GOD has Spoken..
Receive the truth of His written WORD!
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.
THE REASON WE ARE HERE - TO TEACH THE BIBLICAL TRUTH
We have all
heard an expression similar to “Read it again for the first time”. That is how the reading of the Bible should
be approached. Most of us do not read
the Bible to see what it says. We read
it to find the stories we have been taught.
In that process we overlook what is actually written and only see what
we are looking for. It can be difficult
to read objectively when the emotions of religion are involved. Finding what we want feels good.
Taking a new
first look at scripture is a God given direction. Hebrews 5:12 can be applied here. “In fact, though by this time you ought to be
teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid
food!” (NIV) This
tells us that, as adults, we sometimes need to go back to re-learn the
basics. When we do that, we might realize
some of the stories that have been passed down over the years are not accurate
to what God inspired the writers of scripture to record.
Some stories may have originally been told so we can feel
good about ourselves and our relationship with God. Extra biblical sources contributed to the
creation of some stories. Trying to give
explanations for scripture we don’t fully understand have yielded interesting stories. After the passing of time, we may not be able
to pinpoint how or why some stories were crafted.
If we do not lay aside prior learning as we read scripture for the
second (or third) first time, we probably will not notice the inaccuracies of
the traditional stories.
Our natural human tendency is to read into the text
(eisegesis) what we have been taught and expect it to say. We must be led by the Holy Spirit (the Spirit
of Truth) if we desire to gain from the text (exegesis) the true meaning and
message. Then there can be no claims of conflict
or contradiction found within scripture.
What we most commonly identify as the “truth” is simply what
we have come to believe from our years of being taught. It is time to, “Do your best to
present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15,
NIV) We should be careful not to always accept,
too easily, the “truth” as taught. But
rather, search for “The Truth As Written”.
God is Spirit
The Truth of His Word as it is written.