“Can you explain the Bible to me?”

Steve Brown:
Can you explain the Bible to me? The answer to that and other questions, on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
If you think laughter isn’t spiritual or that faithfulness to God means conformity to Christian stereotypes, then this program probably isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for honest, Biblical answers to honest questions, welcome to Key Life. Here’s our host, author, and seminary professor Steve Brown, along with Pete Alwinson from ForgeBibleStudy.com.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. In ten words or less

Pete Alwinson:
In ten words or less, I love it.

Steve Brown:
That teaser for if you didn’t hear it, was can you explain the Bible to me? The question is a little bit more nuanced than that. So, no, we can’t, frankly, but we can answer the question and we will as we get to it. And that was Pete Alwinson, by the way, and he comes in on Fridays and we share the guilt. He’s been coming in for a long time and we both look forward to this time on Friday when we spend the whole broadcast answering questions. And we love your questions. You can call 1-800-KEY-LIFE, 24 7, and follow instructions, record your question. And sometimes we put your voice on the air. And by the way, don’t preach. Pete and I are the preachers, you’re not. And we get people that are trying to prove things on that. I mean, we’re into that, and we listen to you. But it’d be better if you answered a question and you’d have a better shot of getting on the air, but that’s open 24 7. You can write to

Key Life Network
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or you can e-mail us at [email protected]. Keylife.org is our website, and by the way, Pete’s website for that ministry, it’s ForgeTruth.com and you ought to check out both of them quite often. Hey, by the way, when you write us, if you could put a gift in your envelope or charge a gift, we would rise up and call you blessed. Most people are not able to help us financially, so when you do you help other. So, be as generous as you can if you can, and if you can’t, we understand. Pete, why don’t you lead us in prayer and we’ll get to some of these questions.

Pete Alwinson:
All right. Father, we come to you on this Friday grateful that we can come into your presence. Lord, we look back on this week and we realize some, that you have been at work all the time, and we praise you as being the God who is all powerful, all knowing, and all present in our lives. And so, we give you praise. You’re the glorious God of the universe, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You’re merciful and kind and patient with us. And Lord, we just ask that you would continue to do your great work in our lives. Help us to know you more. Set us freer and freer by the gospel of grace everyday. Father, this week-end, we look forward to being with your people, and we ask that you would empower in a strong way by your Spirit, our pastors and priests and teachers and leaders and worship directors, and Lord, all those that will stand in front of us and lead us into your presence. Finish their preparation, Lord well, and use them to draw us closer and closer to you. We give you praise. And even in this time of Q&A we ask you would use it for your honor and glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Steve Brown:
Amen. Hey Pete, let’s go to our phone lines.

Caller 1:
The Bible is the word of God, right? It seems to me that it’s the biography of the human race, and at the same time the autobiography of Jesus Christ. Is that possible?

Steve Brown:
That’s kind of a profound question. And a good question too. There is a sense in which it’s the biography of the human race, isn’t it?

Pete Alwinson:
Absolutely. I think it does in macro.

Steve Brown:
Yeah, it does. If you want to know who human beings really are, are they wonderful and good, making a few mistakes, or is the heart deceitful above all things and desperately corrupt. The Bible is your place to go. If you wanna see how human beings act, then the Bible is a good place to go. God doesn’t pull any punches.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s right. That’s right.

Steve Brown:
I mean, there is, it’s hard to find somebody with a halo over their head in the Bible because God tells you about their sin and their faithfulness. So yeah, in that sense it is, but in a deeper and more profound sense, it would be the autobiography of Jesus. Talk about that.

Pete Alwinson:
From the very beginning, even Genesis 3:15. So, we have that macro meta-narrative that the Bible lays out of where we came from, how it got bad and that Jesus is the answer, from Genesis 3:15 on, all the way.

Steve Brown:
And then Jesus, he wrote it all. You know, it’s very clear that the word became flesh, but before the Word became flesh, the Word wrote the Scriptures also.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s right.

Steve Brown:
So, in a sense it is autobiographical, isn’t it?

Pete Alwinson:
Yeah, yeah. It really is. If you’re looking for the comprehensive history of civilization, no, but in the big picture, yes. It is every person’s biography. We are wrapped up because we’re connected to Adam

Steve Brown:
that’s true.

Pete Alwinson:
and his Fall. And we can be connected to Jesus and his restoration.

Steve Brown:
Yeah. You and I both have a friend named Bryan Chapell, who’s a scholar and a former president of a seminary, pastor. And I’ve made required reading his book on preaching for my students. And one of the things that he says in his book on preaching is that every text you read is about Jesus. And so, a part of the problem of dealing with any text in the Bible is to make sure that you lift up Christ, that he’s honored and glorified in the preaching of that particular text.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s so powerful and for our people to understand that they ought to be getting not moralistic teaching from the Bible, but a message that ultimately connects with Jesus and his work. And the difference that makes in our life. So, that’s a powerful thing you just said because it’s so easy for us as pastors to just get more holistic

Steve Brown:
I know

Pete Alwinson:
and not look for Jesus in the text.

Steve Brown:
And he’s there.

Pete Alwinson:
He’s there.

Steve Brown:
Okay.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s good.

Steve Brown:
This is an e-mail, Pete, why are people who call themselves reformed so arrogant and rude most of the time?

Pete Alwinson:
Well, first, let me

Steve Brown:
First, they’re not

Pete Alwinson:
let me. Okay. Alright. Well, I’m just going to say, say I think that’s probably true of you, but not of me.

Steve Brown:
You know, there is a sense, the reformed faith and Pete and I are both Calvinists. We’re both reformed. We both accept Westminster Confession of Faith as a pretty good statement of what the Scripture teaches. But most reformed people are fairly heady, more than emotional. They write theology books by the thousands. We have a heritage, that’s the gift that we bring to the family. And sometimes we forget that it’s a gift. And we become arrogant and rude. Pete and I were just talking, we were talking about this question before we came on the air we decided that that’s changing, with people that we know in so many places. There is, and a lot of preaching on it too. A lot of Calvinist preachers are calling their congregations to repent of the rudeness that sometimes is present, it’s an intellectual arrogance. And we’re seeing repentance, we’re seeing change in a lot of places. And then we got a few that are turkeys, but you guys too. You ever meet a mean Baptist?

Pete Alwinson:
Boy, once they find out I’m a Presbyterian. You bet. You know

Steve Brown:
or a mean Lutheran, or a mean Episcopalian.

Pete Alwinson:
I’ve met a lot of mean, mean pagans too. So, you know, Steve, one thing I think you’re right by the preaching of grace, and you’ve been a big part of this in my lifetime, it has taken the edges off of that self-righteousness and arrogance.

Steve Brown:
It really has.

Pete Alwinson:
You’ve influenced generations of ministers. So, that’s a great thing. I think the other thing for me, cause I was raised in a very staunch conservative Baptistic background. And when I really came to, stumbled upon the reformed faith in seminary and not a reformed seminary, it was like my eyes open to truth that was wonderful, that helped me understand a lot of things that I didn’t understand before. And maybe I got a little arrogant, but I more felt like I was set free. So, I think that’s, some guys do that and if they get set free and they’re enthusiastic about it and they may belittle other people unnecessarily.

Steve Brown:
You know, Pete, there’s a sense in which our DNA plays in that, you are just not, you are winsome guy, you really are, and you’ve always been, that doesn’t mean you don’t get angry, it doesn’t mean you don’t get rude or mean, but at your heart, that’s a part of your DNA you’re just not that kind of guy.

Pete Alwinson:
You’re saying, I’m a people pleaser and want everybody to like

Steve Brown:
No, you’re a people person and it’s a lot different, but I think that some people who have DNA that’s different from yours, they have kind of the DNA that’s judgmental and angry. And they have their underwear on too tight, that those people are attracted sometimes to a heady theological kind of thing, and it is not good for anybody in the family.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s a good, that’s a good answer too. I really think that is, and so that, that’s, if you love the intellectualism of the reformed faith. You’ve check your heart quickly, otherwise you could become that mean and nasty reformed guy.

Steve Brown:
Now, we’ve been talking about family matters here. And it needs to be talked about and addressed, but pagans are not pristine pure, that’s the meanest bunch on the face of the earth.

Pete Alwinson:
Oh man. And we’ve seen it in the last couple of years haven’t we?

Steve Brown:
You think Calvinists are mean, man, you ought to go to a pagan who just canceled you. And gave you one chance and you blew it and it’s over and forever.

Pete Alwinson:
I know. And it’s, and it’s very moralistic.

Steve Brown:
Oh, it is.

Pete Alwinson:
It’s very self righteous. And there’s, we have lost a bit of that debate that we used to have a more liberal debate. Now we have a leftist rightish conflict.

Steve Brown:
It really is, it’s a third world war and it’s pretty scary. And if you think reformed people are mean, just look around you, man. Listen, we are Sunday school teachers compared to them.

Pete Alwinson:
I know. Steve, I’m going to say this and then we’ll move on. We were hiking up a mountain in Colorado, I think it was 2020 and we didn’t have a mask on and we got yelled at in the back country of Colorado.

Steve Brown:
I’ll tell you, some people nevermind because you can’t criticize self-righteousness without being self-righteous. So, it’s best I just shut up. And not be and be my normal, nice, wonderful self. We’ve got to go. Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.