What God Says... |
Introduction I The Library
Foundational Truth
A foundation is necessary no matter what you are building, be it a physical structure, a business, a mission, an idea, a society, an organization, a city, a nation etc. Most foundational laws, constitutions and principles can be changed with amendments. However the best example of an unchangeable foundation is probably that of a large building, a high rise. After the building is built it is highly unlikely that the foundation will ever be changed. God's Word is like that and even more so. Jesus said that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one tittle of God's law to fail (Luke 16:17). That's pretty solid. Something you can count on, trust in and build your life on. However, not everybody believes that and others have a lot of questions about the Bible and about God.
A few years ago I was
in conversation with another Christian who brought up the the idea that
maybe God had a different way for Muslims to be saved. He had recently
had an encounter with someone that made him open to that thought. In that
conjunction he was also asking how we know for sure that the Bible is correct
in all it says. Maybe there is something that was left out and other things
that was added. After all it was written by humans, right? My response to that is always the same - that I believe what God says
in His Word to be true, for one reason only, because I have faith in that He - the I AM, the all Powerful Creator
of the universe is able to protect His Word. God puts it very simply like this:
Isa 55:11
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return
to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper
in the thing for which I sent it.
To even believe that, there has to be a very important component - FAITH:
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
How does faith start? God says that He draws those to Him who will be saved:
John 6:44: No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Galatians 3:22: But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Faith comes as people are exposed to the Word of God:
Romans 10:17: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Ephesians 1:13: In whom ye also
trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14: Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Hebrews 12:2: .....Jesus......who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.....
James 1:3: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.
Faith carries with it the responsibility of ACTION:
James 2:20: But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
The devil is still asking the question; "Has God said?", creating doubt in people's minds:
I Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
God says about Jesus' return:
Here is another very important aspect of faith. When Jesus was questioned how he would know these things;
16: Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17: If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or I speak from Myself.
We must be careful to point to what God says and not what we think. The Word of God is what is final in all matters and not our own opinion, and those who desires to do His will, shall know if it is from God or man. We must always point to and focus on Him that sent us.
The following is a short expository on the Word of God.
God says that we must be able to rightly divide (expound on) the word of truth...
2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.But before we set out to do that, we must be absolutely certain that the Word we are going to rightly divide is in fact the Word of God without anything taken away and nothing added and no human reasoning, rationalizing or thinking has influenced it as it has been delivered to people up through generations and to us today. We must have a solid foundation for believing that the entire Bible — The Word of God is in fact absolutely true, accurate and infallible. Because without that, we have no sure foundation on which to build, just opinions and philosophies of man which is no foundation at all.
Let's go back to the very beginning and see if we really believe that;
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Gen 1:1Do you believe that ?
It is probably the easiest question to ask and answer and a large percentage of people would probably answer in the affirmative, but saying yes to that question carries with it certain responsibilities. It's not enough to just say yes and go on with your ordinary life, because if you really and absolutely believe that, it would be sheer insanity to ignore it's further implications. Truly believing it will cause you to take certain actions towards what else God has to say. It means you have acknowledged that there is a designer, a master potter, someone who is in charge of it all and we are just the clay. Do you think that He knows a thing or two about life, since He started it all?
Believing that is the first step towards getting to know God through faith.
Have you ever had anybody ask you if you believe in the Bible? The answer would of course be yes if you are a true Christian (as explained later). Then the question might be narrowed down to: "Do you believe the whole Bible — cover to cover?" The answer for most Christians would still be yes. However, when an even narrower question is asked: "Do you believe everything in the Bible — that it means exactly what it says?", there will possibly be a variety of answers. If you take a certain portion of the Bible and ask people if they believe that, you might get a myriad of responses, depending on a lot of human factors. Now if those same questions were asked in a slightly different way, but having the same meaning, it might just make a difference how some people would answer. Let's try....
Do you believe the Word of God?Now, we are not talking about translations here, but the Word that God has provided to us through His chosen vessels as it was originally written under the instruction and inspiration of His Holy Spirit. Remember what He said;
Do you believe all the Word of God?
Do you believe God means everything He has said in His Word exactly the way He said it?
Tim 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Is the inspired Word of God debatable as to its accuracy and validity by fallible human intellect?
The big question is
really; Do we believe God is big enough and able to watch over, protect
and preserve His Word through human vessels in the form of the written
Word from generation to generation so that everyone who desires can know
exactly what God is saying — accurately and without deviation of any kind,
AND that it is applicable to all people everywhere?
Countless
volumes of books, articles as
well as colleges, universities and even Seminaries and Bible colleges
are
filled with human attempts to dissect the Word and make sense of it
often in a language that the ordinary person has problem understanding
and often with a very liberal viewpoint. Are there good stuff out
there? Absolutely, but to sift through it and see what is good and what
is not requires a good understanding of God's word in the first place.
What
about the Bible - God's Word all by itself? Can the ordinary person
read the Bible and understand what it takes to put their faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ
and live a victorious abundant Christin Life? Absolutely! Yes, we are
told to preach the Word and rightly divide, expound upon it etc. and
that is being done, but there are also those who sow doubts by writing,
teaching and preaching their "own version" of Christianity and
promoting themselves. The Pharisees proclaimed their own version of the
law according to the tradition and commandments of men. It was present
in the early church as well, and it is here with us today, but that does not change the Word;
Matthew 15:9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Acts
15:1: And certain men which came down from Judæa taught the brethren,
and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot
be saved.
II Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3: For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears;
4: And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
III John 1:9: I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
I
Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2: Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having
their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3: Forbidding to marry, and
commanding to abstain from
meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them
which believe and know the truth.
Do
you have a Christian worldview formed by what God says or is your
belief tainted by the world's views and the culture you live in?
We come back to the same question; Do we
really believe that God is big enough to protect His Word throughout the
ages so that it is saying what He wants to communicate to a lost world
at all times, accurately and without error?
If
you have a
problem
with that, you don't need to go any further. Certain references to God's
Word
or what is said here will make any sense to you. Because whenever
anything comes up that you have a problem with, do not agree with or
you don't understand, your own limited human intellect and/or opinion, influenced by external forces, will
kick in.
Those who honestly seek for the truth will find it and faith will come because He says;
Matthew 7:8: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
Romans 10:17: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
What is God saying here? To hear, someone has to speak audibly, right? Wrong!
Although God's word is preached through human vessels and we are
commanded to do so, God "speaks" through His word and it is not enough
to just read the word, but to "hear" what the Spirit says. There is a
sentence that is repeated several times as Jesus speaks to the seven
churches in Revelation;
Revelation of John 3:6: He who has an ear, let him hear [understand] what the Spirit says to the churches.
Are we listening?
So if you believe God's Word, let's go back to the beginning and see where the Word came from or rather who did it come from and listen to God who spoke the universe into existence and who is "upholding all things by the Word of His power" (Heb.1:3);
Joh
1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were
made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In
Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
1Jn
1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — the life was
manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that
eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that
which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have
fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and
with His Son Jesus Christ.
The Word is synonymous with Jesus Christ and the Word of God is a revelation of Jesus Christ to us. That's why Jesus said;
"If you love me, keep my commandments (Word) John 14:15.
You only get to know Jesus and have a relationship with Him through the Word and the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that:
"......the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Joh 14:26
If the Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance it first presupposes that you have heard what Jesus have said - through His Word.The Holy Spirit is the One who will reveal Jesus Christ to us. Hear what Jesus said;
- of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [see 1John 2:3,4]
- of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
- of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
The purpose of God's Word is not about gathering up knowledge, but to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, without which there can be no relationship with God. Jesus said;
AND..
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Act 4:12
So where does it start? With faith in Jesus Christ (the Word);
Furthermore, as referenced before, God says about His Word;
Isa 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.He's confirming that His Word will accomplish that for which is was sent and He continues to say that...
Tim 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of GodWhat portion of ALL do we not understand?
And - although God's Word has been delivered to us though human vessels, it was not however, their writings, but the writings of the Holy Spirit....
2Peter 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.The true foundation for the inerrancy of Scripture can never be found in earthly resources or human intelligence, research or reasoning because it is not based on any such substance. We cannot intellectually peruse that subject from other historic documents, the Dead Sea Scrolls, other material or archaeological finds to create such a foundation because it cannot be based on human findings. Oh, yes we have the Old Testament passed on down through Jewish generations and the writings of the early Church, both of which has been passed on through many generations and finally to us in the 21st century over which God has always been watching;
Isa 55:11 it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.It is interesting to see and show the world that there is physical evidence out there. However, God does not need archeology to prove Himself. It's almost as some breathe a sigh of relief at the discovery of new evidence that substantiate that the Bible is true. It's interesting, but that can never be the foundation for the validity of God's Word nor is it a basis for faith.
If there was a single person alone on an island and someone dropped him a Bible and he and started reading it and God would draw him by His Spirit, he would be able to respond by faith in Jesus Christ and be rewarded with eternal life without a single sermon, just because he believed and had faith in the Word of God. Faith became the evidence of things not seen....
The thief on the cross had enough faith in the "Word made flesh" hanging next to him and had only one request: "remember me...."That was enough.
As a matter of fact God says that no one has an excuse, because everything around us that we can clearly see, declare Him;
And from any point on the globe;
Psalms 19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psalms 50:6: And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
Psalms 97:6: The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
The only way we can
have a sure foundation that God's Word is infallible is by Faith. Not the
kind of belief in God that most people have – that they believe there is
a god or a power in the universe, but only the faith that is applied when
God almighty, the I AM, draws a person to respond and yield to Himself through faith in Jesus
Christ.
Most people when asked
will say they believe in God and that is very commendable;
James 2:19: You believe that there is one God, you do well; even the demons believe and tremble.
It's like God is saying; "Ladida - big deal"
However it's not enough to believe in God. Faith have two components Belief and Action;
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.First - to believe that He is.
Secondly - to diligently seek Him which will result in increased faith.
They are missing the most important part of that verse which says; AND ... that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him...
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.When a person responds to God's drawing and believes in Jesus Christ His Son and verbally confesses his faith, a miracle happens – he is born again by the Spirit of God;
Rom 10:10: For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Then there is a witness inside that testifies to the truth and THAT is the FOUNDATION. Those who do not have that foundational faith will always hear this question in their mind; "does it really mean exactly what it says?" Remember the one who first coined the phrase: "has God said?" (Gen.3:1) and it has never changed. The same question is being asked to day when they come across particular portions that they find hard to align themselves with or what is not popular in the generation in which they live, choosing rather to be politically correct. Have you ever hear people say; "Does it really mean exactly that? Or, "it was different back then. We live in a different society and it applies differently now than when Jesus was on the earth." In other words, they allow human "wisdom" to pass judgment on what almighty God has declared of His Word, that it never changes.
Matthew 5:18: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.Remember, as covered previously, the Word of God is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus and the Word is synonymous. The only way to God is through faith in the Son (The Word).
I Peter 1:23: ......the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.
Only then can we truly believe everything else He says in His Word. If we have doubts about what God says in His Word, we are listening to the creature - the "snake", rather than the Creator.Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Translations of God's Word from the original manuscripts may vary in different languages as not all have the richness of the meaning of the original, however God has made His Word known, His ordained Will and Purpose throughout all the ages in spite of some bad translations as well as all the efforts to discredit His Word by unbelievers.
Undoubtedly there are some who took it upon themselves to "translate" the Bible without having been ordained of God to do so. There are also other works called "Bibles" which are not really, because they are paraphrasing and is not a transliteration/translation. An example would be the Living Bible which is not a direct translation but a literary paraphrasing of the Bible. I am not saying it is bad, because it brings out the Gospel of Salvation and the broad scope of the message in an easy to understand format, however it is not a work that is useful for study of the Word of God, but supplementary - almost like a commentary.
In spite of all this the message that God purposed to be brought forth to every generation through His Word has been and is continually being accomplished and will be until the end of time.
Clearly God says that His Word did not come to be by private interpretation.
2Peter 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation (origin),There are a lot of people who ask; "How do we know that the all the writings in the Bible is actually God's Word?"
First by Faith. Then by Witness.
As referred to earlier, the prerequisite for that is the Faith of a child of God which is obtained by being born again, and those who truly believe in Him have this witness in himself;
1Jn 5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony (Word) that God has given of His Son.If we even question one thing in God's Word, we have opened the door to question anything we do not agree with and made ourselves judges and equals with God. I am reminded of someone else who had that aspiration... Satan!
Isa 14:14; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'And, we remember all too well what started the mess in the garden of Eden, when the devil simply asked a question and planted a seed of destruction in the human race; "did God really say that?"
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"He put the seed of doubt in her mind and it has been the question that all the children of the devil have been asking ever since. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees; "You are of your father the devil". Why, because they made their own "word" (rules and laws) and wanted to destroy the real Word. Jesus said;
Joh 8:44; You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.How do clever defense Lawyers get a criminal off the charges? By creating and "proving" "reasonable doubt" that they are guilty, in the minds of the jury. The devil has been using "reasonable doubt", from the very beginning, to defend his actions. Have you ever heard people say; "What's wrong with that"? What should rather be asked is; "What is right with that"?
If you believe that people have been able to change the meaning of God's Word over time, by leaving things out and adding some in or that humans had a say in what God says, then you do not have faith in a Creator who is big enough to protect His Word, but are leaving the accuracy of the Word to the finite limited intelligence of human beings influenced by the greatest defense lawyer of human reasoning - the devil, making mankind the god who decides what is right and true.
This is truly the god
of this age — who believes that mankind has all the answers or will be
able to obtain all the answers by themselves. How utterly foolish. Since
when did the clay say to the master potter that it was smarter than he?
Since when did any "thing" say it was smarter than the creator or designer
who made it? It would be foolishness, even to human reasoning, to think
that.
Isa 45:9; "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?Let's reiterate - in order to find out if we really believe in the infallible Word of God, we must establish two things.
Firstly,
do you really
believe that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"?
There are a lot of people that say they believe in God, but in
reality they don't. They believe in a higher power perhaps, but do not
believe in God, because if they really did, It would be downright
foolish
not to check out what else He, the Creator of the Universe, has to say
in His revealed Word — The Bible.
Secondly, If you do believe that, let's repeat the defining follow up question; Do you believe God is big enough and able to watch over, protect and preserve His Word through human vessels in the form of the written Word from generation to generation so that everyone who want to can know exactly what God is saying — accurately and without deviation of any kind, AND that it is applicable to all people everywhere?
Because if you do not believe that, you do not really believe that God is big enough to have created everything either. In other words, you have a very small god who only operates according to your own finite knowledge and understanding.
We refer to this scripture again - He said He would watch over His Word, but do you believe He is? Here is God speaking - again:
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isa 55:11Now, if you believe that He is the Creator of all things and He is watching over His Word to perform it, lets pay attention to what He has to say throughout His revealed Word to mankind - The Bible.
He says that ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God....(2Tit.3:16).
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.2Pe 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
1Pe 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.So the basis for even the beginning of belief that the Word of God is in fact pure, true and infallible is faith in Jesus Christ which is the Word of God, and a relationship with Him. Without this foundation, there will always be questions asked "Has God said?". In fact unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God;Joh 1:2 He (the Word) was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life? 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us? 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."How do we know that we are;
Having said all that, my observation is that as Christians it's first of all easy to talk about how we are supposed to live rather that actually living it on a daily basis AND.... what we seem to have most problems with are the scriptures we do understand, not the ones we don't.
Unfortunately there are those who selectively use the Word to support what they want to say or preach. Their method is to find all the scriptures that seemingly support a certain subject without taking care of the context of each scripture. As a rather obviously ridiculously exaggerated example we can take two completely unrelated scriptures and put them together; "Judas... went and hanged himself" (Matt 27:5), and "go and do likewise"(Luke 10:37).
Rather we should let
the Word speak and preach and teach exactly what it says, not our pet point
of views or opinions. Opinions never count. Furthermore, we need to preach
and teach ALL the counsel of God, not just what we are comfortable with,
but also those areas that are controversial and unpopular because of the
society we live in. Do not seek for what you want to be the truth, seek for the Truth, even when it leads to uncomfortable situations or even challenges our long held traditions.
If you
are faithful and truly preach and teach the word of God
and reprove, rebuke and exhort, you will suffer and experience
afflictions. If you preach the truth, people will get offended, they
will criticize you, say bad things about you, stop giving, leave the
church, etc. Nobody likes suffering and maybe that's whymany ministers
have succumbed to preaching what people want to hear rather than the
truth....
Hear what God says through the Apostle Paul;
II Timothy 3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
II Timothy 4:1: I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4: And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5: But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Change
is hard for most people and long held traditions and beliefs are hard
to change even if we are brought to realize it is not according to the
Word of God.
Political correctness should be treated as a disease among Christians and has absolutely no place in the proclaiming of the Word. I hear more and more when the Word is read certain words read differently than what it says because it is not politically correct. Political correctness has crept into the church and is altering the true meaning of God's Word. God's Word does not change according to culture or society. His Word is the same in any country in any culture in any society at any time in history, present and future.
Altering the meaning is not the same as expounding on the Word because of the lack of a suited word for its full meaning in any particular language.During the time when Nehemiah was govenor, Ezra, the scribe and priest, together with other Levites were reading the word to the people....
Nehemiah 8:7: ......... caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. 8: So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. 9: And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 10: Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
The priests
helped the people to understand the word of God and when they did it
made them sorry. However, they were told not be sorry beccause now they
could share their understanding with others. Enjoy life in God and
share it with others. It was truly a great day and cause for rejoycing
and the result of all that was - the joy of the Lord is your strength.
We often quote that, but we must remember in what context those words
were proclaimed. Joy and strength comes from understanding God's Word and acting upon it.
May we all, that have put our faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ through the atonement on the cross, be true to His Word, by faith, and allow the Holy Spirit to make the Word alive and powerful in our lives so that His Church, the Body of Christ will grow as He pleases.
edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does
its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
God says that the Word works effectively in those who BELIEVE:
We are obviously just scratching the surface of this subject, but hopefully in this short discourse showed cause for the inerrancy of God's Word. Faith will cause us to follow God's word no matter where it leads. Again, let us not seek for what we want to be the truth, but seek for the truth and move forward in faith on this sure foundation.
I Peter 1:23-25: having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living word of God, and abiding forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of men as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls out, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the Word preached as gospel to you.
Are we faithful to continue steadfastly like the early church, or have we drifted away from the reality of the Word of God?
I believe it is time to get back to the Word and walk in FAITH in all it says....
This is only the beginning.....
Knowledge is great, but has no value unless FAITH is put into ACTION!
Introduction I The Library