Bumby Bible Questions 19

Introduction

Everybody. We have come to another fourth Sunday, as evidenced by the stools up here. And so we’re going to be answering, we’re going to try for several questions this morning. That’s not our specialty, but we are going to try to get through a few of those. The good news is we’ve had some questions coming in. The better news is we’re trying to get to those questions today. And the other news is please keep sending in more questions. The more you send in, the more we can pick the good ones and ignore our own questions and our own intrigues. There’s a few ways to do that. There’s a few ways to submit questions. Please keep sending them in. One of them is to email us at Bumbi BibleQuestions at gmail.com.

Bumbi BibleQuestions at gmail.com and several of y’all have done that recently, and we’re thankful for that. We do see it, uh, and we are thankful for that, and we can come and find you for some follow-up if we need some clarification when you send it that way. So thank you. Ken, what are some of those other ways? Uh one is we have a suggestionslash question box in the foyer. You can write those down on a piece of paper uh and put them in that box. The other is you can hand that piece of paper to Greg or I personally. Now we do make one stipulation uh that you write those questions down because Greg’s memory is not what it used to be. And if you come up to us and ask a question, we may or may not remember that.

And so either write it down or as you’re standing in front of us, make us write it down so that we have that in writing. That gives us a couple advantages. Uh, number one, we don’t forget it, but number two, uh, we can come back to you with maybe a follow-up uh question in that. But please know that no matter how you submit the questions, we’re never going to include your name uh during this session. It’s not an intention to to embarrass anybody, uh, but it would be nice to be able to have some follow-up with you. But please, please, please keep those questions coming. Uh and we’ll keep this format every fourth Sunday of the month. Whether there’s one or two chairs setting up here, we’ll keep answering these questions on your behalf.

1. Can Believers Handle Snakes and Drink Poison Today?

But we appreciate that so much. Alright, well, let’s get to question number one. Question number one comes from the Gospels in the New Testament, specifically Mark chapter 16. And so go ahead and turn there with us in Mark chapter 16. The questioner asks that says, Mark 16 says, believers will be able to handle snakes and drink poison. Why can’t I do that today? And I guess another way of saying that, is that promise applicable to believers today? And Mark chapter 16 is again the text for that question, great. So if we’ll go ahead and read, uh in verse 15, it might be a little bit more familiar. And Jesus says, Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Following those words in 17, he says, and these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name, they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover. And so what you see is this grouping, not just of miraculous one or two things that a believer can do. It’s not just about drinking poison or handling snakes, but all of these signs, speaking in tongues, even, being protected, yes, from those deadly poisons. But if you notice back in 17, the key is these signs will accompany those who believe. So we’re not going to focus so much on what those signs were.

The text is very clear in what those are. The question is, who gets these gifts? And what type of belief is being mentioned here in this verse. These signs, also known as wonders, works, and we more famously know them as miracles that we read about in the New Testament, are certainly very intriguing. And there’s a couple things we need to know about these miracles. We need to understand the purpose of these miracles. We need to understand when and who performed these miracles. But one thing we note when we look at miracles throughout the Bible, that we’re so fascinated by them, and so much of the biblical text is dedicated to them, we may think that miracles were just always there. That all the way through history, people were commit performing miracles, and they were doing that on a daily basis.

And that’s simply not the case. Miracles are really kind of clustered around certain time periods when God was dealing with man. Now, in the coming of Christ in the flesh and the preaching of the gospel by the apostles, we see one of those clusters of miracles, miraculous activity. We see that throughout really the New Testament. But when we look closely, we see a couple things about miracles. Number one is that the apostles had the ability to perform miracles, but they also had the ability to pass along the ability to perform miracles. And so let’s look in Acts chapter 8. In Acts chapter 8, beginning in verse 14, we have here the story, the famous story of Simon the sorcerer. And we don’t have time to go in depth into all of the about this story, but remember that he had obeyed the gospel, and he had seen the apostles not just performing miracles, but laying hands on others and imparting that ability.

And you remember that he greedily wanted that talent to himself. And it says Acts 8, verse 14, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as of yet he had fallen upon none of them, they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. So here’s Peter and John, apostles, who come down, and it they laid hands upon these Christians to be able to impart to them the ability to perform miracles. Simon sees that and he wants that ability. And of course, Peter famously tells him, You have no lot or portion in this matter, and condemns him for the greed of wanting that selfish ability to himself.

And so one thing we recognize that whatever these abilities were, whatever these miracles were, they were imparted by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. And so if we just look in our text, the idea of casting out demons, speaking in tongues, the ability to handle poisonous snakes or to drink poison and not die from that, would have been something that the apostles had and would have been able to impart to others by the laying on of apostles’ hands. It’s always important to note that in the transference of these miracles. And so, I guess if we wanted to be uh a little cute this morning, we would say, you can handle the snakes and drink poison if the apostles have laid hands on you. Otherwise, it might not be wise to do that.

Because this gift, this ability, would have ended when the apostles ceased to be in existence and therefore have the ability to pass on this miraculous ability to others. That’s a key detail for two reasons. One, if you think back to Mark 16, what were those two verses before all these abilities were listed? Jesus was telling a group of people to go and teach the gospel to the whole creation. Well, who is he talking to? We often take that as to all of us, but specifically in context, he had his disciples, his apostles in mind. And what were they to do with that message? Go and teach or convince, persuade everybody in all creation. These signs, these miracles would accomplish that. And of course, when you look in Acts 8, even going to verse 13, Simon had been baptized.

He had seen the signs and great miracles, but it wasn’t enough there. In 19, he wanted the ability to transfer it. So what we see is a second point is that if you look scripturally, God can do anything that he so chooses. But in the laws of the New Testament, either the power came directly from God, or it was transferred by the apostles. That is the only way it’s transferred. So if you have this ability, it came either straight out of heaven, right into you, right for you, or as Tim said, right from the apostles. And so when you look at the New Testament, we’d say, okay, is there any more clarification on that second point? And there is. Why, in the first place, would the disciples have that ability to do the miracles or to pass them along?

Why would they even have to pass them along? Why would people in Corinth need these miracles if the church here at South Bumbi doesn’t? If we’re right and the only apostles can pass them on, and the apostles passed away nearly 2,000 years ago, why did that church need it, but we didn’t? Let’s look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and see if we can get a little bit of light there. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, picking up in verse 8. It’s a great chapter, of course, on love. We remember verse 4. Love is patient, love is kind. Verse 8, love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, there’s one of our specific mentions, they will cease. As for knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. Now our minds are kind of trained when we hear perfect to think Jesus. But that’s not necessarily in the context. In verse 8, what is he speaking of? These spiritual gifts, tongues, prophecies. Really perfect has the idea of complete, fullness, maturity. And so these will cease when what has happened? When we know in full, when the perfect knowledge has come. What were the tongues for? What was knowledge enabling them to understand? The will of God. They needed the will of God in Acts 8. They needed to know what are we supposed to do as a church? What are we supposed to do as new Christians? Do you remember in Acts chapter 8?

That chapter begins with Saul persecuting the church as a Jew. The church was absolutely in its infancy at that point. But now we have the completed word of God. And so as believers, we don’t need the accompanying signs other than in the New Testament transcripts. We need to look at the Word of God and say, did God say it? Yes, then we should do it. That’s the key in looking at Mark 16, then, is who is Jesus talking to? Those apostles who received the helper, the Holy Spirit. And then, of course, who was 1 Corinthians 13 about? Well, those who had received the spiritual gifts from the apostles. We fit neither qualification, nor do we fit the need that those apostles and those first century members had of needing the revealed word of God when we can hold it in our hands.

So not only do we have that which is perfect, the complete revealed word of God, but we might also state it this way. We have a more complete or perfect way of confirming the message. Not through miracles, but pointing to book, chapter, and verse, for the things that we teach and the things that we practice. That’s the way we confirm our message today, not by drinking poison or taking up snakes. It’s by simply saying, this is what God said in his perfect and complete will of God. So those miracles served a grand purpose, but that purpose has ended. The ability to transfer that miraculous talent has ended, and so no, don’t handle poisonous snakes or drink poison that accompanied signs are no longer in uh practice today.

2. Why Don’t We Celebrate Christmas as a Congregation?

Alright, question number two. Why don’t we celebrate Christmas as a congregation? And could I celebrate Christmas as an individual? We’ve just recognized, we’re almost to the end of January. And by the way, some of y’all are still celebrating Christmas. It’s time to take those lights down. But this is a question often on Christians’ minds that as a congregation here at South Bumby, we might stand out from some in the celebration of Christmas. And so, where should we fall, both as a congregation and as an individual on this holiday of Christmas? And that’s our second question this morning. So, of course, we’re going to look at this in two ways. First of all, what do we do as a congregation? And then the follow-up was as an individual.

And biblically speaking, those deserve different responses. So the first question, why don’t we celebrate Christmas as a congregation? There’s a pretty easy answer for that one, is just there’s no biblical mandate for celebrating the birth of Jesus. And when we talk about Christmas to specify, we’re talking about as a religious holiday, a religious event that is there to celebrate Jesus being born in the flesh. When we talk about Christmas, we’re not talking about Bumbies celebrating with the Christmas tree or with presents or somebody named Santa. We’re talking about the birth of Jesus and his birth into our form on this earth. And you can read the Old Testament and the New Testament pages from front to back, and I encourage you to do so. But there will never be a mandate for an individual or a congregation to celebrate the birth of Jesus here in the 21st century.

It’s just not there. You know, we should try to make our worship like that in the New Testament. Here’s one way we might illustrate it. If if someone had been asleep for 2,000 years, someone who was a Christian in the first century, and they woke up today and found themselves in our services, they may be surprised by the lights and the technology that we have, but hopefully they would recognize the acts of worship that we perform. They would recognize the singing. Although they may not recognize the individual songsalms, they would say, we did that in the first century, we sang. And they would recognize the observance of the Lord’s Supper. They would say, we did that in the first century. The preaching, the praying, all of those other things, the reason we worship the way we do is not out of some personal preference or likes, because that’s what we read about in the New Testament.

And as Greg said, there’s just no evidence, there’s no example, there’s no command for us to observe this as a rite, a religious holiday as a congregation in our worship services. And even if we were, we don’t know when Jesus was born. You would think that would have been important. If God wanted us to commemorate as his people, as a congregation, a day to celebrate his birth, that we would have been informed of that day. But we simply do not know when Jesus was born. If we speculated, it probably wouldn’t be in the month of December, but we don’t even know because the Bible is completely silent about the time of year, the month, the day of the month in which Jesus was born. And the good news about being a Christian and having this completed word of God that we just referenced in the previous question is God doesn’t leave us to fill in gaps or to guess on things.

Oftentimes a proponent of congregational action for Christmas will say, Well, isn’t Jesus important? And the answer is yes, he is. And God has specified for us even something to remember about the physical life of Jesus, and that is his death. In Matthew chapter 26, before his death, he gave his disciples there what we would call instructions for the Lord’s Supper. He told them to remember his body with the bread and to remember the blood that would be shed for the new covenant with the fruit of the vine. And so we do have specific details from our Heavenly Father on what He does, want us to remember. And we see a pattern of how often He wants us to remember it. And so God doesn’t just leave us to say, well, this is probably important.

You should pick a day and celebrate it. Certainly doesn’t say pick a random day and maintain that is the only day Jesus was born, but he says, in fact, you remember his death. That’s in keeping with the New Testament message, by the way. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says there are three things of first importance Jesus’ death, his burial, and his resurrection. Yes, he had to be born to die, and he had to die to be buried and be buried to be resurrected. But God and the New Testament authors are very consistent that we remember the death of Jesus, and certainly in other places, the resurrection of Jesus as well. God doesn’t leave that up to chance. So as a congregation, we keep our worship simple according to New Testament pattern, and there’s no mandate, there’s no command, there’s no example, or even an inference found in the scriptures that we are to celebrate as a congregation the day of Jesus’ birth.

But what about us as individuals? Well, again, we kind of repeat there’s no mandate, either as a congregation or an individual. And by the way, if there was, we wouldn’t have a choice. We would be commanded to worship that day, and we would do that out of the commandment, out of the obligation that it gives. But what about individuals? We recognize that individuals maybe have greater liberties than we do as a congregation. And so what about individuals? Because individuals decide to celebrate this day with some varying degree of significance. And of course, that’s an important point again. Let’s specify what we’re talking about. When we talk about Christmas for this question, we’re speaking of remembering the birth of Jesus as a historic, important spiritual event. That is what we are talking about when we say celebrating Christmas.

And there’s no mandate congregationally or individually to celebrate the birth of Jesus. However, it is true, it is scriptural, it is from the New Testament that Jesus was born into this world. His life is worth remembering, and it is worth celebrating because if Jesus was not born, if he did not come into our form, he could not have died. We couldn’t remember the Lord’s Supper because Jesus wouldn’t have had his body put up on the cross. He wouldn’t have had a body that was in the tomb and then had it escaped, showing the miraculous power of God. In Acts 17, as Paul’s talking to those Athenians who always want to talk about something new, he confirmed judgment. He confirmed the word by the resurrected body, the resurrected soul of Jesus.

And so Jesus being born is a necessary first step that is worth remembering. It is worth reflection. Now, that doesn’t mean, though, that we celebrate a holiday, but it is in the New Testament, and you see even examples of people being of celebrating the birth of Jesus, like in Matthew 2 and all those prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament. We always say the Jews should have what? They should have known who Jesus was. They should have known he was the prophesied Messiah. And so it was something to celebrate. It is something to remember. Jesus’ birth is important. And so it would be appropriate for us as a congregation, any time of the year, to sing songs that may celebrate the birth of Christ. Any month of the year, it would be appropriate for Greg to do a lesson on the birth of Christ and the miracles that were associated with that, the significance of it, and as he pointed out, the fulfillment of prophecies that brought us to that point.

But as a congregation, we don’t have the right to mandate some act of worship that we don’t read about in scriptures. But again, what about individuals? In the book of Colossians, as well as in other places, Romans 14 and other places, we we see that there needs to be some room for liberty of others in regard to how significant they hold certain types of foods or certain days. Look with me in the book of Colossians, chapter 2. And look at three verses there, verses 15 through 17. It says in Colossians chapter 2, having disarmed principalities and powers, speaking of Jesus, disarmed principalities and powers, he made public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore, let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival, a new moon, or a Sabbath, which are the shadow of the things to come, but the substance of Christ.

Now, in this context, it probably had to do with Jewish feast days and Jewish sensitivities to certain types of foods or drinks. But the Apostle Paul says, let no one judge you in that. If someone, by their conscience, still wanted to observe, maybe even like a civil holiday, or however they wanted to observe, some Jewish feast day or had some problems with eating certain foods and or drinking certain drinks, then we’re not to judge one another. And so we recognize, again, from this passage, Romans 14 and others, that we allow some liberties among individuals. That an individual may decide, I can’t observe that holiday at all. I don’t want to have anything to do with it. Others may say, I want to take that day off, I want to spend time with my family, exchange gifts, and others may even add some religious significance to that day.

I’m not to judge that individual, though we may have differences and opinions on that, that there’s some liberties that are to be allowed in that. This is different, of course, than the idea of the congregational participation of altering our worship and the things that we do in service to God. But as individuals, we need to be gracious and understanding about these differences or liberties that might exist. And keep in mind, Paul didn’t make a mistake. We often look at Colossians 2, 14 and say, well, there the old law was set aside. And just two verses later, in 16, he says, let no one act as your judge with regards to a Sabbath. Now, is Paul binding the Sabbath on them? No, not at all. But through individual choice, you could choose to remember God on that seventh day if you so chose.

Now you can’t bind that on others. Jesus condemned that in the Pharisees. And you shouldn’t bind yourself to the law. Paul was very clear in condemning that in the letter to the Galatians. But as you look at Colossians 2, we see individual liberty is there. And so we then we ask the question, not can an individual do it, but should an individual celebrate Christmas? Remember the birth of Jesus in a special way. Well, as we said before, it is a biblical and important historical event that did happen. Jesus was born in this world. You look at passages like John chapter 1, it emphasizes that the word became flesh, that the word dwelt among us. That is scripture. That’s not Ken and I. That’s not the religious world.

That’s not America. That is New Testament scripture as breathed out or inspired by God. And so what does that mean? Well, in lessons and sermons and classes, in private Bible study and in private reflection, we absolutely should remember the birth of Jesus. It is critical. It is crucial. It is everything to our faith that Jesus was born, that he lived, and that he died and was resurrected. All of those facts are important. I think it’s important to note here that we shouldn’t let an abuse of something steal from us the need to reflect upon the birth of Christ. Don’t let songs that have become Christmas songs be robbed from us. We can sing those in May or June or August and to celebrate that Christ was born.

And don’t let the fact that this holiday, this man-made holiday, has been become so commercialized or even maybe have some pagan origins from it. It doesn’t change the fact that Jesus was born in the flesh, that angels celebrated his birth. It doesn’t change the fact that, again, any time of the year that we can worship our Savior and that we can reflect upon, yes, most importantly, his death, burial, and resurrection, but any time of the year we can also read about, sing about, think about, and talk about the birth of Christ. And so, to be clear, when you think about celebrating the birth of Jesus in December or in January or any month in between January and December, we’re not saying you must. There is absolutely zero old or New Testament pattern to celebrate the birth of Jesus on a particular day, certainly the way we do it according to American tradition.

However, we should always be looking for ways to meditate on and grow closer to God, to think about things we should be thankful for. And what more should we be thankful for than the birth of Jesus? The answer is not, no, we must remember the birth of Jesus on a certain day. But we should read the New Testament. We should take advantage of the completed will of God, and that includes emphasizing the birth of Jesus. We should remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as Paul had pointed out. And we should remember to honor God always. And if you do that by remembering the birth of Jesus, great. If you do that by taking a day to remember the resurrection of Jesus, fantastic. We need to work together, not against each other, allow for personal liberties, without overstepping the word of God in the process, or leaving out parts of the word of God in the process, just because other people may have, as Ken said, abused some of these otherwise good principles.

3. The Difference in Soul and Spirit

Okay, Greg, I think we’ve got time for one more question. Question number three is what is the difference in the term soul and spirit, as they’re mentioned in Hebrews chapter 4, and in verse 12. And so let’s just start there with a text. Hebrews chapter 4 and in verse 12, where the apostle, in really talking about the power of the word of God, uses this as an illustration. Hebrews 4, verse 12 says, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And so there’s the two words, soul and spirit, and he seems in this verse at least to be making a distinction between those.

And that’s really the heart of this question. What is the distinction or the difference between the man’s soul and his spirit? So the good news is there is another example that we can look at. The spirit is part of the soul. However, that answer is, it’s going to be similar to, or at least we can learn from the other pattern, that marrow is part of the bone. Marrow is part of the bone that makes up the joint. So as we’re familiar, are they identical? No. But for most of us who aren’t very scientifically trained, they’re very similar. They’re very close. You might find them in the same area, that they interact together. You need all parts to be working well. So whatever soul and spirit mean, there is a bit of a difference, but not necessarily the largest difference you can imagine.

So sometimes we look at this and we say, well, they must be completely different. No, in the same way that marrow and the bone work together to form a joint, the soul and spirit are going to work together somehow. If you look at the first part of verse 12, though, it’s really emphasizing not those word choices, but the word of God. It’s living and active. And what does the word of God do in its active and living state? It pierces all the way down to this minute difference of soul and spirit. So to emphasize how powerful the word of God is, it says it can even divide these two closely linked words, soul and spirit. So whatever the definition of them may be, as we go and look at each of the words and their uses in the old and new testament alike, keep in mind they are very similar.

For the word of God to be powerful, they have to be close for this analogy to make any sense. In fact, sometimes the words soul and spirit seem to be used almost interchangeably. And again, to Greg’s point, that’s why the sharpness of this sword is emphasized, that it has to be so sharp that it can make this precise division between soul and spirit. They are so closely connected, so closely intertwined, that it took a sharp, two-edged sword to be able to divide them. And so sometimes the terms seem to be used interchangeably, but at times there does appear to be, as here in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, a distinction. And we know that the word spirit is used throughout the scriptures and used in different ways.

We won’t take the time to turn to these passages of scripture, but in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verses 30 through 33, talking about the use of miraculous gifts in the worship service, it says the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. And so the spirits, that inner part of man, that which we act and move upon, it’s under our control. And so there the spirit seems to be talking about, again, the inner part of man, that personality, that action that we might engage in. In Hebrews chapter 1, it’s used in a different way in verses 13 and 14, there in talking about angels. It says, are they not ministering spirits sent out into the world? And so angels are referred to sometimes as spirits in the scriptures.

And then in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 7, it talks about our body, our flesh returning to the dust from which it came, but the spirit will return to the Father. There the Spirit is distinguished again from the flesh and blood part of man. That spirit is not just that which animates us and gives us our personality and our actions, but it is that which will live on. It is that that is made in the image of God, and therefore will not see the destruction as the flesh does, but that which will live on and return back to God. And so that intangible quality, that eternal intangible quality of the spirit, Ken’s mentioning is the similarity to soul. But really, when you look at, particularly in the New Testament, the way soul is used, it’s often used to designate really the choices or the heart or the decision-making mechanisms of man.

And if you remember going back to Hebrews 4.12, not only was the word of God living and active sharper than any two-edged sword, but what did it do? It cut to the heart of the intentions of man, the discernment of man. The soul represents who we are, what we’ve chosen, and what side we’re on, you might say. In Acts 2.41, the text says there were three thousand souls added to the Lord that day. Well, what does that mean? Well, it means that they weren’t with God and now they are. It wasn’t their bodies. It wasn’t just a choice, it was a decision that changed their eternal destiny. In Matthew 11, 29, Jesus talks even about giving your souls rest. So again, that eternal, intangible quality, that’s the similarity.

But really, one of the minute differences, since we are being asked to specify that as best we can, is the soul really has more to do with the decision-making process, whereas spirit might have more to do with the actual intangible being itself. If that sounds complicated and difficult, it is, because that’s the power of the word of God in Hebrews 4.12. It can even separate the difference between those two so inextricably linked words like soul and spirit. Here’s the bottom line on that, though. The power of God and His Word is amazing, and both our souls and our spirits should be dedicated to God who put them in us first. That’s really the takeaway from those verses. Yes, and the scriptures are clear about this, that our emphasis should not be on the flesh, the outward man, but upon that soul and upon that spirit that will return back to God.

Conclusion

So, all right, we appreciate those questions. We have more in our list, but we need even more, so please keep those questions coming, and we’ll be addressing those every fourth Sunday of the month. But right now, let’s bow our heads in a word of prayer. Dear God and Father, we’re so thankful for your power and your wisdom that gave to us both body, soul, and spirit. We pray, Father, that we will dedicate these to you. That we will use our bodies as a living sacrifice unto you. That we will, with our soul, make that decision to serve and to honor you. And that we will live in such a way that reflects the fact that we were made in your spiritual image. Help us, Father, as we seek to honor you with everything that we have.

Be with us this day as we worship you in spirit and in truth. We pray you’ll be pleased by our offerings this day. Bless us as we depart to our Bible classes and we open up your word. May we open up our hearts to know your will and to know you better. This is our simple prayer through your Son and our Savior. Amen.