A Degree of Faith

By -
My husband was once told in no uncertain terms that he needed to certified to be qualified to read the Bible and understand it's contents. In other words, he needed to have taken a Bible course of some sort. I thought that that statement would make for a good post. Do we need to have a degree to be able to understand the Bible? Is the Bible a hard book to read?

When I read passages such as Isaiah 55:7-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

How are we to understand the Potter if we are mere clay? How does He expect us to understand, apply and live His Word in this light? Why would He hold us accountable if His ways are completely unlike our ways? I believe that God has given us EVERY resource available for spiritual salvation and comprehension. It is up to us to accept the RESOURCE that He has given.

Only the Spirit of God can discern things of the spirit. Without the Spirit of God, we are left in our own limited five senses, in which the things of the Spirit seems to be "foolishness" to us.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. - 1 Corinthians 2:11

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:14

Christ emphasized the expediency of his ascension, that the Comforter may come, which is the Spirit of Truth. John 16:7 When we accept this Heavenly resource through faith in Jesus Christ. This is what we have; the power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God dwelling upon us.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. - 1 Corinthians 2:12-13

Every Believer has access to that "degree", the degree is only manifested first by faith, and then upon submission of one's self to it. This "degree" is given freely by God to all those who believe, not just pastors, preachers, bishops, bible scholars etc. etc. The myth that only men/women of God can only understand the Word and/or are qualified to read it is erroneous in the fact that the Word clearly states that the Spirit is freely given to us of God!

We all very well know through common sense and our reading of Scripture that there are "false prophets" aplenty this day and age. Only God, His Spirit knows who His people really are, if we choose to walk after the Spirit, we too can discern the true from the false. Romans 8:1; 1 John 4:1-2

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God - Romans 8:14

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. -1Corinthians 12:3

Is it wrong to learn the Word of God through pastors and ministers. Absolutely not! But it is the responsibility of every Believer to seek out the Word through the Spirit PRIMARILY. In doing so, you will:
  1. Develop an intimate relationship with the Lord through the fellowship of His Son (I simply cannot stress enough importance on this) - 1 Corinthians 1:9
  2. Be able to discern spiritually, the false from true - 1 John 4:1-2
  3. Hold pastors, leaders of the church, accountable for what they preach from the pulpit.
  4. Very possibly save the soul of a "teacher" of God's Word (who has gone astray) from judgement Matthew 18:6
The Bible is not a hard book to read, if it is spiritually discerned. The certification is only obtained by faith, and can only be given by God.


Author's Note:

Growing in a relationship with Him is a process. It's a process that requires faith and consistent reading of the Word. James 1:5-6 All of these things manifests itself in due time. James 1:3-4
All italics and caps are mine.

Comments

  1. a Witness of the truthJuly 22, 2007 at 11:26 AM

    The Bible is living book. It comes alive to the soul that the Lord knows is truly seeking His truth and guidance. If you're not searching the scriptures for the right reasons it makes no sense. God is GREAT!
    another great post Hannah
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. HannahJuly 22, 2007 at 12:03 PM

    A witness of the truth (Sherrell) said:
    "If you're not searching the scriptures for the right reasons it makes no sense."

    Amen! Proverbs 1:7 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom..."

    This indicates a proper perspective or attitude that needs to be in place in order to receive the Wisdom of God.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated.

Please note the changes to this blog. ONLY respectful comments and questions are accepted. Special note to other Christians: This blog no longer caters to debate and or arguments about the Bible. If you have a comment in SUPPORT of clear and concise understanding of the saving power of Christ Jesus, you are welcome to leave comments on this blog.

Popular posts from this blog

The Law of Sin and Death

By -
A relative and I were having a fascinating discussion about sin. He made a statement that rang very true to me. "So many Christians are obsessed with sin". For a long while, since reading other posts and forums about sin, I've been dwelling upon and studying about that matter. Although I've been compelled to analyze the subject by post, I haven't felt prepared to do so. As you all know, I'm experiencing a trial that proves to be a continuous battle for my faith. It has been a trial which continues to manifest the truth of Scripture, the Word of God, to my soul. It is during hard times such as these when the Glory of God is a sight to behold. And His goodness, a pleasant taste! "O taste and see that the LORD is good..." Psalm 34:8 Why do we obsess with sin? Either of our own or those of fellow Christians? Has Christ not set us free from the law of sin and death? "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
Read more

Confessions of a Former World Wide Church of God Member

By -
Now some of you may have heard of The World Wide Church of God. For those of you who haven't here's a brief, basic, summation of WWCG, as described by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : "The Worldwide Church of God (WCG), formerly the Radio Church of God, is a Christian church currently based in Glendora, California , USA. Founded in 1933 by Herbert Armstrong as a radio ministry , the WCG under Armstrong had a significant, and often controversial, influence on 20th century religious broadcasting and publishing in the United States and Europe, especially in the field of interpreting biblical end-time (eschatalogical) prophecies. However, within a few years after Armstrong's death in 1986, the succeeding church administration, led first by Joseph W. Tkach, Sr. and then his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr. , examined and changed the doctrines and teachings of which the WCG held fundamental differences with more mainstream Christianity. Many members and ministers left the WCG to
Read more

Translation vs. Paraphrase

By -
Up until about four years ago, I studied primarily out of the New Living Translation. It was simple to read and I was comfortable with it. However, I did notice through out my studying in that specific translation, that passages just weren't making any sense. My husband preferred the King James Version and studied out of that, our studying together almost always ended out of the KJV version for the simple fact that the NLT was not adequate in conveying some of the principles of the Word. My husband, at that time worked for Tyndale House Publishing (which publishes the NLT version) gave me a Bible published by them called "The People's Parallel Edition". This edition had the KJV and NLT side by side. It was only then I began to see a true difference between translations. Romans 8:1 in both of these versions comes out different. Romans 8:1 KJV says "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Read more