Do You Take The Bible Literally? Part 2 of 2

In part 1, I shared some of the different genres we find in the Bible – narrative, law, genealogy, gospel, and epistle.  I’m hoping to provide you with an understanding of what I call “nuanced literal” reading of the Bible – meaning, not everything is “literal” in the sense that we think of it, but every genre needs to be read and understood with respect to what each genre offers us.  At the end of the post you will find several suggestions of books to pick up if you want to further study this rich topic.

 

As many people have said before, the Bible is not just one book but more of a library of 66 books – all centered around Jesus by either pointing to him and shadowing him (Old Testament), describing his life, teaching, and work for us (gospel), and explaining in detail more about his person, impact, his Church, and his return (Acts-Revelation).  It is not

Do You Take the Bible Literally? (part 1 of 2)

“Do you take the Bible literally?”  Have you ever been asked this question?  For many, the question seems to have an easy answer.  Some would emphatically say “Yes I do – after all, it’s God’s Word!”  Others would emphatically go the other direction – “Absolutely not – there are too many uncomfortable parts, violent parts, and all the rest to take it literally.”  Still others fall in between, wanting to take bits and pieces as absolutely literal (often what they are comfortable with) and leaving the rest up in some sort of nebulous, we-can’t-really-know area.

 

One very good question to ask someone in response to such a question is this:  “What do you mean by ‘literal’?”  Oftentimes you may get a blank stare or a slightly frustrated response, since the questioner may have never really thought of what they mean by “literal”.  Literal is hard to define, but what is usually meant by the question is secondary questions such as “Do you believe it’s true?  Do you take the Creation account literally?  Do you really think God killed people?  Do you think Jesus rose from death?  Do you think Satan was really a serpent?”  As with many questions, the first question is a gateway to the deeper, more important questions someone is wrestling with.  Answering a question with another question is a very good practice, and it’s something Jesus did often.

 

I want to advocate for a

MMA: The Why and How of Taking Little Trips

This past weekend, Noelle and I were able to escape for two nights with some friends to the coast of Oregon.  The little town of Seaside is a wonderful respite – peaceful, slow paced, with a great beach-town vibe.  Even though we planned the trip with our friends about five weeks in advance, I think we underestimated just how much we needed a little trip like this.  What about you – do you need a little trip?  Unless you just got home from one as well, you do.  I’m going to give you two reasons you need a trip and two ways to get one.

 

You need a little trip because little trips pack great restorative power.  Less than 48 hours of legitimate time away can do just as much as five days in some cases.  Plus, they require far less planning and cost far less money.  Be sure to avoid setting the alarm.  Be sure to let yourself take a nap.  If you’re a bit calendar-obsessed like Noelle and I are, try to fill your time with so few plans that it almost makes you uncomfortable.  It will help restore mind, body, and soul.

 

You need a little trip because rest is

How To Let Go of Vain Regrets

Be honest:  do you carry around a lot of regret from the past?  I know there are times I do – times when I wonder what in the world I was wasting my time on, when I was so distracted by a million things that I largely failed to love people as I ought and especially to love God to the utmost.  Maybe you have regrets related to your life before becoming a Christian.  Whether you were 17, 27, or 77 when you became a believer in Jesus, there are things we all tend to wish were different.

 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his book Spiritual Depression, has a special word for those of us living with regret.  “Spiritual Depression” is sort of a catch-all term used to describe the sad fact that a myriad of things keep us from living in the fullness of joy we can have in Christ.  Each chapter of the book is a summary from a sermon series he gave to address the issue.  One thread woven throughout the book is this warning:  do not forget you

MMA: Are You Holy-Spiriting Your Spouse?

You’ve heard me say (or you’ve read me write… whatever) just about a bazillion times that you need to pray for your spouse.  Well, I want to develop that a little bit more and couple it with something you may be doing without knowing it:  Holy-Spiriting your spouse.  You might be familiar with Jesus’ promises concerning the Holy Spirit – that he will guide us into all truth, and will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-15), and much more.  Here’s my problem, and probably yours as well:  I think I’m my spouse’s Holy Spirit.

 

Granted, I don’t literally go around thinking I’m my spouse’s Holy Spirit, but I will often times think of something I need to help her realize or how I may want to help her change in a certain area.  And when I think of those areas, you know what I usually do?  I set about planning how to bring that thing up, in what manner and at what time I should say it, and maybe even try to imagine what the push-back may be if indeed there will be any.  You know what’s happening in those moments of scheming (even with good intentions)?  You are Holy-Spiriting your spouse.

 

Holy-Spiriting your spouse is

Living in the Crazy House

Have you ever been humiliated – like, really humiliated?  What was it for?  Usually humiliation comes in two forms:  either we a) are seen doing something incredibly awkward in front of lots of people, or b) we are exposed for being stupid, prideful, or plain wicked.  I want to talk about the second of these today – because who can make a spiritual point out of doing something awkward things in front of people anyways?

 

In the Bible we see many people humiliated – in fact, just about every major figure in the Bible is humiliated for their sin, stupidity, and wickedness at one or more points in their life.  Whether it’s Abraham being humiliated for saying his wife was his sister so he wouldn’t get killed, or Joseph’s brothers being humiliated when they were exposed for having sold Joseph into slavery, the stories abound.  But one in particular has captured my attention lately – that of King Nebuchadnezzer.  From this point on we’ll call him Neb.

 

Neb was an

MMA: Space and Grace

When your spouse is being a bit of “downer”, or has a sour mood for some reason, what are you supposed to do?  How should you react?  Whether it has something to do with natural monthly rhythms (how’s that for saying it without saying it?) or not, everyone experiences these downers.  Some people would say the most important thing is to make your spouse talk about it – talk it through, dig around in the reasons why they don’t feel so great or why they are irritated.  Others would say leave them to themselves so you don’t catch the downer/sour mood and then both of you are miserable. 

 

So, which is it?  I’d like to adopt a phrase which my mother-in-law gave me (as an idea for this MMA):  space and grace.  We all need a little S & G sometimes, right?  Sadly, it is easy in marriage to forget that your spouse needs these two essential ingredients, and that they are an easy answer to some common marriage woes.  Let’s dive in.

 

What comes to mind when you think of giving your spouse “space”?  Probably the simplest answer is

Ask Anything Video #3: Questions on Marriage, Living Together, and Baptism

This is the third video of the “Ask Anything” video series, and all the questions come from one person.  I hope you find my responses true and encouraging, and would love to receive any feedback regarding them.  Sorry about the bad lighting – it was just such a fantastic day in Portland when I recorded it that I didn’t realize it looked as if God himself were shining upon me.  

 

Also, here’s another classic and terrible freeze-frame… this time I picked the worst option on purpose just for fun.  You can read Sara Fay’s question below the video.

 

My boyfriend and I have always had a desire to get married early rather than later, and on this thought we moved in together prematurely. We are young in our 20′s and not to many people in our family support our decision…does God care what age you are? It’s our belief that it’s better to not live in sin. Also, my boyfriend wants to get baptized but has put it off because we cannot afford to get married until later on this year. Is that the right choice or should he go ahead and get baptized and trust in God for our finances?

 

Want to ask Chris a question about ANYTHING?  Go to the Ask Anything page and ask away!

That One Sin

What’s the one thing you regret the most in your life?  Something you did, a relationship you hurt or ended, an addiction you had?  Well, whatever that one thing is, Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones has some words for you from his book Spiritual Depression.  Most people can pinpoint something that they regret, if not many things they still regret.  Should a Christian live with these regrets?  Is it best to try and “forget” them, learn from them, or to continue to be sorry for them to make sure we don’t do them again?

 

First, says Lloyd-Jones, let’s get one thing straight:  “The fact that you are troubled is no indication that you are not a Christian; indeed, I would go further and say that if you have never had any trouble in your Christian life I should very much doubt whether you are a Christian at all” (p. 66).  If you are troubled by your past, this may actually be an indication of two things which prove you’re a Christian:  the Holy Spirit has convicted you concerning sin and righteousness (the difference between your life and the Jesus life you claim), and you

MMA: 4 Ways to Set Up Your Spouse

We all need a good set up from time to time.  And I’m not talking about being set up for failure, like when you used to get set up by your friends who told you that that really cute girl wanted to go to prom with you then you asked her and got rejected.  Oh, that never happened to anyone else?  Maybe I’m expressing some repressed bitterness here.  Anyways, back to marriage… the point is that you need to set up your spouse.

 

What do I mean by setting each other up?  I mean creating an environment, or providing an opportunity, where your spouse can do whatever they need to do or love to do.  We all inherently know that some atmospheres are better than others.  When I sit down to write or study, I may have some instrumental music on in the background, but I’m not listening to a sermon or something that would detour my focus.  Likewise, I’m sure you set yourself up for success in whatever ways you’ve found to work with what you’re trying to do.

 

What you need is to not only consider what you need to succeed but what your spouse needs to succeed.  Here is a short list of the sorts of things you need to