Let the Bible Speak

Orthodoxy can be defined as adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream or generally accepted creed. Within Christianity, orthodoxy refers to the acceptance of doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in antiquity. However, different Churches accept different creeds and councils. The point is that there is no singular mainstream or generally accepted belief. Instead, Christianity is a conglomeration of factions that have a hard time agreeing on many things, even the requirements of being a Christian. A significant portion of Christian doctrine is subject to private interpretation. Since Jesus and the New Testament writers are basically silent on any hierarchy of New Testament doctrine, this work is left to the Holy Spirit. As a result, each believer needs to develop a capacity to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

My journey to experience God’s presence and hear His voice has included a series of major life challenges that seemed to accompany the teachings I received in my Bible college classrooms. God was bringing to life the Biblical truths I was now learning, and it was up to me to accept them as true, not just theologically but personally. It has taken the extended classroom of my life's details to make them real in a personal sense. Through this process, the Word of God comes alive, and I am now able to hear Him personally speak to me through the thoughts that He gently whispers to my spirit (the still small voice of 1 Kings 19:12). No longer are they idle thoughts, but His voice is directing me in the details of life by the Holy Spirit. In Romans 10:17, the Bible says, So, faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word [rhema – that which is spoken by the Holy Spirit] of Christ. Faith is built on hearing the Spirit of Christ illuminate the Word of God. This process is uniquely personal.

Your Sins are Forgiven 

When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together so that there was no longer room, not even near the door, and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately, Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'? "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,"—He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home." And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."                        Mark 2:1-12

The public ministry of Jesus centered on His teaching the twelve and the masses. As the mediator of a new covenant, He was bringing new understanding to the Scriptures as He revealed Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God. The Jewish leadership of His day completely rejected His claim to deity and, therefore, all of His words. There is a vivid picture of this process in the passage above. A paralytic is lowered into a crowded room where Jesus was teaching, looking for healing. Jesus observed the effort of the four men to get that paralytic before Him and told the man his sins were forgiven. The reaction of the scribes in the room was predictable, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. To confirm the authority of His words, Jesus said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home," after he had healed him. When the hearer recognizes the authority of the Word, written or spoken, it has supernatural power. Paul observed this attitude among believers in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, where they received the Word spoken from the pulpit as if God had spoken it directly. 

God promised the Jews that they would walk in His ways, and it would be well with them if they would "obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people." Both the Hebrew and Greek words translated obey have the basic meaning of “listening closely with the intention to obey." When the Jews did not incline their ear to God's words, they went backward (Jeremiah 7:23-24). This principle holds just as true for the New Testament believer as well.

Inspired by God

In the church age, believers have the distinct advantage of living in a new covenant, secured by the completed work of Christ on Calvary's cross. We also enjoy access to the full canon of Scripture, which affords us a deeper understanding of the character and nature of God through the doctrines addressed and further defined in both the Old and New Testaments. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul addresses all Scripture as "inspired by God and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness ."The study of Scripture doctrinally (teaching by category) brings the believer into a more in-depth comprehension of His thoughts on a particular subject. This approach to the Word of God provides the framework that enables believers to hear and understand His voice. 

In Deuteronomy 5:24, Moses says, “Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives”. The reference is to Moses hearing the voice of God from Mount Sinai and receiving the Law in Exodus 20, but it also speaks to His voice in the midst of the fires of man’s living experiences – and he still lives. To hear the voice of God is to recognize His greatness and glory.

Diligence

Be diligent [spoudazo – to make every effort to do one’s best] to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling [orthotomeo – handle correctly] the word of truth.                  2 Timothy 2:15

The fulfillment of God’s life in each believer is related to diligence and a willingness to pursue, to seek after truth with an attention to accuracy as a critical part of the process. It includes a proper exegesis, the critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially in relation to biblical works. It involves careful study to uncover the intended meaning of the text by analyzing its historical and cultural context. Through this process, the Bible becomes the word of truth.

A Finished Work Foundation

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct [paraggello – advance an order to] certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation [zetesis – exchange of words, philosophies instead of pursuit of truth] rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal [telos – termination or objective, goal] of our instruction [paraggelia – order, command] is love [agape – brotherly affection which Jesus commands and inspires] from a pure [katharos – clean, pure, unsoiled] heart and a good conscience [conscience of integrity] and a sincere [anupokritos – genuine, without hypocrisy] faith.               1 Timothy 1:3-5

The new covenant relationship with God is predicated on the premise that the work of Christ was complete, as evidenced by Jesus’s declaration on the cross, “It is Finished.” He meant that His work of redemption for all believers was perfect, leaving nothing to be accomplished by the believer in this life. Sanctification is not merely living under the rules and regulations of God's laws but instead receiving His grace as a free gift and allowing it to cause the believer to honor God in their life. In Titus 2:12, it is the grace of God that instructs the believer to surrender to God's will and live sensibly, righteously, and godly since he is able to deny ungodliness and worldly desires. The finished work of Christ produces the proper foundation for anyone wanting to be connected to His love. Paul defines it most completely in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Consider the following:

Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” This comes from a genius – a genius who didn’t talk until he was four or read until he was seven. Einstein’s teachers labeled him “slow” and “mentally handicapped.” He may have been last in his class to do what the rest could, but certainly, Einstein wasn’t any less than his peers. He just had his own way of thinking — a way of thinking that would earn him the Nobel Prize and change the way we understand our world.

When the teaching a believer receives is not founded on the finished work of Christ, he will be asked to fulfill God's desire for a spiritual life without the spiritual ability to accomplish it. Romans 8:3-4 tells us, For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Walking according to the Spirit is possible only when the believer is convinced that his position before God is perfect and is the basis of his life in Christ. Einstein had a mindset that allowed him to be the great thinker he became; the finished work of Christ provides the same spiritual mindset leading to a pure heart, and a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Love Fulfills the Law 

Owe nothing to anyone except to love [agapao – to esteem, place high value on] one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.       Romans 13:8-10 

We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Paul recognized that the Law of Moses is fulfilled in the love of others. The ability to esteem or place high value on others, even those who don't deserve love, stems from our acceptance that God loves us unconditionally. The Apostle John understood this kind of love like no other New Testament writer and illuminates some of these thoughts below:

But whoever keeps [tereo – guards, observes] His word [logos – the revelation of God’s will], in him the love of God has truly been perfected [teleioo – matured, completed]. By this, we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides [meno – remains, continues] in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner [kathos – according as, equivalent to the way] as He walked. Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.                  1 John 2:5-11 

John wants the new covenant believer to be convinced that loving others is central to his relationship with God. The one who observes with great intention to obey the revelation of God's will in his life is completed in the love God has demonstrated to him. It brings his perfect position into his experience. He can walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light (1 John 1:7), an openness and responsiveness to the Light. This creates intimacy and fellowship between Jesus and the believer, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

John also speaks of an old commandment which you have had from the beginning, found in Leviticus 19:18: ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” He is bringing this commandment to the forefront of the new covenant relationship with God, in agreement with Jesus’s words to a Pharisee in Matthew 22:37-40. In response to his question, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Jesus said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND," and “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Later, Jesus gave His disciples the new commandment in John 13:34-35: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another." Loving God and others is the most significant evidence of a finished work relationship with God. As Paul concludes his first letter to the Corinthians, Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).

Knowledge Makes Arrogant

Now, concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.                  1 Corinthians 8:1-3 

Too much of preaching in evangelical churches today is preoccupied with Biblical knowledge without purpose. There are 31,102 verses in the Protestant Bible and millions of messages to be extracted by the preacher to enlighten the congregation. However, biblical knowledge without a divine purpose does not promote the believer's walk with God; the central theme should always be motivated by love. Love edifies. In James 1:27, Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. It all comes down to loving God (keep oneself unstained) and loving others.

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

These words were written by Rich Mullins, a contemporary Christian songwriter in his song “Sometimes by Step.” The essence of a daily walk can be refined to a simple approach of seeking Him daily, in the simplicity of the details of life, and. thereby learn that each step is an opportunity to be led by His Spirit, in every situation