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Me The Bible
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In a world where
religious confusion is rampant, it is refreshing to read and
study the Bible. In an obvious effort to elevate himself, man
has so complicated religion that what most people seek to pass
off as devotion and service to God has no similar at all to
what is written in the Bible. It is appalling to hear
today’s theologians as they seed to justify such things as
abortion on demand, homosexuality, social drinking, and many
other fleshly gratifications. And it is disgusting to hear
those who claim to have spent a lifetime studying the Bible go
through the motions of giving “scriptural approval” to
such things as women pastors and ministers of the gospel. And
how much more discouraging to hear those who for years have
contended for a “thus saith the Lord” openly avowing that
we have no need to offer book, chapter and verse for all that
we do, or that we have done things for years for which there
is no authority, or that approved apostolic examples are not
binding today.
I say “Give me the Bible.” Give me the Bible instead of:
Human Creeds. Human creeds are just that–human. The
did not originate in the mind of God and are thereby merely
inventions of men. Peter says (I Peter 4:11), “If any man
speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” Any doctrine
which cannot be shown to be approved of God cannot be embraced
with and any degree of certainty. Man is finite. Any thing he
concocts is fine, for he cannot rise about himself. It is, in
fact, impossible for man to devise the means for his own
salvation, no matter how smart he is, (Jeremiah 10:23; I
Corinthians 2:9), and so he cannot afford to trust other than
God for it. Human creeds are divisive and confusing; they
breed discord and perplexity. Give me the Bible, not human
creeds.
Human wisdom. Wisdom defines as properly applied
knowledge. Human wisdom is dependent on human knowledge for
its existence. It is either human in knowledge or human in
application, and neither of the two is of any spiritual
benefit for mankind. Paul says (I Corinthians 2:1-7) that the
superiority of God’s wisdom over that of man is necessary so
that “that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God.” We cannot afford to put our
confidence in our own wisdom, for there is no assurance of the
effectiveness of it to meet our needs. Human wisdom is
short-sighted and paltry when compared with the wisdom which
is from above. Give me the Bible, not human wisdom.
Human tradition. As a general rule, tradition is very
comfortable since it is most often derived from convenience.
The religion of father and mother is most likely the easiest
to embrace because of its nearness and familiarity, as well as
its approval by those closest to us. But human tradition
cannot be trusted, because it demands so very little of us and
allows so much. It is most likely evolved not from faith in
God’s word, but from a desire to be right with parents,
friends and relatives. Man often feels the need to worship,
but he wants to do it in a way that is not inconvenient. If
convenience is what religion is all about, why any religion at
all? Religion is not inherited; it is a heart-involved and
pery personal submission to the commands of God. Human
traditions are best left alone in matters of religion (Matthew
15:1-9). Give me the Bible, not human tradition.
Human opinion. “Every man has the right to his own
opinion.” It’s a common expression. But it does not apply
in religion, even if it can be show to be true otherwise.
Opinion is a proposition held as true, but which falls short
of being provable. As such, it cannot be a safe guide. In
fact, if opinion is to be used as the standard for religious
actions and worship, everyone who holds any religious opinion
is approved of God. How foolish. But that’s the very concept
promoted by the religious world which exclaims loudly, “it
doesn’t make any difference what you believe, so long as you
are honest and sincere.” One who holds a certain opinion can
never be sure that what he is doing has the approval of God.
But the word of God takes any proposition out of the realm of
opinion and shows whether or not God approves. And so, Give me
the Bible, not human opinion.
Dee Bowman
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Copyright (C)
2009
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
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