Guardian Angels, part 2

Pastor Wesley Grubb • Jul 01, 2023

Three Steps of Studying the Bible (Part 2)

In last month’s article we covered the three basic steps of sound Bible study. Following these steps is how we study the Bible inductively. Inductive Bible study is the process of building up your theology passage by passage, one doctrine at a time. The opposite approach is to start with your theology and then sort the passages according to the doctrinal categories that you bring to the text. In reality, each of us always brings some of our theology to the text. There is no such thing as a “blank slate” Bible reader. We all have to start somewhere, and our different starting points are determined by our preexisting beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, intuitions, and mindset. These things are called presuppositions, and we carry them with us in everything we do. Our presuppositions are always running in the background, like software on your computer. They tell us how to filter, process, experience, and interpret all of life.

This is no less true when we study the Bible. We all have presuppositions about the Bible, about God, about Jesus, and so on. In other words, we all have a personal theology running in the background as we try to read the Bible, whether we realize it or not. The most important thing we can do as Bible readers is become keenly aware of our presuppositions and test them for consistency against the Bible itself. How do you do that? Inductive Bible study. Bringing our theology to the Bible is unavoidable, but that is only a bad thing if our theology is bad. So we have to challenge and change our theology as needed in order to bring our thinking more and more in line with the Bible. The three basic steps of inductive Bible study are designed to help us interrogate our presuppositions, discarding falsehoods and building up more biblical beliefs.

So what does the Bible teach about guardian angels? We need to begin with a definition so that we know what we are looking for. Guardian angels are heavenly beings assigned by God to care for, protect, and guide each individual person. We all have presuppositions about guardian angels, whether we realize it or not, but are they consistent with Scripture? Using the three steps, let’s find out.

The first step is easy. There is no direct teaching in the Bible on this topic. What about step two, indirect teaching? Remember that indirect teaching involves explicit statements and references that allude to the topic without discussing it at length, usually in a context where some other topic is being directly discussed. These explicit allusions come in three forms: we are looking for any place in Scripture that refers to guardian angels by name; by synonym; or by the general concept. Now, there are no verses that refer to guardian angels by name; however, some passages seem to refer to guardian angels by synonym and concept.

The two clearest passages that seem to refer to guardian angels by synonym are in the Psalms. Psalm 91:11 says God “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Angels that God sends to guard you wherever you go—sure sounds like guardian angels. Psalm 34:7 says the “angle of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.” That also sounds like a guardian angel. But do these verses say that everyone is assigned one of these angelic protectors? Were these angels only assigned to a particular person or group in the past for some special purpose that only applied to them? Was the assignment for a limited time only? Was it only for Israelites? Does this apply to all people today? It isn’t clear.

Other passages are suggestive of the concept of guardian angels but not conclusive. Matthew 18:10 mentions angels that belong to “little ones,” meaning humble Christians. Acts 12:15 mentions Peter’s angel but without further comment. Daniel 12:1 names the angel Michael as the protector or guardian of Israel but says nothing about guarding individuals. Genesis 48:15-16 refers to the angel who helped rescue Jacob from evil, and Genesis 24:7 and 40 speak of an angel who will temporarily help Abraham’s servant find a wife for his son Isaac. Hebrews 1:14 describes angels as spirits that God sends to minister to his people. Finally, Job 5:1 and 33:23-24 refer to angels or “holy ones” who may intervene on a person’s behalf to save them from death.

As you can see, the indirect teaching is very slim, and all the passages are debatable. What about step three? Is there any implicit teaching we can draw from these or any other statements or teachings in the Bible? In my opinion, it is very difficult to infer or deduce any sure conclusions from these texts that logically implies the doctrine of guardian angels as we have defined it above. My conclusion is this: I think it is clear from these biblical passages that God uses his angels to serve and protect his people in various ways, and I think we should expect that God may send an angel to guard us or intervene in our behalf at various moments in our lives. In that sense, yes, the Bible does teach that there are guardian angels. However, the Bible does not seem to teach that every individual is assigned a specific angel as his or her special guardian. That belief is not taught in Scripture, either directly, indirectly, or implicitly. But what do you think?

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