The Bible is wonderful because it gives us a knowledge of God, of men, of the universe, and of redemption.
No other book can be compared to it in this respect, but it not only informs us about these important truths, it also tells us what we are to do with it.
We have within the Bible itself instruction as to our attitude toward it.
In it we are exhorted to:
1. Read it. Nehemiah 8:8. And may I suggest that it be read slowly, carefully, prayerfully, in large portions, repeatedly, reverently and with a willing spirit to follow its precepts.
2. Believe it. Romans 10:8. Because it is the Word of faith. It has been given to increase our faith in God and His working in the Universe.
3. Receive it. James 1:21. Here it is the engrafted word that is to be received as the soil received the seed, or the tree receives the graft. Taking the Word of God in our heart life, allowing it to grow and bear its own fruit in motives and actions.
4. Taste it. Proverbs 19:10. For it is the good Word of God. Some seem to be afraid of the Bible for fear it will require them to do something they do not wish to do. Be not afraid; it is good and right in all its requirements.
5. Eat it. Jeremiah 15:16. This process suggests that we not merely taste but actually live by it, as Jesus said, “Ye shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.
6. Hold it fast. Titus 1:9. It is a faithful word. All its promises are true; all its history is true; and its statements are truth. Therefore we are to rest our faith upon it.
7. Hold it forth. Philippians 2:16. Because it is the Word of Life. All who come under its beneficent rays feel its life giving power.
8. Preach it. 2 Timothy 4:2. Here it is called simply the Word. It suggests that we are not to preach any one part of it or any one phase of it, but preach it in its entirety and fullness.
9. Search it. John 5:29. This suggests work and patience. The Greek word carries the idea of “ransack” as the housewife goes through the home at housecleaning time; or “to track” as the hunter laboriously follows the game through the brush, so we are to search for truth and run down the lines of God’s revelations to man.
10. Study it. 2 Timothy 2:15. Here is a word that means close application to the Word of God, as the builder minutely studies the plans of the architect before erecting the structure.
11. Meditate on it. Psalm 1:2. This word has much the same meaning as “eat” for it means literally “to chew the cud.” Turning the Word of God over and over in the mind till the sweetness of its truths feed our souls.
12. Compare it. 2 Corinthians 2:13. This is not so much what we do with the Scriptures as what the Holy Spirit does with them in our hearts. This is a divine commentary always at hand. Or as John puts it in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”
13. Rightly divide it. 2 Timothy 2:15. This is not an arbitrary division of subjects but the following of a line of truth from the first place mentioned to the last place mentioned; noticing it in all its relation to other truths and as the word literally means “the cutting of a straight line” of truth in the Bible.
14. Delight in it. Psalm 119:92. Seven times in this Psalm the Psalmist speaks of delighting in God’s word. This should always be the heart ambition and attitude.
Showing posts with label The Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Bible. Show all posts
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Bill O'Reilly, Gay Marriage, and the Bible
I happened to see a video this morning in which Bill O'Reilly was arguing with Laura Ingraham over O'Reilly's complaint that conservatives need to do more than "thump the Bible" in making our case against gay marriage. Not only was O'Reilly incredibly arrogant and rude, but his colossal mistake highlights the key issue in the culture war today.
O'Reilly presupposes that the Bible is not an acceptable source of authority for our culture. Conservatives must accept that liberals will not listen to Scripture and therefore craft a moral consensus on grounds other than the Bible. What he fails to realize is that apart from God and his Word, the only moral consensus possible to man is an evil pagan idolatry. It is precisely because the Bible has been excluded from public discourse that our nation is so aggressively pursuing a debauchery like that of the ancient Canaanites and is suffering a societal breakdown of, well, biblical proportions. The only way to reverse this trend is to reassert the Bible's validity for both private and public moral standards.
Another way to say this is that Bill O'Reilly fails to realize that the Bible is the revelation of a true and living God: as Francis Schaeffer put it, he is "the God who is there." For this reason, the decisive issue of our time pertains precisely to our attitude to God's Word. Apart from a respectful embrace of biblical authority, there is nothing to halt our plunge into the abyss. Or, to put it differently, the true issue today is not what the Supreme Court will think about gay marriage but what the true and living God thinks about America.
Biblically, there is no other explanation for the wholesale breakdown of our society and the rapidly accelerating sexual perversity than God's judgment. The only solution is the Bible. So instead of persuading Christians to accept the societal marginalization of God's Word, O'Reilly would do better to urge Christians to become more militantly biblical. Like every other once-godly nation, we will stand or fall based on our attitude towards God's Word.
Finally, this reminds Christians that the most important institution in America today is the church. Unless our pulpits proclaim the truth and grace of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and unless Christians live such bold and gracious lives that attract the interest of the watching world, there can be no hope for our generation. Whatever the Supreme Court decides and whatever confusion is wrought by the pundits of the left and of the right, there is great hope for America if God's people regain a missionary zeal for the gospel and a holy passion for God and his Word.
O'Reilly presupposes that the Bible is not an acceptable source of authority for our culture. Conservatives must accept that liberals will not listen to Scripture and therefore craft a moral consensus on grounds other than the Bible. What he fails to realize is that apart from God and his Word, the only moral consensus possible to man is an evil pagan idolatry. It is precisely because the Bible has been excluded from public discourse that our nation is so aggressively pursuing a debauchery like that of the ancient Canaanites and is suffering a societal breakdown of, well, biblical proportions. The only way to reverse this trend is to reassert the Bible's validity for both private and public moral standards.
Another way to say this is that Bill O'Reilly fails to realize that the Bible is the revelation of a true and living God: as Francis Schaeffer put it, he is "the God who is there." For this reason, the decisive issue of our time pertains precisely to our attitude to God's Word. Apart from a respectful embrace of biblical authority, there is nothing to halt our plunge into the abyss. Or, to put it differently, the true issue today is not what the Supreme Court will think about gay marriage but what the true and living God thinks about America.
Biblically, there is no other explanation for the wholesale breakdown of our society and the rapidly accelerating sexual perversity than God's judgment. The only solution is the Bible. So instead of persuading Christians to accept the societal marginalization of God's Word, O'Reilly would do better to urge Christians to become more militantly biblical. Like every other once-godly nation, we will stand or fall based on our attitude towards God's Word.
Finally, this reminds Christians that the most important institution in America today is the church. Unless our pulpits proclaim the truth and grace of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and unless Christians live such bold and gracious lives that attract the interest of the watching world, there can be no hope for our generation. Whatever the Supreme Court decides and whatever confusion is wrought by the pundits of the left and of the right, there is great hope for America if God's people regain a missionary zeal for the gospel and a holy passion for God and his Word.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)