A college Bible professor asks the difference between saying that the New Testament is 'normative' and saying that it provides a "pattern." * * * To say that the New Testament Scriptures are normative means to me that these 27 books uniquely reveal the standard by which we Christians all are called to think and to live. In that sense, this second section of the Bible -- but especially Jesus himself -- provides a pattern for each one of us to follow (1 Cor. 10:11; 11:1; Phil. 3:17; 1 Pet. 2:21). However, those who focus on the New Testament as a pattern often mean much more than that. They … [Read more...]

Someone recently admonished: "The New Testament provides the pattern which the true church must follow. We learn that by commands, examples and necessary inferences. The church revealed in the New Testament is the one we must imitate if we respect Bible authority." * * * Indeed, the New Testament provides the pattern for each of us as Christians, and that pattern is Jesus Christ himself (Matt. 16:24; Phil. 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:21). We may also safely follow others who follow Jesus, insofar as they do that (1 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17; Heb. 13:7). However, the New Testament never suggests that it is … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader in Singapore sends thanks for this ministry, then asks, "Is there a problem with our hermeneutic (the way we read and interpret Scripture) in the Churches of Christ?" * * * This question is far broader than Churches of Christ. The bottom line is that people in many different Christian groups tend to read the Bible as if it were a legal code to be rationalized and interpreted, instead of a revelation of the personal God who invites us to know and love him, and in that context to trust and obey him each new day (Deut. 6:4-9; Matt. 11:25-30). Little wonder that so many … [Read more...]