Dead Religion

Christians are "people of the book." That is, we have a book (technically a collection of books) that is our manual, our go-to guide, our instructions for, well, just about everything. Christianity is not designed to be some eclectic "whatever you think is right" kind of religion. We have a book that says it was "breathed out by God" (2 Tim 3:16-17). So, we consider it not only important; we consider it essential.

"So," they tell us, "your religion is bounded by man-made, 2000-year-old documents. In essence, your religion is dead." Is that true? As people of the book, are we stuck in a dead, outdated religion?

I suppose, if you take at face value that this is a man-made thing, it might be. I guess, if you assume no God, no miracles, no divine intervention, certainly no Omniscient, Omnipotent God, well, then, we're pretty much done here. But, of course, we don't. Because, at the core, we are not counting on a 2000-year-old man-made document. We're counting on an eternal (meaning without beginning and without end) Being who is indeed Omniscient and Omnipotent. We're not counting on a paper god; we're trusting an actual God. We're trusting in Jesus who prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (John 17:17) We're resting in Jesus who is simultaneously "the Word" and God (John 1:1), who Himself claimed to be "the truth" (John 14:6). Jesus said of the Law and the Prophets, "Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matt 5:18) (As an aside, why is it that these "progressive Christian" types are eager to quote Jesus when He says what they want Him to but quite sure that "He never said that" when He doesn't? Sorry. Rhetorical question.)

They tell us it's dead paper. The author of Hebrews tells us, "The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb 4:12) They believe they have a better way -- coming up with their own, new versions that makes the old one obsolete and actually contradicts what God said before. This is why Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32) Jesus said, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." (John 8:47) My confidence, then, is not in dead books; it is in a living Savior, an eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent God who is perfectly able to express and maintain His thoughts in a 2000-year-old text without making a mistake or needing a revision or update. My confidence is not in the impressive minds that are quite certain they've figured out where God was wrong in the past and have a better way now. Ours is not a "dead religion." We are a "people of the book" because we are people who know God and trust Him, not merely a book.