I have finally finished the Week 2 seminar from Mars Hill Church which you can click here to watch!
After watching two seminars I'm so grateful Susan shared this site with me. I truly believe I did not buckle down and become Christian sooner because I would get discouraged from my lack of knowledge - not knowing where to begin to become Christian, not knowing how to read the Bible, not enough understanding to commit. The clarity given in these seminars is everything I've been seeking. Although I have already become a Christian and feel I've gained a great deal of knowledge to make this decision there are still basics I do not understand and these seminars continue to clear everything right up!
Pastor Mark mentions that he was confused about the Bible before becoming Christian and I'm so glad he said that. Being such a knowledgeable person who is reliable and inspiring I'm comforted that he "started out" like me. I believe if you're a "beginning" Christian, you definitely need to watch!
This week Pastor Mark discusses revelation and how it is separate from speculation because we do not need to speculate or guess, God tells us everything, gives us all of the answers through the Bible. General revelation and special revelation are the two types of revelations that people experience. General revelation is referring to all circumstances and how they reveal much but don't go into details. Our functions, how we heal ourselves when sick, nature, the seasons are all goodness of God. These are examples of God showing himself to us. I love his mention of creation being an external witness to God as we, you and I, are representative of God, we are his proof. A great example of an internal witness is our conscience. We feel right and wrong, there's a conscience there, there is God. Special Revelation is information about God that is clearer and shown to a limited amount of people. The teaching of the scriptures is a perfect example of detailed information that speaks to us. When Pastor Mark says that special revelation is only shown to a limited amount of people, he is referring to those that have been through a supernatural occurrence, he is referring to Jesus Christ as he is God the son, eternally God and literally the word of God. He states that we were taught and spoken to through Jesus. He is the fully revealed image of the invisible God. Last is scripture. As Pastor Mark puts it, scripture is breathed out by God or God breath, the Bible as a whole is God breath.
He then went on to discuss scriptures and how they are a collection of written documents that were divinely inspired by God. I'm glad he clears this up because I never understood the separations in the Bible but Pastor Mark states that the Bible is a collection of 66 books in order of genre of literature - law, prophets, poetic/psalms, gospels/biography and letters. I really needed to know this. I had no idea what the order of the Bible was or why people read the Bible in different ways and now I know exactly why. He gives a great analogy that scriptures are a light on a dark path that guide us. This is very true as I often look back on certain passages to help me through different situations and emotions. He also details that the authors of different documents are divinely inspired by God to give faithful records and how the Holy Spirit enabled apostles to remember and record faithfully without error. I used to think that maybe, long ago, the information was passed down and recorded and Christians were just expected to believe what is in the Bible but now it is clear that God directly spoke to these authors and gave them the ability to record flawlessly and faithfully what he wanted them to document and as Christians we can trust this.
In closing he mentions that some things in the bible are difficult to understand not because people may find the information unclear but because many suppress the truth and are unwilling to repent - basically, some people don't like all or parts of the Bible and don't understand becoming Christian. It's ironic for anyone to feel this way since there are many aspects of life that some people do not enjoy - waking up early, doing the dishes, eating healthy foods - but must do and that is life. That's reality. You do things like shower each day because it is beneficial and crucial to your life. I believe the Bible should be seen in the same way. There will always be things in life we don't agree with but are mandatory and the Bible is the same, you have to be willing to accept all of what is said in scripture.
Pastor Mark gave a fantastic quote of Mark Twain's, "It's not the parts of the Bible that I read and don't understand which bother me, it's the parts of the Bible which I do read and do understand which bother me." As I said in my Week 1 discussion, it is hard accept beliefs that are new but the first step is knowing that the Bible is God's word, the truth. As soon as I put my faith in all of His teachings it was absolutely easy for me to accept any new beliefs because I can always trust God.
He said something that really struck me in the end while discussing how becoming a Christian changed him. Pastor Mark said that when you become Christian your sins are taken away and your relationships are restored. Just sounds beautiful, becoming Christian is a harmony in a way - everything just becomes good and right and just.
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