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jects outside of that field.

True religion
and true science never contradict each
other but individual ministers and in-
dividual scientistS will _differ endlessly.
Science has indeed -done many mar-
velous things. But itS domain is strictly
limited to the material side of life. It
bas' no authority to speak concerning
spiritual things. Where it has been
made a substitute for religion it has in-
variably tiuned out to be a false Mes-
siah.
The relationship between the Bible
and science has been quite clearly set
forth by Dr. Samuel G. Craig. in the
following paragraph:
"It is one thing to say that the Scrip-
tures contain statements out of har-
mony with the teachings of . modem
science and philosophy and a distinctly
different thing to say that they contain
proved errors. Strictly speaking there is
no modern science and philosophy but
only modem scientists and philosopherS--
who differ endlessly among themselves.
It is only on the assumption that the
discordant voices of present-day scien-
tists and philosophers are to be identi-
fied with the voice of Science and
Philosophy that we are warranted in
saying that the Bible contains errors
because its teachings do not always
agree with the teachings of these
scientists and philosophers. Does any
one really believe that Science and
Philosophy have yet reached, even
approximately, their fmal fonn? May it
not rather be contended that they are so
far removed from their ultimate form
that if the. teachings of the Bible were
in complete harinony with present-day
science and philosophy it is altogether
certain that they would be out of har-
mony with the science and philosophy
of the future? If, for example, the anti-
supernaturalism of the dominant science
and philosophy of tbday is to be charac-
teristic of science and philosophy in
their final fonns, then, unquestionably
the Bible contains many errors. Who,
however, is competent to assert that
this will be the case? But unless it is
certain that the science and philosophy
of the future will be essentially one
.with the dominant science and philo-
sophy of today, we go beyond the evi-
dence when we say that the Bible con-
tains proved errorS on the ground that
its teachings contradict the teachings of
I. (23:912) The Natio"Qal
Effects of FalSe Prophets
A. Jeremiah continually denounces
false prophets: 2:8; 4:9; 5:31; 6:11-15;
14:13-16. And properly so because their
preaching "parches" and "dries up" ana-
tion, "the course they run is evil and
their power is illegitimate."
B. The spiritually and morally adul-
terous condition of Judah, the idolatry
and the moral depravity, were all en-
couraged by the preaching of the false
prophets.
C. All the ecclesiasticalleader_s were
"alienated from God" and were perpetra-
tors of apostasy;
D. Therefore, God will bring dis-
aster upon . them swiftly and severely.
Their own "slippery" and "dark" preach
ing -and way of life will destroy them,
U. (23:13-15) -The Traits . of
False Prophets
A. The prophets themselves were
Idolatrous, and they led the peoj>le into
idolatry. In their preaching they syn-
thesized the character ofJehovah and the
character of Baal in order to appeal
present-day scientists and philoso--
phers."
For a general discussion of the rela-
tion which exists between the Bible and
science the reader will fmd The Har-
mony of Science and. by Dr.
Harry Rimmer, a very excellent book.
[R,etxl!!ted from Studies in Theology_, by
Loraine Boettner, Wm. B. Eerdmans Puo-
lishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1947.] 0-
The Counsel of Chalcedon December, 1989. page 22
to everybody . . As a result, m leaving
the biblical revelation of Jehovah, they
created a hideous idol.
B. By their synthetic and apostate
preaChing they turned Judah away from
loyalty to God arid his covenant
The task of the true prophet, on the
other hand, is to encourage the nation
to Jllaintain its total loyalty to Jehovah
and to set before it its covenant obliga-
tions. . .
C. The . prophets themselves
immoral. In their own personal lives,
they rejected the complete sovereignty
of God over them. They showed . by
their false preaching and their evil way
of life that they believed in human auto-
nomy . .
D. The purpose of preaching is to
turn people from .their wickedness, but
the false prophets were not doing that at
all. On the contrary, their prea.ching en-
couraged people in their sin.
E. Because these were
responsible for the spread of godless-
ness, God himself would judge them by
poisoning them with bitterness, tragedy
and death.
ill. (23:16-22) The Message of
the False Prophets
A. {23: 16) The origin of the
sage of the preaching of the false pro-
phets is their own hearts and minds, not
the mind of God. Jeremiah's indictment
is simple:. they are liars and victims of
their own imaginations. Their message
is self.:.induced. It originated in their
own minds. Their sole souree of infor
mation was their own subjective under-
standing of God and of his relationship
to their national life. They were human-
ists, although they may have used
biblical words. They did not get their
message from God as Jeremiah did, 1:9.
B. (23:17) The preaching of the
false prophets lulled their hearers into a
false sense of security, 6:14; 8:11; Mic.
3:5. They emphasized the love of God
to the exclusion of the holiness of God.
And they emphasized belief in God to
the exclusion of the obedience to the
sovereign demands of God for righteous-
ness and holiness of life, which were
fundamental qualities to be expected in
a people who expected God to deliver
them.
C. (23: 18) The Lord's anger will not
subside until he has fulfilled the designs
of his heart on false prophets and their
converts. "A radical reorientation was
needed in their understanding of the
purposes of God. This could be
achieved only through the judgment
about to befall the nation. There was a
need for a new and a deeper relationship
with God than they had ever understood.
God had purposes for his people and
through them for the world, but these
could be realized only inside the
covenant Only after the judgment
would the false prophets realize how
shallow their preaching had been, and,
incidentally, something of the depth of
Jeremiah's preaching." -1bompson
E. (23:2122) Here we are presented
with the two basic features of a true
prophet: (1). God sent him; and (2). He
speaks God's message. Without this
divine commission and this divine
word, the prophet had no authority and
no understanding of the purposes of
God. Being outside the "council" of
God, they had no true word to preach,
no standard by which to discern good
and evil in the people, and no power to
turn the people from evil to God. "The
task of the true prophet was to convict
the people of their sinfulness. To do
that he himself would need to have a
clear understanding of the nature of the
covenant and its demands upon the
people of God." -Thompson
IV. (23:23-32) The Mind of
Man Versus the Word of God
A. (23:23-24) The transcendent and
immanent Jehovah is against false pro-
phets and false preachers, 23:30,31,32,
because their dreams have nothing in
common with the word of God. Jeho-
vah is transcendent, from whom no one
can hide. And he is immanent and close
at hand so he can find out where people
are.
B. (23:25-27) Jeremiah emphasizes
again that the preaching of the false .
prophets originated in their "dreams"
and not in divine revelation, as his own
message. They are preaching the deceit-
ful inventions of their own minds,
rather than the "name" and revealed
character of Almighty God. Therefore
the people, not having the character of
God preached to them, forget God and
follow idols. Once people forget
tlu revealed character of Jeho-
vah they can be persuaded to be-
lieve anything.
C. (23:28-30) Here Jeremiah con-
trasts false preaching and true preach-
ing.
1. False preaching is chaff. True
preaching is wheat. One useless. The
other nourishing. They have nothing in
common with one another.
2. False preaching is anemic and
powerless. True preaching is a fire and
an hammer that crushes rocks. "The
word of God impinged powerfully on
men's minds. It burned itself ftrst of all
into the minds of those who received it
and proclaimed it, and subsequently
made an impact on those who heard it
from them, convicting the hearers of
sin and demanding of them total
obedience." -Thompson
3. False preaching is not in-
spired by God. True preaching is. Not
having received a word from God, the
false prophets only repeat what they had
heard others say.
D. (23:31-32) Because the false
prophets lead people astray with their
self-induced messages, acting as if they
were from God, God severely condemns
them and uses his power against them
to oppose and resist them, and to over-
turn their efforts.
V. (23:33-40) The Burden of
Jehovah
A. The point of this section is: only
those to whom the Lord entrusts his
word are entitled to preach it. Im-
posters, who preach without the divine
commission to do so or without the
divinely-revealed message, will receive
divine judgment
B. The "burden" of the Lord is a
"prophetic oracle," a message God has
given his prophets to declare. Jeremiah
creates a pun in his answer to the
question, '"What is the burden of the
Lord?' He replies to the false prophets:
'You are a burden to the Lord and he
will cast you off and throw you down!'-
says the LORD"
C. God will punish any person, and
his family, who tries to preach the
burden of the Lord, who are Mt called
by the Lord to do so. God will bring
everlasting and unforgettable disgrace
and humiliation upon them. n
The Counsel of Chalcedon December, 1989 page 23

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