The Perspicuity of the Scriptures and the Battle for Truth
Craig Smith
Psalm 19:7-9 (NASB) tells us,
The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
These important verses fill us with great hope as we reflect on the power of the Word of God and its ability to shape mankind’s attitudes and actions in ways that honor and please the One who created us!
One of the truths these verses present is the Scriptures’ ability to speak into the lives of the learned and educated with deep concepts worthy of intellectual scrutiny and at the same time speak into the lives of the simple. Scripture is deep enough to challenge and speak to readers of the highest intellect and equally clear enough for the simplest mind to read and understand, and, when its truths are applied, it is completely adequate to enable that person to live a victorious Christian life! This uniqueness to be all these things at once is referred to in one of those high-sounding expressions thrown about in halls of higher learning as the perspicuity of the Scriptures.
The perspicuity of the Scriptures is an essential piece in the puzzle of understanding God’s original intent in what his revealed Word is saying to us. It must be given a seat at the table of debate in all things pertaining to our doctrine, faith, and practice. If it is left out, we miss the genius of the simplicity of the Word having equal say among all other thought, however highly refined it might be. If the concept of the perspicuity of the Scriptures is true, then it must be embraced, welcomed, and, yes, even respected among those who possess the revered titles that help polish their resumes.
There’s a biblical argument to be made for the simplest understanding of the Word of God being given priority as the starting point of any debate on doctrinal issues addressed by the Church of the living God!
We are reminded in the New Testament how God views the simple minded among us.
For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no human may boast before God (1 Cor 1:26-29).
God delights in revealing himself to the unseen, the underappreciated, and the too-often overlooked among us. The simple and socially unempowered are high on God’s priority list as those through whom he can manifest his awesome power and the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.
Think of it: In God’s economy, the foolish shame the wise and the weak shame the strong! Why? Because the insignificant and despised he has chosen! Of course, he could not use the weak, unwise, and insignificant if they could not understand, believe, and practice God’s holy Word. He cannot use the weak or foolish to confound the strong and wise if they live waywardly and lack biblical obedience in their lives. The perspicuity of the Scriptures is the only reason the weak possess, not just a small chance to live as biblically healthy and productive as the wise and learned, but, in God’s order, to win the pole position with much greater horsepower in their engines.
In the Church’s historic battle to win my people to Christ (Native Americans), it has operated under a cloud of misunderstanding because the New Testament gospel seemed to come wrapped in the Old Testament Promised Land guarantees God made to Israel, complete with conquest and destruction of the original inhabitants of the land they were to possess.
Now in saying this, I don’t want to be misunderstood as presenting some version of the Wokism that is presently consuming our current culture. It’s possible to, with tear-stained eyes and a broken heart, present this as a reality without anger or blame to be laid on a whole race of people. I am a third-generation believer in Christ. My grandparents were among the first believers from our tribe who were led to the Lord through C&MA missionaries. The impact of the gospel has now reached down to five generations of my family! So, I am incredibly grateful for the gospel coming to our shores.
But we must get past the misunderstandings of historically misguided missionary principles. It has led our people to see the gospel as an enemy and not a friend. “It’s the Whiteman’s gospel,” is the common sentiment across the four-hundred-sixty plus federally recognized tribes found spread over three-hundred reservations and urban ghettos in America today.
How can this be, when Jesus, in his humanity, was born not into a dominant culture but a minority one? Not just a minority, but a minority of the minorities! Deuteronomy 7:7 reminds us that God didn’t set his love on Israel because they were the mightiest, but the fewest. It wasn’t just a minority culture, but a tribal one as well. Jesus comes from a tribal culture just as the many foolish, weak, and insignificant ones among us. His people were a ceremonial people just as my tribe is. He was born into the ancestral homeland of his people, Israel, while under the rule of a dominant society, the Roman Empire. He did not receive fair treatment in the court system of the day, much like those in poverty who cannot buy good lawyers today. He also died a violent death like so many of my people, unfortunately, do! Clearly, he relates to America’s tribal people in many ways beyond that of today’s dominate society and culture!
What surprises me about these factual realities is that it seemed to have been missed by the wise, the scholars, and the missionary statesmen of the day. Could it be that presenting the gospel to my tribal people from this perspective could have had much better results and avoided the current blame game we find ourselves in?
I present this to suggest that what I just shared with you is an example of a perspicacious revelation to one who can only be described as from the foolish, weak, and insignificant world...and that person is me! It became the foundation for my first book aptly titled, Whitemans’ Gospel, which, after over twenty-five years since its first printing, continues to be used by the Lord in ways I never thought possible.
So how should we view today’s battle for truth, and what role the perspicuity of the Scriptures needs to play in it? Again, I would argue that the most simple, basic understanding that the foolish, weak, or insignificant person takes away from their time in the Word should not be dismissed, rejected outright, or even unwelcomed in the Church’s pursuit of truth and doctrine. We must not only see Scripture as our only rule of divine faith and practice but insist that the clarity of biblical truth is enough for even the simplest minds to understand and live victoriously by.
Our churches and denomination, including the Alliance Committee on Theological Issues, Board of Directors, and other district and national leadership positions, would benefit from being composed of not just the learned and highly educated, but a few biblically healthy, simple-minded fools, unwise and insignificant ones, who could have tremendous impact if the perspicuity of the Scriptures is still an acknowledged part of our belief system.
Why? Simply put, so that no human may boast before God!