Dear Saints of Grace congregation,
When it comes to anything happening in the future, the inclination of the natural (old Man) is to take things for granted. The old Man assumes that things will take place according to the plans that he(the Old Man)makes. The old Man expects things to be carried out - without the consideration of God's will, namely, because the old Man wants nothing to do with God - and the old Man ever strives to survive; also desiring power & control.
So when it comes to anything happening in the future, what should be the understanding of God's believing/baptized children? God speaks on this through His Holy Scriptures as He inspires James, the brother of Jesus, to write in his Epistle:
13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
~ James 4:13-16
(NKJV, emphasis mine)
God also speaks to the truth of how things play out for man's plans in this world, when He proclaims:
A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
~ Proverbs 16:9
(NKJV, emphasis mine)
Making plans certainly isn't out of the question. However, expecting that specific plans will take place (because we have made them), that, is boastful and arrogant (and is even considered evil, as God proclaims in James). Why is it evil to be of such a mindset? Because such a mindset (an old Man, focused-on-self, mindset) rejects God as the determiner (or Creator).
In fact, such an old Man, focused-on-self, mindset places the natural, base will of man directly up against the will of God. It (not surprisingly) disregards the Third Petition of the Lord's Prayer (which prays, "Thy will be done.").
As we Lutherans believe, teach, and confess, "How is God's will done? God's will is done when He break and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want to hallow His name or let His kingdom come; and When He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will."
The old Man, focused-on-self, mindset is called arrogant, boasting, and evil by God because, ultimately, it is unbelief!
So when speaking of future 'plans' of any kind - may all of us (saints of Grace) receive the renewing of our minds by the power of God's Holy Scripture, and, by faith alone, not speak in such a way as to 'expect' plans to be carried out without the consideration of God's will. May God keeps us firm in His Word and faith just as He does when He brings His inspired words through James to our minds, to be confessed by our lips, when making any plans, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
With you IN Christ!
___________________________
"The Inspired and Inerrant Word of God in
the English Language"
Part 9
Geneva, Switzerland became a place of refuge for the Protestants who fled England after the resolute Roman Catholic Mary Tudor became Queen of England. These Protestants are also referred to as the beginning of the Puritan movement. One of these men was William Whittingham, who became the senior pastor of the English church in Geneva. He translated the New Testament himself (published 1557) and helped coordinate the translation of the Psalms(1559) and the Old Testament. The complete Bible was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth in 1560.
At least 80% of the words were taken from Tyndale's translation. Intended for private study, the Geneva Bible was the first English Bible to adopt verse numbers. The bias of the Puritans was evident. They did not like the continued use of vestments for the clergy or use of the Crucifix in the English Church. The Puritans did not approve of the 'Book of Common Prayer'. Margin notes added to the Geneva Bible were highly biased, many were against the monarchy, were anti-episcopal, and promoted such doctrines as millennialism. This bias offended those with different views and led to a ban on margin notes when the King James Bible was written.
Because the language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous, this translation become enormously popular, and was published in more than seventy editions between 1560 and 1640. This Bible became the Bible of the puritan faction and was the Bible brought to America by the Puritans on the Mayflower. It was the first to be published in Scotland and was dedicated to King James VI, also known to us as King James I of England. Published by the King's printer, this Bible was not admired by King James. He turned against it because of the annotations, some of which he determined to be subversive of the royal authority. The anti-episcopal notes also displeased the Bishops and in 1568, a revised version of the Great Bible was published.
Due to the large number of bishops on the revision committee, it is know as the Bishops Bible. The plain English of Tyndale was discarded and though the Bishops Bible aspired to be dignified and majestic, it failed on clarity and the scholarship was poor. The popularity of the Geneva Bible distressed both the Roman Catholic and Anglican Bishops. Though the Roman Catholic Church had still not acknowkedged the right of the laity to read the Bible, there was a practical need for an antidote to the Geneva Bible. The Douai-Reims Bible was translated first at the English college in Douai but the College moved to Reims, where it was completed.
The New Testament was published in 1592 and the Old Testament was finally published in 1610. Taken from the Vulgate, it is clear that the Greek was consulted on the New Testament.
In the second half of the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth presided over a church that was increasingly divided with the Puritans on one side and the Bishops on the other. This was the reality that King James I faced when he succeeded Elizabeth to the throne of England in 1603.
Note: This article continues the book report from the work of Gordon Campbell entitled, "Bible, The Story of the King James Version."
Submitted by George Melke, Lay member, Grace Lutheran Church, San Mateo, CA
