A friend recently expressed that she felt that studying the nature of the Kingdom of God and researching the apostolic faith was pointless and that it lead to division. After all, we all believe Jesus died for our sins and are trusting him to save us, right?
That is fundamentally true. Baptists, Catholics, Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Lutherans, and many stripes of religious people will affirm that Jesus died for their sins. However, I think most within those sects will loudly protest at being lumped together. JW's don't believe Jesus was God! Catholics pray to Mary! Baptists don't embrace speaking in tongues! Pentecostals say tongues are necessary for salvation! So, apparently we do agree that a line of orthodoxy exists beyond just trusting Jesus for salvation. But can we know what is true? Is there any point to reading the Bible to find out what it really teaches when so many have done so and came to wildly different conclusions?
I believe there is. I believe that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and that the coherent message of the Bible is perceivable and effective. Truth will set us free, and is the basis of our love and fellowship and hope. To close our eyes to the unfolding revelation of truth is a terrible waste. We can know what we are hoping for, and we can see it in the Bible and enjoy our heritage. The process of discovery can be a quest we engage in together, if we have the humility to listen to each other and the perseverence to work at discovering what the Word really says, even if it runs counter to our traditions. I am not talking about trying to get every tiny point right, I am talking about understanding the very basic things like who God is, why Jesus came, and what following Christ is all about. If we have a solid biblical core, the little things will tend to fall into place. If our core understanding of God is off, there will likewise be a cascade of error and pain. The Bible may have some little translation errors or pieces that aren't perfect, but the core message is intact and lights up throughout. We can know why Jesus came. We can know the way of righteousness.
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2 comments:
Quite right. I agree 100%.
I've enjoyed your recent Blogs.
They've made me think, but I haven't had time to form a coherent contribution yet.
So keep up the good work and keep us all thinking (and praying, and reading the Bible too!).
I hope you're enjoying a nice Summer. It's fine here in Edinburgh, SCotland.
I sure like you guys. :)
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