Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for October 24, 2010
Series in Colossians
“Wisdom doesn’t come from Education” – Colossians 2:1-3;
1 Corinthians 1:18 — The Foolishness of God is Wiser than the Wisdom of Man.
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for October 17, 2010
Series in Colossians
“From Enemies of God to Being Righteous Friends of God” – Colossians 1:21-23
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for October 10, 2010
Series in Colossians
“Reconciliation Through the Incomparable First Born” – Colossians 1:18
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for September 26, 2010
Series in Colossians
“The Incomparable Christ” – Colosians 1:13-20; John 14:9
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for September 12, 2010
Begin Series in Colossians
“Measuring Christian Maturity” – Colossians 1-4
Christian Maturity is measured according to Faith, Hope, & Love
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for September 5, 2010
Not Available
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for August 29, 2010
Last in Series on The Nature of Scripture
“False Teachers” – Jude
History repeats itself because we weren’t listening the first time.
Evangelicals are in danger of loosing their influence because they tend to try to adjust their message to suit the changes in culture. Michael Spencer, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, said that evangelicals are in danger of becoming irrelevant because they are becoming less doctrinaire. Christine Wicker, in her book, forecasted from an unbeliever’s point of view the death of evangelicalism because American culture was becoming less doctrinaire. Americans, in general, do not want to be taught a Christianity that emphasizes doctrines as central to its identity; that is, they do not want to be taught that you must believe particular things about God, Christ, salvation, humanity, and particular things about the future.
Christian Smith is a sociologist at a university on the east coast. In his book, he concluded that, contrary to popular opinion, American teenagers are very interested in religion. However, the average American teenager is interested in religion only to the extent that it is moralistic, therapeutic deism. They want the comfort and security of having some moral guidelines but which is not too morally narrowing. They want their religion to be therapeutic in that they want to attend services that make them feel good. They are not coming to religion because they want to believe truth. They don’t want to believe in God as He is; they just want to avoid the consequences of living immorally and to feel good.
Deism is a view of God that became popular in the eighteenth century. Its core belief is that God created the world in a very precise way, like a Swiss watchmaker would make a watch; God, after setting the world in motion, turned His back on the world and now has nothing more to do with it; the world continues to function on its own in the way that God designed it; according to deism, God does not intervene in its affairs or its functioning; for deism there was no need of Jesus Christ to enter the world as Savior for any of its inhabitants and no need of God to answer any prayer.
Generally, American teenagers are only interested in a religion that gives them some moral guidance and makes them feel better, and they have a minimalistic and, ultimately, heretical view of God.
If Christianity is to continue to be the Christianity that was handed down to us by the apostles, we need to continue to emphasize that the Bible teaches certain things that we are to believe and it teaches certain things we are to dismiss and, on certain things, there is no middle ground.
Jude 3-10
Jude wanted to write a letter of encouragement to his congregation but had to write about false teachers who had slipped in among them. These false teachers showed up not looking like what they are but, as Jesus said, wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are like clouds without rain. They look like caring teachers but in reality are there to lead astray. They turn the grace of God into license for immorality, denying the Lord God and Jesus Christ. They discourage commitment to a moral life style. They endlessly talk of grace but present it as a license to unbounded immorality. They deny that Jesus is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe. Just because someone talks about Jesus does not necessarily mean that they are saved. You cannot just accept a Jesus of any kind, but you must receive Him as He really is, what the Bible tells us He is. It is necessary to your salvation that you recognize Jesus Christ as the everlasting God the Son, to whom God the Father has given the duty of judging the righteous and the unrighteous. These false teachers do not like living with restrictions or submitting to anything. They defile their bodies and despise authority and dignitaries. We do not have the authority to rebuke spirit beings; only God has that authority; therefore, Michael the archangel called upon the Lord to rebuke Satan when he was struggling with him over the body of Moses. But these false teachers had no reluctance to do so.
Jude demands that the recipients of his letter contend for the faith, that they proclaim the central doctrines given to them by the apostles, about Christ and about grace, about God and about salvation, about humanity and the eternal things to come, the faith once for all delivered. There aren’t doctrines about God for America and doctrines about God for Ethiopia. There aren’t doctrines about salvation for the eighteenth century and doctrines about salvation for the twenty-first century. The faith does not shift; the doctrines of the Bible do not change. They are given once for all.
Jude 20
Jude urges his listeners to “build themselves up in their most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” Join together in reminding each other of those crucial, unchangeable elements of the faith. Commit to build each other up in the unchanging elements of the faith and pray in the Holy Spirit for each other that we will remain true to those unchangeable elements of the teaching of Scripture.
Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for August 22, 2010
Series on The Nature of Scripture
“Are the Scriptures True?” – Ephesians 4:25
We have seen that, although the Holy Scriptures were written by men, their origin is with God, in particular, the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. And we have also seen that the New Testament is inspired writing the same as the Old Testament.
Jesus spoke nothing contradictory to the Old Testament; His words all came from the Father and found their way into writing by the Holy Spirit.
But none of this makes any difference, however, if it isn’t true.
So, are the writings from Genesis to Revelation true? Truth is that which is real.
Is scripture telling us the truth?
The Bible testifies to its truthfulness.
Ephesians 4:25
Scripture itself requires Christians to be truthful to each other. The body of Christ cannot remain healthy if we are not truthful to one another; we cannot have a workable relationship with one another if we are not truthful to each other.
2 Timothy 3:16
The context of this verse is Paul’s reminder in verses 1-9 that we live in terrible times, characterized by people loaded down with sin, people who are always learning but never acknowledging the truth, even opposing the truth.
Paul clearly states that all scripture is inspired. And he tells Timothy this in contrast to the times which are filled with error and falsehood. He is telling Timothy that, unlike the world around, he is telling Timothy the truth.
Paul states the inspiration of scripture here in order to teach the doctrine of inerrancy, that the scriptures are without any mixture of error. Inerrancy and inspiration go together hand-in-glove. Anything that God inspires is also true.
2 Peter 1:20-21
Peter agrees with Paul’s statement above, saying that prophecy did not originate with man but men spoke from God, moved by the Holy Spirit.
Then Peter reminds his readers that as there were false prophets among the men of old, there will be false teachers among us, introducing condemnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them. These false teachers will gain many followers and by reason of them the way of truth shall be slandered.
Whether you are in the first century of this era or in the present century, there are going to be false teachers. We see them in the pulpit and on TV saying things that are not true and causing the truth to receive a bad reputation. Peter wants us to know that, in spite of these false teachers, the Holy Scriptures are inspired and totally true.
The doctrine of inspiration teaches the doctrine of inerrancy. Whether the Bible teaches on history or science or salvation or speaks of the last days, it is all true. All of Holy Scripture is inspired and, therefore, all of it is true.
Matthew 5:17
Jesus tells us that He will not contradict the Old Testament but will speak in harmony with it, that He has come to fulfill the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus had nothing original to say; He spoke with the same Mind as the One who originated the Old Testament scriptures. He further warns that anyone who breaks the least commandment in the law and teaches people the same will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven but the one who keeps and teaches the commandments will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus holds the entire Old Testament to be completely true and completely relevant. Jesus speaks of the Old Testament scriptures with the same confidence that Peter and Paul do.
John 10:35-36
If God, according to the Old Testament, called those, to whom the word of God came, gods, then how can anyone say anything against Jesus for saying He is the Son of God, when the Father has sanctified Him. Jesus reminds them that the scriptures cannot be broken, that what scripture says is true. Scripture may make you uncomfortable; it may disrupt your life; but nothing in scripture is untrue.
John 17:16-17
Jesus in His prayer for the disciples says, “Your word is truth,” and He asks the Father to set them apart through His truth.
No matter what scripture costs you to obey it, scripture reflects reality. No matter how ridiculous some scripture may appear, it is nevertheless true.
