The Scriptures have been a centerpiece of our program over the past 14 years. But many “Christian” programs, churches, and ministries can make that claim. You’ve probably noticed there is a wide variety of opinions and interpretations as individual verses or passages can leave people in a place of bondage, hungering and thirsting for righteousness because the good news of the gospel is often missing. Much of this stems from mistakenly trying to apply the Old Covenant of law and mixing it with New Covenant grace. The written publication we know as “The Bible” hasn’t always existed. It went through many transformations with how it came to be published and continues to do so today. For centuries, most people never had easy access to these writings as many of us do today. How did they survive spiritually? It was by the life of Christ through God’s Spirit living in them. Of course we cherish the Scriptures and we know God is able to reveal actual truth to us by His Spirit when we are taught by Him. But those pages are not where life is attained or sustained… they point to the one and only source of Life - the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it biblical? When we hear this question, usually someone is asking if it’s in the Bible. Another motivation may be to find out if it’s a principle based upon the truth of the Bible. Since anyone can quote Bible verses and appear to be fitting them into a jigsaw puzzle in order to create a picture which fits their own belief system, this question may be overemphasized. It’s also interesting to see how many things found within the Mosaic law are sometimes considered as a part of Christianity, while other things within the very same pages are completely ignored. For example, in Deuteronomy 22, there are instructions on what to do if you come across a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground. Following the instructions to the letter would mean… “that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.” It’s as “biblical” as any other of the 613 commandments and statutes but it's hardly a mantra of the church today. So while the church continues to pick and choose old covenant commands to be considered “biblical” from a doctrinal perspective, they fail to realize you either have to follow the entire law or it all had to come to an end. Christ became the end of the law.
The first part of this week’s program wraps up what we’ve been discussing… with a reminder about the legalistic minded who quote certain passages which they think implies our eternal life and inheritance is based upon what we do and how we behave. We’re not dismissing the importance of behavior, but our inheritance is not based on that. The second half of the program starts a new conversation about the “biblical” catch phrase we often find in Christianity. We’re often trying to define and determine what is “biblical” and what is not. Another saying that is commonly heard is whether they are a “Bible believing church.” Just what does it mean when we determine whether something is deemed to be biblical while another version of belief is not? We’ll be laying down some thoughts that may cause people to reconsider how they define what is biblical.
