March 2008 - Vol 3, Issue 10

In this issue...
-- What is Clear Biblical Teaching? (Part 1)
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Dr. Whitcomb contributes to book in honor of Charles Ryrie

What is Clear Biblical Teaching? (Part 1)
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

Every true Christian should be dedicated to the discovery of "clear biblical teaching" on every important subject, and not only to follow that teaching, but to share it with others as God provides opportunity.

But how can we ever discover "clear biblical teaching" on such topics as the creation of the world, God's plan of salvation, church government and ordinances, and how the world will end? To be sure, there are teachers who deny that the Bible provides "clear" answers to any of these and other questions pertaining to us and to our world. But the Bible constantly warns us against such teachers.

The apostle Paul, for example, warned the church leaders from Ephesus: "after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you . . . speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:29-30). And to his faithful disciple, Timothy, he wrote: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

Obviously, the huge question is: how do we determine what is clear biblical teaching? In the first place, it must be honestly recognized that for some people nothing in the Bible ever becomes "clear." Throughout church history, many who have claimed to be "biblical Christians" have drastically distorted or openly denied such basic doctrines as the triunity of God, the inerrancy of the biblical autographs, the literal creation week, the absolute deity of Christ, His virgin birth, miraculous works, bodily resurrection, literal second coming and millennial kingdom and an eternal hell. Are such denials really excusable? May such persons blame God for being obscure in His written revelation?

The apostle Peter referred to the deadly danger which "unlearned and unstable" people face when they "wrest" things which the apostle Paul taught in his letters, even though they contain some things hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). Our Lord denounced some of His own disciples as "fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25).

Such biblical warnings can be greatly multiplied. Heretical and even unregenerate persons may hide under the challenge: "I don't see that in the Bible!" But where do we draw the line on this delicate but infinitely important question of the clarity of Scripture?

Actually, there is no such thing as an absolute "line" of theological discernment which finite minds can draw. Instead, there is a continuum which God Himself provides: the closer we walk with our Lord the clearer will be our understanding of His will (John 7:17: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God").

The Berean Christians, for example, "were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, (to see) whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11; words in parentheses added).

To Be Continued...

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
We praise the Lord God for the opportunity to continue in this great ministry! Dr. Whitcomb is extremely busy with a number of projects these days, and we invite your encouragement and involvement in this ministry through prayer for these endeavors.

From Monday, April 28, to Thursday, May 1, Dr. Whitcomb will speak on Acts 19-22 at the Middletown Bible Church of Middletown, Conn. For more information, call Pastor George Parsons at 860.346.0907 or visit www.middletownbiblechurch.org.

From Friday, May 2, to Sunday, May 4, Dr. Whitcomb will preach on Biblical creationism at the Salem Bible Church of Salem, N.H. For more information, call Pastor Jim Delany at 603.898.4258.

On Tuesday, May 6, Dr. Whitcomb will speak on apologetics at the IFCA Regional Meeting, to be held at the Brazil Bible Fellowship Church of Brazil, Ind. For more information, call Pastor Gordon Nelson at 812.442.5008.

From Tuesday, May 13 to Friday, May 16, Dr. Whitcomb will lecture on Genesis 1-11 at the Word of Life Bible Institute, Canadian Extension of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. For more information, call Dr. Doug Reider at 519.376.3516 or visit www.wol.org.biblei.

*On Saturday, May 31, Dr. Whitcomb will be preach on the Bible and science at Crossroads Bible College of Indianapolis, Ind. For more information, call 317.352.8736 or visit www.crossroads.edu.

For additional details about these events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

(*Answers in Genesis-sponsored event. For more information on these conferences, visit www.answersingenesis.org/events.)

Dr. Whitcomb contributes to book in honor of Charles Ryrie
Dr. John Whitcomb is one of several contributors to a new book from Tyndale Seminary Press that is written in tribute to Dr. Charles C. Ryrie.

Tyndale president Dr. Christopher Cone is the general editor of Dispensationalism Tomorrow & Beyond: A Theological Collection in Honor of Charles C. Ryrie, which contains material from 16 other authors, including Drs. Whitcomb and Ryrie.

Dr. Whitcomb treasures his friendship with Dr. Ryrie, who is the editor of the famous study Bible that bears his name and, like Dr. Whitcomb, a long-time and beloved seminary professor and well-known Bible teacher.

For more information, or to order this volume, call 800-886-1415 or visit Tyndale's website at www.tyndale.edu.