by David Brenneman
Many years ago I knew a man who's ambition to read spiritual books and materials actually got him in a load of trouble.
To the Church of God, what some call the Universal Church, there's only one book that matters, the only that has the words of life, that's the Bible.
A friend, years and years ago, often quoted a particular man who had lived many decades ago and had been a pastor. In remembering the truth taught to me that my Bible is to be held above all other commentaries etc, I sought another friends input on gaining a collection of that man's commentaries.
A month ago now I received a Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible. Realized that God had wanted me to follow another friends path of a chapter a day in Proverbs. So that's what I have been doing. Currently am repeating that pln as 31 days have elapsed. In his opening comments to the book of Proverbs Dr. Jeremiah says that the original language word for wisdom is the word "skill". Skill is what you learn in doing something.
We can easily find self-help books, webinars, podcasts, television shows from many "popular" people. While these MIGHT be ok to supplement your walk with Jesus, adding to your own local Church, they should not replace your local Church.
We need the skill, the wisdom, of God and to be straight up blunt, there's a lot of false teachers in this world. Sadly they hide in plain sight on purported Christian networks. Again, it's not on me to name names, but it's on every single Believer to not take any man of God's word at face value. We are supposed to be in the Word ourselves to see if what they say is entirely true from the only true source, the Word of God.
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Deception is is game. Twisting the thoughts of men and women everywhere to believe what isn't true.
Suffice to say there some extremely popular television "evangelists" who have a very very rude awakening coming from Jesus for misleading billions of people.
When the Bible says something that we should do, then that's it, end of story. It's not on anyone to create excuses or exceptions.
When the Bible says something that offends people, then it's doing what it's supposed to be doing, bringing conviction concerning sin.
When we ignore it, twist it, to get what makes us happy in life, we are in fact sinning.
We can, like the man I used to know, be buried in head knowledge about Jesus, about this spiritual matter or that.
None of it matters in light of becoming more like Christ Jesus. Period. Exclamation point.
It grieves the Spirit when people read what they want to from the Word of God for their own purposes. When people justify the bitterness of their souls to justify their life's choices in living how they are. When people falsely accuse others in anger without having all the facts.
What's equally bad is people who live in truthful disobedience and immerse themselves in everything they can on this or that Spiritual "teaching" in order to not address what God's still specifically telling them they need to and ought to be doing.
God's Word is clear. It's not complicated in the basics. We harbor bitterness and anger, it will always hinder or even block our relationship with Jesus Christ. No book or teaching by anyone, anywhere, overrides that truth. We can potentially do everything "right" but if we are disobedient in one area we are disobedient in everything. The Spirit isn't going to move us forward until we address what He says, no matter what anyone on any platform preaches or teaches.
Head knowledge does not save anyone.
Demons have way more head knowledge about God than all of humanity combined.
Head knowledge has never saved one single person. It's the conviction of the Spirit that brings repentance that leads to salvation in Christ Jesus. The Spirit saves. Once the work of the Spirit in salvation happens, since we had nothing to do with it, it cannot be undone. We are then supposed to be seeking men of God who preach and teach the Word of God in truth. The original language for Pastor, Elder, Teacher is only in the male description. Never in the female description. Timothy was the first Pastor. The teaching he received from Paul was to be perpetuated throughout the centuries until the return of Jesus Christ.
The passage about knowing people by their fruits...it's a truth of God. It's reliable.
Can be received with all confidence better than taking it to the bank.
Public opinion, popularist teaching, does not negate one single truth from God's Word. If anything, any person, teaches does not exactly line up with the Word of God, they are a deceiever, a false prophets or false teacher.
Many people who claim to be Christians rage at other. This isn't from the teaching from my Bible for sure.
Many people who claim to be Christians refuse the truth that God shows them and instead try to warp the word of God to fit their lives.
Many people who claim to be Christians aren't living out their true purpose in this life because they have decided they aren't going to listen to God anyway. They will immerse themselves in every other teaching by countless means and people but will not receive what the Spirit says is truth.
When we all stand before Jesus, only His words will matter in reviewing our lives.
Not any books by any authors other than those who were inspired by God to write the 66 that make up the Word of God.
If indeed God's speaking to you and you go out to find people telling you what you want to hear rather than accepting what the Spirit is telling you...you...my Dear Reader are blatantly sinning.
The Word of God is the Gold Standard for living life in Christ. Godly men sure can write or speak or preach the word of God in truth, but those words ought to always be checked with the Gold Standard.
If we disobey in one area we are disobedient in all. It matters not how immersed we are in even Bible studies or lectures or seminars or podcasts, streaming, whatever is out there. If anything is different than the Word of God it is a false teaching.
Jesus is the last word. His is the only word that matters. That gives life.
God says that if we intentionally hold or harbor sin in our hearts He will not hear our prayers. Doesn't matter what any popular so-called preacher says. That's what the Gold Standard says.
God defines what is sin, man does not. The Gold Standard tells what hinders a right relationship with Jesus. It's been true of every single person who has ever lived. Has never changed.
God's list of people who will never inherit the Kingdom of God is still as true today as it has been since the world was created.
God's Word on the truth that if we do not forgive others He will not forgive us, still stands by the Gold Standard. Doesn't matter how we try to justify our position. Doesn't matter who preaches otherwise.
God's Word on what the fruits of the Spirit are hasn't changed. Likewise the fruits of unrighteousness are likewise still the same. Bitterness, anger, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, malice, abusive speech. We are not God in that we fully understand the aspects of righteous anger.
We are to be holy as He is holy. The only true definition of that is only through the Gold Standard.
Our lives and purpose in this point in human history isn't for us to receive all that we wanted out of life after coming to Christ. It's for us to recognize and receive the whole counsel of God, the Truth, into our hearts and minds to grow with respect to salvation. The work of Jesus Christ is our sanctification. Not our happiness. If the Spirit wanted us to be happy He would have left every single Believer to go on living their own way.
Great deception is a herald of the days leading up to the return of Jesus Christ.
Deception is at our literal fingertips.
The extremely sad truth is after the Rapture of the Church the churches across the world will still be filled with deceived people. They were those, much like today, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
Personally, I have followed some advice to me and indeed I limit what materials enter my mind.
My conviction, at least my prayer is this, is that I would only be rooted and grounded in the Word of God. I might seek clarification from truly Godly men but, my daily sustenance Spiritually, is only the Word of God. Personally, I limit myself to primarily Dr. John C. Whitcomb, Dr. Herman Hoyt, Dr. James Boyer, Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. David Jeremiah and Dr. John MacArthur. My personal opinion on the others on the various platforms I will keep to myself but you probably already know what I think of them by this list.
Vast amounts of head knowledge about God does not replace or represent a life of obedience to Jesus.
We need to show the world Jesus Christ and nothing else. It's only found in the Gold Standard, the Bible.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. Lockman Foundation
No comments:
Post a Comment