Playing With Fire!

What’s your attitude toward the Bible? I have found that there are predominantly two wrong approaches found in our culture today. First is the Storybook understanding. The Bible for these folks is the Christian equivalent of Aesop’s Fables or a compilation of fortune cookie wisdom. “Hey, if it works for you, that’s nice.” The other approach I call Bibliolatry. These folks worship the Bible. It is God’s Holy Word and is worthy of praise and glory and honor. (Am I stepping on some toes right now?)

The Bible is certainly God’s “special revelation” to humanity. God speaks and some of what He has said has been preserved in the book that we call “The Bible.” “Some? What do you mean by ‘some’?” Well, since we believe that Jesus was and is God, if everything that God ever said was written down for us, wouldn’t there be more red writing in our Bible? But, while we have some of God’s Word, we also believe that what we have is sufficient for all faith and practice. In other words, the Bible contains all of God’s revelation that we need to be fully faithful to Him. While it does not contain all knowledge and, frankly, leaves quite a few questions unanswered, it still remains God’s perfect instruction for us, guiding us into truth and life and joy by the power of His Spirit.

But it remains clear from the practical outcomes of life that the Bible has been largely misunderstood, producing lives of contempt or legalism rather than lives that reflect its power. The Bible has the ability to penetrate the darkest, most private areas of the human heart as the Living Spirit of God uses it to convict us of rebellion and transform our attitudes through repentance. As one of my seminary professors put it, when you're truly engaging the Word of God, you are "Playing with Fire." But, again I suggest that I just don’t see this happening a lot. If people were truly experiencing God through His Word and seeing their lives transformed in miraculous ways as strongholds are obliterated and Kingdom fruit borne, then I believe we would see people clamoring to participate in its consumption, both privately and corporately. And I would think that they would be eager to share with others their love and trust toward the Lord.

Take a look at this video. This community in New Guinea was led to the Lord at least 20 years ago. This video shows their response to receiving the New Testament written in their native language for the first time, decades after trusting in the God who makes Himself known by “speaking” to men. When is the last time you saw anything remotely like this? :,)

The Kimyal People Receive the New Testament from UFM Worldwide on Vimeo.