Guardian Angels, part 1

Pastor Wesley Grubb • Jun 01, 2023

Three Steps of Studying the Bible

Do you believe in guardian angels? If the most recent figures are still somewhat reliable today, most Americans do. ABC News reported the results of a 2008 poll conducted by Baylor University on this question. The results showed that 55 percent of Americans across the board believe in guardian angels, including 20 percent of those who say they are non-religious. What do you think? Are guardian angels real? How would you try to find out? As Bible-believing Christians, the first place we should turn is Scripture. We know God’s word has the answers, but how should we use the Bible when searching for those answers? In this article, I want to give some directions on how to study the Bible, and in the next article I will show you how it works in practice by applying these directions to the topic of guardian angels. So here are three steps to studying the Bible.

When investigating any question that you have about what to believe, the first thing you should look for in Scripture is this: Is there any direct teaching in the Bible on this topic? “Direct teaching” means you can open your Bible to a specific chapter or section that explicitly discusses that topic. You are looking for more than a verse or two with an offhand comment; you want at least a full paragraph where the author directly engages the topic. For example, you will not find any direct teaching in the Bible on the doctrine of the Trinity. You cannot open your Bible to a specific place that says, “Okay guys, now let me tell you about the Trinity. Get ready for some tricky math!” However, you will find direct teaching in the Bible about the doctrine of justification by faith. For instance, go read Romans chapter 4.

After researching the direct teaching, or if there is no direct teaching that addresses your question, you move on to the next step: Is there any indirect teaching in the Bible on this topic? “Indirect teaching” means you can open your Bible to a specific verse where something related to the topic is explicitly said but isn’t the focus of the passage. At this point you are looking for offhand comments and side references. For example, in 1 Timothy chapter 2, while Paul is directly teaching on how we should conduct ourselves in church, he mentions that Jesus died as a ransom for all and that he (Paul) was appointed as an apostle to preach that message to the Gentiles (verses 6-7). The death of Christ and Paul’s apostleship are not the subject matter under discussion in 1 Timothy 2, which means Paul is not giving direct teaching on those topics there. However, what he says in these offhand comments is extremely valuable because he is giving us important information that is related to those other topics. This is indirect teaching about a topic in the middle of direct teaching about a different topic.

It is crucial to keep in mind that both direct teaching and indirect teaching involve explicit statements about the question or topic you are investigating. “Explicit” means the biblical author clearly has your topic in mind and says something about it, either by name, by synonym, or by referring to the general concept. For instance, consider the topic of the final judgment. The final judgment is explicitly mentioned by name in Revelation 20:11-15; it is explicitly mentioned by synonym in Romans 2:6; and the general concept is explicitly referred to in Hebrews 4:13. In these places, you will find both direct and indirect teaching on the final judgment because that topic is explicitly in the author’s mind, and he means to tell you something about it in the text.

After you have searched out the indirect teaching, or if there is no indirect teaching, it’s time for step three: Is there any implicit teaching in the Bible on this topic? “Implicit teaching” means you can open your Bible to passages that may not say anything explicit about the topic, but what it does say has certain implications about the topic. The Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 says that Scripture teaches not only what it explicitly says, but also what it logically implies. In this step, you are looking for evidence that can be used to draw out the Bible’s implied answer to your question. For example, the New Testament never addresses, directly or indirectly, the question of infant baptism. That means infant baptism is not explicitly taught in Scripture, nor is it explicitly denied. So if the doctrine is really biblical, it must be an implicit teaching. The question is: Is there any evidence that implies the biblical authors held such a belief even though they never explicitly mention it? Yes, there is. Infant baptism is deduced from Scripture based on what the Bible says about household baptisms, the covenant, the church, the kingdom of heaven, children of believers, and the Christian family. Direct and indirect teaching on all these topics is the evidence that leads to the implicit teaching of infant baptism.

These are the three big steps of sound Bible study. This is how we bring our theology in line with the teaching of Jesus and his apostles and develop it in ways they would approve. We construct our doctrines and beliefs based primarily on what the Bible teaches—directly, indirectly, and implicitly. In the next article, we will apply these directions to the topic of guardian angels. But you don’t have to wait till then to find out. Grab your Bible, use these steps to study the topic for yourself, and next month we will compare our answers. Let’s go study!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Wesley

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A "One Another" Church

By Wesley Grubb • 01 May, 2024

Thirty-five years ago, in April of 1989, my parents became Christians. They were in their late 20s, and I was only two years old (I turned three that December). They were led to the Lord by a team of door-to-door evangelists from a tiny local church in our hometown. After my parents were saved, that door-to-door team invited them to church and made sure they had a place to belong. Mom and dad made great friends and built relationships that have lasted to this day, all these years later. Once mom and dad found their place in the church, they had the opportunity to help others find a place. That small, country church in the tiny town of Denton, NC, felt like a genuine family. People loved each other, spent time with each other during the week, raised their families together, worshiped the Lord passionately, prayed fervently, were hungry for God’s word, shared their faith, and continued doing what they did best—being the warmest, kindest, most welcoming congregation in town. By the time I was in high school, the church had built a new facility, launched two Sunday services, and at its height reached 500 members. Not bad for a town of twelve hundred! There is no magic formula for growing a big church, and there is no guarantee that every church that does what my old home church did will see the same results. God is in charge of the growth of our church. The numbers are up to him, but obedience is up to us. Being a “one another” church like my old home church is not a magic formula; it is the normal expectation of every local church, regardless of its size. If we are the body of Christ, if we are brothers and sisters in the Lord, if we are truly members together in the family of God—then our Christian lives ought to reflect that reality outside of Sunday and outside the walls of our building. We are called to be a genuine family that cares for one another and shows up to support the church. If we all strive more and more to be a congregation that worships passionately, prays fervently, studies the Scriptures deeply, and loves each other selflessly, we will truly be the kind of church that is situated perfectly to receive the outpouring of God’s blessings. We will absolutely grow spiritually, and, God willing, we will be ripe to grow numerically as well. I will never forget one time as a teenager something the pastor of my old home church said. He and I, along with some others from the church, went to lunch at a local restaurant. As we were eating, a man came up to the table who knew someone in our group named Rick. Rick said, “Hey, I would like to introduce you to my minister. This is Charles.” Pastor Charles then said to the guy, “Hey, I would like you to meet Rick; he’s my minister.” Charles wanted the whole church to have that mindset: he was the pastor, but every member is a minister. In Ephesians 4:12, Paul teaches that every church member should be equipped to do the work of ministry and build up the body of Christ. I might be the pastor, but all of us are ministers. We are called to be a “one another” church. I challenge you to give serious thought to how you can join us in this biblical vision for the Forks. Let us walk in obedience to the Lord and watch how he blesses. Grace and peace, Pastor Wesley

A Time for Feasting

By Wesley Grubb • 01 Apr, 2024

With the coming of Spring, the church enters into the joyous season of Easter. During Lent, we traditionally practice the discipline of self-denial. We give up something for Lent. This is an act of fasting for forty days. Easter is the mirror opposite of Lent. Just as we give up something for Lent, we are encouraged to take up something for Easter. Lent is about fasting, but Easter is about feasting. Easter is a forty-day period of celebration and rejoicing. The church greets the new life of Spring bursting forth in the earth by commemorating the glorious morning when our Lord burst forth from his tomb, bringing us eternal life. Here is how the apostle Paul says it: [God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9-10). Here we have the meaning of Easter encapsulated. These are the things we celebrate, and all of them were accomplished and secured for us by Jesus on that first Easter through his resurrection. Our whole salvation is a sovereign work of God . It is not based on our holiness, our works, our purposes, or our merits. We are saved only by God’s purpose and grace, which he ordained to give us in eternity past. God saves us first, and then he calls us to live a holy life. And the way we obtain these gifts is only in union with Christ Jesus in his death and resurrection. As Paul says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. . . . So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:4, 5, 11). Our ultimate salvation is rescue from death . Being saved means achieving immortality. God’s sovereign purpose and saving grace, which he prepared in eternity and revealed in history, are intended to do for us one day what he did for Jesus on Easter. The symbol of our salvation is not only the cross, but the empty tomb. In his resurrection, Jesus abolished our death and brought us life. Paul says, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11). Easter is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection in the past and the anticipation of our own resurrection in the future. This is why we take up something for Lent. We do something joyful for others that promotes flourishing and well-being. We add something to our lives that brings more life to ourselves and others. More life, unending life, abundant life—that is what we celebrate, and we give Jesus all the glory. What will you take up this Easter that is life-giving? Make it your aim this Easter to be the kind of person who brings life and joy to the people around you. He is risen! Grace and peace, Pastor Wesley