Discipleship Letters 99-100

Discipleship Letter 99                                                August 15^th, 2010

In defense of himself before the young emperor, Charles V, in the early evening of April 18, 1521, Martin Luther said, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason…I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience” [Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. 2^nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), p. 154.]. Luther’s conscience was captive to the Word of God.

Today not too many people embrace Scripture in such a high regard. All of us say that Scripture is God’s Word—divine revelation. But we don’t have such a high view of Scripture, and let the Scripture become our measuring rod. In this technological age, we know almost about everything. However, we almost know nothing about Scripture.

“You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!” (Jn. 5:39). We rarely search Scripture; we merely read it, skim through it, and take a look at it. We should search Scripture, and let Scripture searches our conscience. Our conscience says yes to one thing; God’s word says no to our conscience. We then learn to say no to that thing. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts” (Ps. 139:23). It has something to do with searching and knowing Scripture.

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Discipleship Letter 100                                              August 22^nd, 2010

In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin said, “The knowledge of God, as I understand it, is that by which we not only conceive that there is a God but also grasp what befits us and is proper to his glory…Indeed, we shall not say that, properly speaking, God is known where there is no religion or piety” (I. ii.1).

There is no knowledge of God if there is no piety of people. God can’t be known if He is not approached by people with reverence, honor, devotion, and delight. In Christian theology, the knowledge of God is not mere rational knowledge, but relational knowledge. He is someone whom we can know and relate to. He can be known because He reveals Himself to us through Christ; we can relate to Him due to the mediation and indwelling of the Spirit. He is the God who can freely demand on His people; we, as His people, have freedom to respond to His calls. But any response requires some sense of devotion and delight.

“For until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by his fatherly care, that he is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond him—they will never yield him willing service” (I.ii.2).

In our age, we need Christians who have rational knowledge (e.g. biblical, theological, and cultural knowledge) as well as relational knowledge (e.g. personal piety, high moral standard, and willing service).