Monday, July 29, 2019

The Word of God - First & Foremost

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people.  But let them not return to their foolish ways.  Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.  Unfailing love and truth have met together.  Righteousness and peace have kissed!  Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.  Psalm 85:8-11

Note that the Psalmist says that he listens carefully to what God the Lord is saying.  When we listen carefully, it isn’t just so we can hear what God is saying, and then do what we please.  That is always a possibility for humans because of free will.  But that would not be serving God with integrity; it amounts to lip service!  A few examples:
·      God rejects murder of the unborn; our Supreme Court didn’t think so…
·      God requires humans to be heterosexual…our Supreme Court didn’t think so…
To listen carefully implies receiving information AND acting in obedience to God’s will; believing means behaving!  The idea is to gain truth and put that truth in relationship with righteousness.  We are to practice the kiss of truth (understanding what is right) and righteousness (doing what is right).  This is the kind of integrity our leaders and citizens must have to be right with God.
The point is simple:  it doesn’t matter what a majority of humans think; God requires obedience.  Man’s Supreme Court has nowhere near the authority of eternity.  When we forget that, or forsake that, we court war with heaven.
Throughout history Scripture has always been foremost in authority. 
Here are six important historical Christian leaders who thought that way:
1.     Peter was fond of saying it is written.
2.     Paul told Timothy[1] that he should study Scripture hard and teach it diligently if if he wanted God’s approval.
3.     Martin Luther (father to our Lutheran brethren) stood on sola Scriptura.
4.     John Calvin (Presbyterian founder) wrote 944 pages of theology that all point to Scripture as authoritative.
5.     Baptist Charles Haddon Spurgeon preached for 57 years an average of 7-8 times weekly.  In his spare time he wrote 150 books.  Every bit of that bends the knee to Scripture.
6.     And for the purist Methodists among us, John Wesley’s “quadrilateral” (Scripture, Tradition, Reason, Experience) takes us to the Bible first and foremost.  If you check out his sermons you cannot find a seminal or stray thought that doesn’t have Scripture as its base.  He quoted Scripture so often in his sermons if you read them (all 40,000 times preached) you get credit in Heaven for reading the Bible twice.  Today Wesley would cringe that his preachers know more of the Book of Discipline than Scripture.
There are all kinds of decisions made about right and wrong, about what’s best for our country, police forces, the law, family, and culture.  It may not be possible to figure out what is best from the arguments that are constantly presented in the news or media, but Scripture, God’s Holy Word doesn’t leave us in doubt.

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.      Psalm 119:11

Letting truth (understanding what’s right) and righteousness (doing what’s right) have that kiss, because you will listen to God, and then DO things God’s way, will always land you on the right side of history; it’s a perfect kiss!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!

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[1] 2 Timothy 2:15


[i] All Scripture quoted is from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated)  Title Image:  Pixabay.com

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