Embarrassment

Sola Scriptura

This is October. While this month may first cause you to think of autumn, pumpkins, and costumes, this is also Reformation month. The Protestant Reformation is a period of history marked by profound changes in religious belief in Europe and ultimately throughout the known world. Our modern world was made possible, in many ways, by the reformation. The reformation was a movement, so it is far broader than any one specific event. But, historically, the start of the reformation has been linked with when the German monk, Martin Luther, nailed 95 theses (questions for discussion and debate) to the church door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.

During the Reformation the main point of distinction between the established church and the reformers was about justification. Are sinners justified by faith alone? Or are sinners justified by faith and merit? But this question originated from an even more fundamental principle. That principle is that spiritual truth is contained solely in divine revelation and that revelation has finally and infallibly been given to us in the Scripture alone.

So, today, I want to think about one of the arguments for the veracity of the Scripture. How do we know that the Bible is true? First, the Bible is self attesting because it is the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23). In addition, the Bible is both historically and prophetically accurate. However, today, I want to consider the criterion of embarrassment as strong evidence to the reliability of the Scripture.

Criterion of Embarrassment

Simply put, the criterion of Embarrassment means that the authors of the Scriptura would not have fabricated stories that made the primary figures, their families or themselves look silly, stupid, or faithless. One objection to this criterion might be that the authors knew that to make the fables convincing the audiences would need to see some flaws and foibles. These flaws also give the occasion of the main character in all the Scripture, God, to shine all the brighter. Such things as when Abraham (Genesis 20) and later Isaac (Genesis 26) lie about their wives being their sisters to save their own skin. In these cases maybe some people would argue that the embarrassing details about Abraham and Isaac are needed to show God’s mercy. But notice that argument does not mean that the Bible is inaccurate, but rather only explains why God may have had it recorded.

But I would like to give us two examples from the Bible of embarrassing details that lend validity to the reliability of the sacred text. The first example is taken from the books written by Moses. In Genesis 34:30, Moses records that Simeon and Levi are chastised by the patriarch Jacob because of their revenge on the city of Shechem (Genesis 34). I won’t recount the story here but it is important to understand that Moses is himself a descendant of Levi. It is not in Moses' interest to record a failure by his ancestor. Remember that in their culture so much honor was ascribed to being a part of their tribe. Moses would not have included such a condemnable offense if it were not true.

The second example that I want to appeal to is that of the unbelief of even the disciples even after the resurrection. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives the disciples the instructions that we commonly call “The Great Commission” but in the immediately preceding verse (17) the text states that they worshiped Him, but some doubted. Usually when stories are retold the sense of surety among the characters grows stronger not weaker. However, the Apostles themselves recorded the embarrassing truth because it was the truth.

The point is simply this, the Reformers got the gospel right because they had settled in their hearts the matter of revelation. Have you settled in your heart to trust God? Trusting God means trusting what He has revealed in the Bible, His holy word. If you are struggling to understand God’s holy character, harsh judgment against sin, gracious forgiveness in Christ and amazing hope filled promises it all starts with trusting His Word!

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