Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20020113.htm

DANIEL: HOPE FOR TODAY'S DISILLUSIONED YOUTH
Part II: Knowing The Right Interpretation Of God's Revealed Truths
(Daniel 2:1-23 with 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 and Mark 12:18-27)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In the last year, several Church members have spoken with people outside the body who have interpretations of Scripture differing from ours. In the process, the question has risen as to how we can be sure WE hold to the RIGHT interpretation. Here are 2 examples:

(1) Some believe Hebrews 6:4-6 teaches if one is justified by faith in Christ, and then falls away from that state and loses his salvation, he can never be saved again no matter what he does, and thus is destined to spend eternity in Hell!

The Hebrews passage reads: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

Well, IF a believer might LOSE his salvation, is it NOT possible for him EVER to be saved again? HOW do we know the RIGHT interpretation of this critical passage? (Believe me, we will answer this question in the sermon "Conclusion" section!)

(2) Another has shared about the Framework Theory of the Genesis 1-2 creation account. This theory, formed by a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1958 named Meredith G. Kline, treats (a) the seven "days" of the Genesis 1-2 text as poetic snapshots of God's creative work in an undisclosed actual timetable. (b) One point this theory asserts is that the sun exists on day one of creation though the text appears to begin the sun's origin on day four, for holder of this theory believe there can be no daylight without the sun!

Well, since the man in the pew may not understand the Hebrew text and so not be able to evaluate all the points made by scholars on this theory, CAN he know if the "days" of Genesis 1-2 are literal or figurative, if they are consecutive or not, and whether days 1 to 3 of creation could have had daylight without the sun or NOT? HOW then can WE in the PEW know if Pure Creationism is right or if we should adopt Theistic Evolution (involving long eras of time in Genesis 1-2 to include evolution in God's creation)?

How can WE tell WHICH is the RIGHT interpretation?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "With so many differing INTERPRETATIONS of the Bible around today, may I KNOW the RIGHT ONE for SURE? HOW?!"
  1. Daniel faced a life-threatening challenge to discern the right interpretation of God's revelation to Babylon's king, Daniel 2:1-13:
    1. We note in Daniel 2:1 that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him, a dream we know from Daniel 2:28 that God had given him.
    2. So intent was Nebuchadnezzar to know the dream's interpretation that he ordered his wise men at the threat of execution to inform him of both the dream and its rightful interpretation, Daniel 2:2-6.
    3. The wise men repeatedly urged Nebuchadnezzar to tell them what he had dreamed and they would happily give its interpretation, 2:4, 7.
    4. Indeed, these wise men noted they needed divine help to report what the king had dreamed along with its interpretation, Daniel 2:10-11.
    5. Whether Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten the dream or still knew it but wanted to verify its interpretation by forcing the wise men to identify the dream is not certain. Either way, the king knew whoever could tell him the dream he could recall and/or verify, he would know he had the right interpretation, Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to Daniel 2:5.
    6. When the wise men told Nebuchadnezzar his request was beyond human help, he furiously ordered them to be executed, Daniel 2:7-12.
    7. In the process, Daniel, who was absent presumably since he did not fellowship with these pagan diviners, and was thus ignorant of its issues, was decreed to die, Dan. 2:13, Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Dan. 2:14f.
  2. Yet, in seeking GOD'S help, Daniel gained KNOWLEDGE of the DREAM along WITH its RIGHT INTERPRETATION, 2:14-23:
    1. When he learned of the decree, Daniel gained a stay of execution by pledging to give the king his wish by a set time, Daniel 2:14-16.
    2. Daniel and his fellow Hebrews sought God's help in prayer, 2:17-18.
    3. Graciously, God gave Daniel his insight in a night vision, Dan. 2:19a.
    4. Daniel then praised God for this lifesaving insight, noting God reveals "the deep and secret things" to His people, Daniel 2:19b-23.
  3. Well, the revealing of God's "deep things" are REPEATED in the CHURCH era for those who HEED God, 1 Corinthians 2:9-16:
    1. As Babylon's wise men confessed they were unable to tell the king his dream and its interpretation, which dream was from God, God's "deep things" are not known by human power even today, 1 Cor. 2:9.
    2. Yet, the Holy Spirit today reveals the "deep things" of God's written Word unto believers (1 Cor. 2:10) who are godly, 1 Cor. 2:11-15.
  4. JESUS exampled the right METHOD to use to IDENTIFY Bible truths -- the literal, grammatical, historical ("normal") METHOD:
    1. In Mark 12: 18-27, Jesus cited Exodus 3:6 of the Old Testament in a way that successfully countered the doctrinal trickery of Sadduccees:
      1. The Sadduccees, who denied the resurrection since they taught the soul stopped existing at death (Z.P.E.B., v. Five, p. 214) tried to corner Jesus to admit God could not raise a widow with a successive string of marriages lest she sin by adultery, Mk. 12:18ff
      2. Jesus countered, saying the Sadduccees did not know God's power to raise people in asexual bodies to avoid such bigamous situations as they presumed would exist in the woman's case, Mark 12:24-25.
      3. Then, in countering their belief that the soul stops existing at death so there can be nothing to resurrect, Jesus cited Exodus 3:6 where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were dead though God still was ("I am") their God; these patriarchs' souls still existed after death to counter the Sadduccean view that they no longer existed, 12:24-27.
    2. Well, to make His argument, Jesus used the "normal," or literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation (as follows):
      1. To make His point, Jesus supplied the understood (elliptical) verb, "am" in Exodus 3:6 in accord with Hebrew grammar (it is not written in the Hebrew text, cf. Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 81).
      2. He also relied on the historical context of Ex. 3:6 (as the fathers by the time God spoke in Ex. 3:6 had been dead for 400 years).
      3. Jesus thus viewed Exodus 3:6 with the literal interpretation model.
Application: To KNOW the RIGHT INTERPRETATION of God's written Word, (1) we must become "spiritual" as 1 Cor. 2:15a says, and that by (a) believing in Christ as Savior from sin to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John 3:16; 1 Cor. 12:13. (b) As such, we must HEED God by ((a)) confessing any sins that block our fellowship with God's Holy Spirit (1 Jn. 1:9) and ((b)) depend upon the Holy Spirit to THINK rightly, Gal. 5:16-23. (c) Then, we interpret Scripture, using the literal, grammatical, historical (i.e., "normal") method, and the Spirit subjectively signals we KNOW the truth when we understand to it, 1 John 2:20, 27 in light of John 16:13!

Lesson: God who revealed His own revelation in the king's dream and its CORRECT interpretation to Daniel, and Who LIKEWISE expounds the "deep things" of His Word TODAY, reveals them to ANY who heed Him! >

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 We now apply the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpreting Scripture by the Holy Spirit's leading to answer the interpretive questions raised in the sermon "Introduction" (as follows):

(1) Regarding Hebrews 6:4-6 KJV, were the passage to teach one could actually lose his salvation, the reader can see one could never again be saved! However, Jesus said in John 6:37: " . . . him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Thus, the reader knows Hebrews 6:4-6 can NOT mean one can actually lose his salvation if John 6:37 is true! [Due to John 6:37 in view of Hebrews 6:4-6, a Nazarene pastor in Chico, California was re-ordained as a Baptist because he had thus come to hold to unconditional eternity security!]

Then, reputable scholars confirm the Greek text at Hebrews 6:4-6 has NO conditional "if" clause in it, cf. Bib. Know. Com., N. T., p. 794-795. Hebrews 6:4-6 thus merely warns believers not to abandon their profession lest they face God's experiential discipline, Heb. 3:7ff!

(2) As for the Framework Theory that holds the Genesis 1-2 "days" were snapshots and not consecutive solar days, we note:

(a) In Exodus 31:17, in repeating what He had said in Genesis 2:1-3, God said the "seventh day" was when He finished His creative work and "rested," and in Exodus 31:13-15 claimed this 7th day was thus to be observed as "holy" in rest on the 7th weekly (solar) day following 6 consecutive weekly (solar) days of usual human labor!

Thus, God's own comments on the Genesis 1-2 "days" in Exodus 31 shows even a casual reader God felt He made the universe in 6 consecutive solar days and rested the following 7th solar day!

(b) The Framework Theory holds there can be no day without the sun so the sun had to exist the first 3 days of creation [though Gen. 1:3-19 plainly read has the sun being made the 4th day]. Yet, in Ex. 10:21-23, we see God struck the Egyptians with total darkness for 3 consecutive days though giving Israel daylight in the same land at the same time! God's purpose in this was to show Egypt's sun god was false as the sun was only created BY Israel's God, B.K.C., O.T., p. 119-120. God has thus proved He can give day and night for 3 consecutive days IN SPITE OF the sun! The Framework Theory errs!