HOW WE READ THE BIBLE MATTERS!

One man believes the Christian faith is a contractual book that outlines the dos and don'ts for the Christian's prosperity if he adheres to them and for his detriment if he fails to follow them to the minute detail. 

Another believes the Christian faith today is a journey that begins from a victorious foundation of what Christ has already done on the cross with His blood for all in Christ; thus, whatever the Christian is doing is birthed from a place of "It is finished."

Even for those who believe in Christ's finished works, some hope for victory in their daily lives through Christ, and others are always assured of victory in Christ because they know Christ has won all battles, so they must only enforce that victory in everything. 

Let's carefully note that with scriptures, each person in the two categories described above can quickly and perfectly defend their stand, and they will make perfect sense in the ears of listeners. But for a listener or reader to judge whatever they are saying within scriptures without ignorantly accepting a "sincere error" which will lead to a life of "useless" bondage in Christ, one must listen or read with the lens of a Perfect Understanding of the Savior and King, Jesus Christ. Through this lens, Christians can listen, read, and journey with God without losing their liberty in Christ.

Understanding the lenses through which people read the Bible will let you know why some people think one should concentrate on the books of the Old Testament and the four gospels and ignore the epistles. You will also understand why some feel the Christian doesn't need to read the entire Bible but concentrate only on the book of Acts and the rest of the epistles and ignore the Old Testament and the Gospels. Some have even gone to the extent of teaching that the teachings of Jesus were of the Old Testament and had nothing to do with Christians today. How they all got to these conclusions, I can't tell. I know that the Bible is the Word of God written in its entirety for Christians yesterday, today and forever more.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (TPT)

God has transmitted his very substance into every scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God's servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfil any assignment God gives you.

In Matthew chapter 22, we are introduced to a day when the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to find a way to have Jesus entangle himself with His words. Before Jesus' encounter with the Sadducees, He had already shamed the Pharisees, who were trying to trick Him with a question on taxes, with the famous statement: "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." And now it was the turn of the Sadducees, a group of religious leaders who did not believe in the resurrection from the dead (no life after death), to set their best trick question to get Jesus to speak against the traditions and beliefs of the Jews.

Their question: "Teacher, Moses said, ''If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother's name (Deut 25:5-10).'' Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest married and died without children, so his brother married the widow. But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them. Last of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her." (Matthew 22:23-28)

Right after the Sadducees' representative asked the question, his colleagues looked on proudly because they knew this man, Jesus, could not give them a befitting answer.

Again, their ignorance of the Person who had taken an earthly body to walk with His creation made them think this question was worth years of research. Unknown to them, the Wisdom behind all creation stood in their midst and had the perfect answer for them.

Matthew 22:29 (TPT)

Jesus answered them, "You are deluded, because your hearts are not filled with the revelation of the Scriptures or the power of God.

The above translation perfectly situates what Jesus meant in the KJV: Your head can memorise scriptures, yet your heart may lack the Spirit-filled insight of those scriptures. Meanwhile, Christians need Spirit-filled insight into scriptures, not just memorised scriptures, to walk in liberty and victory in Christ.

The Sadducees' inability to comprehend the statement, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," was proof of their ignorance of God's identity and the magnitude of His power.

How can a God who introduced Himself as "One who can be whatever He wants to be" not have the power to give life, take life and create a place beyond the sphere of men for His creation?

Didn't they read Hannah's confessions during the dedication of Prophet Samuel? How Hannah confessed that God gives life and God also kills. Didn't they read it?

Instead, they chose portions of the Bible and wholeheartedly walked in error for decades. Their failure to notice "I am" in the scriptures began their living in bondage to a lie that also had "scriptural references."

Fellow brothers and sisters in the faith, how you read the Bible matters! Reading and studying the Bible with the perfect lens can give you freedom in Christ, yet refusal to do so will keep you in bondage forever. The failure of many to use the perfect lens in Bible reading has been the basis for them questioning the promised freedom in Christ and waiting for the opportune time to walk out of the faith if God doesn't meet their deadline. (to be continued)

Remember, the blessings of God are in a location called Christ. Therefore, remain in the blessings of God as you remain in Christ.

MD.