Testimony of Scripture

Misreading Scripture

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.John 5:39-40

Jesus called the Pharisees out for their misappropriation of God’s Word. Although they knew what it said, they did not know what it meant. They failed to see the meaning of scripture and as a result did not attain eternal life. We too must be able to understand the meaning of Scripture. In order to do this we must understand the fallacy of the Pharisees.

Possessing instead of living.

The pharisees saw greater value in the memorization of scripture rather than understanding the meaning of scripture . They believed the more you memorized the holier you were. People that dedicated themselves to exclusive Bible study would dress differently than others to show that they were scholars of the scripture. This would bring them religious praise as people would recognize them as holy.

We must be careful not to study the scripture so that we can impress others by quoting it fluently. I would contend that it is better for one to know the meaning of the passage rather than have the ability to quote the verse word by word without error. The reason is if you understand the meaning, then you can teach someone else and this will benefit them. If you can only memorize the scripture then this only brings praise to you.

John, Volumes 1 & 2 Missing the Message

Donald Grey Barnhouse provides a helpful illustration about the right attitude toward the Bible. He imagines a person standing before a window high in a skyscraper overlooking the ocean. What would we say if the person talked only about the window itself—its dimensions, the kind of material in it, and its construction? We would marvel that he made no mention of the ocean view! Likewise, we must not study the Scriptures as if the Bible itself were our focus. This is the mistake of those who approach God’s Word only to examine, analyze, or criticize its teaching. Just as the purpose of a window is to see what is outside, the purpose of the Bible is to see the person and work of Jesus Christ as he is revealed in Scripture, so that we might believe and be saved.

Studying Scripture to support theology rather than create theology.

The Pharisees used the scriptures to support their theology rather than discover truth in the scripture. They used the scripture as a means of supporting salvation by works rather than by faith. They believed that they could earn salvation by upholding the law. This is not the intent of the law. The intent of the law is to reveal us as sinners that cannot uphold the law. This means we need a Savior.

If we study the Bible for the sake of winning a theological debate we are studying for the wrong reason. The purpose for studying the scripture is to discover truth for ourselves and teach other.

As I see it the study of scripture for the purpose of supporting theological positions has fractured the church rather than unify the church. For example, the reason we have different protestant denominations are because of different theological positions. I would contend that we be unified on the foundational aspects of the faith and respect one another for our different positions on second level theology.

You may ask “why?” I see the value in unity greater than the fracture that theology creates. Especially knowing that no one is 100% accurate in their theology. Baptist don’t have it right, Methodist don’t have it right, Presbyterian don’t have it right, Church of God don’t have it right, Pentacostals don’t have it right, Seventh day Aventist don’t have it right, Catholics don’t have it right, and the list goes on! Do you see my point. The fractured church creates confusion to the lost world! This is counter to what Christ called us to do!

Paul calls us to unity

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph. 4:1-3

Studying Scripture to be self-righteous

The Pharisees found value in studying the scriptures so they could put other people down and elevate themselves. Not only would they know the commandments, but they would add to them and hold others accountable for them. The Pharisees loved to criticize others for violating the law to make themselves look Holy. Though they knew the scriptures, they would not adhere to them themselves. Jesus called them out:

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. Matt. 23:1-4

There are church folks that are much like the pharisees. They study the scriptures not as a means of correcting themselves, but correcting others. We call these people legalist. You can tell a legalist by what they do. If they criticize others using the Bible, but have no interest in helping them overcome their sin, they are being legalistic. This person is just as guilty as the sinner!

We should study Scripture to discover Jesus and make His name known.

The purpose God gave us the scriptures are to reveal Himself. Discovering the Lord is life changing. You begin to understand His love, authority, power,and salvation. God reveals Himself in the Scriptures.

He affords us the opportunity to share what we discover about him with others

The Testimony of Scripture Brings glory to God!

Jesus told the Pharisees that they did not bring glory to God, because they would rather have glory from others. They did not want to believe what the Bible said because they wanted to use it to propel their own agenda. Their own agenda was to have fame, power, and wealth. If you were a pharisee, you had all three. Culturally, Pharisees used religion to get what they wanted, rather than what God wanted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven [c]from [d]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 [[e]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one [f]proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of [g]hell as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the [h]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the [i]temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is [j]more important, the gold or the [k]temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the [l]offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is [m]more important, the [n]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the [o]offering? 20 Therefore, [p]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by [q]the altar and by everything on it. 21 And [r]whoever swears by the [s]temple, swears both by [t]the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 And [u]whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and [v]cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full [w]of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are [x]sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how [y]will you escape the [z]sentence of [aa]hell? Matt. 23:13-33

They keep people from going to heaven

Take advantage of the weak

Value money more than God

Focus on other peoples wrongs rather than themselves

They live for themselves rather than others

They pretend to be righteous, but are sinful to the core

They cover up their sins with lies

The way they do this is to oppress others rather than help others. Paul reminds us how to avoid these things

3 Do nothing [a]from [b]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Phil. 2:3-4

Moses wrote about Jesus

Jesus told the the Pharisees that they would be judged by the very one they had put their hope in. The Pharisees thought that if they did what the law of Moses said, they would receive eternal life. They did not see that Moses was giving them the law to point them to Jesus.

Richard Philips breaks it down into 3 categories: Prophecies, Types and Ceremonies

John, Volumes 1 & 2 Christ in the Old Testament

First, the Old Testament contains a storehouse of prophecies that find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Some have to do with the details of his life, such as his birth by a virgin (Isa. 7:14) in the town of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). Others pertain to his ministry, such as Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” Above all are a great number of prophecies concerning Jesus’ death and resurrection, which Charles Simeon describes as “so detailed they could never have entered into the mind of an uninspired man, nor could possibly have been accomplished by any contrivance or conspiracy of men.” An abbreviated list includes these prophecies: he would be sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12); he would be beaten on the face and spit upon (Isa. 50:6); nails would pierce his hands and feet (Zech. 12:10; Ps. 22:16); he would agonize in thirst and be given gall to drink (Pss. 22:15; 69:21); despite the normal Roman practice, no bone of his would be broken (Ps. 34:20); and after death he would be buried in a rich man’s grave (Isa. 53:9). The Old Testament also prophesies the purpose and significance of his death: “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).

Second, the Old Testament teaches about the coming Messiah by means of types. These are persons, events, and institutions that typify something about Jesus Christ. Moses was a type of Christ as our deliverer from bondage. David was a type of Christ as the faithful king. Solomon typified Jesus’ reign of peace and glory. The conquest of Jericho was a type of Christ’s conquest over Satan. The tabernacle typified God as he dwells among men through Christ. How important it is that we read the stories of these Old Testament people and events not just as interesting history or as moral fables, but to teach us about the person and work of the Savior who would come.

Third, the Old Testament ceremonies spoke powerfully of Jesus Christ. The Levitical priests anticipated Christ’s ministry of reconciliation for sin, and the sacrifices showed forth his saving blood. A prominent example was the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16), in which the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place once a year to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. The details were all significant. First, the high priest would put on clean and holy garments, signifying the Messiah’s perfect righteousness to serve as priest before God. He then took two male goats from the people. These were also spotless, to show that the true Sacrifice must be sinless. On one of these goats, the high priest laid his hands, signifying the transfer, or imputation, of the people’s sins to this “scapegoat.” That goat was then “sent away into the wilderness” (16:10), far beyond the sight of the people, just as our sins are taken away by Christ. The other ram was killed as a sacrifice, and the high priest took its blood into the Most Holy Place. There, in the presence of the glory of God and before the tablets of the Ten Commandments, which presented God’s law that the people’s sin had broken, the high priest sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat, just as Christ died to present his own blood to atone for our transgressions.

The prophecies, types, and ceremonies are some of the main ways of seeing the Old Testament’s teaching about Christ. Jesus himself homed in on the witness of Moses, since the Jewish leaders particularly revered him: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45–47).

The five books of Moses, known as the Torah, or the Pentateuch, are filled with prophecies of Christ—such as those made to or by Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, and Moses. Most of these people are types either of Christ or of faith in Christ. The ceremonies of the law that point to Christ were also given by God through Moses. That the scribes and Pharisees should fly the banner of Moses and so fail to comprehend his witness to Christ is nothing less than damning. This is why Moses himself, whose name they most prized, condemns them. Through the law he taught, which judges their sin, and the gospel he promised, which they refused by their opposition to Christ, Moses above all accuses these Old Testament scholars. That same law accuses each of us, unless, as Jesus said, we “come to [him] that [we] may have life” (John 5:40). Let none of us look down on the scribes and the Pharisees, though their guilt was very great, but rather let us confess our own sin and come to Christ, to be saved by the gospel that both he and Moses proclaimed.