Stick to the Word
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” ESV 2 Timothy 3:16-17
It all began innocent enough. Two friends needling one another by exchanging verbal, in this case virtual, jabs at one another. The exchange was short, all in fun, and it ended with neither friend being offended. It was the kind of joking exchange that might occur any day in any number of settings. But what might the jabs look like from a few feet away?
Well, from a few feet away this particular conversation took on a whole different meaning. One person made assumptions and came to conclusions that reached beyond the initial exchange and was not shy about voicing those opinions. Another person, with seemingly little thought, joined the foray with basically a “me too” position. While others, correctly sensing a misunderstanding, rose in defense of the original jabbers.
When it was all over I couldn’t help but smile and muse about how easy it is to get embroiled in meaningless and needless controversy. But it is easy. And too often we find ourselves doing it at home, at work, and even at church—many times simply because we make conclusions based on distorted or incomplete facts.
Recall with me the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve. The serpent began his temptation by distorting what God had said when he asked Eve, “Did God actually say...?” (Genesis 3:1) And Eve really messed up when she began to reason and make decisions based on those distorted facts that reached beyond what God had actually said. The rest, as they say, is history.
Contrast that with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Satan begins almost immediately to distort what God had said in scripture by going beyond scripture’s original meaning. And while on the surface many of Satan’s claims sounded plausible, Jesus doesn’t take the bait. Instead, Jesus resists the wiles of the devil and repeatedly replies, “...it is written.” (Matthew 4:4) Notice how Jesus is able to resist. Jesus rebuffed the devil by being careful to follow scripture as far as it went without going beyond. Don’t miss this. Jesus didn’t discard any teaching in scripture and he didn’t go beyond the teachings of scripture; not even when the arguments seemed plausible.
So, let me encourage you to do the same. Like Paul’s admonition to Timothy, recognize that “all scripture is breathed out by God;” even those parts that you and I may not fully understand. Let’s commit to study scripture diligently and to follow it as far as it goes on any subject; even those subjects we may not fully understand. And finally, let’s avoid error and meaningless controversy by being cautious to not leap beyond scripture in our reasoning.
Ken Askew
It all began innocent enough. Two friends needling one another by exchanging verbal, in this case virtual, jabs at one another. The exchange was short, all in fun, and it ended with neither friend being offended. It was the kind of joking exchange that might occur any day in any number of settings. But what might the jabs look like from a few feet away?
Well, from a few feet away this particular conversation took on a whole different meaning. One person made assumptions and came to conclusions that reached beyond the initial exchange and was not shy about voicing those opinions. Another person, with seemingly little thought, joined the foray with basically a “me too” position. While others, correctly sensing a misunderstanding, rose in defense of the original jabbers.
When it was all over I couldn’t help but smile and muse about how easy it is to get embroiled in meaningless and needless controversy. But it is easy. And too often we find ourselves doing it at home, at work, and even at church—many times simply because we make conclusions based on distorted or incomplete facts.
Recall with me the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve. The serpent began his temptation by distorting what God had said when he asked Eve, “Did God actually say...?” (Genesis 3:1) And Eve really messed up when she began to reason and make decisions based on those distorted facts that reached beyond what God had actually said. The rest, as they say, is history.
Contrast that with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Satan begins almost immediately to distort what God had said in scripture by going beyond scripture’s original meaning. And while on the surface many of Satan’s claims sounded plausible, Jesus doesn’t take the bait. Instead, Jesus resists the wiles of the devil and repeatedly replies, “...it is written.” (Matthew 4:4) Notice how Jesus is able to resist. Jesus rebuffed the devil by being careful to follow scripture as far as it went without going beyond. Don’t miss this. Jesus didn’t discard any teaching in scripture and he didn’t go beyond the teachings of scripture; not even when the arguments seemed plausible.
So, let me encourage you to do the same. Like Paul’s admonition to Timothy, recognize that “all scripture is breathed out by God;” even those parts that you and I may not fully understand. Let’s commit to study scripture diligently and to follow it as far as it goes on any subject; even those subjects we may not fully understand. And finally, let’s avoid error and meaningless controversy by being cautious to not leap beyond scripture in our reasoning.
Ken Askew
posted by TBC at
5/23/2009 01:49:00 PM
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