Why It is Reasonable to Apply the Bible to Modern Life - Part 1

This is part one of a discussion of why it is reasonable to apply the Bible to modern life.

I recently engaged in dialogue with a friend who made some serious and legitimate statements.  He considered it unreasonable for people to believe that a collection of documents written 2000+ years ago should have any bearing or influence on life, and particularly policy, in a modern 21^st Century world.

Of course, he was talking about the Bible.

The person raising the point is not a believer (self-proclaimed) and from that doesn’t believe the Bible to bear any authority in his life.  But I do believe that.

The issue is legitimate.  Why should anyone think that documents written so long ago, to a totally different culture, lifestyle, educational and technological level should have any bearing on life today?

That’s a great question.  However at the heart of this question are some assumptions.

1.     They were ignorant

2.    They were superstitious

3.    They were simple-minded for simple lives

4.    They had no understanding of modern science, medicine, technology etc…

5.    They are outdated

On the Flip Side

1.     We’ve Changed

2.    We’re Not Like That

3.    We’ve Improved

4.    We Know Better

5.    We’re Superior

6.    We’re not Limited like they were

Can you tell the question ultimately stems from an exalted view of our modern sense of superiority?  It’s based out of pride and assumptions of superiority.

But that is a bit of a fallacy.  I fully expect that in 100-200 years the people then will look at us the same way we do them.  Does that mean we are not smart, not capable of understanding our situation?  Of course not.  Wouldn’t you be insulted to hear the future’s opinion of us today?  Of course you would.

The fact of the matter is that we have not changed nearly as much as we think.

Sure our technological toys are more advanced—but all of our technology fulfills the same needs that they had then—they’ve just become more complicated and/or expensive.  Our modern inventions are only addressing age old necessities.

·         Cell Phones, Satellites, email & text messaging – address needs of communication of information faster than hand carried letters or word of mouth messengers.  Strangely, most people then only had to hear a message once or twice in order to memorize it.  Today we have the attention span of a gnat (Twitter) and can barely remember the names of our friends, our phone number or social security number.  How is this an improvement?  In the same way, can anyone really say our writing quality, style and vocabulary has improved? 

·         Cars, Airplanes, Ships – issues of transportation for travel or cargo--we still use wheels, right?  We have improved the speed and reliability of this need.  A trip that would take them months takes us a day.  And yet I don’t think they had to deal with Jet-lag and I doubt their travel had the same environmental impact of our modern efforts.  What would we go back to if we got rid of Big Oil driven machines again?

·         Medicine-- Surgery & Antibiotics, etc… - they got sick then too.  We have vastly improved things in this category but we’re still meeting the same need.  Given their circumstances, I’d wager they were far more familiar with sickness and disease and loss than we are today in our sterilized & sanitized world with relatively quick cures, quick pill ability.  It is strange however to consider that many of the remedies that they used then are still in use today and are sometimes a better form of treatment.  For those of you who lean toward alternative medicines & treatments, realize you’re saying that the old ways of treating sickness and disease are better than the modern.  Acupuncture is not a modern invention.

·         Farming – sure our tractors and fertilizers and genetic improvements have improved yields—but keep in mind that they grew more varieties (a lot of ag scientists are really beginning to worry about this), in more less than ideal conditions than we do.  Remember we did not invent irrigation, nor the plow, nor domesticate the crops we use in the first place.  Also remind me again why Organic is gaining popularity?

·         Television & Movies – we are more visual but we’re fulfilling the entertainment need.  They listened to stories passed down from generations.  They learned family history, they talked together.  Their entertainment better brought people together in fellowship and shared knowledge.  Our entertainment spreads us out to where we are all watching a different show on a different TV or computer.  Is it any wonder that families are torn apart?

·         Sports – yeah, football is pretty awesome, but they had sports then as well with very grand arenas and large audiences—they invented the Coliseum/Stadium we just made them bigger—though the bleacher seat is still uncomfortable—why haven’t we improved that?  With the growing popularity of MMA fighting does anyone else think we’re regressing to a gladiator form of entertainment?  How long will it be before the matches are to the death?  I think there’s a large population that would watch and pay for it.

·         Education & Science – in the United States we are attempting to educate more people and likely have a greater percentage of literate citizens that in most of recorded history.  But our education system is falling apart (throwing money at it won’t fix it) and I do not believe we are not producing the kind of elite statesmen and women that have existed in generations past.  We tend to think that people in the past were barely able to count to five and no more than 20 assuming they had all their fingers and toes.  We tend to think that a lack of widespread literacy means a lot of stupid people.  That is far from true.  Education level does equate to intelligence or smarts—as I work customer service for college students—let me assure you that college does not equate to intelligence or even reading comprehension.

·         There are more examples that I’m sure you can think of.  But practically all of them will be fulfilling a function and need that existed then too.

From these examples I hope you see that the basic human needs are largely the same and all of our advanced technology are simply meeting these needs in a different way.  Their concerns were the same.  They needed to make a living, they cared about their family, they had to work to put food on the table, they worried about the future.

Human nature and life has not really changed… and never will no matter how advanced we get.

Which is a significant reason why it is not unreasonable to apply the Bible to modern life.   

Some of our exact circumstances may have changed but human nature and the basic pursuits of life have not.

We still have families & neighbors, still have jobs, still have children.  We still get angry, we are still tempted to lie or steal.  We still struggle with our sexuality, still struggle with marriage and divorce, still struggle with betrayal and conflict. 

The Bible speaks to all of those and more. 

I am convinced that the Bible accurately describes human nature, our tendencies and our place in the universe.  It describes a people that are broken and selfish.  The Bible calls us to better behavior, a higher standard of ethic than our natural tendencies.  Even if you do not embrace all of the theological beliefs in the Bible, the basic ethics that it calls us to will continue to be a benefit to any society.

In its most basic form, the Bible calls people to think of others more than themselves, calls people to not gratify every desire or whim that crosses their mind.  That there are behaviors and practices that harm others directly and indirectly that we should avoid.  The Bible calls us to a life of radical integrity, service, sacrifice and purpose.

This is part one of why it is reasonable to apply the Bible to modern life.  Part two will focus on the issue of Reliability. Part 3 will cover the reliability of the documents themselves.

Missing Greater Life in God’s Great Promise

Greater Than or Less Than

One of my favorite math and logic problems growing up were the greater than or less than problems. They were usually pretty easy to figure out.

13>6

Spurs > Cavaliers

Chicago Cubs > ? –the Bad News Bears

These are comparisons we make every day. Something is better or greater than something else.

Numbers 13

A Greater Life in a Great Promise—

God made promises to the Israelites

Exodus 3, God said--“I Will be With You”—God is Greater than the god’s of the Egyptians—He proved it in the plagues—proved it in the destruction of Pharaoh’s army and the parting of the Red Sea.

God promised that their Lives would be Greater than they were Egypt—they won’t be slaves—where they had to hide their children, couldn’t worship without permission, were second class citizens subject to the whims of the Pharaoh.. God promised the Israelites would be fruitful, that they will be able to worship in spirit and in truth, they will experience the blessing of Abraham and experience victory.

There is no doubt that God had brought them to this moment.

He Promised to bring them to a Land flowing with Milk and Honey—and He was willing to make it happen—13:1-3—

Notice the sending of the spies was God’s Idea—not a lack of faith on Moses’ part. What do you think God wants them to see? The Good things—the Greater Life than what they have experienced so far. He wanted them to see the vision of where God was taking them. God’ wants Israel’s Leaders to see what He has promised so they can lead the people with confidence.

They saw this Greater Future and Great Provision—13:23—they saw the provision and goodness, vs. 27—they recognized the what God was trying to show them.

This is what God wanted them to see-the mission ahead of them. Don’t you believe that God has a mission for you, for us? God has brought us to this point in time for a reason—to accomplish some task. Do you believe that God has a vision that He wants us to see as a church, as believers and people in His Kingdom? Knowing God’s pattern it’s probably a task that looks daunting and difficult. It is not for our greatness but for His greatness. God’s vision is about His glory and about His kingdom transforming the lives of those who need Him. All we need to do is be willing to Cross Over into the promise.

God said, “I AM giving to the Israelites.” The giving was ongoing, immediate and certain. It had already begun—He had led them there, prepared them to cross over and advance His kingdom. But this Great Promise had a Great Problem

A Great Problem--13:17d-29

Fearful of Where God is taking them

The Enemy is Too big for us--We Can’t Do It—We’re not Ready.

READ 31-33—for them—the threat, the daunting task ahead of them outweighed the promise of great blessing. For some reason, they trusted only what their eyes saw in the moment and not what their eyes had seen in the last few years.

Their problem was looking at the enemy, and the obstacles rather than looking to God. It’s not like the 10 Spies were wrong—this may come as a shock to you, but The 10 spies were right—the enemy was too big for them. They would not be able to do it.

The land and the inhabitants were too much for Israel to conquer on her own. But Israel was not on her own—God was with them. The daunting task, the giant people and fortified cities were no match against the Spirit of God. Luke and the other Gospels remind us that "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Somehow, they were Forgetting that their own strength had not brought them so far—their strength did not defeat and bring them out of Egypt—their strength did not part the Red Sea, their strength did not feed and lead them to this point. They would never have made it out of Egypt on their own strength. They never would have survived Pharaoh’s chariots

Their whole experience was never dependent on them or their strength but on God. And we have the same problem they do when we look through our own eyes at the problems and fail to see God’s Provision, fail to see God’s Power and fail to see God’s Promise.

Any accomplishment we as a church have will be because of His efforts—sure we can do a lot of things, but if we are not doing so in the power of the Spirit of God—we are wasting our time—spinning our wheels. They will often be in spite of our efforts. It is when we look and depend upon our own strength that we will fail and not truly experience the blessing of God—

But the flip side must also be true—when we look and depend upon the strength and power of God to accomplish a task—nothing is impossible.

The Task is too Daunting and the Mission is Too Important for us to be relying on our own Strength and Wisdom. God has brought us to the point of the Crossover and wants to see us trust Him despite the daunting task before us.

If you’re waiting for all your financial problems to go get settled before you start tithing… you’ll never tithe and you’ll miss the blessing. If we as the church wait for financial bliss before taking on a some project—we will never do anything. If we wait for numbers to come before we make preparations to receive them, then we are seeing the problems and not trusting God.


So many times farmers plant their crops before the first rains of the season—in anticipation and faith for what God will be providing. If they wait for the rains, their fields will not be prepared to receive it, nor will they experience the harvest.

Last year, one of my first sermons to this congregation looked at Ezekiel 47 and the River that flows from the Temple of God and how He measured a distance and took Ezekiel out into the water to see how deep was. I compared to our walk of faith that at various times we are willing to go out into the deeper water, but other times we’re content with water up to our knees or even ankle deep—like trying to swim in the kiddie pool.

In moments of Decision, in Great Crossroads, you and I exercise our faith in our decisions—are we going to go forward into the Deeper Water and walk with confidence in the Promise of God or are we going to retreat back into the shallows and miss our God given opportunity?

If we retreat from what God has for us, real briefly, we experience consequences. The 10 spies convinced everyone—we can’t do it. They refused to follow the Leading of God and so

they experienced defeat instead of promise,

they experienced the desert instead of abundance.

They were capable of great things—but that whole generation—except for Joshua and Caleb, missed out on those great things.

The response of Moses to this is vital

14:5—Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation and the sons of Israel”—This is what we must do—fall on our faces before God and seek Him

Which is the one who believes in the power of prayer? The farmer who prays for rain and sits on his porch watching for it or the one who prays for rain and goes out and plows and sows his field. If we have no expectation of God doing anything—we don’t really believe that He will and we will not be useful when the time comes. That is a great problem for us.

God, may it never be for us. Let us not refuse your Greatness, Your Great Promise, Your Great Provision. Lord Jesus, may we live out Your call without fear.

Pray that we Will We See God’s Heart for our Church

Pray that we Will We See the Promise & Provision more than the Problems

Pray that we will Crossover instead of Retreat