Ian, I'll try to remember to end with a super Martin Luther quote, so don't let me forget,
that's why my phone is right here. I'm not like checking my stocks, which I don't have anyway.
So, none of those.
Okay, oh thank you. Okay.
Well, our topic this morning is the clarity of Scripture.
We are, as you know, because you've all been coming faithfully in a series on Scripture,
so we take up the topic of the clarity of Scripture.
And within the Reformation tradition, that is the tradition in which we would largely see ourselves in this church,
the Reformation tradition, a belief in the clarity of Scripture,
has always been affirmed and considered important.
And rightly so, for whatever allegiance that we might give to the authority of Scripture,
it could never really function as authority in our lives,
if, due to its obscurity, its message were inaccessible or impenetrable.
I mean, we might well be ready and willing to receive and act on the directives from the high command,
but if the radio transmitter can't give us a clear signal, we're at a loss.
Are we supposed to take the bridge or sit tight and wait for air support?
You know, what are we supposed to do?
I don't know. I couldn't make it out.
Too much static, no clear reception.
Well, that will never work.
Few believers are willing to deny in principle the authority of the Bible,
but often Scriptures are functionally denied the final word
because it is alleged that its meaning is not plain.
Who's to know what it means?
The effect is to have its authority blunted,
if not altogether abrogated.
And whether its supposed lack of clarity results in a confusion
that is lamented or perhaps even convenient,
who knows?
It's intriguing that the stratagem of the serpent was to raise in the mind of Eve doubt
as to what God had said.
Did God really say?
For confusion makes defection more likely,
even seemingly legitimate.
So, clarity, it would seem,
is vital for the effective functioning of God's authority.
But is the clarity of Scripture actually sustainable?
It would seem to be a highly problematic claim.
Some would even say utterly implausible.
What? Scripture clear?
You must be joking.
So, consider first what is typically alleged
against the claim of clarity for Scripture.
So, the implausibility of clarity.
And while the presumption of the Bible's clarity
has been a functioning presupposition among the people of God,
or at least as long as they have had Bibles or their precursors,
the writings of the apostles,
it has often indeed regularly been challenged.
What have been some of the arguments or observations against clarity?
Against clarity.
So, first let's consider some of the traditional arguments.
There is, for one, what we might call the challenge of mystery.
The challenge of mystery.
That is to say that the claim of clarity fails to account
for the mysterious transcendent subject matter of Scripture.
This was Erasmus' objection against Luther.
I should have had pictures of these folks.
Erasmus is a great, we've got some great woodcuts of Erasmus.
He's always wearing an enormous hat.
Because Erasmus, his head was so tiny relative to the rest of his body,
he feared that in public,
that would make his high intelligence look unlikely.
So, he would buy these enormous stuffed hats
that would bring his head up to a normal...
I don't know why I said that.
This is completely off topic, but just an interesting historical thing.
Erasmus of Rotterdam.
And this was Erasmus' objection against Luther.
However, inevitably, parts of the Bible will be opaque
because of the very grandeur of their subject matter.
There's so alleged Erasmus.
God's ways and purposes are so exalted.
How could we hope to comprehend them?
And Erasmus appealed here to Romans 11.33 as an example.
Oh, the depths of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God.
How unsearchable are his judgments.
How inscrutable his ways.
See, Luther?
Or, again, he would appeal in the same vein to Isaiah 40, verse 13.
Who has measured the spirit of the Lord?
Or what man shows him his counsel?
You know, these things are inaccessible to us.
The claim that we may have clarity on such matters is hubris.
Who were we to scan the bosom of the Almighty?
Why, says Erasmus, as Deuteronomy 29.29 says,
the secret of the Lord remains with the Lord.
To think we can have God unveiled, clearly disclosed before us,
is to reduce God to distorting dimensions of human comprehension.
Okay?
So, you see the force of that.
See the force of that.
So, there's the challenge from mystery.
A second would be the challenge from multiplicity.
The challenge from multiplicity.
That is, the claim of clarity fails in practice.
Given the reality of the irreducible multiplicity of all of the interpretations that we have of Scripture.
I mean, surely it's self-evident.
How can anyone have the chutzpah to claim the Scriptures are clear when nobody can agree on what they say?
This was Robert Bellarmine.
You know, the great hammer of the Reformers.
And he pointedly taunted the Reformers who claimed clarity for Scripture.
You Protestants can't even agree amongst yourselves.
Look at all of your in-house squabbles over your understanding of even just those simplest words of institution.
This is my body.
Oh, come on.
Lutherans say one thing.
The Zwinglians say another.
Calvin offers a third option.
Ah!
The profusion of interpretations is dizzying.
And who can deny that it is so?
Look at the proliferation of denominations who understand the Scriptures sufficiently differently to warrant in their minds gathering up into their own group.
And you tell me, who's the eye of Romans 7?
Or who's the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2?
Or what's meant by the baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15?
Or preaching to the spirits in prison in 1 Peter 3?
And we could go on, as you well know.
This is a real potent and puissant challenge.
Finally, it would seem that the claim to clarity is simply misguided.
It fails by its own criterion, as Scripture itself confesses its own obscurity.
To claim clarity for Scripture is not simply to claim more for Scripture than it does for itself.
But it is to claim what Scripture explicitly denies.
How is it that David in Psalm 119 prays for understanding?
Verse 18, open my eyes.
Verse 27, let me understand.
Verse 34, give me understanding.
Verse 73, give me understanding again.
Verse 125, give me discernment that I might understand.
Again and again and again asking, I have to be granted some discernment or else it's impossible for me to understand.
Or the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, they were at a loss as to how to understand the Old Testament.
Or the Ethiopian in his chariot was baffled by the Isaiahan scroll.
In Acts 8, to Philip's question, remember Philip asked him, do you understand what you were reading?
Do you remember what his answer was?
I need somebody to...
Exactly.
How can I?
Unless there's somebody to explain it to me.
How could I possibly understand?
If Scripture's meaning were clear and accessible, such would be unnecessary, surely.
And then there's Peter's clear testimony that Paul's epistles contain, quote,
some things very hard to understand.
2 Peter 3.16.
So these are some of the longstanding challenges.
And they're pretty forceful.
Pretty forceful.
And supplementing these traditional arguments that we've kind of had going on for a long time against clarity
are those of more recent pedigree, which seem merely to compound the problem
for any who would make a claim to Scripture's clarity.
So, the contemporary intensification.
Consider the challenge of what we might call the limitations of language.
The limitations of language.
The claim that Scripture is clear stumbles and falls
because the vehicle in which it's communicated, human language,
is notoriously frail and feeble.
We all know how prone language is to misconvey intended meaning.
Just ask newlyweds.
Is it not clear that communication is completely elusive?
For that matter, ask those celebrating their diamond anniversary.
Language is really easy to get garbled.
To think that clarity is a possible attribute of language is to expect more than it can deliver.
As theologian Carl Barthes expresses it,
human words need interpretation because, as such, as human words, they are ambiguous.
Not usually, of course, in the intention of those who speak,
but always for those who hear.
So, human words are always ambiguous for those who hear.
And then, when you throw in the vagaries of translation,
I mean, most of us are not reading out of the Greek or the Hebrew.
Well, how much is invariably lost?
As the Italian proverb insists,
translation is treason.
Easy for polyglots to say.
What are we supposed to do, though?
And then, there is the darker, modern claim
that assertion of clarity in language
is to suppress inherent equivocation and ambiguity.
Ambiguity.
It represents, quote, linguistic cleansing.
If you say there's just one clear meaning to this,
ah, you're a linguistic cleanser.
Akin to the ethnic cleansing of megalomaniacs
who try to cleanse races.
This is Derrida you're probably recognizing.
And reflects a neurotic fear of, quote,
the proliferation of meaning.
This is Foucault, as you probably recognize.
Are you talking about logical positivism?
No, no, no, that's another.
This is the notion that language in itself
is a playful, is a very, a playful dynamic thing.
And if we try to fix meaning of language
to one, kind of tack it down like a dead butterfly,
you killed the thing.
No, no, no, no, no.
So, there always need to be multiplicity of meanings,
a playfulness.
And if you are trying to reduce it to one
and insist that it just has one clear meaning,
you're a linguistic cleanser.
You're trying to cleanse that thing
and polish it up in a way,
which, you know, it's an evocative term.
Is it not a linguistic cleanser?
You don't want to, you know, good grief.
You know, I'd be in the party of those,
you know, that's like ethnic cleansers linguistically.
You don't want to do that.
And, you know, who wants to fear,
kind of sounds exciting, the proliferation of meaning.
Who wants to be scaredy cat about that?
Well, maybe we do.
So, yeah, it's pretty, it doesn't just cast you, really, as ignorant.
This sort of challenge casts you as an evil person.
What you're doing is dangerous.
It's dangerous to insist that language is clear.
That's what dictators employ this as a stick to beat people with,
how language is always clear.
And compounding these limitations of language
are certain realities of the reader.
Any hope for a clear apprehension by the reader
is scuttled by the inevitable subjectivity of the reception.
What we imagine to be a clarity
is nothing more than our own construal.
That's how I see it.
The meaning of any text is never simply and clearly given in the text.
It is ever only and self-servingly graven.
We make it out to what we want it to be.
This you'll recognize, you know, this is the echoes of Nietzsche.
Language is used as an instrument of power.
Power over another.
As Gadamer, the German philosopher,
extremely influential in the universities,
as Gadamer emphasizes,
are our presuppositions
and the situatedness
of our horizon as readers.
In other words, where we are,
what we're like as people,
the concerns, the interests that we have,
our abilities.
These all shape the event
of understanding.
You know, when you come to understand a text,
you're bringing all of this freight
from who you are
and what you can do,
what you're interested in,
and that's going to affect the interpretation
that you give.
To imagine we have access
to some pristine,
clear, and distinct meaning
in the text
is really to remain in the thrall
of an outdated
and discredited
modernist model
that somehow
our brains
just can mirror
the realities there.
No, no, no, no.
We're active
and we're constructionist
in our engagement
with reality
and in our engagement
with the text.
We're constructing it.
We're not just absorbing it.
So,
to make such a claim
is to be in the strong grip
of an illusion
as to realities.
So, there you have it.
And these are strong currents,
particularly in the academic sensibility
that if you're up at the university,
you'll hear all these things.
To insist upon the Bible's clarity
in the teeth of these objections
and in the temper of these times
seems either quaint,
insane,
or reactionary.
An affirmation
doomed to derision.
But,
before we consign clarity
to the dustbin
of theological atavisms,
things going the way
of the dinosaur,
let's pause
not for a moment
of respectful silence
at its passing,
rather pause
for a moment
of reflection
and re-evaluation.
For,
there are
a few things
to be said
on its behalf,
which may stay
the executioner's hand.
So,
in defense
of clarity.
muse with me
for a moment
upon first,
and perhaps decisively,
God's purpose
and ability.
God's purpose
and ability.
Consider
that the Bible
is God's revelation
and flows
from his,
God's,
determination
to disclose himself.
It is God's desire
to be known
and responded
to
by his creatures
and to do so
through the vehicle
of his word,
the Bible.
To claim
that his word
is hopelessly
obscure
is to assert
God's failure
in attaining
his object.
It is to cast
him,
God,
as an
ineffectual
communicator.
But surely,
this is absurd.
Surely,
God's word
succeeds
in its purpose.
As God states,
Isaiah 55,
10 and 11,
For as the rain
and snow
come down
from heaven,
and does not
my,
and does not
return there
without watering
the earth,
and making it
bare and sprout,
and furnishing
seed to the sower,
and bread to the eater,
so shall
my word
be,
which goes
forth from
my mouth.
It shall not
return to me
empty,
without accomplishing
what I desire,
and without
succeeding
in the matter
for which
I sent it.
Furthermore,
it is the
assumption
throughout
the Bible
that its
words
are
comprehensible,
and as
such,
entail
the moral
responsibility
to be
heeded.
He doesn't
just utter
to no point.
He expects
that we hear
and heed
him.
Deuteronomy
30,
Deuteronomy
30,
11-14.
Deuteronomy
30,
11-14.
For this
commandment
that I
command you
today
is not
too hard
for you,
neither
is it
far off.
It is
not in
heaven
that you
should
say,
who will
ascend
to heaven
for us
to bring
it down
to us,
that we
may hear
it and
do it,
neither is
it beyond
the sea,
that you
should say,
who will
go over
the sea
for us
and bring
it to
us,
that we
may hear
it and
do it.
But the
word is
very near
you.
It is
in your
mouth
and in
your heart
so that
you can
do it.
As Luther
remarks,
Christ
has not
so
enlightened
us as
deliberately
to leave
some part
of his
word
obscure,
commanding
us to
give heed
to it,
for he
commands
us in
vain to
give heed
if he
does not
give light.
Get that?
That's from
bondage of
the will.
Again,
Luther
provocatively
asks,
and he's
asking Erasmus
at this
point,
who we
cited for
obscurity,
if
scripture,
Erasmus,
is obscure
and equivocal,
why need
it have
been brought
down to
us by
an act
of God?
Surely
we have
enough
obscurity
and uncertainty
within
ourselves
without
our
obscurity
and uncertainty
and darkness
being
augmented
by
heaven.
Yeah,
I mean,
if the
Bible's
completely
obscure,
how is
that going
to help
us?
How is
that going
to bring
redemption
and salvation?
So,
consider again
the purpose
and the
ability of
God.
Think that
that has
decisive
bearing
on this
topic.
At least
help us
to try
to work
through
some of
the
tension
here.
Consider
also
the
testimony
of
scripture.
And of
course,
the
critical
test
for
any
doctrine
is
whether
it
accords
with
or
better
is
taught
by
scripture.
And
relevant
here
would be
numerous
characterizations
as the
scripture
as
light.
Light.
Think
of that
metaphor.
Psalm
119,
105,
thy word
is a
lamp
to my
feet
and a
light
to my
path.
Psalm
119,
verse
130,
the
unfolding
of
thy
words
give
light.
It
gives
understanding
to the
simple.
Psalm
36,
9,
in
thy
light
we
see
light.
2
Peter
119
speaks
of
scripture
as a
lamp
shining
in a
dark
place.
And
such
characterizations
are
impossible
on the
premise
that the
word
itself
is
dark,
shadowy,
and
failing
of
illumination.
Surely
there can
be no
better
image
for
clarity
than
light
which
illumines
our
darkness.
At
Deuteronomy
29,
that Erasmus
had cited,
the secret
of the
Lord
remains
with the
Lord.
But
notice
that the
secret of
the
Lord
is
contrasted
with
the
word
that
he
has
given
to
us.
For
the
verse
goes
on,
but,
so the
secret of
the
Lord
remains
with
the
Lord,
but,
what
he
has
revealed,
that
is for
us,
that
we
may
observe
all
of
his
works.
words,
sorry,
that we
may observe
all of
his
words.
Again,
there is
no reasonable
expectation
for us
to observe
what is
fundamentally
opaque.
And as
to the
contentions
about
language
as an
unsuitable
medium,
it would
seem we
have reason
to think
that the
opposite
is true.
consider
the
suitability
of
language.
Assertions
of
language
as a
barrier
to
God's
successful
revelation
seem to
assume
that our
language is
simply
a
creaturely
phenomenon,
simply
a human
achievement
in
construction.
But this
is not
so.
language
is a
divine
gift.
And since
this is so,
it becomes
a bridge,
not a
barrier.
In giving
us this
gift,
God
has made
us fit
speech
partners
with him.
He's
wired us
for
understanding.
Remember,
God
is the
first,
in the
scriptures,
God is
the
first
to
speak
in
what
would
later
be
considered
human
words.
God
is the
first
speaker.
Words
are not
something
alien
to
God.
It's
not as
if
God
must
somehow
commandeer
something
which is
in and of
itself
unsuitable
to the
task
of
communication.
and so
the
allegation
as
Barth
puts
it
that
human
language
is
not
a
suitable
but
an
unsuitable
medium
for
God's
self
presentation
should
it seems
be
rejected.
Further,
God
the
Son
in
taking
human
form
as
part
of
the
incarnation
took
human
language
as
his
medium
of
disclosure.
Why
should
God's
self
communication
be any
more
distorted
by its
expression
in human
words
than
his
compassion
is
distorted
by its
expression
in human
flesh?
There's
never a
hint
of a
lisp
when
Jesus
speaks
about
himself
or the
Father's
purpose.
It's
never
Jesus
this is
so
frustrating
to me
I just
can't
explain it
human
words
are so
limited
never
there's
never
a
whisper
of
anything
like
that.
When
people
fail
to
understand
it is
always
accounted
for
in
other
ways.
Not
that
oh
this
language
thing
it's
such
a
blunt
instrument.
No
it's
accounted
for
by
hard
hearts
the
malice
of
Satan
unbelief
but
never
the
failure
of
his
words.
this
reality
takes
us
to
another
relevant
consideration.
It's
all
good
and
well
to
speak
of
languages
originally
a
gift
of
God
rendering
it
a
fit
and
fruitful
vehicle
for
communication
but
what
about
the
fall
what
about
the
fall
if
God
wired
us
for
understanding
has
not
sin
messed
with
the
circuitry?
Yes
it
has.
The
effect
of
sin
upon
the
understanding
is
this
in
our
sinful
rebellion
and
self
centeredness
we
do
not
always
like
the
words
we
hear.
this
hardness
of
heart
or
stiff
neckedness
if you
would
call it
that
I guess
affects
our
ability
to
understand
the
words
which
echo
in our
ears
are
resisted
and
so
our
understanding
is
darkened
so it
does
affect
our
understanding
usually
yeah
we
become
Christians
an
unbeliever
suppresses
the truth
and
unrighteousness
do
Christians
do that
and
they
do
the
Christian
walk
we
still
do
that
because
we
have
so
habituated
that
tendency
that
even
when
God's
spirit
when we're
united
with
Christ
and
God's
spirit
comes
to dwell
with
us
and
begins
to
produce
new
desires
an
affection
for
what
God
has
said
a
conviction
that
this
is
for
our
good
for
our
flourishing
but
remember
it's
still
a little
sprout
so we
don't
spring
from
our
spiritual
womb
fully
blown
like
Venus
on a
half
shell
she's
complete
but it
takes
a while
for
it
to
grow
so
like
sanctification
would be
the growth
in those
holy
desires
and in
many
of the
qualities
like
humility
submission
patience
that will
help us
to
appropriate
and we'll
get to
some of
those
themes
but very
apropos
yes
so
yes
we've
argued
that our
hardness
of heart
or our
stiff
neckedness
stiff
neckedness
affects our
ability to
understand
so the
words
which
echo
in our
ears
are
resisted
and so
our
understanding
is darkened
usually
we don't
get it
because we
don't want
to get
it
was it
man hears
what he
wants to
hear and
disregards
the rest
was that
Bob Dylan
I guess
I try so
hard to get
these contemporary
cultural
I guess
is he alive
still
okay
yeah
all right
I got
one
contemporary
culture
reference
man
I'm doing
okay this
morning
human
desire
deeply
affects
human
understanding
tainted
human
desires
correspondingly
taint
human
understanding
so
this
reality
does not
count
against the
clarity
of scripture
for the
problem
is not
with the
text
it's with
the reader
the problem
is not
with the
word
but with
the hearer
do you see
and to argue
for clarity
we're talking
about a
quality of
the word
so if we
you know
throw dirt
on things
or if we
close our
eyes
oh
the text
isn't clear
anymore
you closed
your eyes
deliberately
and how
often
have you
heard
the testimony
you know
I never
understood
a word
of the
Bible
but
then
I gave
my life
to Christ
and its
meaning
wonderfully
opened up
to me
before
I couldn't
have even
been bothered
now I
devour it
surely
you've heard
some
testimonies
perhaps even
experienced
that sort
of thing
do you
see the
transformation
you know
ah
sudden
clarity
what
changed
not the
text
not the
text
but the
reader
the
reader
but
even
if the
barrier
is not
obscurity
but
unresponsiveness
this is
not
an
insuperable
barrier
to
almighty
power
God
is not
stymied
in his
purpose
to communicate
his word
even by
our
rebellious
resistance
which darkens
our understanding
because
God
exerts
effectual
power
through the
spirit's
illumination
yeah
for the
spirit's
illumination
happily
in
understanding
his
word
God
does not
leave us
to our
own
compromised
devices
God
is
present
by his
spirit
as
revealer
so it's
not just
text
he shows
up in
person
in his
holy
spirit
as
revealer
such
that
understanding
becomes
more than
a creaturely
activity
it is
the
spirit's
action
upon
us
the
process
of
understanding
repeats
the
basic
motif
of
Christian
existence
which is
being
drawn out
of
darkness
of
sin
and
turned
to the
light
of the
gospel
so being
drawn
out
of the
darkness
of sin
and being
turned
to the
light
of the
gospel
there's
the
fundamental
biblical
motif
scripture
is
clear
but
because
what
it
presents
is
that
to
which
we
must
be
reconciled
we
can
discern
its
clarity
only
if
our
darkness
is
first
illuminated
so
understanding
is
therefore
not
first
of
all
an
act
of
clarification
of
the
text
but
an
event
of
being
ourselves
clarified
by the
spirit
okay
that's a
little
complex
maybe the
wording
let me
repeat
that
slowly
understanding
is
not
first
of
all
an
act
of
clarification
of
the
text
but
an
event
of
being
ourselves
clarified
by the
spirit
you
remember
in
2nd
Corinthians
3
but
to
this
day
Paul
writes
whenever
Moses
is
read
a
veil
lies
over
their
hearts
isn't
that
interesting
the
veil
is
over
their
hearts
remember
what
did
the
heart
indicate
in
Hebrew
or
biblical
idiom
so
they're
not
saying
that
they're
witless
but
they're
wanton
okay
it's
not
chiefly
an
intellectual
issue
but
a
moral
issue
the
heart
the
affections
where
we
direct
our
affections
and
the
veil
is
there
that's
the
problem
that's
what
needs
to
be
unveiled
well
yes
and
in
that
case
they
the
knowledge
that
God
has
given
them
have
that
they
have
turned
their
backs
upon
they
have
spurned
it
he
has
been
yelling
it
in
their
ear
again
the
prophets
he
sends
prophets
again
and
again
and
again
and
they
kill
the
prophets
and
then
he
sends
his
son
they
say
ha
look
it's
the
son
let's
kill
him
so in
the
end
they
are
without
this
knowledge
that
God
has
sent
again
and
again
and
again
why
did
God
not
send
it
did
God
not
offer
it
did
not
give
it
did
God
not
say
hey
it's
not
up in
heaven
that
you
have
to
climb
there
it's
not
across
the
sea
that
you
have
to
swim
there
it's
right
here
and
you
killed
him
and
you
killed
him
you
killed
me
so
similar
sort
of
thing
yeah
they're
without
knowledge
but
why
you
know
I
can't
hear
you
I
can't
hear
you
so
yes
you're
right
to bring
that up
but
that's
not a
different
phenomenon
really
than
what
we're
discussing
remember
the
and he
goes
on
illumination
really
repeats
the
miracle
of
creation
remember
in
2
Corinthians
4
when
he's
speaking
now
of
illumination
and
he
says
the
light
has
shown
in
your
hearts
in
our
hearts
to
give
us
the
light
of
the
knowledge
of
God
the
glory
of
God
in
the
face
of
Jesus
Christ
here
how
so
he's
describing
basically
illumination
or
regeneration
and that
that's
in
2
Corinthians
3
15
and
you
hear
the
echoes
it's
creation
let
there
be
light
same
sort
of
thing
so
and
Ezekiel
too
I mean
we could
go
on
there
so
many
things
affords
another
example
here
notice
language
is not
the
barrier
Ezekiel
3
4
through
7
this
is
in
Ezekiel's
commission
here
language
is not
the barrier
not
a matter
of
unintelligible
speech
or a
difficult
language
rather
not
willing
to
listen
stubborn
obstinate
see if you
can catch it
let me just
read a couple
of
catch these
themes
so
Ezekiel
3
4
through
7
and he
God
said
and he
said to
me
son of
man
this
is
God
this
is
the
sending
Ezekiel's
call
okay
son of
man
Ezekiel
go to
the house
of Israel
and speak
my words
to them
for you
are not
sent to
a people
of foreign
speech
and a
hard
language
but to
the house
of Israel
not to
many
peoples
of foreign
speech
and a
hard
language
whose
words
you
cannot
understand
surely
if I
send you
to such
they
would
listen
to
you
but
the house
of
Israel
will
not
be
willing
to
listen
to
you
for
they
are
not
willing
to
listen
to
me
because
all
the house
of
Israel
have
a
hard
forehead
and a
stubborn
heart
the theme
goes on
but again
hey
we don't
have a
language
we don't
have a
language
barrier
here
not a
language
problem
we got
a heart
problem
here
so
summing
up
because
of the
purpose
and
ability
of
God
himself
to
communicate
and
the
testimony
and
presumption
of
scripture
it
doesn't
communicate
to no
point
you
can
respond
and
the
prevailing
sorry
and the
suitability
of the
language
of language
as God's
chosen
means
and
the
prevailing
illumination
of the
spirit
doesn't
leave us
to our
own
devices
to
overcome
the
obstacles
of our
unresponsiveness
clarity
is a
conviction
that we
do bring
to
scripture
we
come
to
scripture
confident
of
its
ability
successfully
to
communicate
because
of
God's
ability
okay
so
that's
I want
to
affirm
that
is
I
think
a
biblical
conviction
that we
can
have
I
think
that's
solid
but
some
clarifications
are
in order
sorry
about
that
must
be
my
stock
so
clarity
some
clarifications
first
clarity
when
we
affirm
and our
tradition
is
affirm
the
clarity
of
scripture
when we
affirm
that
we
are
not
saying
we
are
not
claiming
that
exposition
or
interpretation
is
unnecessary
indeed
exposition
okay
or exit
is
only
possible
on
the
assumption
that
a meaning
is
accessible
think of
the situation
of the
Ethiopian
you know
in Acts
8
that we
referenced
the
fact
that
Philip
instructed
him
does
not
imply
he
was
as
one
has
put it
commenting
on this
passage
lost
in a
sea
of
possibilities
because
of the
text
obscurity
no
his
the
Ethiopians
was a
confession
of
personal
inadequacy
to be
remedied
by
someone
with a
better
grasp
of
scripture's
content
not
an
assertion
of the
essential
obscurity
of the
subject
matter
I mean
really
if you
look at
it
the
problem
was
one
of
reference
who
is
this
person
that's
spoken
of
here
who
is
he
speaking
of
and
God
has
also
supplied
teachers
gifted
in
exposition
which
are
among
the
means
available
to
us
to
help
us
to
understand
as
the
Westminster
confession
expresses
clear
quote
scripture
being
clear
in
the
due
use
of
ordinary
means
that
is
there
needs
to
be
the
due
use
of
certain
means
that
God
provides
that
are
ordinary
that
are
at
hand
for
us
to
use
like
reading
like
reading
like
looking
at
a
commentary
like
coming
to
a
class
like
all
of
these
ordinary
means
talking
to
one
another
study
reflection
meditation
these
are
the
ordinary
means
that
are
at
hand
for
us
all
if
we
apply
ourselves
so
they
would
they
you know
Westminster
confession
affirms
clear
the
Bible
is
clear
in
the
due
use
of
ordinary
means
and
those
ordinary
means
include
exposition
Bible
study
personal
and
corporate
engagement
of that
word
so
that
clarification
second
clarity
does
not
imply
uniform
simplicity
or
transparency
of every
text of
scripture
sometimes
scripture's
clarity
is
hard
won
hard
won
the
results
in
part
of
diligent
labor
second
Timothy
2
7
enjoins
Paul's
telling
Timothy
think
hard
about
these
things
that I
say
are
right
to
you
for
the
Lord
will
give
you
understanding
in
everything
we
ought
to be
careful
to
imagine
that
if
the
Lord
gives
me
understanding
that
he's
going
to
give
you
understanding
independently
of
thinking
hard
about
these
things
probably
his
gift
of
understanding
is
a
sustaining
diligence
for
you
to
keep
your
nose
on
the
page
and
work
at
it
it's
not
going
to
be
probably
some
zap
or
wand
thing
but
he
will
sustain
these
diligent
fruits
of
the
spirit
with
diligent
application
to
help
you
to
understand
if
you
go off
scripture
in your mind
the spirit
will
exactly
you have to be in tune with scripture to know what's in scripture so when you're thinking away from scripture it brings you back to the scripture
absolutely
yeah
doctrine reproof
correction
instruction
of righteousness
doctrine
what the path
is
reproof
showing you
if you've gotten off it
correction
putting you back
on the path
and instruction
and righteousness
how to stay on that path
so
excellent
yeah
excellent
could you say john
in the psalms
david's
imploring
god
to give
understanding
to give
insight
really more
not an intellectual
quest
but a
desire
for
intimacy
well i'm sure
i'm sure that that's part of it
and he
and he realizes that
there's this
there's this wonderful
dialectic
of
our
longing
to
his longing
to
understand
god's word
was
not
just
to try to gather up
and get his precepts
so he can
put more of a store away
more of his precepts
it was the person
behind the precepts
so you're right to connect
some of our motive
with a desire
for intimacy
with god
who are you
what are you like
what do you want
so yes
it very much does
so we want
to press
through the precepts
to the person
so
absolutely
so
think hard
timothy
your understanding
will require
hard work
it's why he tells
timothy a few verses
later
be diligent
that you may
handle
accurately
the word
of truth
2nd
timothy
2 15
so it's in this
context
that we might
consider
peter's
remark
about
paul's
writings
remember in
2nd
peter
3 16
speaking of
our good brother
paul's writings
there are some
things in them
hard to
understand
peter says
that paul
now peter
is not saying
that their meaning
cannot
be discerned
simply that at
certain points
it will take
concentrated effort
and i think that
that's what some
of us have found
is that like the
difference between
a doctor who
goes to
high school
college
medical school
a residency
and a fellowship
and a person
that just reads
a first aid book
yeah you know a lot
of times and you're
you're going to
realize
that's right
and the expectation
that he would be
able to arrive at
insight in his
diagnosis
or skill in his
operation
is going to be
much more
than you know
a walk on
you know i don't
want to walk on
doing my heart
open heart surgery
you know it's just
not absolute
there you go
you didn't act
that think that
way for a doctor
now think about
eternal things
yeah
your pastor
your teachers
your elders
i mean they
give us really
important information
it has to do with
eternal life
yeah
and not just
you know
yeah
that that's i think
why some of the
qualifications
for these offices
like elder
aren't flippant
flip it
they're they're
they're pretty
they're pretty deliberate
and thoughtful
and a lot of it
has to do with that
what is distinct
of the qualification
of the elder
versus say a deacon
you know isn't
well the deacon
can get drunk a few
times and the elder
just a little bit
less you know
you know but
capable as titus
says capable of
exhorting in sound
doctrine and
refuting those who
contradict
having a firm
grasp of the
mysteries
firm grasp
so that's yes
you're absolutely
right
those those are
the qualifications
notice that
peter's remarks
here also assume
that a proper
meaning
can be
identified
and contrasted
with distortions
put forward
by the untaught
and the unstable
because in this
very passage
some things are
difficult to
understand
of paul's
writings
which perverse
men distort
to their own
destruction
there'd be no
meaningful way
to define or
distinguish
distortion
from understanding
if there were
not some sort
of clarity
about understanding
you know you
you couldn't
have that
so
the fact is
that clarity
is often
hard won
through diligence
and that
doesn't mean
that there's
no clarity
doesn't mean
that there's
no clarity
and you know
think about
Jesus's
you know
when he tells
the Pharisees
maybe there was
somebody
in Matthew
9
yeah
where he says
go
and learn
what this
means
I desire
mercy
not sacrifice
so
they knew
that stuff
he said
go
and learn
in other words
think about it
work through
this
you haven't
got it yet
something missing
go think
about this
and sometimes
in the scripture
this is
this is a
heuristic
device
where
a device
that helps
us to actually
gain understanding
okay
sometimes
things are put
forward
that
just
right on the
surface
they seem
to be
incompatible
how did
how could
this
work
okay
it
their clarity
is not
immediately
evident
but that's
the whole
point
to get
you
to puzzle
and
go
deeper
so for
example
wisdom
literature
does this
all the
time
in
Proverbs
26
verses 4
and 5
you know
answer
not
a fool
according
to his
folly
lest
you be
like him
yourself
and then
in the very
next verse
answer a fool
according to
his folly
lest he be
wise in his
own eyes
you think
oh good
good
far from it
being clear
this is
manifestly
contradictory
look the
bible's not
no no
the point
is to not
just glide
over this
thing
at 30
thousand
feet
what's
going on
here
ah
then you're
actually
really engaging
with the
word
yeah yeah
Tyler
I think
about God's
transcendence
in the
scripture
like he's
a king
above all
authority
and exalted
but then he
says God
is near
to the broken
heart
wonderful
flight
great example
yeah
there you
go
that's
by definition
that is
absolutely
true
that's
right
and yet
isn't it
it's an
invitation
some of
these things
don't throw
up your
hands
this is
impenetrable
no it's
an invitation
come
in deeper
come up
higher
it's an
invitation
third
clarity
does not
imply
that
every text
will always
be familiar
to us
that will
immediately
go I
I get
what's
going on
here
there
there's
some
things
that
just
may seem
really
strange
I remember
as a little
boy
you know
reading
through
acts
and
you know
Paul
cutting
his hair
and taking
a vow
thinking
what's
up with
that
I was
puzzling
over that
for a
while
I think
I had
to ask
my dad
it just
seemed
really
strange
I didn't
know
what the
custom
was
what he
was doing
you know
you take
a vow
when you
cut your
hair
should have
gone back
to the
Nazarenes
I could
have done
it
if I
would have
stuck
with
scripture
a little
bit more
I could
have
probably
clarified
some
of these
things
but yeah
a lot
of it's
strange
and
God's
word
will not
simply
affirm
or confirm
all that
we already
intuitively
know
and feel
it will
radically
change
and challenge
our perspectives
and so
it may
at first
strike
at first
strike us
as a
very
alien
word
for it
does not
simply echo
our own
perspectives
and cultural
preoccupations
but this
does not
count
against
its
clarity
it simply
attests
to
our
conceptual
and moral
distance
from God
and our
desperate
need
to be
surprised
and corrected
and tuned
by it
yeah
some of
the strange
stuff
I remember
there was a
little boy
reading Isaiah
where it
talks about
all these
partiers
and revelers
and then
this is the
jaws
of hell
open up
and down
they go
to chants
of praise
to God
and to me
you know
I could smell
the sulfur
and it just
seems so
grisly
an image
and think
this is to
the praise
of the glory
of God
yep
to the praise
of his
justice
to the praise
of his
goodness
well just
because that
felt alien
you know
to a
six year
old
doesn't
mean
that the
scripture
is not
clear
it was
clear
about
that
it just
seemed
alien
I needed
to be
retuned
I needed
to adjust
my sensibilities
bring them
in line
with what
God revealed
for me
it was
for I am
a jealous
God
28 years
ago
I said
how could
God
feel
jealousy
is bad
that's right
and then I
had to be
straightened
out
that's right
you got
married
and you
thought
ooh
I know
what this
feels
like
this is
a good
thing
boundaries
in place
that's
right
yeah
indeed
its
strangeness
is
actually
part of
its
clarity
because
its
strangeness
again
is
clarifying
us
it has
a
clarifying
function
for us
to remove
our
cloudiness
so
it's not
an obstacle
to overcome
so
fourth
and
so
and
this one's
a really
important
insight
I mean
this is
really
helpful
to
me
clarity
does
not
imply
that
our
comprehension
is the
only
outcome
okay
we might
think
that if
it's
clear
that the
only
outcome
should
be my
comprehension
if I
don't
comprehend
you know
finally
that means
it wasn't
clear
no
clarity
does not
imply
that our
comprehension
is the
only
outcome
it is
not
the
sole
function
of God's
word
to bring
illumination
it also
at times
can operate
as an
instrument of
judgment
it was so
with God's
word spoken
to Isaiah
Isaiah 6
9-10
go
and tell
this
people
keep
on
listening
but do
not
perceive
keep
on
looking
but do
not
understand
render
the
hearts
of this
people
insensitive
their
ears
dull
their
eyes
dim
lest
they
see
with
their
eyes
hear
with
their
ears
understand
with
their
hearts
and
return
and be
healed
now
Jesus
took
this
very
passage
upon
his
lips
in
Mark
4
12
and
applied
it
to
how
his
words
Jesus'
words
functioned
for some
hearers
to the
hard
hearted
marked
by
unbelief
his
words
bring
judgment
they
produce
their
effect
not
being
understood
and
heeded
so
sometimes
the
words
function
it
functions
as
an
instrument
of
life
sometimes
they are
death
dealing
that is
they
seal
rebellion
that is
already
present
and culpably
present
they seal
a rebellion
that's
culpably
already
present
as Paul
would
write
of the
words
of the
gospel
in
2nd
corinthians
2 16
to
one
an
aroma
of
death
to
death
to
another
an
aroma
from
life
to
life
but
again
these
clear
life
giving
words
become
the
occasion
for
confusion
and
incomprehension
not
because the
words lack
clarity
or lack
light
but rather
because
the wicked
heart
preference
for darkness
and this is
the judgment
that the
light
has come
into the
world
but men
love
darkness
rather than
the light
for their
deeds
were evil
John 3
19
it's not
that it's
not light
the light
comes in
but the
light
ends up
being
judgmental
for all
that
that step
into the
turn their
back on
it and
step
into the
darkness
they want
to remain
in the
darkness
and the
word
was so
effectual
does that
make sense
I know it
sounds a
little odd
that sometimes
the aim
is not
really
comprehension
the aim
is to
seal
judgment
and the
word
is still
clear
and effectual
and finally
clarity
does not
imply
plenary
perspicuity
it doesn't
mean that
every last
bit of
scripture
is easy
to grasp
that
doesn't
imply
that
it's
neither
the case
nor the
claim
of clarity
that all
things in
scripture
are clear
in themselves
an
absolute
claim
we're not
making an
absolute
claim
that reformers
never were
an absolute
claim
leaving no
room for
real and
persistent
difficulty
with particular
passages
none of the
reformers ever
meant it that
way
no
clarity
affirm
that we
affirm
that the
reformers
affirmed
is not
the denial
that some
bits are
independently
obscure
it relates
to the
message
as a
whole
the
gospel
particularly
we are
able
to
grasp
all
that is
needed
to trust
and obey
to respond
to God
through his
word
in faith
and repentance
as we
have said
clarity
relates
to the
intended
effect
of God's
word
which is
salvific
and salvation
is a broad
category
you know
it's
sanctification
it's
salvific
rightly
understood
the
clarity
of
scripture
is not
so much
a category
of
epistemology
that is
like
knowing
things
but it's
a category
primarily
of
redemption
clarity
of
scripture
is
primarily
a
category
of
redemption
its
clarity
is
its
efficacy
its
efficacy
its
soteriological
efficacy
it is
able
to
save
to the
uttermost
as
the
Westminster
Confession
reads
or I
could
do it
in
these
quarters
as
the
London
Baptist
Confession
of
1689
reads
quote
all
things
in
scripture
are
not
alike
plain
in
themselves
nor
alike
clear
unto
all
yet
those
things
which
are
necessary
to be
known
believed
and observed
for
salvation
are
so
clearly
propounded
and opened
in some
place of
scripture
that not
only the
learned
but the
unlearned
in
due
use
of the
ordinary
means
may
attain
unto
a
sufficient
understanding
of
them
okay
did you
get that
it's a
good
expression
of the
doctrine
okay
let me
just read
it one
more
time
all
things
in
scripture
are
not
alike
plain
in
themselves
nor
alike
clear
unto
all
some
gifted
others
less
so
we
lean
on
each
other
it's
a
corporate
endeavor
yet
those
things
which
are
necessary
to be
known
believed
and observed
for
salvation
soteriological
primary
category
are
so
clearly
propounded
and opened
in some
place
in the
scripture
again
you might
find a
little bit
that's
difficult
but you
take
the
whole
thing
together
let
let the
clear
illuminate
the more
obscure
okay
in some
parts
of
scripture
some
places
in
scripture
that
not
only
the
learned
don't
need
to
have
all
of
these
degrees
for
the
word
to
be
effectual
to
you
not
only
the
learned
but
the
unlearned
in
due
use
of
the
ordinary
means
again
some
of
the
ordinary
means
when
they
say
unlearned
they're
not
talking
about
complete
illiterate
what
you can
read
to
you
this
is
why
the
reformers
always
were
hey
teach
everybody
to
be
able
to
read
the
scripture
that
was
one
of
the
earliest
laws
in the
books
in the
New
England
colonies
they
call it
the
Satan
spoiler
law
which
we're
going
to
teach
everybody
to
read
so
they
can
read
the
Bible
there
you
have
it
Satan
so
yes
so
this
is
a
good
expression
so
similarly
the
Irish
articles
of
religion
1615
although
there
be
some
hard
things
in
the
scriptures
yet
all
things
necessary
to
be
known
unto
everlasting
salvation
are
clearly
delivered
therein
and
nothing
of
that
kind
is
spoken
under
dark
mysteries
in
one
place
which
is
not
in
other
places
spoken
more
familiarly
and
plainly
to
the
capacity
both
of
the
learned
and
the
unlearned
so
you
kind
of
see
these
themes
we
could
go
down
through
all
the
Protestant
confessions
of
faith
and
we
have
that
so
in
conclusion
and
commission
simply
put
if you
go away
with just
one
two word
scripture
succeeds
scripture
succeeds
it is
functional
it's not
dysfunctional
scripture is
not
dysfunctional
it is
as we are
told in
2nd
10th
it is
profitable
it is
able
to
fully
equip
the
believer
and
supremely
able
to
make
us
wise
unto
salvation
it
comes
with
sufficient
clarity
for us
to
discern
its
meaning
and
to
respond
accordingly
as
Moses
told
the
people
of
God
in
reference
to
the
word
of
God
it
is
not
beyond
you
Deuteronomy
30
so
don't
despair
don't
despair
open it
up
you start
reading
oh it's
kind of
hard
cookies
aren't
always
on the
lowest
shelf
don't
despair
this
has
been
historically
the
Roman
Catholic
tendency
if
the
Bible
seems
daunting
and
impenetrable
don't
be
discouraged
go
for
it
what
God
has
revealed
is
for
you
Deuteronomy
29
read
it
read
it
says
Paul
to
Timothy
even
as a
youth
even
as a
very
young
man
through
scriptures
he had
become
convinced
that
is
he
formed
convictions
out
of
the
Bible
even
as
a
young
as
a
youth
okay
it
communicated
truth
clearly
and
Timothy
formed
convictions
and
convictions
aren't
possible
without
clarity
if
the
trumpet
give
an
uncertain
sound
who
shall
gather
for
the
battle
you
know
we
need
to have
a
pattern
in our
life
of
reading
and
reflecting
and
responding
to
scripture
back
the
augustans
catherine
of
siena
yeah
all of
them
I'm
despising
his
gifts
I'm
just
leaving
them
wrapped
under
the
Christmas
tree
no
open
it
up
take
about
you
know
it's
not
solo
scripture
me
and
the
Bible
it's
sola
scriptura
it means
something
different
we'll
talk
about
that
maybe
on
reformation
day
we'll
see
we need
to take
advantage
of the
community
of
faith
the
very
gifting
within
the
body
so
don't
despise
that
that's
the
times
of
Protestant
tendency
so
let's
approach
the
scriptures
with
confidence
concentration
and
community
for
God
has
something
to say
to us
and
we
need
to
hear
it
and
be
of
good
cheer
for
through
the
word
he
is
very
good
at
saying
it
and
we
need
to
hear
it
for
the
word
of
God
is
living
and
active
and
sharper
than
any
two
edged
sword
piercing
as
far
as
the
division
of
soul
and
spirit
both
joints
and
marrow
and
catch
this
next
word
don't
miss
it
able
the
scripture
is
able
to
judge
the
thoughts
and
intents
of
the
heart
Hebrews
4
12
we
went on
for a
long
time
okay
I'm
just
dying
this is
so
inspiring
yeah
we
got
no
I'm
not
talking
about
me
I'm
talking
about
this
next
thing
that I'm
about
to
read
okay
I won't
read
it
sometime
go back
and read
Martin
Luther's
preface
to his
Latin
works
where he
talks
about
his
breakthrough
and
you
could
say
the
reformation
under
the
sovereignty
of
God
came
as
a
result
of
the
insight
of
a
student
of
scripture
Martin
Luther
and
he
talks
about
how
he
come
to
this
place
in
Paul
and
says
good
news
wait
the
gospel
is
good
news
you've
just
told
me
then
in
the
next
word
that
the
wrath
of
God
abides
on
us
how
could
the
righteousness
of
God
that
you
announce
as
good
news
be
good
news
the
righteousness
of
God
good
news
you've
got to
be
kidding
me
that
means
your
inclination
as a
righteous
God
to judge
and punish
all those
who are
unrighteous
how can
that be
good
news
it's
just
not
clear
doggone
it
and
he
said
I
longed
to
understand
what
Paul
could
mean
that
the
righteousness
of
God
is
good
news
and
and I
he says
I
battered
at this
place
day
and night
seeking
with prayers
and tears
to understand
what the
apostle
could
mean
it goes
on
I mean
he worked
hard at
this
and he
said
and then
I
perceived
and it's
just a
wonderful
little bit
it clarifies
this gospel
that
I can't
go into it
now but
it's just
wonderful
and he
said
it was
as if
the
gates
of
paradise
opened
before
me
everything
the whole
face of
scripture
changed
for me
I read
that in
his commentary
to Romans
well
it's often
put there
he makes
a reference
to it
but
actually
he wrote
that
in his
preface
to his
Latin
works
so
but it
is commenting
on Romans
so that's
if you
find it
I should
stop
I've
gone
a long
long
time
comments
questions
sorry
sometimes
just
gets
to
yes
what
occurs
to me
as you
speaking
is the
current
social
and
political
research
known as
confirmation
bias
so we
as human
beings
accept
ourselves
from
opinion
we kind
of bond
to it
yeah
adding
new
information
the facts
that are
presented
to us
we undervalue
the ways
that contradict
our opinion
yep
and
hold
tight
to
yes
excellent
so it's
just like
human
even
aside
from
scripture
any
truth
yeah
we
tend
to
reject
if it
contradicts
because we
want that
comfort
yeah
exactly
yeah
just having
our opinion
be
correct
yeah
and so it
gets worse
some of the
research most
recently
when they
they took
a chart
and it
was
and they
gave it
to thousands
of people
okay
and it
was
what is
the effect
of
using
ointment
on itchiness
of your skin
just a simple
graph
the more ointment
less itch
easy
you know
just
just one
thing
and everybody
understood it
and they
took the
exact
same
graph
the exact
same
graph
just
changed
the title
just
what is
this graph
of
it's a
relation
of gun
control
to gun
violence
and
boom
the
interpretations
were completely
polarized
depending upon
your political
background
confirmation
bias
man sees
what he
wants to
see
and disregards
the rest
but here's
the kicker
that ought to
be really
scary in a
room like
this
as I'm
looking
around
the more
education
you had
the more
you were
able to
rationalize
your view
and take
reality
and twist
it
and tug
it
way
far
away
from
what
it
said
so we
are
particularly
those
those who
among us
who might
be learned
or skilled
or gifted
we have
an even
greater
propensity
to just
twist the
truth
so we
need to
be
really
careful
about
that
now
one of
the
ways
is
what
challenges
my
hardened
heart
the
scriptures
supremely
this was
that last
verse
dividing
sharp
two-edged
sword
laying
bare
that
and
then
one
another
I
try to
find
as many
thoughtful
people
that I
can
who
disagree
with me
most
vehemently
and I
try to be
with them
as much
of the
time
as I
can
who
think
my
views
are
absolutely
absurd
that's
why I
hang out
with
Raul
every
once
in a
while
he
thinks
my
views
are
absolutely
absurd
and
it
hopefully
challenges
so
if we
use
some
of
the
gifts
God
knows
that
we're
that
way
he
remembers
that
we're
but
dust
so
he
gives
us
each
other
to
challenge
and
help
us
yeah
all right
team we
should probably
call it
yeah
thank you
next
we're I
think we're
on again
next week
I think
it's
Tom
you guys
are in
luck
stop