This Sacred Book
People like to say that the gospel is a simple message. I think it was Billy Graham that planted the seed of the 'simple gospel' into people's minds through his preaching. You hear many people say things like, "Just give me Jesus and nothing else." I wish it were that simple, but when you get right down to it, statements like this are made by people who are neither growing in their faith or understanding of scripture. In fact, the gospel is anything but simple and because of this contribution made by Billy Graham people will be undoing its influences to Christianity for years to come. It's not just Graham, there are others too, lots of others. So many names I could name but that isn't my point here, not that I think naming names is inappropriate. My point is this, if you stand before Holy Scripture with a smurf like smile on your face and the same attitude in exegeting and expositing it, then you should put it down. If you don't tremble before it, if you aren't impressed and overwhelmed by its magnitude then leave it alone. If its content and results don't make you fear God, then don't talk about it because what you have to say doesn't matter. Why has this book stood the test of time? Why is it miraculous? Why has it done and caused what so many other religious books have failed to do? One of the reasons behind this is because the men responsible for it trembled, shook, cried, sweated, laboured, and spent their life putting it together. They died because of it. They were hated because of it. They were persecuted in the most violent of ways because they believed that much in it.
I think the bitterest sweet event in the history of Christianity was the reformation. While there were necessary things that happened as a result, there were just as many things that shouldn't have happened, such as a church divided. Now label me a power hungry authority monger but there was something that happened there that was just as bad and that was placing a holy book into the hands of an unprepared people. People were given the Bible in their own language, and that's all. They took it and ran and without proper instruction, guidance, and understanding of how to use it, millions became "experts" on the Bible. Praise God right?
2 Timothy establishes 2 authorities in the Church - the bible and he who heralds its message. (See BDAG and Liddell Scott Lexicons for "kerrusso" (bad alliteration I know)) This wasn't just any average believer, and it wasn't pastors as this epistle and the other two are misappropriately reffered to as. These heralds, these preachers were apostles in the technical sense. They were "sent out" by Paul to defend and establish the church based on Paul's letters and the Gospels. They were to speak with authority as ones sent out by the charge of the divine and had authority as a result. Those who did this, did so knowing that it would cost them their lives and yet somehow, today, preachers and christians have the audacity to say this is what it means to me. Only people who don't study or dont know how to study preface biblical instruction with this type of refuse.
Its funny that we focus so much on the results of the reformation and I suggest the renaissance as more relative to our situation. Erasmus "returned to the sources" and as a result? The Reformation.
Okay there's a lot between the 2, but the point is easy exegesis is no exegesis. If you want absolutes, the Bible is the only place to get it. It is work to divide scripture and I for one am sick of people pawning off popular philosophies and the opinoin of rich preachers as authoratative interpretations of God's holy writ.
No, I'm not mad. I'm sick, right in the pit of my stomach at the direction this is taking us as the body of Christ and I can't help but ask, MEN of God where are you? What are you doing? Will you remain silent? What price will you pay to elevate that book back to its place in your life and the church. Maybe you think the academy is what kills men called to the church, and I would be the first to admit it is a dangerous breeding ground for the arrogant. Yet I would argue even more that the alternative is THE demise of God's church.
Proverbs 1:20-22 20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: 22 "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
She is shouting and you aren't even listening. You aren't listening because her call is like yard high grass, a pile of unmortared bricks, churning concrete, an unharvested farm, and blueprints to a skyscraper, that is her call means only one thing and that is work my friend. Hard work, but it's the only way and God help us if we don't sweat.
I think the bitterest sweet event in the history of Christianity was the reformation. While there were necessary things that happened as a result, there were just as many things that shouldn't have happened, such as a church divided. Now label me a power hungry authority monger but there was something that happened there that was just as bad and that was placing a holy book into the hands of an unprepared people. People were given the Bible in their own language, and that's all. They took it and ran and without proper instruction, guidance, and understanding of how to use it, millions became "experts" on the Bible. Praise God right?
2 Timothy establishes 2 authorities in the Church - the bible and he who heralds its message. (See BDAG and Liddell Scott Lexicons for "kerrusso" (bad alliteration I know)) This wasn't just any average believer, and it wasn't pastors as this epistle and the other two are misappropriately reffered to as. These heralds, these preachers were apostles in the technical sense. They were "sent out" by Paul to defend and establish the church based on Paul's letters and the Gospels. They were to speak with authority as ones sent out by the charge of the divine and had authority as a result. Those who did this, did so knowing that it would cost them their lives and yet somehow, today, preachers and christians have the audacity to say this is what it means to me. Only people who don't study or dont know how to study preface biblical instruction with this type of refuse.
Its funny that we focus so much on the results of the reformation and I suggest the renaissance as more relative to our situation. Erasmus "returned to the sources" and as a result? The Reformation.
Okay there's a lot between the 2, but the point is easy exegesis is no exegesis. If you want absolutes, the Bible is the only place to get it. It is work to divide scripture and I for one am sick of people pawning off popular philosophies and the opinoin of rich preachers as authoratative interpretations of God's holy writ.
No, I'm not mad. I'm sick, right in the pit of my stomach at the direction this is taking us as the body of Christ and I can't help but ask, MEN of God where are you? What are you doing? Will you remain silent? What price will you pay to elevate that book back to its place in your life and the church. Maybe you think the academy is what kills men called to the church, and I would be the first to admit it is a dangerous breeding ground for the arrogant. Yet I would argue even more that the alternative is THE demise of God's church.
Proverbs 1:20-22 20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: 22 "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
She is shouting and you aren't even listening. You aren't listening because her call is like yard high grass, a pile of unmortared bricks, churning concrete, an unharvested farm, and blueprints to a skyscraper, that is her call means only one thing and that is work my friend. Hard work, but it's the only way and God help us if we don't sweat.
posted by big african at 12:59 PM
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