Chapter and Verse Divisions

It is obvious to anyone who has ever cracked open a Bible that the inspired text is divided into chapters and verses. Sometimes, there are even paragraph divisions with titles and subtitles. Many Bibles contain commentary, scripture references, notes from the publisher, descriptions of books, character biographies, and so on.

What is less obvious is the fact that the biblical text wasn't always divided in this manner. There was a time when the 66 books of the Bible were structured as free-flowing letters, or epistles. No big number "2" to indicate the end of chapter one and the beginning of the second chapter...there were no chapters. John 3:16...the text itself...was there, but it wasn't preceded by a number "16" and it wasn't in a "third chapter."

Chapter and verse divisions came about later in history. According to some of the research I've done, the New Testament was divided into paragraphs by the time of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., but it wasn't until the 13th century that the actual chapter divisions emerged, thanks to the work of men like Stephen Langton, a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Regarding versification, Robert Estienne included our modern numbering system in his 1551 edition of the Greek New Testament. The Geneva Bible of 1560 was the first Bible to be fully divided into chapters and verses. Since then, various Bible publishers have probably printed hundreds of different types of Bibles, all structured differently. Again, paragraphs with heading and sub-headings, commentary, scripture references, and so on.

There's nothing wrong with many of these manmade divisions. After all, the text itself isn't altered. In fact, the chapter and verse divisions are especially helpful when it comes to memorizing scripture, studying scripture, and preaching. As a preacher, I can't imagine preaching without the chapters and verses! All I've got to do is call out "Romans 5:8" or "1 Peter 3:21 and the members of the congregation know exactly where to go.

But at the same time, these chapter and verse breaks aren't always beneficial. Sometimes, these manmade divisions break up the inspired text in such a way that we misinterpret, misunderstand and/or isolate the free-flowing words of God. Where a new chapter begins, we assume that there is a break in the apostle's thought. Instead of studying and interpreting the content of a chapter in light of the overall context of the book, we isolate the chapter and sometimes miss out some very important questions: WHY? TO WHOM? TO WHAT END?

In the four gospels and Acts, the chapter divisions may not be as harmful (although I'm sure there are instances where they are), but in the epistles, chapter breaks are especially significant. Romans is the perfect example. Almost every chapter break in Romans is incorrectly placed and hurts our reading of it. In 1 Corinthians, chapters 12-14 address the same basic subject: attitudes towards miracles...and yet how many times have you heard someone quote the 13th chapter in a wedding ceremony..."Love suffers long and is kind..."? In Colossians 3, Paul gives commands to wives, husbands, children, fathers and bondservants, and then chapter 4 begins with a command for the masters of the bondservants. Why the break? And don't even get me started on Hebrews!

We run into similar problems with versification. Again, a part of me loves the convenience of the verse numbers, but another part of me is distracted by them. Inevitably, what ends up happening is we study a "verse" or memorize a "verse" and in so doing we totally remove it from its context. Galatians 2:16 is a case-in-point. So many denominational people use this verse to teach that works aren't necessary...but if they would read the surrounding verses (and be honest), they would see that Paul is not condemning obedience; rather, he is contrasting a system of works (the old law) and a system of faith (the new law). Hundreds of other examples could be cited. Literally.

Again, I'm not saying that the chapter and verse divisions are wrong. Personally, I love them because they're convenient. All I'm saying is that when we study the Bible, we need to keep these things in mind. Sometimes, we just need to do our best to ignore the manmade divisions. Trust me, it'll change the way you see the scriptures.

Try memorizing a large segment of scripture...even a book of the Bible. Or transcribe a book of the Bible WITHOUT the chapter and verse breaks. Then read it. See if you notice a difference. I believe you will.

Not that this has all been a sales pitch, but I will say that I HAVE published a book called, "The Undivided New Testament." This is an ASV New Testament with no chapter and verse divisions, no paragraphs with titles and subtitles, no commentary or scripture references...just the inspired text itself. I published this book because there's NOTHING like it on the market, and I felt that something like this needed to be available to the public. If you'd like to learn more about this book, go to http://silverfallspublishing.com/book-store.html. Currently, you can pre-order "The Undivided New Testament" for $13.00 (plus tax and s&h). The book should be in stock within 1-2 weeks, at which point the price will go up to $15.00.

If you'd like to purchase one of these books, great. Trust me, I'd love to sell one to you. But this article isn't just about boosting sales. I just want you to think about the dangers of dividing and sectioning off the inspired scriptures. I really, truly believe that there'd be less error in the religious world if we'd all read the scriptures with context in mind.

What do you think?

Dressing Up For Church

Every Sunday morning, my wife and I spend a good portion of our time dressing up for church. I usually have to iron my black pants and button-up shirt, and then I have to work to get my tie just right. My wife usually has a skirt and shirt to iron as well. We also have four kids—three of whom are girls—that need help getting into dresses and nice clothes. Literally, we spend MOST of our time Sunday morning dressing up for church.

Obviously, I’m not opposed to dressing up for church. There’s nothing wrong with wearing formal attire for worship. But I do not believe that it’s necessary; in no way does God expect us to dress up for church…contrary to popular opinion.

Where in the New Testament does God establish a dress code for worship? It’s not there! What is there is that we are to dress modestly (1 Tim. 2:9-10), but that principle applies all the time and is not limited to the assembly. There is also the principle in James 2:1-9 about NOT judging one another based on the quality of our attire. Beyond these two principles, I see no regulations regarding how we are to dress for church.

Some argue that if we’d dress up for court or to meet the president, then we should show similar respect for God by dressing up for church. But why do we dress up for court? Because that’s the custom and expectation among men. Likewise, I dress up for church because that’s the custom...and perhaps because some men have that expectation…not because God has that expectation.

I show God respect by giving Him my best in worship. I worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) and offer unto Him the fruit of my lips as a sacrifice (Heb. 13:15). I’ll leave matters of dress and attire to each individual and never use it as a test of the heart.

Healing the Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12)

Jesus healed and worked miracles on a number of people during his three years of ministry and thankfully, the scriptures record many of these instances. I think a lot of the time as we read these accounts, we become desensitized to the wonderment and marvel of miracles. We have the attitude, "Well, that's just another miracle that Jesus performed." We read over them and think very little about them. But this is a mistake. These accounts are in the inspired scriptures for our benefit, and I believe that we need to examine them more closely to find the hidden lessons.

In Mark 2:1-12, we read the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. Let's read the text before considering it... "And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately, many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the rood where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.' And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, 'Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins'--He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.' Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We never saw anything like this.'"

What I love about this story is the fact that Jesus perfectly emphasized the importance of spiritual needs over physical needs. I'm sure the paralytic wanted to be healed physically, but Jesus knew that he needed spiritual healing first and foremost. Perhaps the man had been paralyzed as a result of sinful living. I don't know. I'd like to think that when Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven that he felt a wave of relief, rather than disappointment (having hoped for a miracle).

Regardless of the paralytic's condition or mindset, Jesus got His message across. Rather than perform the miracle (which would have undoubtedly wowed the crowd), he offered forgiveness to the paralytic, something that ought to be important to all of us.

Our prayers and our thinking need to reflect the right priorities. There's nothing wrong with praying for physical healing (for ourselves or others), but we need to be more eager to receive God's forgiveness, His compassion and mercy; we need to be more concerned about wisdom, self-control and spiritual strength. There's nothing wrong with wanting a good life, physically, but we need to be more motivated to pursue spiritual excellence before God.

Let me put it this way: if you had been the paralytic and you heard Jesus say, "Your sins are forgiven you," would you have been excited...or disappointed? Would you have thanked Him for His compassion and mercy, or would you have lived the rest of your life bitter and full of resentment, hating the Lord for having NOT removed your paralysis?

And today, would you rather the Lord heal your poverty and bless you materially with riches and prosperity, or heal you spiritually?

Jesus proved that He has the power and authority to forgive sins. By healing the paralytic, He proved that He was and is the Son of God. Indeed, God answers our prayers and there's nothing wrong with having physical desires and wishes, but if we learn anything from Mark 2:1-12, it's that spiritual prosperity ought to be our utmost concern.

"These Three Men...Job"

"Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would only deliver themselves by their righteousness" (Ezek. 14:14). These three men are given as examples of righteousness. In this article, let's consider the righteousness of Job.

It is generally assumed that Job lived during the times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We know very little about him apart from the fact that he was a very wealthy man who lived in a place called "Uz." But these physical details of Job's life are not important; what is important is the kind of man he was spiritually. According to Job 1:1, he was "blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." So Job was not only physically rich, he was spiritually rich.

But that's not a major accomplishment, is it? I mean, it's great that Job was righteous, but God had blessed Job all around, and so it was easy for him to be righteous. He had a personal relationship with a God who gave him everything he could ever need or want. That was Satan's point: "Does Job fear God for nothing?" (Job 1:9)

We all know the story. Job lost everything. His livestock were stolen by the Sabeans and Chaldeans (Job 1:13-15, 17), his sheep burned by fire from heaven (1:16), his servants slain (1:13-17), and his children killed in a freak accident (1:18-19). Can you imagine the sorrow that must have filled Job's heart?"

And yet the scriptures tell us that "Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped" (1:20). After being stricken with painful boils, his wife told him to curse God and die, but Job replied, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (2:9-10)

It's true that Job's attitude wasn't always perfect. Like many of the psalmists, he came to question God's judgment. God did rebuke Job, asking him, "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (38:1-2) And yet we must conclude that Job passed the test; otherwise he would not be cited as one of the three examples of righteousness! Perhaps as humans it is natural to doubt and to question, so long as we maintain our faith in God and trust that He will ultimately see us through.

If Job could patiently endure (James 5:11), certainly we can endure the day-to-day trials that come our way.

"These Three Men...Daniel"

"Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness" (Ezek. 14:14). These three men are given as examples of righteousness. In this article, let's consider the righteousness of Daniel.

Like Noah, Daniel was a righteous man living in a hostile environment. Babylon was a pagan city full of idolatry and immorality and Daniel was forced to live there after being torn from his home in Jerusalem (Dan. 1:1-6). Again, this must have been quite a burden.

But at least Daniel had other Jews around him who feared God. We read of such friends as Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, better known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. When Daniel desperately needed an interpretation to the king's dream, he turned to his three godly friends "that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret" (Dan. 2:17-18).

Of course, Daniel is well-known by Bible students for a number of reasons. There is the story of the handwriting on the wall as recorded in Daniel 5, and of course there is the story of the den of lions in the sixth chapter. Even though the world was against him, Daniel never backed down.

In the end, His zeal for God was exemplified before several Babylonian and Persian kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus, and perhaps others. King Nebuchadnezzar was a self-righteous idol-worshipper before Daniel came...but through Daniel, God humbled Nebuchadnezzar to the point that he learned to praise God (Dan. 4:34-37). Darius, likewise, was greatly impacted by Daniel's faith (Dan. 6:26-27).

Daniel is so impressive because as a young man, he surely was confronted with all sorts of "youthful lusts" in the Sin City of his day. And yet he refused to conform (Rom. 12:1-2). He was in the belly of the beast, so to speak, but not once did he falter. We would all do well to learn a lesson from Daniel, especially our young people. You CAN overcome the world! "Flee also youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22).

But it wasn't easy for Daniel, and it won't be easy for us. Like Daniel, we must be people of constant prayer (Dan. 6:10) who regularly assemble with others of like precious faith (Dan. 2:17-18; Heb. 10:24-25). We cannot win the war fighting solo. We must, like Daniel, avail ourselves to the many tools and aids that God has prepared for us. Only then will we win the fight.

Thank you, Daniel, for your wonderful example.

And thank you, God, for ensuring that Daniel's story was recorded and preserved in Your holy word.

Sheep & Goats

I went to a Livestock auction in Lee City, KY last night with my brother-in-law. We're both looking into getting some goats and we were told that goats are auctioned off every Monday night at the Lee City Livestock Auction.

It was an interesting experience. There were, of course, cows (the main attraction), and pigs, but the goats and sheep had to be the most interesting of them all. As Quinn and I observed the goats and sheep, we couldn't help but think of the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:32-33, "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left." In this passage, sinners are compared to goats while saints are compared to sheep (also see John 10:1-30 for more on this comparison).

As we observed the goats and sheep at this livestock auction, the reason behind these comparisons in Matthew 25 became apparent to both of us.

The goats were a wild and raucous bunch. They were constantly fighting, running and trying to mate. When you'd reach your hand in to try to touch them, they'd often look at you with death in their eyes. Goats are known for being stubborn and wily, resistant to authority, independent and mischevious. I've heard stories of them escaping from the pasture, jumping on the hoods of cars, tugging against the lead rope, butting and knocking down little children, attacking their masters, and so on. These goats at the livestock auction were not all necessarily violent, but they were clearly the stereotypical stubborn goats that you hear about.

The sheep, on the other hand, were more gentle. They seemed to stick together and not once did I see them getting into mischief. They didn't challenge the goats on the other side of the bars. Really, they seemed very timid.

Sheep are interesting creatures. They're actually kind of "dumb" and I've heard that they'll do nothing when a predator attacks the flock...they just stand there and get killed. But despite their lack of intelligence, they are absolutely dependent upon the shepherd. Where He leads, they follow. They come running at the sound of his call and are really quite helpless without His protection and guidance. Again, goats are stubborn and resist the shepherd, but sheep are humble and needy.

Too many people are like goats. They may revel in their independence and individuality, and they may enjoy their little escapades out of "the pasture" (in sin). They may feel powerful and self-confident when they resist the leadership and guidance of a loving Shepherd, but in the end, as Matthew 25 indicates, they will be separated from the rest of the flock and destroyed in hell.

Really, we need to be like sheep. We need to give up our own will and submit to the Shepherd's hand. We must recognize our total dependence upon Him by seeking His will in the Bible, studying it daily and applying it to our lives. Others may look at us as weak, dumb, naive, etc...but we can rest assured that in the end, we will be accepted by the Lord.

Which are you?

Are you the stubborn, self-reliant, mischevious goat?

Or, are you the humble, submissive sheep, wholly dependent on the Shepherd, Jesus Christ?

"These Three Men...NOAH"

"Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness" (Ezek. 14:14). These three men are given as examples of righteousness. In this article, let's consider the righteousness of Noah.

What's so amazing about Noah is that he was the only man living in his day who garnered the attention and praise of God. Everyone else was thoroughly wicked, but Noah "found grace in the eyes of the Lord" for he was "a just man, perfect in his generations" (vs. 8-9). Imagine would that would be like...to be the only God-fearing man alive. This reminds me of how "righteous Lot was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked" years later (2 Pet. 2:7). Of course, Noah couldn't really help it. Both Noah and Lot show us that even when we're surrounded by rampant evil, we can be faithful to the Lord; it may be hard, but it can be done.

But Noah didn't just get by. Scripture indicates that he was a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Pet. 2:5). As a gospel preacher, I know how hard it can be to preach, even to saved people. I can't imagine how difficult it was for Noah, preaching to a hostile crowd regularly.

If that wasn't enough, Noah was singled out by God for the purpose of constructing the great ark (Gen. 6:13-21). A flood was coming to destroy all life and Noah had to think about that every day as he worked on the vessel that would only preserve his life and the lives of his immediate family.

Even after the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4), Noah remained aboard the vessel. He only stepped off the ark when God gave him the go-ahead (Gen. 8:15-16). This is just another example of his unfailing trust in God.

How Noah did it, I don't know. But he did, and I am truly thankful for his wonderful example. Despite the obstacles we may face, I am certain that we can endure. If Noah could, so can we!