There is a school of thought within parts of the church that errantly separates the Old and New Testaments. “Jesus fulfilled the law,” they say. “We are in the New Testament now!” Paul repeatedly declares the relevance of all of God’s word and does so again in Romans 15.
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4
Some might say that love and forgiveness are the primary difference between Christianity and all other religions, I say it is the God-breathed word of scripture that defines and separates the followers of Jesus from everyone else. The Word of God is our compass, lens and mirror. It is our plumb line that shows us what is straight, narrow and true.
“But people are being saved through dreams and visions in places where the persecution of Christians is rampant,” you say. Amen! Anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, will be saved. Anyone who calls on His name will be saved. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. Rom 10:9-10, Rom10:13, Mark 16:17 Salvation is an important first step.
It is not the last step.
It is through scripture that we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Prov 9:10
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:9-13
The next step is to become disciples of Jesus. Mat 16:24. The benchmark for disciples is found in Ephesians 4.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16
Our ability to fulfill the Great Commission to Go and make disciples assumes we have been disciples ourselves. Maturity defines our ability to disciple others.
Hearing comes by the Word of God!
The God-breathed Word 2 Tim 3:16-17 is what tunes our ears to hear. It is what ultimately separates the practice of Christianity from other faiths. It supports, confirms, and sometimes refutes our perceptions and ideas. The Bible is a glass – a mirror in which we see dimly and, therefore know in part. 1 Cor 13:12 It is through the lens of the Word that we begin to apprehend the faith Heb 11:1 required to follow Jesus. 2 Cor 5:7.
His Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 At the end of the day Truth is found in the sum of it. Psalm 119:160 I don’t know about you but nothing gets me more excited than when a truth I haven’t seen is revealed in His Word. I know what it means to feel like one who finds great spoil. Psalm 119:162. Most of all I praise Him for His truth. I rest in the assurance of knowing the power and importance of His Word because I know He has magnified His Word above all His name. Psalm 138:2 If the Word of God is most important to God then it follows that it should be most important in the life of a believer. It is impossible to know God apart from it. Thankfully Holy Spirit makes it possible through revelation amidst our self-disciplined study and our God-given powers of understanding. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:1 They have been declared in His Word. As for other ways of hearing and knowing God, e.g. prophetic words, we can be certain that they are real. So is falsity. Falsity happens when a speaker usurps the authority of God’s Word. Therefore we are commanded to test everything.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thess 5:19-22
We test everything with the Word of God because all genuine prophecy begins and ends with God’s Word who became flesh. John 1:14
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Rev 19:10
We ask Holy Spirit to guide and lead us into all truth contained in scripture – to teach us about the character, nature, and plan of our God who does not change. Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8. We endeavor to be good Bereans in the interpretation of revelations, ideas, perceptions, presuppositions, and experiences. We all see as in a glass darkly. It makes sense that we all might see better if we see together. We believe that we can and should Study God’s Word both individually and as a community because Jesus affirmed it when he prayed,
John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
