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Friday, April 06, 2007

Is That Yours?

"That's not yours. You don't get to play with it."

That's what I want to say so many times. I don't. But I want to.

Why is it that so many people seem to want to use the Bible when they want to use the Bible and not when they don't? Have you ever noticed this? It works in a variety of ways, but it is far too common, and I can't figure it out.

Take the guy who spends all his time arguing that Christianity is stupid and the Bible is simply a work of a bunch of guys trying to start a revolution or religion or something. Nothing special. Nothing noteworthy. Only an idiot would think otherwise. So why is it that the most quoted Bible verse is "Judge not that you be not judged"? They all know that one. And when you try to point out that something is a sin, that's what they'll throw at you. They've discarded the Bible as reliable or even noteworthy, but you'd better pay attention when they toss out that one!

Take the guy who has carefully dismantled the Bible. He's likely a pastor, professor, or scholar. He can quote passages to you in Hebrew, give you the Greek derivatives, and explain the history of the passage in terms of the culture of the day. And he's quite sure that it's all a myth, a book of the times, little to do with today ... certainly not of divine origins. But when it suits him, he'll argue against your doctrines using Scripture, telling you why you're wrong. He doesn't believe that the Bible is reliable, but he will reliably inform you of why your view isn't biblical.

Let's be honest here. It's not just the anti-Bible folks who do it. It's the "believers" as well. We like the nice passages that tell us about the love of God. We like the parts that tell us how God sent His Son to die for us so that we can be saved. Good stuff! Go, God! But when it says, "Wives, submit to your husbands", wives balk. When it says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children", fathers chafe. "If your eye offends you, cut it out" is generally cut out of our Bibles. And that Old Testament God who is full of wrath and smiting and such? Yeah, we've pretty much used our broad-tipped black highlighters on those passages. That's not the God we know. We claim the reverse of the atheist or lost scholar who discards the Bible. We claim to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, God-breathed, the prime source for matters of faith and practice. Yet when the Bible says things we don't care much for, well, we're just as apt to toss it as the atheist or scholar.

That's not yours. You don't get to play with it. Either take it seriously or leave it alone. Either it's the Word of God or it's a myth. It's either true or not. If it is a myth, you don't get to use it to explain to me why I'm wrong. It's a myth! But if what we claim is correct -- if it is indeed the Word of God -- we had better stop handling it so lightly. We had better read it for all it is worth, know it better than we know our favorite TV show or musical group, and put it into practice without balking at the commands. Either live it or leave it alone. Don't play with it.

4 comments:

Joyful Days said...

Well said.

As a believer it is hard to be willing to take the whole thing. It is necessary, I don't do it well, but working on it.

~Peace~

Stan said...

"Working on it" is all anyone can ask, right?

Science PhD Mom said...

It's absolutely vital, that last part you mentioned about knowing it better than anything else. And sadly, too many churches are moving away from the Bible and memorizing or actually studying the Scriptures--too "old school" for the "new church". There's a great song out there by Sara Groves, "The Word". It's got some great lyrics on the same subject: "People are getting fit for Truth like they're buying a new tailored suit. Does it fit across the shoulders? Will it fade when it gets older? We throw ideas that aren't in style in the Salvation Army pile and search for something more to meet our needs. And the Word was, And the Word is, And the Word will be."

It's called "cherry picking", and it's wrong. I, too, struggle with all the commands given in the Bible, but I don't dispute that they are God-given and we are to fear, as in be in awe of, and have respect for, the God who gave them!

Anonymous said...

Dear PHD Mom,

We are no longer required to keep all the commands in the Bible, so there's no reason to feel like they are a struggle. That's the whole point of the cross and resurrection. Jesus did it all for us, and He imputes to us His righteousness through faith. God is no longer keeping a list of wrongs against you.
Love "keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Cor. 13)

God loves you and has given His Son for you. You no longer need to live in guilt and struggle over your sin and/or God's commands. Take it to Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you live for Christ. And when you fail from time to time, or if you still wrestle with a particular sin, get on your knees and thank God that those are covered by the cross of Christ too.

Is this a license to sin? No of course not (Romans 6). But it gives us tremendous freedom and joy to know that the pressure of the Law (His commands) is no longer beating us to the ground with our constant failures.......and that we have the freedom to live as children of God, even though we still don't measure up to every jot and tittle of the Law.

Blessings!