THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF GOD'S WORD TO BELIEVERS
Our spiritual growth as true believers, is desperately in need of the accurate words of God which are truly the real spiritual food. Christ said it is vital to our growth and survival, even more than physical nourishment.
John 6:31-32, “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.’” (NKJV)
John 6:26-27, “Jesus answered ‘…But because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you…’”
John 6:35, “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’”
The words of God as inspired by Jesus, in both the Old and New Testaments, are the true spiritual food and the body and ministry of the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth.
John 6:68, “But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”
Revelation 22:19, “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Since God’s inspired words are so vital and protected by God, it benefits us immensely to correctly study them. True believers need to ask God to help us study and understand the Bible.
Psalms 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.”
Verse 125, “I am Your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know Your testimonies.”
We will describe principles that will help guide us into better and deeper understanding.
BE AWARE OF THE DANGER OF TUNNEL VISION
What is tunnel vision? It can be defined as narrowing of focus that causes a person to avoid facts in order to strengthen his own preconceived beliefs. Tunnel vision often causes a person to perceive and accept only what strengthens his preconceived thoughts about Biblical doctrines. Other verses and the context are ignored. We will look at one of the more blatant examples. In Acts 28:3-4, people have read of the miraculous powers given to Paul to protect him on his world changing evangelistic missions. They wish to prove their spirituality by handling snakes as a regular part of their church experience, hoping to be immune as Paul was from deadly venom. The founder of this movement had died recently of a poisonous snake bite. The context of the Bible would clearly show that Paul was an exception. All church leaders did not have such powers –– no less everyone.
Another much more popular example is that of the Rapture. Some read verses like 1 Thess. 4:16-17 and believe that all the real believers will be taken to heaven temporarily to avoid the Great Tribulation period entirely. Tunnel vision is the opposite of considering the context. The context of 1 Thess. 4:13-17 is the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead or sleeping saints WHEN He arrives. Paul is saying we should not sorrow for we will see them again at the second coming of the Messiah.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope … that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
Note that the brethren do not precede those passed away or asleep by three to seven years. No, we believers will not be taken to heaven before the tribulation. We fully understand why a preconceived bias to escape the great tribulation in heavenly bliss while watching those left behind suffering on Earth is so attractive.
USE COMMON SENSE CONTEXT AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In Matthew 5:30, Jesus uses hyperbole to drive home a point. A man years ago read this verse and because of using his hand to sin, ACTUALLY cut it off. When he arrived at the hospital he would not allow them to reattach his hand. He, twenty years later, sued the same hospital for not realizing that he was mentally unstable at the time and they should have forced him to have the surgery. Obviously, Jesus was saying that disobedience of the law can put you in the Lake of Fire which will consume you. We should do anything to resist sin. COMMON SENSE tells us what Jesus meant. We do not sin with our hands, we sin with our minds and hearts. See Mark 7:20-22. Paul compliments the Berea synagogue members for checking the overall scriptures.
Acts 17:10-12, “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed…”
These new converts searched the scriptures no doubt widely and saw the truth, as opposed to those in Thessalonica who wished to stay in good graces with the Jewish establishment. They saw the overall context and resisted wishful thinking. Paul never had to write a letter disciplining them.
REMEMBER THAT GOD IS NEVER WRONG –– HE DOES NOT NEED TO CHANGE
One must study God’s word with this premise. We should ask, “Why did God say that?” and “How can we gain deeper insight, to avoid tunnel vision AND UNDERSTAND THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT?” It is a false assumption that the Old Testament is done away. People use this idea to get around the fourth commandment and stay in and with the world. They say God ended His weekly and annual Sabbaths. Some have tried to misuse Ezekiel 20:25 to support such a wrongheaded premise. It is obvious that God is angry with them for desecrating His Sabbaths and other laws. He gives them over to their own legal devices.
Ezekiel 20:25, “Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live;”
God, through the prophet, is obviously not saying, “I gave you bad laws like the Sabbaths so you would suffer.”
Ezekiel 20:19-24, “I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 hallow My Sabbaths…21 Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments … but they profaned My Sabbaths … 22 Nevertheless I withdrew My hand … profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.”
The context proves the exact opposite of the critics’ assertions! God withdrew from them His wisdom and protection and they suffered from their own bad laws and decisions. Are our court decisions of the last 30 years hurting the nation?
Even though we no longer live in a theocracy governed by God, the principles behind His Laws are still valid. In 1 Cor. 9:9-11 the Apostle Paul is applying a minor law from Deuteronomy (25:4) to a gentile New Testament church. He used this Old Testament law as proof that he could have asked for a salary from the Corinthians, but deferred because he did not want it to be a barrier to growth. Note, the Old Testament is quoted liberally throughout the New Testament as doctrinal support and guidance. See Acts 24:14 to see what the main author of the New Testament believed.
Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Malachi 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
2 Timothy 3:16, “ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”
If one does not understand something in the O.T. never presume that God was wrong. We just do not yet fully understand the historical context, etc. God’s word cannot be broken, period!
