Bible Worship
This was not an easy entry to write – simply because it can be so easily (and horribly) misunderstood. This is difficult stuff. In fact, go ahead and skip this entry. Seriously. Jesus said that it’s better to be cast into the sea with a large stone around your neck than to cause someone to stumble… and I’m not sure I’m right on this one. So, in view of that statement, please don’t read this entry. But, I will say that investigating this led me closer to the Lord...
You’re still reading, aren’t you? Okay, well then carefully consider what I’m trying to say in its entirety before making your own judgment. And finally, please do not take anything I say as the Truth – investigate for yourself! When I first spoke with someone much wiser than me on this subject, my first reaction was one of horror and doubt. As I have put this idea into practice, however, my relationship with God has strengthened. My relationship with God has strengthened (in case your misread that), a relationship that is similar to that of a friend and teacher who sits across the dinner table from me. Anyway, I know I need to start with a few basic statements in light of which this entry should be viewed:
1) I believe all scripture is “God-breathed” and useful for instruction. (2 Timothy 3:16)
2) Scripture is consistent, trust-worthy and accurately represents our Lord.
3) Dig as deep as you want, investigate as thoroughly as you can – you will find the canonized scripture holds true to the Spirit of God.
4) You can not ignore things in the bible. It is all relevant, true and is meant to be applied to your life. Some things are, clearly, more important than others, however. (ie. Women having long uncut hair as in Corinthians is not as important as Love the Lord your God with all your heart.)
Allow me to first explain a few common symptoms of bible worship. If you’ve ever been offended to the point that you could not love someone, maybe because they cuss or they talk about getting drunk -- you may be a bible worshiper. Or maybe, in your religious zeal, have focused primarily on one or two ideas/doctrines – while throwing out the greatest commandment: Love the Lord your God and care for (love) your neighbor as your care for yourself. In short, you’ve stopped considering others as more important than yourself – which is a more pervasive sin, in my opinion, than their coarse language or drunkenness.
With that in mind, I’ve had to ask myself (because someone asked it of me): What is the greatest revelation of God? The first thing that came to mind was scripture. Much of what I know about God is from what I’ve read. However, recently (over the past year) I’ve begun to see things a little differently.
So, what is the greatest revelation of God? The law? The bible? While thinking about this question, I took myself back to 50 A.D. to the first Christian Churches who, to my surprise, didn’t have a canonized, leather bound and red-letter bible. They didn’t have the book, but yet they were Christian. They didn’t have the book, but they had the Man. They had the highest revelation of God, Jesus Christ and the counsel of the Holy Spirit!
Can you be a Christian without the bible? Most church-goers I know would think I was nuts if I seriously asked that question. But I think it’s a valid and important question in an age and area of the world (bible belt) where scripture is viewed as the highest revelation of God and often made an object of worship in lieu of a relationship with Jesus Christ. My answer to the question of whether you can be a Christian without the bible is this: Yes, but living as a Christian without God’s word is like going snorkeling in the ocean without a mask. You’ll be able to swim and breathe… but you will likely miss the majesty of his love, the perils of the sea or the changing of the tides. You’ll likely have a lot of obnoxious run-ins with others snorkelers as well. It could be very dangerous. This is why Paul had to spend so much time correcting false doctrine in the early Christian churches (it was these letters that gave us the Epistles, books like Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians).
Or here’s another way to think about it… let’s say I wrote you a bunch of letters about myself -- my likes, my dislikes, my friends, the story of my life, my principles, my loves… you would come to know a lot about me through my letters. And, everything would be true and consistent (inerrant) to who I am – since I wrote them. However, the day you meet me… The day you hear my voice and come to know me as a friend… that’s the day you begin to see who I am with clear eyes… who I am lifts off the page and becomes a living, breathing person. The day you meet Jesus, not the day you read about Him, is the day you begin to walk in the light.
So, is the bible perfect? No. Is the bible inerrant? Yes. Let me explain:
Why it’s not “Perfect”: The bible is written through people – there are mistranslations in all versions (yes, even the King James Version!), grammatical errors in the Greek and additions/subtractions made by scribes. This is documented in history. And last time I checked, God doesn’t make grammatical errors. But that’s the beauty of it all – God could have brought his Word to the world any way he wanted… He chose to use his people! On top of that, the Greek and Hebrew languages are very rich, with many implied meanings tied to words that we simply don’t have in English – take “love” for example. Agape means “God love,” Stergo means “affection, such as between a parent a child” and Philo is “brotherly love” but can also mean love for an inanimate object.
It’s important to keep in mind that the bible is not God or the highest revelation of Him. Don’t worship it. The Muslims claim their scripture is perfect, copied directly from scrolls in heaven, “uncorrupted” and can be read in its perfect state only in Arabic. The Koran is their highest revelation of God – because, as they readily admit, they can not have a personal relationship with God. God, they say, is too pure and holy to have a relationship with sinners. How true! They can’t, just like I can’t, have a personal relationship with God unless they have their sins paid for by Jesus Christ. Your relationship with God through Jesus Christ is what has saved you from the fires of Hell. Let’s not worship our bible and ignore our relationship – the whole reason Jesus hung on a cross!
Next, is the bible inerrant? My answer: Yes. The bible is a collection of love letters from God, written through his people, collected in a seemingly chaotic manner that can only be of God, which stood the test of the Holy Spirit and time, inspired by the Holy Spirit and made to be as sweet as honey to my spiritual lips. It is a lamp upon my feet, an inspiration to my life and trustworthy representation of my precious Lord and Savior. It is so precious that my Lord fulfilled all the Old Testament prophesy about Him and all the law, even to the last word.
Finally, why does this matter? If this is so confusing, why write about it? Think back to when Jesus was about to enter his time of ministry in the desert. What did Satan use to try and tempt Jesus to sin? That’s right: Scripture. The bible, apart from a relationship with Jesus, can be twisted by Satan to lead you to sin. However, Jesus had well-oiled armor (the relationship with his Father) and the sword (truth of scripture) to combat Satan, both essential to the battle. (Ephesians 6:13-19) The result: Satan was weakened, defeated and then left Jesus.
I know this has been a long entry – but I think it’s important to be clear. I am not dismissing or even discounting the validity, power, truth or inerrancy of the bible. I love the bible; I memorize it, read it, discuss it, value it, meditate on it, but I don’t worship it. I just want people to have a relationship with God through Christ and not treat the bible like their Jesus. In fact, the day I started genuinely placing my relationship with Jesus Christ as supreme, the bible’s relevance and power in my life increased tenfold.
For an excellent resource on biblical inerrancy and other things I wrote about in this entry, such as grammatical errors and the trustworthiness of scripture, read Here
You’re still reading, aren’t you? Okay, well then carefully consider what I’m trying to say in its entirety before making your own judgment. And finally, please do not take anything I say as the Truth – investigate for yourself! When I first spoke with someone much wiser than me on this subject, my first reaction was one of horror and doubt. As I have put this idea into practice, however, my relationship with God has strengthened. My relationship with God has strengthened (in case your misread that), a relationship that is similar to that of a friend and teacher who sits across the dinner table from me. Anyway, I know I need to start with a few basic statements in light of which this entry should be viewed:
1) I believe all scripture is “God-breathed” and useful for instruction. (2 Timothy 3:16)
2) Scripture is consistent, trust-worthy and accurately represents our Lord.
3) Dig as deep as you want, investigate as thoroughly as you can – you will find the canonized scripture holds true to the Spirit of God.
4) You can not ignore things in the bible. It is all relevant, true and is meant to be applied to your life. Some things are, clearly, more important than others, however. (ie. Women having long uncut hair as in Corinthians is not as important as Love the Lord your God with all your heart.)
Allow me to first explain a few common symptoms of bible worship. If you’ve ever been offended to the point that you could not love someone, maybe because they cuss or they talk about getting drunk -- you may be a bible worshiper. Or maybe, in your religious zeal, have focused primarily on one or two ideas/doctrines – while throwing out the greatest commandment: Love the Lord your God and care for (love) your neighbor as your care for yourself. In short, you’ve stopped considering others as more important than yourself – which is a more pervasive sin, in my opinion, than their coarse language or drunkenness.
With that in mind, I’ve had to ask myself (because someone asked it of me): What is the greatest revelation of God? The first thing that came to mind was scripture. Much of what I know about God is from what I’ve read. However, recently (over the past year) I’ve begun to see things a little differently.
So, what is the greatest revelation of God? The law? The bible? While thinking about this question, I took myself back to 50 A.D. to the first Christian Churches who, to my surprise, didn’t have a canonized, leather bound and red-letter bible. They didn’t have the book, but yet they were Christian. They didn’t have the book, but they had the Man. They had the highest revelation of God, Jesus Christ and the counsel of the Holy Spirit!
Can you be a Christian without the bible? Most church-goers I know would think I was nuts if I seriously asked that question. But I think it’s a valid and important question in an age and area of the world (bible belt) where scripture is viewed as the highest revelation of God and often made an object of worship in lieu of a relationship with Jesus Christ. My answer to the question of whether you can be a Christian without the bible is this: Yes, but living as a Christian without God’s word is like going snorkeling in the ocean without a mask. You’ll be able to swim and breathe… but you will likely miss the majesty of his love, the perils of the sea or the changing of the tides. You’ll likely have a lot of obnoxious run-ins with others snorkelers as well. It could be very dangerous. This is why Paul had to spend so much time correcting false doctrine in the early Christian churches (it was these letters that gave us the Epistles, books like Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians).
Or here’s another way to think about it… let’s say I wrote you a bunch of letters about myself -- my likes, my dislikes, my friends, the story of my life, my principles, my loves… you would come to know a lot about me through my letters. And, everything would be true and consistent (inerrant) to who I am – since I wrote them. However, the day you meet me… The day you hear my voice and come to know me as a friend… that’s the day you begin to see who I am with clear eyes… who I am lifts off the page and becomes a living, breathing person. The day you meet Jesus, not the day you read about Him, is the day you begin to walk in the light.
So, is the bible perfect? No. Is the bible inerrant? Yes. Let me explain:
Why it’s not “Perfect”: The bible is written through people – there are mistranslations in all versions (yes, even the King James Version!), grammatical errors in the Greek and additions/subtractions made by scribes. This is documented in history. And last time I checked, God doesn’t make grammatical errors. But that’s the beauty of it all – God could have brought his Word to the world any way he wanted… He chose to use his people! On top of that, the Greek and Hebrew languages are very rich, with many implied meanings tied to words that we simply don’t have in English – take “love” for example. Agape means “God love,” Stergo means “affection, such as between a parent a child” and Philo is “brotherly love” but can also mean love for an inanimate object.
It’s important to keep in mind that the bible is not God or the highest revelation of Him. Don’t worship it. The Muslims claim their scripture is perfect, copied directly from scrolls in heaven, “uncorrupted” and can be read in its perfect state only in Arabic. The Koran is their highest revelation of God – because, as they readily admit, they can not have a personal relationship with God. God, they say, is too pure and holy to have a relationship with sinners. How true! They can’t, just like I can’t, have a personal relationship with God unless they have their sins paid for by Jesus Christ. Your relationship with God through Jesus Christ is what has saved you from the fires of Hell. Let’s not worship our bible and ignore our relationship – the whole reason Jesus hung on a cross!
Next, is the bible inerrant? My answer: Yes. The bible is a collection of love letters from God, written through his people, collected in a seemingly chaotic manner that can only be of God, which stood the test of the Holy Spirit and time, inspired by the Holy Spirit and made to be as sweet as honey to my spiritual lips. It is a lamp upon my feet, an inspiration to my life and trustworthy representation of my precious Lord and Savior. It is so precious that my Lord fulfilled all the Old Testament prophesy about Him and all the law, even to the last word.
Finally, why does this matter? If this is so confusing, why write about it? Think back to when Jesus was about to enter his time of ministry in the desert. What did Satan use to try and tempt Jesus to sin? That’s right: Scripture. The bible, apart from a relationship with Jesus, can be twisted by Satan to lead you to sin. However, Jesus had well-oiled armor (the relationship with his Father) and the sword (truth of scripture) to combat Satan, both essential to the battle. (Ephesians 6:13-19) The result: Satan was weakened, defeated and then left Jesus.
I know this has been a long entry – but I think it’s important to be clear. I am not dismissing or even discounting the validity, power, truth or inerrancy of the bible. I love the bible; I memorize it, read it, discuss it, value it, meditate on it, but I don’t worship it. I just want people to have a relationship with God through Christ and not treat the bible like their Jesus. In fact, the day I started genuinely placing my relationship with Jesus Christ as supreme, the bible’s relevance and power in my life increased tenfold.
For an excellent resource on biblical inerrancy and other things I wrote about in this entry, such as grammatical errors and the trustworthiness of scripture, read Here
posted by Brad at 2:24 PM
1 Comments:
Its funny that I was having this same discussion today with my supervision, Chaplain Hubbs, and then I look on your blog and find this posting.
First, I think you are right on target. And I think you articulated it well. Our disagreements typically come from a lack of communication skills. We argue over semantics and we miss the forest for the trees. I find it interesting that in very conservative churches who claim to have the highest views of Scripture often have the driest relationships and the ones lacking the most love for others. On the other hand the churches many of us consider liberal because of their low view of Scripture often do them most for providing and loving the poor. (now I do think they become too busy working for the poor that they never get around to explaining the Gospel but that’s another story)
Second, in our conservative American Christianity we want to understand everything. We want to nail down what we believe about Scripture and Jesus and Sin and Salvation and Atonement and Sanctification. After spending some time this summer in the Air Force I am starting to become a little more comfortable and ok with some ambiguity in Scripture. Each Christian denomination emphasizes some Scriptures and de-emphasizes others, my self included. But in reality if we emphasized all of them we would just be confused. Because no matter how much you study, there is ambiguity in Scripture over free will and predestination as well as in other areas.
And on a final note… There is an old story about a guy who was holding the tail of a great big elephant and was asked to describe the elephant and he said it was like a rope. There was also a guy who what holding on to the leg and described it as a tree truck. The two men met and talked described the great big elephant; one described it as a rope and the other as a tree truck. They could not agree and then could not get along and then they went their own ways.
I say they probably went their own ways and planted their own church. We have got to learn the two greatest commandments and we have to learn how to LIVE them. I was reminded today about Ecclesiastes 12:12-14, "But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment including every hidden thing, whether good or evil."
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