Epaggelia

Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!

Jesus Christ ~ Luke 11:28

An essential part of being a growing congregation is learning how to react to different attitudes in the world towards the Bible. Peter knew this when he wrote we should “set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, 1Peter 3:15-16

Here are 3 different attitudes responding to the “hope”, we possess as Christ in the Scriptures.

1 – “Whatever it’s glorious truths, the Bible looms as an intimidating, hard-to-understand book full of esoteric names and mystifying practices” – (G. Gallup Jr., “The Next American Spirituality” Jan. 2002). There are five words that are now becoming the mantra of the new millennium: “I’m into spirituality, not religion”… More and more people are viewing the Bible as more about feeling good and not being good, more about stress reduction than salvation, more therapeutic than theological. The world sometimes treats the Bible as being as much about the body as it is the soul, they lose the emphasis God has on the soul and not the body. What should a Christian’s reaction be?

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and _________  ________ will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ~ Mat.7:24  A Rock for what? The body or soul?

2 – “The Bible is outdated, mistranslated and not essential for learning the truth”. Many agnostics are of this view. What should a Christian’s reaction be?

Man shall not ________ by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God ~ Mat. 4:4. Helping people understand how truth is discerned from scripture, see Psalms 119:160.

3 – “You can trust the Bible, but not it’s interpretation”. This false view is sometimes found in the Church and abounds in the denominations. What should our reaction be?

________________ them in the truth; your word is truth – John 17:17

Interpretation is best approached with Peter’s advice in 2nd Peter 1:20-21. Our view of the Bible directly affects how we use the Bible, “Know This First…” (v20) Charles Spurgeon said, “How do you defend the Bible? The way you defend a lion, open up the cage and let it out!” Remember there are two lions in the world, the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Gen.49:9-10 & Rv. 5:5) and the roaring lion (1Pt.5:8) Peter says he is seeking to devour any of us. In the Bible, the spirit of Judah’s lion wants to exercise His power and word on your heart and the hearts of others we talk to.