*** SHOW NOTES (not a transcript) ***

Lead:

A seriously awesome example of truth and grace in today’s All Our Minds segment.

Intro:

Today we need to keep the All Our Minds segment short to accommodate The Bible Project reading plan, so I want to invite you to go take on a homework assignment. A couple days ago we talked about the grace and truth paradox, and today I want you to go read a blog post that is a great example of walking this out. My background notes and a link to the post are in today’s show notes…go to forthehope.org and find episode 911.

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Bible:

Passage: Acts 15-16
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 81
Words: ~1887

All Our Minds:

When it comes to theology, one the things you’ve heard me argue is that everything flows from God’s character, and one of those things is how He has chosen to reveal Himself. Being perfect, He doesn’t reveal Himself imperfectly, including in Scripture.

One of the hallmarks of progressivism, however, is a willingness to start reinterpreting the Bible in ways that undermine what Jesus taught. To use a phrase you’ve heard me use many times before — are we going to judge the Bible through the lens of culture, or are we going to judge culture through the lens of the Bible? There are few arguments in apologetics today that are stronger than the arguments for why you can trust the Bible you have, right here and now.

Recently there was a conference where a super-popular Christian author did the “evaluate Christianity through the lens of culture” thing, and today, Sean McDowell published a critique.

I’m going to leave you with a twofold assignment: go read his post and observe two things:

Important and discerning biblical analysis and
the graciousness with which he confronts this speaker’s falsehood.

The quote that sums up the topic:

Jesus did not teach us to evaluate Scriptural teachings and doctrine by the social effects they have on a certain segment of society, but on the moral effects they have on all of our lives. ~ Sean McDowell

The bottom line

Some of you may remember the story of how Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, famously took an exacto knife to a Bible, rewriting it to say what he believed. The challenge I have before you and all of us: Where do we do that today? Are we going to shape the Scriptures or let the Scriptures shape us? Obviously here we strive, however imperfect I am at it, for the latter.

Wisdom:

Passage: Psalm 102
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 28
Words: ~459

Love you!

-R

ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

Thank you for supporting this ministry should you choose to use the Amazon affiliate links below.

(1) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2505.

#911: Acts 15-16 | Grace & truth in action | Psalm 102