Broadlands Bible Church
September 28, 2022
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Thesis: There is such a thing as a legitimate, but limited, "understanding"; but, it is a governed reality.
Introduction: We are studying the issue of developing a biblical
perspective because it is absolutely crucial to legitimate understanding. Involved in this matter of perspective are these factors: 1) God loves us to the degree of the sacrifice of His own beloved Son; 2) God is and has spoken (thus we have a "Bible"); 3) Man is a creature of eternity (there is no exit from existence); 4) Man's quality of experience while he exists forever is tied to external factors as they exist in a cause-and-effect universe (actions/reactions of both the individual and his/her associates); and 5) Man's quality of experience while he exists forever is also tied to internal factors in this cause-and-effect universe (what he values -- i.e., what he "loves" -- and what he believes -- i.e., what he considers truth-in-the-pursuit of his values).
This evening I want to pursue the claim that "perspective" is absolutely crucial to legitimate understanding. I want to do this by taking a page out of our studies in the Gospel of Mark.
- I. First, A Dominating Reality Over All "Understanding".
- A. In multiple places in the Bible the declaration that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" is made.
- B. This declaration is so fundamental that it has become a "proverb" in biblical revelation.
- II. Second, The Record Of Mark Contains A Large Segment Within It That Twice Proclaims That The Disciples Did Not Understand What Their Experiences Were Telling Them.
- A. That it is a unified segment is revealed by how Mark put chapters six through eight together.
- B. In that segment, there is a key issue of critical "understanding" involved that is put forth in 4:41; 6:14-16; and 8:27-29.
- 1. The answer to this "identity" issue is, according to Jesus in John 8:24, that if a person gets this "wrong", his/her eternity is sealed in destructive experiences without end.
- 2. And, even though Peter's "identification of Jesus" in 8:29 is "proper" it is significantly compromised.
- C. Under Mark's contention that this is an issue of critical understanding, we read twice that the disciples were not "getting it" because of a value system that was out of whack (this is called "having a hardened heart", and it can be deadly).
- 1. Mark 6:51-52.
- a. In 6:49 these disciples actively suppose that Jesus is a "phantasm" (a demonic spirit bent upon their destruction).
- b. This is only different in degree from the accusation of the scribes in 3:22 that Jesus is in cahoots with Satan.
- 2. Mark 8:17-21.
- a. In this case the disciples are so "off target" that they cannot even reason properly.
- b. And the follow up to this situation is the record of the "blind man" whom Jesus healed in two efforts.
