Introduction

Andrew Dutton has asked me to work on a new series with him. I am delighted to do this and to continue contributing to Young Precious Seed.

So, what are we trying to achieve? Hopefully, the title is self-explanatory. We want to revisit a range of topics and issues that face Christians today and discover what the Bible has to say about them. Our aim is not to be controversial or to directly disagree with what other people think (though this may well happen at some stage), but to highlight and focus on what the Bible has to say about each subject.

We live in a world of diversity, where everyone has an opinion; people are taught that no individual’s view is more significant than anyone else’s. Many people feel that there is no such thing as absolute truth and that one of the worst sins is to be dogmatic about what you believe. We beg to differ. We will not be discourteous or dismissive of other people’s opinions, but we are convinced we can be sure of the absolute truth about the critical areas of life.

If I were an electrician, I would want to know facts about my trade, the principles on which electricity operates, and to be clear that what I was doing was right before I signed off a job and told my customer that things were working correctly and safely. If I were having heart surgery, I would be very concerned if my surgeon and all the theatre staff did not have a clear and accurate view of what they were doing before operating on me. I can hear you say that these are specialist disciplines that have developed over a long time so that we can trust them. But this is also the case with the moral and ethical issues we all face. How do I know?

I know because I have the manual from the manufacturer in my hands - the Bible. The Bible is the word of God. It has been proven to be an inspired document. Time has tested the Bible to be authentic. It is authentic in two ways:

1. What we are reading today is an accurate translation of what was initially written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
2. It has been demonstrated to be accurate in that what it teaches meets the needs of the human heart and has transformed the lives of millions who have come to trust in the author and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is not my intention to prove these two points to you as there are sufficient sources to testify to the truthfulness of these statements.¹

So, we will take our information (truth) entirely from the Bible. We are not going to apply a subjective interpretation but quote the statements of the Bible and leave you to search and see if the truth stacks up - I think that is a fair approach.

I had considered giving you a list of topics and issues we will discuss, but it might be easier to see how things develop and where we go with this series. Really, I would love you to turn to YPS as soon as you get your Precious Seed magazine because you are so intrigued to discover what we will be discussing in ‘Seeing the world through a biblical lens’. I hope you do, and that you will find it an important tool as you develop your convictions about life and living for God in the 21st century.