world didn’t catch Him by surprise.

Be satisfied with what God has chosen to reveal. He could have revealed more, but He didn't. God has His reasons for that.

My advice to you is to disregard books on trips to heaven, special messages, and secret wisdom. Don't give it a market. Don't be fascinated by novelty. Instead, appreciate all that God has revealed in Scripture. Read it! Read all of it. Meditate on it. Appreciate the fact that the Holy Spirit is with us to illuminate the truths that He had written down long ago. He makes it come alive to us and shows us how it applies, in glaring brilliance, to our lives today.

I hope you believe that Scripture is enough. I hope you are satisfied with the sufficiency of Scripture. 

Next up: The Perspicuity of Scripture
Others in this series: The Necessity of Scripture; The Authority of Scripture; The Inerrancy of Scripture; 

The Inerrancy of Scripture

The Watershed

Thirty years ago Francis Schaeffer predicted that inerrancy would prove to be the watershed issue for evangelicals. He was right.

Schaeffer described that not far from his home in Switzerland, there was a ridge along the mountains, covered with snow. If the snow melted on one side of the ridge the water drops would trickle down the mountain into a stream, eventually joining the Rhine River, flowing through Germany and emptying into the cold waters of the North Sea. However, if the snow melted two inches to the other side of the ridge, these drops would flow down the Rhone valley into Lake Geneva, then into the Rhone River, flowing through France, until finally reaching the warm waters of the Mediterranean.   

This ridge along the mountains is called the watershed. Although the snow at the top of the mountain seems unified, as it melts its eventual destination will be determined by what side of the watershed it falls on. What seems like a very small difference at first will eventually separate these drops of water by thousands of miles.

Thirty years later, it is obvious that Francis Schaeffer was right. Ideas have consequences.

This article is the third in a series of introductions to the five attributes of Scripture: Necessity, Authority, Inerrancy, Sufficiency, and Perspicuity. These are Five Things I Hope You Believe Are True About Scripture.

Verbal Plenary Inspiration

In a nutshell, inerrancy simply means that Scripture is without error in all that it teaches. This doctrine dovetails with the belief that Scripture is the result of verbal plenary inspiration. If that phrase is new to you, please let me explain it: Inspiration is an older translation of the word theopneustos from 2 Timothy 3:16. It literally means “God-breathed.” The term verbal refers to the words of Scripture (think: “verbs” = words). Finally, if you go to a conference, a “plenary” session is one that everyone attends. So, plenary means “all.” Together, verbal plenary inspiration is the belief that all of the words of the Bible are God-breathed.

• Verbal = The words of Scripture are God-breathed, not merely the thoughts or ideas.
• Plenary = All the words of Scripture are God-breathed, not just some of them. (Not just the “red” ones, the popular ones, or the ones we like best.)
• Inspiration = God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16; theopneustos)

2 Timothy 3:16 teaches that all Scripture is God-breathed. It is wrongheaded to carve it up as if some parts are inspired and some parts are not. It is especially wrongheaded to think that the ink color in modern editions makes any difference. Jesus taught that even “the smallest letter” and “the least stroke of a pen” were all God’s unchanging Word (Mt. 5:18). We also see Jesus (John 10:24-35) and Paul (Gal. 3:16) making theological arguments that depend on the specific words of Scripture. In one of these instances, Jesus also declared, “Scripture cannot be broken.”

Another View: Infallibility without Inerrancy

In the past, the terms infallibility and inerrancy basically meant the same thing. Infallibility means that something cannot fail and inerrant means that something cannot err. They were two sides of the same coin. However, now many theologians distinguish between these two terms and argue that we can have one without the other. This redefinition of infallibility was solidified in the 70's by Jack Rogers and Donald McKim’s who argued (wrongly I believe) that the Scriptures are infallible but not inerrant. They argue that inerrancy is a modern invention, while infallibility is the historic Christian position. They also give the term infallibility a new, very limited meaning. McKim writes:

[Scripture presents] a divine message in human thought forms. The purpose of scripture is not to present inerrant facts; yet it is ‘infallible’ in that it will not lie or deceive about what it is intended to focus upon: God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. In this view, scripture is seen in relation to its central purpose, the proclamation of the gospel (John 20:31) . . . Scripture is infallible in accomplishing its purpose.

In this view, all of the words in Scripture are not inspired. Instead, God gave the human authors certain ideas and helped them to communicate those ideas as best they could in rough human thought forms. All of the details do not need to be correct, they argue, in order to lead people to Jesus.

Because of the influence of this view, a change in language has taken place. Infallibility used to be the more common term, but it used to mean, basically, that Scripture doesn't make mistakes. However, now inerrancy means that Scripture doesn't make mistakes and infallibility (to many) means that Scripture actually does make mistakes, just not very important ones.

Francis Shaeffer saw the difference between these two views of Scripture as the difference between one side of the watershed and the other.

By the way, I should point out that it is true that many older theologians did not list inerrancy as one of the four attributes of Scripture. However, it can be demonstrated that they believed that Scripture never taught any real errors. They saw this as part of the authority of Scripture—and often treated it under that heading. Today, we are forced to be more specific about this issue because of the redefinitions that have taken place.

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy

As inerrancy was being hotly debated in the 1970’s, conservative theologians met in Chicago in 1978 and drafted the document known as The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. It is a detailed description of what conservative Christians mean when they say that all Scripture is inerrant.

Many of the people who reject inerrancy these days seem to be reacting to a crude, strawman understanding of this doctrine. Instead, it is important for us to understand what inerrancy actually means—whether you accept it or reject it. Either way, it is worth your time to study this document. It helps us to know what inerrancy means, and what it doesn’t actually claim.

Here are a few examples of what the Chicago statement teaches (in bold), along with my summaries and comments: 

  

Article VIII.
     We affirm that God in His work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared.
     We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.

God used the human writers’ personalities and writing styles without overriding their personalities. God did not use mechanical dictation.

Article X.
     We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text [the original writings] of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original…

Inerrancy does not mean that every copy of Scripture has been miraculously preserved from type-o's or mistakes. It also does not mean that our translations are perfect. However, our copies and translations are inerrant to the extent that they faithfully reproduce the original. 

Article XII.
     We affirm that Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit.
     We deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood.

We should not limit inerrancy to “religious” areas of “faith and practice.” By the way, the phrase "faith and practice" originally meant everything that we believe and everything that we do. It was meant to cover everything, not to carve out some small section of truth that is different from science, history, and everyday reality. 

Article XIII.
     …We deny that it is proper to evaluate Scripture according to standards of truth and error that are alien to its usage or purpose. We further deny that inerrancy is negated by Biblical phenomena such as:

• a lack of modern technical precision
• irregularities of grammar or spelling
• observational descriptions of nature (example: "sunrise")
• the reporting of falsehoods (example: accurately reporting Satan's words)
• the use of hyperbole (obvious exaggeration to make a point)
• and round numbers
• the topical arrangement of material (rather than strict chronological order)
• variant selections of material in parallel accounts
• the use of free citations

This is a very helpful list of things that are not genuine errors. When you realize that the Bible speaks in the common language of observation, the vast majority of the alleged "errors" in the Bible vanish.

Article XV.
     We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy is grounded in the teaching of the Bible about inspiration.
     We deny that Jesus' teaching about Scripture may be dismissed by appeals to accommodation or to any natural limitation of His humanity.

Jesus viewed the Scriptures as being the authoritative and unerring Word of God. If Jesus is God, then His view of Scripture is correct and we should believe it also.

Your view of Scripture will have consequences. The difference may seem like inches at first, but the eventual result is the difference between the frigid seas of liberalism or the warm sea of Biblical truth.

Next up: The Sufficiency of Scripture...