JESUS IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

The clearest indication of Jesus in Joshua appears after Israel had crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land and encamped on the Plains of Jericho, where they faced a great fortified city:

• When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

Although this visitor is not identified as the “Angel of the Lord,” as He often is in the Pentateuch, it is clear that He is divine:

1. Joshua worshipped Him, and He received this worship without objecting.
2. Joshua had been instructed to take off His sandals because the presence of God made this place holy.
3. The next two verses reveal that Joshua had been talking with Yahweh:

• Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the LORD [“Yahweh”] said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. (Joshua 6:1-2)

The “Commander of the LORD’s army” is here referred to as “Yahweh.” This indicates that He is both God and as the “Commander of the LORD’s army,” He is also distinct from “Yahweh.” This gives us a glimpse of the NT doctrine of the Trinity, which we had been observing in the Pentateuch and will again observe in the next book of the Bible – Judges.

THE IMPACT OF THE BIBLE

In the last chapter, I presented my testimonies regarding the transforming power of God’s Word by the Spirit. These testimonies serve as poignant reminders of our Lord and how He has impacted our lives through the Word. They are also useful evangelistic tools. However, far more is needed. My naturally skeptical mind asks difficult questions of me:

·       Perhaps the change I had experienced had little to do with the truth of the Bible?

·       Perhaps it was just a product of my growing confidence with a sprinkle of wisdom, which is also available through other traditions?

·       Perhaps my miraculous experiences in the Word were the results of my psychological needs?

Besides, these questions were compounded by the fact that others would automatically dismiss my testimonies saying, “Why should I value what you claim. I’ve also talked to Jews and Buddhists who also claim that they have been changed. Why should I regard your claim and dismiss theirs?”

All of these painful questions coerced me to dig deeper (1 Corinthians 14:20). I already understood that a robust Christian life required more than just experiences but also a direct encounter with Scripture. The Psalms encourage us:

·       Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! (Psalm 34:8-9)

To take refuge in the Lord is to trust in Him through obedience to His Word. Psalm 1 reveals the fate of the man who meditates on the Word day and night:

·       He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:3)

Paul also promised that when we immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, people will observe positive changes:

·       Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching…Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:13-16)

Meanwhile, Jesus taught that to follow the word of the spiritually blind, is to suffer loss:

·       “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:39-40)

 

To be “fully trained” in the Word is to bear fruit. It is encouraging to see how fidelity to this ancient book has borne positive results even in the modern world of today.

However, can we see this dynamic play itself out upon the broader stage of the nations? While the Church can point to innumerable testimonies of changed lives, there are also undeniable evidences of changed societies and nations through the influence of the Bible. For example, the late theologian B.B. Warfield had observed:

·       Hospitals and asylums and refuges for the sick, the miserable and the afflicted grow like heaven-bedewed blossoms in its path. Woman, whose equality with man Plato considered a sure mark of social disorganization, has been elevated; slavery has been driven from civilized ground; literacy has been given by Christian missionaries, under the influence of the Bible.

If Warfield is correct, how does such a finding prove that the Bible is a gift from God? The Bible challenges us to “taste and see” (Psalm 34:8). If following the teachings of the Bible proves disastrous, it has failed this test. If it proves fruitful, it validates the Bible’s claims. The entire Old Testament serves to demonstrate that when Israel followed God’s Word, they were blessed in very tangible ways. When they turned away from His Word, they suffered, as Moses had repeatedly prophesied (Deuteronomy 28, 29).

Is this what we observe? Yes! Those nations – northern and western Europe, north America, Australia…-- that had been nurtured by God’s Word prospered. As they have rejected the Word, they have begun to slip, especially in comparison to the progress made by eastern Asia.

The impact of the Christian missionaries has also borne witness to this principle. However, Western culture often associates missionaries with the imperialists, who had wanted to stamp out native cultures, and the colonialists who economically exploited them. However, new research has exposed the fallacies of these many stereotypes. 

Robert Woodberry, professor of sociology, University of Texas, had devoted 14 years to investigate why certain countries had developed thriving democracies, while neighboring countries became failed states. Andrea Palpant Dilley writes that:

• Woodberry already had historical proof that missionaries had educated women and the poor, promoted widespread printing, let nationalistic movements that empowered ordinary citizens, and fueled other key elements of democracy. Now the statistics were backing it up: Missionaries weren’t just part of the picture. They were central to it. (Christianity Today, Jan/Feb 2014, 38)

To his amazement, Woodberry was discovering that a long denigrated ingredient – the missionary – was actually central to the creation of successful states. He writes:

• “Areas where Protestant missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in non-governmental associations.” (39)

• Pull out a map, says Woodberry, point to any place where “conversionary Protestants” were active in the past, and you’ll typically find more printed books and more schools per capita. You’ll find too, that in Africa, the Middle East, and in parts of Asia, most of the early nationalists who led their countries to independence graduated from Protestant mission schools. (41)

Woodberry’s thesis has been gaining support. Philip Jenkins, professor of history, Baylor University, claims:

• “Try as I might to pick holes in it, the theory holds up.”

Daniel Philpot, professor of political science and peace studies, Notre Dame, goes further:

• “Why did some countries go democratic, while others went the route of theocracy or dictatorship…Conversionary Protestants are crucial to what makes the country democratic today…Not only is it another factor – it turns out to be the most important factor. It can’t be anything but startling for scholars of democracy.” (40)

Robin Grier, professor of economics, University of Oklahoma, confesses that although he is “not religious,” “Bob’s work…changed my views and caused me to rethink”:

• “I think it’s the best work out there on religion and economic development… It’s incredibly sophisticated and well-grounded. I haven’t seen anything quite like it.” (40)

Well, how about those missionaries that had collaborated with the imperialists?

Woodberry claims that these were the exceptions:

• “We don’t have to deny that there were and are racist missionaries… But if that were the average effect, we would expect the places where missionaries had influence to be worse than places where missionaries weren’t allowed or were restricted in action. We find exactly the opposite on all kinds of outcomes. Even in places where few people converted, [missionaries] had a profound economic and political impact… One of the main stereotypes about missions is that they were closely connected to colonialism, but Protestant missionaries not funded by the state were regularly very critical of colonialism.” (40) 

It is noteworthy that it was only the Protestant missionaries who sought conversions that are associated with the growth of thriving democracies. Dilley writes: 

• The positive effect of missionaries on democracy applies only to “conversionary Protestants.” Protestant clergy financed by the state, as well as Catholic missionaries prior to the 1960s, had no comparable effect in the areas where they worked. (40)

Woodberry’s conclusions have received support from other studies. Dilley writes:

• Over a dozen studies have confirmed Woodberry’s findings. The growing body of research is beginning to change the way scholars, aid works, and economists think about democracy and development. (41)

In view of the above, the long disparaged missionary and even more so, the Word of God, deserve the recognition due them.

Christian missions and the impact of their Bible have gotten a bad rap. If you doubt this, just watch a PBS or a BBC history special on the subject. In “6 Modern Myths about Christianity and Western Civilization,” Research fellow, Philip J. Sampson attacks the myth that the missionaries were oppressors. The missionaries who followed in the wake of the Conquistadores have received special condemnation. A BBC TV series of The Missionaries claims that,

·       “Under the guise of evangelism came harsh exploitation and eventually the enslavement of the Indians.”

Sampson counters that many of the missionaries had taken a strong stance against these colonial powers. He cites a sermon by Dominican Antonio de Montesinos (1511), preached against the sins of the white colonists:

·       “Tell me, by what right and with what justice do you keep these poor Indians in such cruel and horrible servitude? By what authority have you made such detestable wars against these people…you kill them with your desire to extract and acquire gold every day…Are these not men…Are you not obliged to live them as you love yourselves?”

Contrary to the philosophy of Aristotle who regarded the slave as a “live tool,” the Bible grants dignity to all humanity as “created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). Sampson points out the consequence of this:

·       “Many 19^th century missionaries were appalled at the slave trade and did their best to try to change it. William Burns opposed the ‘coolie’ trade in China and protested to British government representatives…Missionaries in East Africa were horrified at the local slave trade and were at a loss as to what to do about it.” (100)

In her discussion of the missionaries to Africa, historian Ruth Tucker acknowledges that, while there were missionaries who also understood their role as one of westernizing the natives:

·       “They, more than any other outside influence, fought against the evils colonialism and imperialism brought. They waged long and bitter battles…the heinous traffic in human cargo. And after the demise of the slave trade they raised their voice against other crimes, including the bloody tactics King Leopold used to extract rubber from the Congo. The vast majority of missionaries were pro-African, and their stand for racial justice often made them despised by their European brothers. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that without the conscience of Christian missions, many of the crimes of colonialism would have gone entirely unchecked.” (“From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya,” 140).

Sampson explodes the myth that the missionaries were in collusion with the imperialists and colonists. In fact, the missionaries were often expelled by the colonial powers to prevent them from “publicizing atrocities or intervening to help the native people.” (101) He agrees with Tucker that the:

·       “Missionaries in Africa were opposed to slavery from an early period, and they used a variety of means to oppose it, including buying slaves and establishing plantations for them to work on.” (102)

According to Sampson, rather than collusion, conflict characterized missionary-colonialist relations:

·       “The missionaries insisted on treating native people as human beings who are entitled to the protection of the law, and this rubbed salt into the wound. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that colonists and traders often opposed missions.” (103)

·       “Traders and colonists resisted the evangelism of native people, seeing conversion as the first step to indigenous people gaining access to the resources of Western culture and hence to the power that colonists wished to keep for themselves…Native people who wished to break free of the settler’s stranglehold and worship God were immediately persecuted by the white traders.” (103-104)

Stephen Neill’s “History of Christian Missions” gives an example of this:

·       “The missionaries [to New Guinea] from the start found themselves in bitter opposition to the white traders and exploiters, whose attitude was expressed by one of them to John G. Patton in the words ‘our watchword is ‘Sweep these creatures away, and let the white men occupy the soil,’’ and who, in pursuance of their aim, placed men sick of the measles on various islands in order to destroy the population through disease.” (355)

In contrast to the concerns of the missionaries, the educated, disdaining the idea of the “spiritual equality of all colors of Christians,” aligned themselves with the exploiters:

·       “Missionaries, on the other hand, were ridiculed in scholarly journals for their shallow thinking in regard to race.” (Tucker, 140)

Darwinism had made racism intellectually respectable. Evolutionist Karl Giberson, in “Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution,” acknowledges the prevailing racism:

·       “How shocking it is today to acknowledge that virtually every educated person in the Western culture at the time …shared [evolutionist] Haeckel’s [racist] ideas. Countless atrocities around the globe were rationalized by the belief that superior races were improving the planet by exterminating defective elements…there can be little doubt that such viewpoints muted voices that would otherwise have been raised in protest.”

Consequently, evolutionists presented no rationale to oppose the abuses of colonialism. In contrast to this, Tucker cites A.F. Walls,

·       “But one thing is clear. If missions are associated with the rise of imperialism, they are equally associated with the factors which brought about its destruction.” (111)

She also cites Ralph Winter:

·       “Protestant missionary efforts in this period led the way to establishing all around the world the democratic apparatus of government, the schools, the hospitals, the universities and the political foundations for the new nations.” (111)

What greater testimony could there have been to the missionary dedication to those among whom they worked! Nevertheless, they have often been charged with the destruction of native culture. This is ironic because missions have done more to “codify and preserve [indigenous] languages” than has any other group:

·       “The anthropologist Mary Haas estimates that ‘ninety per cent of the material available on American Indian languages, is missionary in origin.” (Sampson, 109-110)

Indeed, the missionaries did campaign against certain native practices like female circumcision. Even Charles Darwin confessed:

·       “Human sacrifice…infanticide…bloody wars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children—all these have been abolished…by the introduction of Christianity.” (Sampson, 110)

Why then all the bad press against the missionary? Darwin proposed that:

·       “Disappointed in not finding the field of licentiousness quite so open as formerly, they [the Western traders] will not give credit to a morality which they do not wish to practice or to a religion which they undervalue, if not despise.” (Sampson, 111)

Consequently, the historian Stephen Neill concludes that the:

·       “Weight of the evidence tells heavily against” the accusation that missionaries have been responsible for the destruction of native cultures.” (Sampson, 111)

The Christian missionaries bravely opposed the prevailing worldview. Representative of the Darwinian thinking of his day, Richard F. Burton complained that the Christian willingness to treat Africans as “men and brethren” was “a dangerous error at odds with the evolutionary facts” (Sampson, 98). Instead, faith in the Gospel…

·       “Encouraged Dr. John Philip of the London Missionary Society to support native rights in South Africa in the early nineteenth century…Lancelot Threlkeld to demand equal protection under the law for the Awabakal people of Australia and also inspired John Eliot to persuade the Massachusetts courts to find in favor of native people against settler claims. Even so unsympathetic an author as David Stoll concedes that the contemporary missions in Latin America ‘tended to treat native people with more respect than did national governments and fellow citizens.’” (98)

This should be no surprise. It has been the faithfulness to their beliefs that has motivated Christians from the start. Regarding this, Philip Yancey provides some insights that he gleaned from the historian Rodney Stark:

·       “In the midst of a hostile environment, the Christians simply acted on their beliefs. Going against the majority culture, they treated slaves as human beings, often liberating them…When an epidemic hit their towns, they stayed behind to nurse the sick. They refused to participate in such common practices as abortion and infanticide. They responded to persecution as martyrs, not as terrorists. And when Roman social networks disintegrated, the church stepped in. Even one of their pagan critics had to acknowledge that early Christians loved their neighbors ‘as if they were our own family.’” (CT, Nov 2010, 32-33)

If a person can be judged by their fruits, then too the Bible! The fruits of those who allowed the Bible to govern their lives are apparent. Even Western civilization points unmistakably to its sturdy biblical foundations.

However, it is undeniable that the fruit coming from us humans is inevitably flawed. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that some of our fruitage is corrupt.

Nevertheless, this shouldn’t lead us to indiscriminately lump all religions and philosophies together. There are stark differences among them. Instead, it seems that wherever the Christian faith has trod, there have been positive outcomes. Former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, Dominic Lawson, in a review in the Sunday Times of Niall Ferguson's new book, Civilisation: The West and the Rest, carries a quote from a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in which he tries to account for the success of the West:

• “We have realised that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West is so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don’t have any doubt about this.”

We would expect that a faith based upon a Book given by God should give evidence of its Author, although indirectly. Perhaps instead of the Bible being God-given, it is merely a collection of some sound and inspirational humane ideals, although it was written 2000 years ago. So let us continue on to examine proofs of a more objective nature.

CAN YOU HAVE A COHERENT MORAL SYSTEM ONCE YOU REJECT GOD?

Sam Harris is a rare atheist who is repulsed by moral relativism. This popular philosophy claims that morality cannot say that anything – genocide, rape, murder, or kidnapping – is absolutely and objectively wrong. Why not? Because morality is just an idea created by humans!

In contrast, Harris claims that he has an alternative to both moral relativism and religious fundamentalism, the two extreme. According to Frank Turek:

·       In his book The Moral Landscape, Harris takes the position that objective moral values really do exist, and they can be explained without invoking God. He claims that if we just use our reason, we’ll see that “human flourishing” is the standard by which we determine something is good or bad. Anything that helps humans flourish is good. Since reason and science can tell us what helps humans flourish, there is no need for God to ground objective moral values. If Harris is correct, it seems that he has successfully shot down the moral argument for God.

However, Harris’ attempt to establish a foundation for objective moral values encounters many problems:

WHY HUMAN REASON? Atheistic “reason” tells us that we are just another animal. If this is so, why should we assume that humans are special and it’s all about “human” flourishing? Why not “cat flourishing” or “cow flourishing?”

WHY SHOULD OUR FEELINGS, MORAL INTUITIONS, OR REASONING BE CONSIDERED OBJECTIVELY TRUE? “Human reason” comes up with different values, depending upon culture and other factors. There needs to be a higher objective criterion to mediate between the competing human ideas, but there is only one, the one Harris has rejected – God.

WHY SHOULD HUMANS EVEN FLOURISH? There is absolutely no rational objective and answer to this question. Instead, Harris has secretly imported a moral absolute that only God can support. It is God who wants us to thrive above the beasts. Admittedly, we are wired to have compassion, avoid pain, and seek pleasure, and, from a Christian perspective, our wiring alerts us to God’s moral truths. But to know moral truth is different from providing a godless basis for moral truth, as Harris is attempting to do. Besides, if this wiring is just the product of a blind and amoral evolutionary process, obeying our wiring is like following a blind man.

REASON OR SCIENCE ALONE CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR VALUES AND MORALITY. Science can observe phenomena but not values. It can observe what is, but not what should be. Likewise, reason can proceed only after it has been given a value to serve. Only after we establish “human flourishing” as a value worth pursuing can science inform us what foods to eat and how to live in order to flourish.

MORALITY CANNOT BE COHERENT WITHOUT THE CONCEPTS OF FREEWILL AND CULPABILITY. In his recent book, “Free Will,” Harris wrote, “Free will is an illusion.” Consequently, what feels like freewill is nothing more than chemical processes that had mindlessly evolved. This leaves no room for human culpability. If our thoughts and actions are entirely controlled by biochemical reactions, then we couldn’t have done otherwise. Hence, there is no basis for guilt and culpability. Nor is there any rational basis for Harris’ outrage against the atrocities of Islam.

Last night, I was pleasantly surprised at a Sam Harris discussion group to find that the participants were not taken in by Harris’ answers. However, they didn’t seem to have any problem to merely make-believe that there are moral absolutes and even, when necessary, that there is a God.

To this, I responded that if they chose to make-believe for the sake of their “flourishing,” why not then take to the next step to consider the evidence for God’s actual existence? Evidently, that was a step too far.

Chapter 4 PERSONAL EVIDENCE: WHY THE BIBLE IS SO PRECIOUS TO ME

Some say that Christ doesn’t make a difference – that Christians act the same way as others and that Christ doesn’t change lives. However, I know otherwise!

I have found that the Bible contains transforming and empowering wisdom, a wisdom that has brought me all sorts of blessings. For example, anger and hatred are tyrants that override reason and even self-interest. Yet, I knew that hatred is wrong. I even knew that it torments its prey. Nevertheless, it consumed me, as I watched powerlessly against it. Even its “arguments” were persuasive. They felt so right. Hatred placed its own lens over my eyes, and I saw only red.

However, I remembered the Word of God:

·       Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good… Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them… Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9, 14, 16-21; ESV)

His Word came upon me with such force and conviction that it drove the hatred away, the bully yelping helplessly as it fled. Instead, I was left rejoicing at the great privilege to love others and to “overcome evil with good.”

No wonder Scripture informs us that loving God is about embracing and obeying His teachings:

·       If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:10-14)

Keeping His teachings is our cure, our protective shield and the source of blessings. It even rescues us from destruction:

·       Only be strong and very courageous [Joshua], being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:7-8)

No wonder that we are instructed to “meditate on it day and night.”

I am a man of many flaws, and they can be deeply troubling. However, I have learned something of even greater significance – that our Lord brings strength out of our ongoing weaknesses, as Paul had learned:

·       Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this [affliction], that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

I too have learned to boast in my weaknesses. They continue to humble me, tromping down my pride, drawing me closer to my Savior through His Word, which ministers so powerfully to me, through His blessed Spirit.

All of this has been made possible by the wisdom of the Living Word of God. Its wisdom has provided me with exactly what I had needed. Here are just a few more examples.

I am always second-guessing myself, wondering, “Did I say the right thing? ...Did I say it with the wrong motives? … Could I have said it more effectively?” Although this perfectionistic preoccupation can promote self-improvement, it can also drive us crazy. I needed to lay it aside before it laid me out, and the Holy Spirit did this for me through applying Scripture to my life:

• I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

What a relief! My failures were no longer my own. They belonged to my Savior who promised that He would work all things for my good (Rom. 8:28), even my worst failures and nightmares, my worst humiliations! I was now free to fail. Not that failures no longer hurt, but I now know who will lift me out of my discouragement (1 Cor. 10:12-13), and He has proved this to me repeatedly. Consequently, Biblical truth allows me to constructively face my challenges without being overwhelmed by them.

We are also self-obsessed with questions of our goodness and worthiness. One of the greatest threats to our psychological well-being is the dread of not being worthy. This might take the form of a deep and abiding sense of shame, insecurity, or inadequacy. We might worry that we are not even worthy of God. Therefore, it is such a relief to realize that none of us are worthy. We are all sinners who need the Savior:

• "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)

This had certainly been true of me. Even though I attempted to suppress this truth of my moral inadequacy before God, it would continue to resurface to my great shame. I tried to beat back the ugly truth with self-assertions that I was really a good and loving person. I was engaged in a costly war with myself, and the result was desperation and depression.

Instead of deriving my sense of worthiness or adequacy from myself, I needed to find it from another source, and Scripture informed me that Jesus is that source:

• God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

I could begin to accept the fact that I am entirely unworthy, because, in the eyes of my Savior, I am now entirely righteous. I could now face the once-shaming truths about myself and take responsibility for my behavior, because I have been assured of my ultimate worth before Him!

My wife can now charge me with being insensitive, and I can readily apologize. We’re restored! Others can regard me negatively, but that’s okay because I am now defined, not by what others might think, but by what my Savior thinks. Yes, it still hurts, but it no longer devastates.

For the longest time, I had been feeling condemned. Even after Christ came into my life, I still had that sense. My feelings were so forceful that everything else – even Scripture – appeared as merely hollow words in comparison. I felt that even God condemned me! Finally, however, Scripture broke through, took hold of my self-contempt and torn it apart, like a lion tearing apart red meat. What a consolation it has been to learn that:

• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

This taught me conclusively that my feelings of condemnation and rejection had nothing to do with God rejecting me, but just my own aberrant reactions! I could now laugh at these once terrifying feelings, knowing that they have nothing to do with my ultimate status! It’s like receiving a letter saying that there has been a warrant issued for your arrest. However, upon reading it more closely, you find that the letter is actually addressed to someone else.

Many say, “Well, I’m glad Christ worked for you, but many find consolation through psychotherapy.” It didn’t work for me. I had seen five highly recommended psychologists, and each left me worse off than I was before.

Yes, they all affirmed that I was “okay,” even superior, but I could never believe them, at least, not at the core of my being. I knew what my feelings were telling me, and they talked with a greater authority than the psychologists. I just knew I wasn’t “okay.”

Their affirmations rolled off my back as if it was made of Teflon. Perhaps this was because I had been giving myself false affirmations all my life. I told myself I was the greatest but actually felt that I was the least. After a while, these affirmations became no more than an addiction. I needed them but got little out of them. However, having believed them – and this distorted my thinking and perceptions - they alienated me from reality, wisdom, and honest relationship. Because I perceived the world through my distorted self-affirmations, I also regarded others through this grid. They were either superior or inferior to me. If they were seen as “superior,” I resented them. If “inferior,” I disdained them.

However, these affirmations bore little resemblance to reality, while I subsequently found that the Biblical affirmations brought me in touch with a deeper reality. Now, perceiving myself as an object of God’s mercy, I began to regard others with mercy.

Besides, our sense of okay-ness requires more than the affirmation of other people. They all say different things, and every experience - every success and every failure – sings a different song. Which was I to believe? Therefore, to base my worth on either the opinions of others or on my socially approved accomplishments meant that my worth was like the stock market – booming, crashing, and the cause of constant instability and insecurity.

Besides, if my well-being depended on the opinions of others, I would resent them when they failed to project the “right” opinions of me. This would also place enormous pressure on them.

Not only does Scripture tell us what to believe, it tells us what to avoid. It is not simply that certain acts are regarded as “sin.” These acts also destroy. Sin is worse than eating junk food. The latter just destroys the body. Sin destroys everything about us. It contaminates our thinking and passions (Rom. 1:21-32). For one thing, as a result of sin, we carry around unresolved guilt and shame. We even project our shame and self-contempt on others, convinced that others regard us in the same way we feel about ourselves. However, Scripture relieves us of these blinding burdens:

• If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:9-10)

Instead, we often try to cover over this problem with a variety of palliatives – successes, sex, drugs, popularity. However, there is nothing that gives the relief and cleansing the way that confession does.

What makes the affirmations of Scripture so powerful – so life transforming? For one thing, they illuminate what had been shadowy and confusing. In the hand of the Holy Spirit, Scripture tore me down so it could build me up on a solid foundation. It penetrated the blind spots created by my defensive mechanisms.

Once I began to understand myself in the light of Scripture, I found that I began to understand others. With the assurance of God’s love and forgiveness, I could begin to face myself. As I saw my needs and insecurities – I had previously run from these and denied them – I could also see those of other people. As I began to face my denials and rationalizations, I began to understand the same defensive maneuverings I saw in others. As I received God’s compassion for me, I could more readily extend it to others.

While Scripture is foolishness and contemptible to the one whose eyes haven’t been opened (1 Cor. 2:14), it is the scalpel in the hand of the Holy Spirit. It cuts deeply to remove malignant tumors (Heb. 4:12) – attitudes and ideas that fail to accord with holiness. Such cuts are always painful (Heb. 12:5-11), but they identify and remove cancers that threaten well-being. They expose jealousy. However, they also provide the perfect antidote:

• All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours. (1 Cor. 3:21-22)

In light of God’s assurances that He wants to eternally give us the world, jealousy had to take a back seat. And I had been jealous, even of the spiritual successes of others, convinced that they would receive heavenly reward and recognition, and I wouldn’t. However, Scripture assures us that all of God’s people are one, and “all things” would be ours. We have become joint heirs with our Savior (Rom. 8:17).

This is just what I needed to know. This truth stomped all the vitality out of my jealousy. I now rejoice as others rejoice!

Through the Scriptures, I have even come to know my Savior in a more personal way. On top of my decades of serious depression, I began to experience panic attacks. These left me utterly devastated. I was so tormented that I could barely carry on a conversation or even read the Bible. I could hardly make it through the day, and to believe that God loved me was beyond my grasp.

However, despite my profound doubts, I had no other place to turn. So I would continue to make feeble attempts at prayer and Bible reading. But even when I succeeded at reading the Bible, I could only understand the simplest statements.

Nevertheless, on numerous occasions, God spoke to me. For example, on one occasion, while reading the phrase, “And God heard him,” a light exploded upon my tormented mind. The depression and panic were instantly driven away. I looked for them, but they were nowhere to be found.

Nonetheless, they returned on the following day, but something had changed. I knew that God had also heard me and that He would keep on hearing me! I therefore knew that I was in His hands, despite my pathetic situation.

The Lord continued to reveal Himself to me in this manner over the next year, but these transformative experiences ceased entirely 35 years ago. I wish I could say that I had mastered the technique to bring on these electrifying encounters, but there is no technique for them, just the sovereign all-knowing workings of my Savior.

Indeed, the Lord continues to speak to me through His Word, but not in such a dramatic way. Why not? He prefers us to walk by faith and not by sight or by miraculous visitations (2 Corinthians 5:7), and I now trust that He knows what is best for us.

Westerners have invented a new god, a god who is non-judgmental and non-punitive. Momentarily, this god might feel comfortable. However, once we have suffered victimization, our thoughts turn to justice, even revenge. Therefore, it is so liberating to know that we have a God who cares deeply about justice:

• If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” [ Proverbs 25]…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:18-21)

It is only because we have the assurance that God will bring justice (also through the legal systems He has ordained – Rom. 13:1-4) that we can devote ourselves to love. It is also because we know the undeserved love of God for us! Without this knowledge, revenge would become a way of life.

When I read about the estimated 170,000 Christians being murdered yearly simply because they are Christians, I want to grab a machine gun or suicide belt and right the wrongs. But my Lord informs me that He has a better way. He’ll deal with it! Instead, I should pray, love my enemies, and address the wrongs with righteous means. How liberating and personally enhancing!

This represents just a small sampling of the ways that God and His truth have infiltrated to bring us new life. Volumes can be written on this subject. Jesus had taught:

• "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)

Not only has He set us free from sin and its various penalties, He has also set us free from so many things that have kept us in prison – fears, lusts, rationalizations, denials, addiction to self-affirmations, and many forms of self-deceptions.

From where does such wisdom come? I have become convinced that it must come from God through His Word.

***

However, the Bible is more than just a book of wisdom. It is far more. It is the vehicle of the Holy Spirit, the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16) and also for sanctification (2 Corinthians 3, 4).

I’m somewhat reluctant to take this a step further, but I feel that I must. Sometimes, the Spirit works through the book He has authored in the most profound and unimaginable ways. This natural skeptic has had a series of unforgettable encounters through the Scriptures, but let me prepare you for this.

The last encounter I had had was more than 30 years ago. They are not part of the standard Christian diet. Instead, of walking by miracles, we are instructed to walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). However, I had been seriously depressed for decades. Perhaps the Lord knew that I needed more than others in order to sustain my faith and even my life.

On top of my depression, I was visited by years of panic attacks that left me dysfunctional. Even praying and reading the Bible were activities I could barely sustain. Often, I was only capable of lying in bed with my Bible resting upon my belly as I longed for five minutes of sleep. At other times, I could read, even though I was capable of only an elementary understanding of the Word.

However, on a number of occasions, the Word became miraculously alive. On one occasion, I read, “And the Lord heard him.” A veritable explosion of light illuminated my distressed mind. The depression and panic were gone. I tried to find these oppressors, but they were not to be found. Joy unspeakable filled my heart.

By the next day, my oppressors returned, but something was different. I KNEW that the Lord had heard me, and that I was safe.  

This happened on several occasions, until they stopped completely. Why had they stopped? I think that that Lord knew that I no longer needed them. Instead, I was now to walk by faith and memory and not by feelings.

Nevertheless, the Spirit still illuminates me with His Word, even though not as before. I can now even thank Him for my afflictions because, through them, He has given me a precious treasure:

Psalm 119:71-72 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.