A. "Preach the Man, not the plan." This is a common message from some who wish
to define Christianity as a mere acknowledgement of Jesus and the goodness of
His teachings from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In doing so, they overlook many New Testament
teachings concerning the substance of Christianity.
1.
In this way,
Christianity is reduced almost to the level of Buddhism as a mere code of
morality associated with a good, enlightened teacher.
2.
This errant notion
of Christianity was espoused by Thomas Jefferson, who revered the moral
teachings of Jesus but rejected the other parts of the Bible. Consider some of his writings.
a. "In the New Testament, there is internal evidence that
parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man, and that other parts are
of the fabric of very inferior minds. It
is as easy to separate those parts as to pick out diamonds from dunghills."
b. "Among the sayings and discourses imputed to Him by
His biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and
of the most lovely benevolence; and others, again, of so much ignorance, so
much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture as to pronounce it
impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same Being. I separate, therefore, the gold from the
dross; restore to Him the former and leave the latter to the stupidity of some,
and roguery of others of His disciples. Of
this band of dupes and impostors, Paul was the great Coryphaeus and first
corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus."
c.
Regarding the
book of Revelation, Jefferson said in 1825, "It is between fifty and sixty
years since I read it, and I then considered it as merely the ravings of a
maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherencies of our
own nightly dreams."
d. Concerning the Old Testament of the Jews, Jefferson
wrote, "That sect had presented for the object of their worship a Being of
terrific character: cruel, vindictive, capricious, and unjust."
3.
Jefferson's words
are extreme, but they are not substantially different from the teachings and
beliefs of many people who claim to be Christians today.
B. Bible students know that the writings of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John do not stand alone.
They are an integral part of the story of Jesus, which is given in full
by the entirety of the Scriptures.
1.
These four books
implicitly and explicitly endorse the other books of the New Testament. Therefore, to accept Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John, one must accept these other books also.
2.
Moreover, the
message of these books depends upon the writings of the Old Testament. Without the Old Testament, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John lose their context and power.
C. In this lesson, we will consider the tangled web of
Scripture, which will show that the books of the Bible are inseparable. We will see that the Bible is an all or none
proposition.
II. NEW TESTAMENT
A. Let us begin with the basis that Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John are reliable biographers of Jesus.
1.
If anyone claims
to be a Christian by any definition, then he must accept at least parts of the
writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The details of Christ's life and teaching cannot be known without these
books.
2.
It is inconsistent
and illogical to accept only parts of these books (such as Christ's moral
teachings) and reject other parts (such as His miracles and resurrection). If Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are
trustworthy in any parts of their message, then they are trustworthy in all.
3.
Therefore, any
sound basis for being a Christian must begin with an acceptance of the full
writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
4.
Notice that to
accept Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John one will have to accept their writings on
baptism (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:16), divorce (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:1-9; Mark
10:11-12; Luke 16:18), Christ's deity (John 1:1; 20:28-29), and other topics
that often cause controversy.
B. If Luke and John are reliable biographers of Jesus,
then their other writings must be reliable as well.
1.
Acceptance of
John's gospel naturally leads to acceptance of John's epistles and Revelation.
2.
The book of Acts
is the second account of Luke's history concerning Jesus (Acts 1:1-2). Both of these accounts are reliable and necessary
for man to understand the full gospel of Christ.
C. Luke's writings in the book of Acts endorse Peter,
Paul, James, and Jude as legitimate messengers of the gospel of Jesus.
1.
Peter is strongly
endorsed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but the book of Acts gives a better
view of Peter's role in the work of the gospel.
It explains how Peter used "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt.
16:19) to open the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles.
2.
Much of the book
of Acts is dedicated to chronicling Paul's conversion and subsequent work in
the gospel. If Luke's writings are to be
accepted, then Paul's writings must be accepted also.
3.
In the book of
Acts, Luke acknowledges the presence and work of Lord's brothers in the
church. These brothers included James
and Jude (Matt. 13:55; Acts 1:14; 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18).
D. Peter, Paul, John, James, and Jude endorse one another
as messengers of the gospel.
1.
Peter describes
Paul's writings in the category of "Scriptures" (2Pet. 3:15-16), which
indicates that Peter considered Paul to be inspired of God (2Tim. 3:16-17).
2.
Paul recognizes
that James, Peter, and John were considered to be "pillars" in the church (Gal.
2:9). He also makes frequent references
to Peter's (Cephas') prominent role in the gospel in 1Corinthians (1:12; 3:22;
15:5). Furthermore, he acknowledges that
the Lord's brothers, which included James and Jude, were engaged in the work of
the gospel (1Cor. 9:5).
3.
Jude endorses
Peter's writings when he quotes from 2Peter 3:3 in Jude 17-18. (Note: Some scholars have rejected Jude's
writings because he also quoted from the apocryphal book of 1Enoch in Jude
14-15.)
E. Consider also the book of Hebrews.
1.
The writer of
Hebrews does not name himself, but there is some evidence that Paul was the
writer. If so, then Hebrews stands with
the rest of Paul's writings as Scripture.
2.
Because the
writer of Hebrews is unknown, this book does not "tangle in the web" of
Scripture as much as the other books, but it is no less a rightful part of the
New Testament.
III. OLD TESTAMENT
A. The Old Testament is endorsed by the New Testament
writers with every quotation of it and reference to it found in their writings.
1.
Consider a few
facts that make the Old Testament inseparable from the New Testament.
a. There are at least 312 quotations of Old Testament
passages in the New Testament.
b. Seventeen of the twenty-seven New Testament books
quote directly from the Old Testament. Twenty-four
of the thirty-nine Old Testament books are quoted directly in the New
Testament.
c.
Other than direct
quotes, there are countless allusions to Old Testament history, characters,
laws, promises, and prophecies in the New Testament.
2.
The New Testament
consistently refers to the Old Testament as "the Scriptures," which include the
Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44-45). Concerning these Scriptures, Paul wrote, "All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work" (2Tim. 3:16-17).
B. The New Testament stands on the validity of the Old
Testament.
1.
If the books of
the Old Testament are rejected, then the books of the New Testament become
meaningless and without foundation or context.
2.
This is
especially true of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which contain at least 121
quotations from the Old Testament (Matthew alone has fifty-two). If the Old Testament quotes are not true,
then these books are not true either.
3.
The identity of
Jesus Himself is given to us through the Old Testament writings.
a. Notice Galatians 3:24 -- "Therefore the Law has become
our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith."
b. Without the Old Testament, we could not know who Jesus
was, for the Old Testament is the record of all that God did in preparation for
brining His Son into the world.
Furthermore, the New Testament uses the Old Testament to prove that
Jesus is the Christ.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. The point of this lesson is to show that to "preach
the Man, not the plan" is an impossibility.
Our knowledge of Jesus cannot be separated from the totality of the Scriptures
from Genesis to Revelation.
B. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John may be considered the
most important of all the books, but the whole Bible is the indivisible message
of salvation through Jesus Christ.
