Bible Studies

Part Two

Human beings have a long history of having added to, taken from, denying, and perverting what God has actually said, or twisting it, in order to justify their own desires and plans. In this, the devil is well-pleased, knowing the end result it produces.

“My people are destroyed for lack of (accurate) knowledge (Hosea 4: 6 NASB2020 parenthesis mine).”

There was about a 400-year gap in time after the writing of the last book of the Old Testament, and the beginning of the New Testament Gospels. The silence of God tests our commitment to what has already been revealed, and our willingness to wait for His timing for what is yet to take place.

 It is when God seems to have nothing new to say, that Man is more likely to begin adding to, or reinterpreting what has already been said, in an attempt to bring what has been said “up to date.”

The Bible was completed around 96 AD., with the writing of John’s Revelation, more than 2,000 years ago, completing a process that began around 1500BC. Skeptics say that something that old is old-fashioned thinking, disputing its relevance to our day and Age. But they will find that no one or nothing is more “old-fashioned” than God or the things of God, to Whom we will all give an account of the choices we make while here on Earth.

God’s hand can clearly be seen in this process of constructing what we now refer to as the Bible, determining what writings were and were not to be included.

Unfortunately, as in the case of just about everything else that God has given to us for our benefit, Man-made religions have a long history of adding to, taking from, or corrupting what God actually has to say in the pages of Scripture, resulting in denominational differences and divisions WITHIN the Christian Community, with each one believing that it is they who have gotten it right, to the exclusion of all others.

Religious teachings of men, be they correct or inaccurate, grow deep roots that are not easily removed.

Veteran pastor-teachers can tell you that it is much easier to edify a former atheist than it is to edify a newly born-again individual coming from a “religious” background. In such cases, some demolition must first take place in order to make room for building a Biblically-based, edified soul structure (1), on the newly laid foundation (2).

As it pertains to our study of guilt, this Hosea 4: 6 lack of accurate information has resulted in false teachings and accompanying practices that, “call evil good, and good evil (Isa. 5: 20 NASB2020),” leading some to believe that eternal security is a license to sin, and others to feel guilty where there is no actual guilt in view. Liberals tend to see nothing wrong with anything, and legalists tend to see something wrong with everything.

Never-the-less, only what a correct interpretation and application of what Scripture actually has to say will take place in God’s timing. It therefore would be in the best interests of all of us to learn what God has actually said, and is saying, in Scripture, and eliminate all the “add-ons” and “deletions” that are no more than the teachings and the products of Man.

Many church-goers would be shocked to learn just how many of the teachings and practices that have evolved within the Christian Community of our day that have no Biblical foundation, or that in some cases, contradict what the Bible actually has to say. Complicating matters even more, is how the roots of much activity taking place WITHIN the Christian Community can be traced back to the pagan world, or to practices that WERE (past tense) a part of, and intended only for, the Old Testament dispensation.

Religious authorities, parents, husbands, and persons in positions of authority have a long history of trying to control their subordinates by guilting them into doing things (or not doing things) by misquoting or misapplying Scripture.

Keep in mind that when Jesus was tempted by the devil (3), Satan accurately quoted, but misapplied Scripture. Jesus responded, not by disputing the accuracy of the Scripture being quoted, but by quoting other Scripture and properly applying both to the situation at hand.

Advancing disciples are well aware that by quoting “selected” verses of Scripture, or by taking what was said out of context, a clever speaker can make the Bible appear to say just about anything he or she wants. Weak believers, not having a fully-rounded, Biblically-edified soul structure, can be easily deceived, or manipulated, being put on false guilt trips.

It amazes me to see how careful some of us are when it comes to monitoring the quality and the quantity of the food and actions some take to preserve our bodies that are here today and will be gone tomorrow, but take a “good enough” approach to what we feed and do with our souls that are going to live on, in one environment or the other, for all of eternity.

Christians would be well-advised to at least consider the advice of Gamaliel recorded in Acts 5: 35-39, when we interact with people who hold different positions as to the interpretation and application of Scripture. We will examine this point further in Part 3.

Assuming that WE have ALL the right answers can lead to a humiliating outcome. We are not to be swaying back and forth between different opinions that come along, but we should take every opportunity to conduct 2Cor. 13:5 self-examinations to reinforce what we have gotten right, and be willing to make changes when led by the Spirit to make any necessary adjustments in our own edified soul structure.

Matt. 7: 24-27 (2) 1Cor. 3: 11, 12 (3) Matt.4/Luke 4

End of Part 2