Respecting the Word of God

Over this last week, I have been reminded of one of the chief problems in the “Christian” world . It is NOT a lack of bible knowledge. I know we normally think that many religious people simply do not know God’s word. We look at the fountains of false doctrines out there, we test them against the word of God and immediately say, “They are ignorant of the truth.” However, this is not always true. A problem of great concern is that there are many who do know bible verses. They can quote them to us. “Judge not lest ye be judged.” “God is love.” I hear these quoted so often that it cannot just be a lack of Bible knowledge. I believe that there are much bigger issues at hand.

World Views

How many of us have had people quote bible passages to us in defense of their belief? For instance, I have seen people quote I John 4:8, “God is love,” and explain how a God who loves cannot condemn a person to hell. I have seen these same “Christians” quote Rev. 21:1-4 to explain how great heaven will be, yet in the same book, just one chapter prior AND again three verses later, John speaks of a lake of fire. One that the inhabitants of will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10; 21:7). One that anyone whose name is not written in the book of life will be cast into (Rev. 20:15). How can they do that? They are inconsistent in their view of the Bible. In some places they except its authority over their lives. In some aspects, they are more than willing to submit to God’s divine will. However, these occasions occur only when God’s word fits into their world view. A world view is how one views the world. A world view alters a person’s perception. Instead of looking into God’s word with “God’s eyes,” they look at it through their own preconceived ideas. Essentially what they are doing is accepting what suits them best. If they want to go to heaven they believe it is there. If they want Jesus to be their savior, they are more than willing to accept the teachings concerning Him. Sometimes they want to believe in something that is not taught in the bible. In these cases they twist and distort the scriptures to their own destruction (II Pet. 3:16). If they want to believe in a future on earth they will interpret the scriptures to fit that view (Dispensational Pre-Millennialism). Sometimes they just do not like the way the word is written, so they toss it out all together. Doctrines that fall into this category include, but are not limited to, baptism, hell, homosexuality, adultery, and fornication. Many today simply do not like the fact that the Bible encourages us to give up a former way of life. They do not want to believe that there is a genuine danger of being condemned to hell, so they simply toss those bible passages aside. They claim that they are not a part of the original text, not applicable to us today, or they will redefine the words altogether. If we come to the bible with a predetermined mindset (world view) then we are going to end up reading what we want to read. In order to please God, we must be willing to read the bible each time with a clean slate so that God’s will may be determined. Emotionalism

I have often said that emotions ought to play a part in our worship service. God said that He wanted His law written upon our hearts and in our minds (Heb. 8:10). However, we are not allow our emotions to guide our view of God’s word. Just as some reject God’s word because of their world view, others reject it because they permit their emotions to get involved. I have heard some say that they do not want to imagine a loved one in hell. As a result they have rejected the existence of it all together. Still, there are others that say, “God wants me to be happy.” Thus we should do what makes us happy. (Incidentally, the saying, “God wants me to be happy” is never found in the Bible.) Yes, the word blessed can mean happy as some of the appearances of the Greek word do mean happy, but that does not mean that we achieve the blessed state by doing things our way. Christ said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matt. 5:6).” God’s ways are righteous. “My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness (Psa. 119:172).” Man’s ways are corrupt. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Prov. 14:12).” Let us not let our emotions guide us, but rather let us put our hearts into that which God has commanded us to do!

Contextual Issues

Did you know that if you remove a passage out of context you can justify sin. “Let him that stole steal (Eph. 4:28).” Pulled out of context this passage justifies stealing. Let us look at the whole verse. “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good.” Paul is not justifying stealing, he is condemning it. Now, perhaps you are thinking, who reads part of a passage to justify a practice? Note the following passages that only part is normally quoted. (The bold text is the oft quoted portion.) “Judge not, that ye be not judged … Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you (Matt. 7:1, 6).” How do you know which are dogs and swine? You have to make a judgment call. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin …If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:7, 9).” Those who teach that once we are saved we can never lose that security fail to read I John 1:7. The forgiveness offered here is too those striving to do right and ask for forgiveness. -WTK