SQUINT

There are two broad categories of error Christians need to understand. The first is doctrinal and involves what one believes. The second is practical and involves what one does.

Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). The doctrinal portion of this verse involves the Lordship of Christ and is correct. Jesus is Lord. The Greek word translated “Lord” is kurios and means master, owner, ruler, one who has control. So, to call Jesus “Lord” and yet not “do” what He says is an error in practice not doctrine.

Errors in practice are a serious problem for the local church. We are often not as godly as we ought to be or as forgiving or as committed. Yes, we Christians repeatedly fall short of the great doctrines we affirm, but that in no way invalidates them. On the contrary, it even confirms many of them, like the doctrine of the sinfulness of man. 

The opposite error is much harder to see. In fact, many never see it. It is the error of looking right but being wrong. It is possible to do things that look outwardly consistent with Christian teaching but not be scriptural at all. People see a church that matches their idea of what a church should look like or feel like and then assume it is a scripturally sound church. Big mistake.

What I’m saying is this:

It is a mistake to assume that a zealous and passionate church is a scripturally sound church (Romans 10:2).

It is a mistake to assume that a growing church is a scripturally sound church (Matthew 23:15).

It is a mistake to assume that a church with exciting worship services is a scripturally sound church (Exodus 32:6-7).

It is even a mistake to assume that a church which does many wonderful things in “Jesus name” is a scripturally sound church (Matthew 7:22-23).

Be careful not to judge a church by mere outward appearance. It may “feel” right and “look” right but be dead wrong.

Have you noticed the increase in warning labels over the years? Some of them are a bit ridiculous. But others, especially in relation to inherently dangerous things, are vital. Think of a chain saw. The first thing you’ll see upon opening the box is a warning label (probably in bold red letters) that says something like, “Stop! Read the owners manual and all warnings before operating.” It makes sense to read the warnings first. When you think about it, that’s pretty good advice for Bible study as well.

With all the confusion and false teachings out there one would do well to begin by reading the warnings found in the Bible. After all, errors and misrepresentations have been around since Jesus’ day.

You may remember the touching scene after Christ’s resurrection where Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep (a metaphor for followers). After that Jesus spoke about Peter’s death and how it would glorify God. Peter then asked what plans the Lord had for John. Jesus answered, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:22). In other words, Jesus told Peter to stay focused on his own responsibilities and not worry about John.

Somehow Jesus’ words got turned around and people began teaching that John would remain alive until the Second Coming.  

The same thing often happens today and not only to the words of Jesus. One interesting passage written by the Apostle Peter warns of those who were perverting the words of Paul. Peter knew Paul’s teachings well enough to realize that they were being twisted and misinterpreted. In 2 Peter 3:16 he refers to those who do so as unlearned and unstable because they “wrest” (Greek strebloo – to wrench or pervert) the scriptures.

That passage also stands as a reminder that Peter and Paul were in agreement about Jesus and His great work of redemption.

Be warned, there are still those who would pervert the gospel. They turn Paul’s words against Peter’s and even the Lord’s. Skillfully they stack and shuffle scriptures until they “prove” their unorthodox views. It’s so dire these days that one can even find those who teach that the Christian church and Christian gospel did not even begin with Christ but with one of the apostles. Amazing.

Make no mistake, the Bible teaches that Peter and Paul willingly gave their lives proclaiming the singular message of Christ crucified, risen, and coming again.        

Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Regrettably people settle for less. Many are entertained but not free. Sincere but not free. Passionate but not free. Spiritual but not free. Without truth there is no freedom.

One task of proper Bible study is to replace misbeliefs with truth – truth that is firm and fixed because it is grounded in the God who does not lie (Titus 1:2).

The Scriptures teach that we do not have to be content with relative notions about the truth. We can actually know the truth. We can even have a personal relationship with God Himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          Unfortunately, the Bible also tells that there are false teachers out there who twist and misrepresent the truth. Jesus, Paul, and Peter all warn of them.    

The Apostle Peter: “But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God and even turn against their Master who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end.  Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and his true way will be slandered.  In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction is on the way” (2 Peter 2:1-3 NLT).

The Apostle Paul: “I know that after I am gone, others will come like fierce wolves to attack you. Some of your own people will tell lies to win over the Lord’s followers. Be on your guard! Remember how day and night for three years I kept warning you with tears in my eyes” (Acts 20:29-31 CEV).

          The Lord Jesus Christ: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15 NIV).

In light of these warnings every student of the Word needs to proceed with extreme caution. Distortions, misrepresentations, and half-truths cause many to lose their way. As it turns out, careful Bible study requires two things that modern Christians find difficult – patience and discernment.

Patience is the ability and capacity to wait, to allow time to pass, to submit to God’s timing and process. It takes time to read and study the Bible. There are no short-cuts. The popular “group-talk” Bible study guides are a sad by-product of an impatient generation. You know the drill, read some passage from the Bible and then answer questions like: “What are your first impressions?” “How does it make you feel?” “What is God saying to you?” and on and on. That’s not Bible study. At best it is a benign form of talk therapy that allows everyone to participate and anyone to “facilitate” (compare with Acts 8:30-31).   

Discernment, on the other hand, is the ability to rightly apply the biblical judgment acquired through patient study. The two main Greek words associated with discernment are anakrino, meaning to examine or judge closely, and diakrino, to separate out, to investigate, to examine. The Bible teaches that Christians must learn to discern. They must be able to properly test all teachings and actions against the Biblical standard. They must know the fit and function of the various truths presented in order to rationally apply them with confidence. Of course this ought to be done sparingly in the beginning stages. Until one has actually read the Bible and established a foundation of familiarity with it, discernment is next to impossible (Matthew 22:29).            

One cannot attempt honest Bible study without facing up to the kind of basic questions Christians have grappled with for centuries. Is the Bible a supernatural and unique revelation from God or is it something less? Is it the sole authority on matters of Christian faith or can it be superseded by something else?  Is the Bible complete or is God still speaking through dreams, visions, and voices today? Is the Bible socially flexible? In other words, if the teachings of the Bible fall out of fashion with what is politically correct may those passages be reinterpreted or ignored? Does the Bible contradict itself?

If you don’t care for those questions there are hundreds of others. The fact of the matter is that every time you settle on an answer to any biblical question it will move you toward one theological camp and away from another. If you ask enough questions and remain consistent with your conclusions you will soon arrive at one of the well established doctrinal positions. It’s unavoidable.

Unfortunately “doctrine” and “denominations” have been so thoroughly demonized by pop culture Christians that many people actually believe it is better to have no doctrine and be non-denominational. Vague generalities and subjective personal experiences are all the rage these days. Bible tested answers and concrete convictions just don’t sit well in a culture that thinks truth is relative and love means accepting everyone just as they are.  

Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36).

This week’s principle for serious Bible study is simply this: Truth has consequences. The more truth one learns the more one is responsible for living consistently with that truth and the less one is able to compromise… even for the sake of unity.

          One of the most obvious realities about Bible study is that well-meaning people often disagree about what God’s Word teaches. Even experts who have spent years learning and studying the Bible in its original languages come to different conclusions relative to many fundamental teachings. Each Christian denomination holds views that differ enough to make them incompatible with the others. Certainly there are areas of agreement among the different groups, but the differences occur at critical points that allow no compromise.

Many sincere Christians mistakenly believe that the Scriptures are exempt from the law of non-contradiction and that somehow it dishonors God to think of Him as a perfectly logical being. Yet the Scriptures assert that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). Those “truths” (and all truths) about God are only true if the law of non-contradiction holds.       

That brings us to today’s principle for personal Bible study. Make sure your beliefs (interpretations) are logically consistent. If you believe that God exists you cannot also believe that He does not exist, to do so would be absurd – unthinkable.

There are several fundamental principles that must be kept in mind if one hopes to understand the Bible properly. The first is to realize that every person comes “pre-programmed” with certain beliefs. These beliefs (preconceptions) may be anything from simple generalizations to ingeniously complex theological systems. Either way, what one believes beforehand will influence how one interprets and understands the Bible.

Consider for a moment how different your understanding of the Bible would be if you believed that God did not exist. Every reference to “God” would be interpreted as some type of myth, metaphor, or mistake. On the other hand, think how different your views would be if you assumed that the Bible was a cryptic puzzle that required some obscure interpretational scheme or complex formula to be understood. Then again, what if you believed the Bible was something more to be “felt” or “experienced” emotionally rather than understood and applied sensibly?

So, become aware of the basic ideas (preconceptions) you bring to the study of the Bible and consider how they influence your understanding of it.

In one helpful passage the Apostle Paul tells his protégé, Timothy, to remember the scriptures he has learned from his youth (the Old Testament) because they would help lead him to faith in Jesus. Then Paul proclaims that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

With Iran racing forward with its nuclear program, Israel now believes the Islamic Republic will master centrifuge technology and be able to begin enriching uranium on a military scale this year, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The new assessment moves up Israel’s forecasts on Teheran’s nuclear program by almost a full year - from 2009 to the end of 2008. According to the new timeline, Iran could have a nuclear weapon by the middle of next year (Read Full Story).

What are the chances that Israel will launch a preemptive strike on Iran before Bush leaves office?  I’d say about 85%. 

“Iranian President Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be wiped off the map and talks of the Jewish people’s annihilation.  America should send a message to the Iranian dictator - Israel will have the full weight of America’s missile defense system to defend herself,” stated Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk.

To that end, On May 5, almost 70 leading Democrats and Republicans signed the Kirk-Harman Letter backing the X-Band Ground-Based Early Warning Radar Fully Integrated with U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Program. The radar would double Israel’s missile defense range, increase engagement time six-fold. (Full Story Here)

“It is not we who win the lost by the help of Christ, it is Christ himself who does the soul-winning through the lives and lips of yielded disciples. And so it is not so much a question either of equipment or lack of it, as it is a question of his absolute possession and control, by the Holy Spirit, of whatever equipment we may have. When the Holy Spirit controls a Christian, he will be constrained, impelled, borne along, to go after the lost, command or no command. The great essential, therefore, in soul-winning is to be completely possessed, through the fullness of the Spirit, by him whose life on earth it was to seek and to save the lost.” – J. E. Conant 1922