REALLY Believing God's Word

All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,

for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

II Timothy 3:16

I must confess that prior to even typing a title for this blog, I sat looking at the blank screen of my lap top for several minutes. I was hesitant to even put the title into words and thus on the network for all to see. There are times in my spiritual walk that I must admit to times of confusion when it comes to God's Word. I have known the best of Christians who have out and out questioned certain things in the Bible. I'm talking about some of the godliest people I've known in my life.

Our humanistic, politically correct society has done a real mind job on many Christians. We find ourselves at times falling into the theories of the world without even realizing our own slippage. I'm not calling Christians to question any more than they have already questioned. I'm calling all of us to a renewed dedication to and complete faith in the Bible. It is here that I will give all of us a caution. There are translations/transliterations of the Bible being published yearly if not more frequently. This is a big business. Every known preacher has put out a study Bible while big publishers have put out all sorts of of versions of Scripture. It frightens me when I see Christians always having to purchase the latest translation much like purchasing the latest cell phone. Many of these are flawed beyond what some of the best Bible scholars can detect.

Bible confusion can cause us spiritual stress. I recently went through a time of this. I have Bibles in abundance, good solid translations. I have had to make a decision as to which ONE will be my Bible. It's a Bible I not only read but one I teach from. I have a smaller lightweight one that I take with me to the mountains when I'm not doing “study-reading.” Both are older translations. I don't want a steady diet of translation confusion that can cause confusion in my spiritual thinking.

So, let me give some examples of some things I've personally heard good Christian people say that's caused me to raise an inner eyebrow.

“When you get down to it, people are basically good.”

Now this should be elementary. It's a bottom-line fact we have to acknowledge even in our own salvation experience. Romans 3:23 states clearly “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” If you have a translation that minces words with that fact, you would be better off burning that translation. Paul goes on to say that there is none righteous, not even one person. Every person born on the earth, other than Jesus, has the potential for being Jack the Ripper or worse. Don't let the psychologists of this world tell you anything different.

“I won't forgive her until she apologizes for what she did to me.”

Where on earth did we ever come up with this, but I've actually had Christians claim that this theory is in the Bible. On occasion, I've asked some of them to explain Jesus' prayer from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” I don't see in Scripture where anyone apologized to Him for their offenses toward Him. I don't know that any other human being has gone through what Jesus did on that cross...what He did in taking on the sins of the world. He was innocent of all charges and yet He endured the cross for all. Bottom line is that I don't need an apology from anyone to forgive them...that's what Jesus did and I'm supposed to pattern my life after His.

“I don't believe a loving God would send people to Hell.”

This generally comes up when having a discussion about salvation. Even some Christians have become complacent in this area. Simply put, I believe this statement but from a different perspective. Bottom line is that Hell was created for the Devil and his angels. Hell was never made for human beings. Every human being though has a choice to make. We are called upon to choose sides...God's or Satan’s. We will spend eternity with the one we choose to accept.

“She died and came back to life after having been in Heaven.”

This is a touchy one because this seems to have been the experience of some you and some older. I wish I knew all the ins and outs of this statement but I don't. All I know is that

Hebrews 9:27a tells us that it is appointed unto man ONCE to die...” This is a tough one because a book dealing with this subject is always a big seller in the bookstores be they Christian or secular. I'm not questioning that someone may have had some kind of experience but Scripture is clear that we will physically die one time. We can't go back and forth between here and there. When a person REALLY dies, there is a funeral and burial of some sort. I can't even explain this. I only mention it so that we will be cautious regarding this kind of thing when we hear about it.

“God doesn't believe in spanking children.”

This is an area where Child Protective Services and other agencies have done a real job on us, even Christians who should know better. Let's look at some verses:

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” Proverbs 13:24

“Foolishness in bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of

correction shall drive it far from him.”

Proverbs 22:15

“Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest

him with the rod, he shall not die.”

Proverbs 23:13

I sat in a Bible study one day where a lady, well versed in Scripture tried to explain these words away. She said her child had never required corporal punishment in the child's life. Good for her and her child. There may be children who never “earn” a spanking but don't be so foolish as to question what the Scripture clearly says about this subject.

Lastly,

“I don't feel like God is present in my life right now.”

That word “feel” can be a scary word. We women, as chemical as we are, should have learned by now that our feelings can betray us and skew truth in our lives. When a lady tells me that she feels God isn't near in her life, my question is always: “Who moved?” It certainly isn't God. In the last part of Hebrews 13:5 we read:

“...for He hath said, 'I will never leave thee,

nor forsake thee.'”

Hebrews 13:5c

Notice this says “for He hath said...” which means that God has made this statement in other parts of Scripture. This isn't a casual statement made by Him. Perhaps in those times we don't “feel” God is near, are those times our circumstances, or even sin clouds our vision. When we feel God isn't near, I will be so bold to say that the responsibility is our own, never His. We need to draw near to Him in our prayer and Bible reading. This is a part of spiritual self-discipline that comes with the territory of being in right relationship with our father.

May I give you a beware: Be very careful of everything on television specials that has the latest spiritual revelation on them. I saw just the other day, a seemingly know-it-all female scholar of some sort that was doing a promo for the latest Bible revelation. Her teaser comment was that Jesus wasn't virgin born, that Mary wasn't a virgin. It was chalked up to there being a mistranslation of the word “virgin.” Do you have any idea the doubts and questions that can arise for weaker Christians or even some stronger ones if they watch this junk? That fact of the virgin birth is a foundational tenet of our belief that winds it's way through Scripture. Something like that can cause doubts in the entire Word of God. The History Channel, National Geographic and Discovery channels are always coming up with new Bible facts that no one has ever seen and can't really prove. Christians race to watch that stuff and many believe it. These things can cause more questions than I could list.

Let's stand firm in our faith in the Word of God. There is much we'll never understand in the Bible especially when we don't rely on Holy Spirit guidance as we read it. When Scripture clearly says something, we have no choice but to believe by faith what God has presented to us. Review again the opening verse...cuddle up with it in love and appreciation for God giving to us so much of Himself between the covers of this precious book.

Thank You Father, for Your Word that was instrumental in my salvation and that continues to teach me about Yourself. Help me to read, trust and learn from it. Thank You for the added benefit of having Your Holy Spirit to be my teacher. I love you. In Jesus precious name... Amen