But to deviate from the truth for the sake of some prospect of hope of our own can never be wise, however slight our deviation may be. It is not our judgment of the situation which can show us what is wise, but only the truth of the Word of God. Here alone lies the promise of God's faithfulness and help. It will always be true that the wisest course for the disciple is always to abide solely by the Word of God in all simplicity.
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Ever since I delved into the study of the Word of God, I have become more sensitive to how it should be read, heard, handled and obeyed. But at this stage, from what I have seen and heard, it saddens my heart. The Word of God is seldom read, seldom preached (most of what is preached is the preacher's anecdote for the day, not the exposition of Scriptures), seldom studied, seldom discussed and as a result seldom obeyed.
But first, a very important question need to be asked: what is the Word of God? Most people these days will say that it also include what the Spirit "tells" them or impress upon them, which if you think about it, could be the reason why the bible is seldom read, preached, studied and obeyed. They are convinced that the Spirit "speaks" to them anyway.
But in this case, wouldn't it will be extrabiblical?
I agree that the Spirit do "speak" to us and "impress" upon us the truth, but I firmly believe that the Spirit reminds and teach us based on what we have learned from God's revelation, that is what is written in the Bible. The Spirit does not add to it, he helps us understand it. So, we still come back to the hearing, reading, preaching, studying and obedience of the written Scriptures, in all its depth and simplicity.
We must hear it read everyday.
We must read it for ourselves everyday.
We must study it.
Preachers must preach the Word, not just give anecdotes or may I say, not even what he thinks the Spirit impressed upon his heart. Preach the Word, it is already given to us.
And from what we hear, learn, study and preach, then we know what and how to obey.
pearlie
to speak words from the Spirit, is much easier than expouse the Bible to receive the words of God.
ReplyDeleteLazy ppl like to be proud of this approach...Benny Hinn is one guy of this paradigm
"the Spirit reminds and teach us based on what we have learned from God's revelation, that is what is written in the Bible. The Spirit does not add to it, he helps us understand it. So, we still come back to the hearing, reading, preaching, studying and obedience of the written Scriptures, in all its depth and simplicity.
ReplyDeleteWe must hear it read everyday.
We must read it for ourselves everyday.
We must study it.
Preachers must preach the Word, not just give anecdotes or may I say, not even what he thinks the Spirit impressed upon his heart. Preach the Word, it is already given to us.
And from what we hear, learn, study and preach, then we know what and how to obey."
AMEN - EVERYTHING we do, say, think, believe must be based and founded on God's Word. Most people do not read God's word, much less know it.
"Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."
Susan
Sceptics,
ReplyDeleteyea, studying and also preparing for an expository sermon takes hard work and considerable time. Alas, we now live in an instant society. Tiga minit mi, anyone?
Susan,
ReplyDelete"Most people do not read God's word, much less know it."
it so saddens my heart. I'm praying for what I can do about it. Let's pray together.
"word-faith"paradigm stress on Rhema, direct words from the Spirit..
ReplyDeletethey say, logos is too restrictive..logos means words expounded from bible..
lazy ppl saying in disguise..
I like what my friend Danny says:
ReplyDelete.
The reason we read and study the Bible is not to know the Bible.. the reason we read and study it is to know God.
.
Sadly many can give Greek definitions of love and grace but have never grasped the essence of their meanings. We need both the written word and the living Word.. without the written word we do not have a context to understand love and grace.. without the living Word that context lives in our heads and not our hearts.