Using God's Word

The Word of God is not just words on a page, but comes with His power attached. That does not mean we can quote it as some magic formula, without considering its real meaning. But it does mean we can turn to it for appropriate help. It has an essential place in many aspects of the Christian life. It is involved in salvation (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; James 1:18). It can reveal to us the things we need to change in our lives (James 1:22-24; Hebrews 4:12,13; Jeremiah 23:29). It can enable us to change and be the people we should be (2 Timothy 3:16,17; John 17:17; Psalms 119:9). It can assist us in resisting temptation (Matthew 4:1-11; Psalms 119:11; 19:11-14). And finally, we can come to rejoice and delight in God’s Word (Psalms 19:7-10; 119:103; 40:8).   

Now the power is not some magic in the words themselves, but in the Holy Spirit working through the words (2 Corinthians 3:1-6; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16; John 6:63). And the fundamental heart of God’s truth is the gospel which saves us (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Galatians 1:8,9). It is this gospel that unleashes God’s power into our lives through His Spirit, through the Word, to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:29; Ephesians 2:10). How, then, can we appropriate for ourselves this Word?

First,we need to know it (Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 5:11-14; Acts 17:11) and meditate on it (Psalms 1:2; 119:15; Joshua 1:8). Now meditation does not mean sitting in a lotus position and emptying your mind of all thought. Rather it means thinking about and trying to understand God’s word. This can involve reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word. Now this should result in, not just knowing God’s word, but doing it (James 1:25; 4:17; Matthew 5:19). While the Word has power to change us, we have to let it do its work in us. It is as we let God’s Word work in us that we can make His promises and commands more clearly a part of our daily lives. This is not some magic talisman. It involves carefully understanding what the Scripture means in context. But it is in the process of this study that we come to understand who God is and what He has done and what He requires of us. Now we each have to do this in our own way, using the methods and approaches that work for us. I do not want to force people into a legalistic straitjacket, but I do want to encourage us to make God’s Word, and knowing, understanding, and doing it, a priority in our lives. Because it is only as we discipline ourselves to do this that the Word becomes part of our lives that its power might change us.

Avoiding Myths

As Christians we are told to avoid falling for cleverly devised fables that turn us away from our real obligation to follow Christ (Titus 1:10; 1 Timothy 4:3-7; 2 Peter 1:16).  How then do recognize error and avoid it? The basic test is whether it stacks up to what is taught in the Word of God (Isaiah 8:20; Acts 17:11; John 17:17). Not only should a view not directly conflict with Scripture, but if it is a fundamentally new idea, not grounded in Scripture, it is suspect (Jude 3, 2 Timothy 3:16,17, Hebrews 1:1,2). If someone is unwilling to let their views be tested by Scripture or claims the Scriptures have been corrupted, this in itself is a clear red flag (Matthew 24:35; 5:18; Psalms 12:6,7). But what specific things should we look for as danger signs?

Those who follow Christ will have the right idea of God (Deuteronomy 13:1-4; Isaiah 43:10-13; Romans 1:22,23). This involves not just naming the name of God, but having a correct idea of His nature. Further, Christian truth should center around Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5). If it exalts some other person or some organization before Christ, it is wrong. Also, Scriptural truth will give central place to the gospel (Galatians 1:8,9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Romans 1:16). That Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and that we are saved by faith in Him and not our own works (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9). 

But on the practical side we should beware of those who deny that God’s salvation should result in an inner transformation (Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5). For our response to God’s love for us should be to want to serve Him (1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; Romans 12:1,2). And a clear sign of a false teacher is telling people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear (2 Timothy 4:3,4; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4). But we also should beware of those who want to add things to Scripture that God never commanded (Titus 1:14,15; 1 Timothy 4:3-5; Colossians 2:16-23). Now there have always been disputes in the Christian church over various commands, and there is a place for being sensitive to the scruples of others (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8, 9:19-23). But multiplying commandments is a bad sign. However, perhaps the clearest sign of a false teacher is that they do things only for their own personal gain (Titus 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:5-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:5). Now some can be suspicious on this subject, even to the point of rejecting legitimate Scriptural teaching on giving. But we should be careful of those who are using God’s ministry as a way to obtain money. This is a short list of things to look for, but we need to be careful of what teaching we believe and follow, that we may not be diverted from following Christ.

Approaching God's Word

There is a Peanuts cartoon where Linus is shown lying on his stomach, reading a Bible. Lucy asks him what he is doing and he replies he is “looking for a Bible verse to back up my preconceived notions.” Unfortunately, this is all too commonly the way we approach Scripture. But if we are to live consistent with the idea that the Bible is the Word of God, capable of teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training us so we are equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16,17), we need to make it the authority in our lives. This means we start from what Scripture says and test other things by it. Otherwise, it makes it difficult for God to change us because we change Scripture to fit what we want it to say. James pictures the Word of God as a mirror which we look in to see our true self (James 1:22-25). But the question comes whether, having seen what we really are we change, or walk away and forget what we saw.   

But it is easy to take the world’s assumptions and read them into Scripture. For instance, our culture sees angels as the spirits of those who have died. They are pictured as having wings and white robes and sitting on clouds playing harps. They are not uncommonly pictured as cute. Scripture says angels are another part of God’s creation, distinct from human beings (Hebrews 2:5-16). They appear either in human form and not easily distinguishable from us (Genesis 19:1-11) or in complicated majestic forms (Ezekiel 1:4-21; 10:15-17). They are frequently so overwhelming that those who should know better are tempted to worship them (Revelation 22:8,9). This may seem a secondary issue, but I have seen the same principle at work in more crucial matters. For instance, I have seen people argue in favor of things clearly contrary to the Word of God, such as homosexuality (Romans 1:26,27) and racism (Acts 17:26).

There are things we can do to help avoid these types of errors. We should base our understanding on all of Scripture and not just a few odd verses. I am convinced that God is not shy, and the things He regards as important (such as what we must do to be saved) He says over and over again so we will get them. Also, we should understand issues based on the passages where God directly addresses them (for instance, in the case of salvation, the first half of Romans). If we find places which seem to conflict, frequently they reflect different aspects of the same truth and we need to ask how they fit together (for instance, James 2:14-26 is not explaining how to be saved, but what the results of salvation are in an individual’s life). But most of all, we should understand Scripture based on what it says, not what makes sense to us or what we have been taught. Only then will Scripture change us rather then us changing Scripture.