Looking for Loopholes in All the Wrong Places
Part 3 – Do I really need to read the Bible?
Today is the third segment of looking for “loopholes” in the Bible. So far we have talked about “Loophole” 1, which was not taking the time to pray since God already knows what we need, and “Loophole” 2, which was the desire to take something God has called sin and justify it based on having a “good” reason. We concluded that these “loopholes” actually cause us more stress and zap our energy, where simply accepting God’s word as truth brings us peace.
We also were reminded how much our Heavenly Father loves us! He wants the best for his kids, and he wants us to be whole physically, mentally, and emotionally. He reminds us of this over and over again by speaking to us through the Bible.
Today we look at the challenge to read and study the Bible. The Bible can be a tremendous source of strength for us when going through difficult times, yet so many avoid it. Why?
“The Bible says that I should read it and study it, but it is so hard to understand, and I don’t really feel qualified. I’ll just take my religious leader’s word for it and read some books about the Bible and that will be good enough.”
Loopholes are ambiguities in a contract that give us a way to avoid all or part of a contract. Many of us, including myself, have attempted to find “loopholes” in the Bible in order to avoid behaving or believing a certain way. But God is perfect, and though the Bible can seem confusing, it is also perfect. We need to be very careful when we attempt to mold God’s word into something that it is not.
The Bible can be hard to understand at times, and there may be parts that we simply don’t like. Some feel ill-equipped to read the Bible for themselves, or deep down they don’t want to be held accountable for the contents. Instead, they rely on their teacher, pastor, or priest to define it, or they seek out a book or website to explain it to them.
There are two real dangers with this line of thinking. First, although there are many excellent teachers, books, and websites out there, all of these are flawed because we as humans are flawed. This Song of Victory site has what I hope is some very valuable information, including arguments for the inerrancy of the Bible and resources to help you better understand the Bible, -but it too is flawed. The Bible is the only source that is the inspired word of God.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
The second danger is that we are stubborn, rebellious humans who want to have things our way. As such, we have a tendency to try to find teachers, books, and websites that will support our ideas and preferences. When we do, we feel “justified” in our thoughts, and our self-esteem gets a shot in the arm. Paul warned Timothy that this would happen.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NLT)
If we are being true to our Savior, we should test everything and everyone against the truth of scripture. We see an example of this in the early church.
That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
Acts 17:10-12 (NLT)
God gave us his word. He gave us the manual to life and eternity, and we are personally responsible for reading it. Reading books and listening to sermons are an important part of our daily walk with Christ, but we also need to study the Bible and test everything we see and read against it.
We are living in a time when confusing information, misinformation, and demonic doctrines are running rampant. Stress, depression, anxiety, suicide, and other mental health issues are becoming more prevalent as we try to navigate a world of pandemics, social justice issues, and political unrest. Now more than ever, we need to turn to the Bible for truth. We cannot allow our lives now or our eternity to be determined by anything else.
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
1 John 4:1-6 (NLT)
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
The Bible may seem confusing, but for the true Christ-follower, we have the Spirit of the living God in us, helping us to understand its truth. When I allowed myself to be swayed by fads and unsound doctrine, the scripture was meaningless and confusing. But when I asked Jesus to take control of my life and invited the Holy Spirit to live in me and guide me, scripture came alive! I still use commentaries and listen to sermons as a part of my study process, but the Spirit of God guides me. As a result, not only do I have a clearer understanding of what it means to be a child of God, but I can look at events happening in our world today and understand them from a Biblical perspective. I have peace and joy in the midst of chaos.
I encourage anyone reading this to commit your lives to Jesus and to understanding the inspired words of God found in the Bible. Pray for understanding and clarity. Pray for our church leaders that they will clearly hear the Holy Spirit and follow his guidance.
Next week – Should We Be New Testament Christians?
If you missed the first two segments, you can find them here:
Songs of Victory
Resources
If you don’t have a Bible, you can find them free online. These two sources provide multiple different translations. If you are seeking to do a more in-depth study, the Amplified Bible can be very useful. If you are new to Bible study and simply want to start with something that is easy to read, try the New Living Translation or New Century Version. Both of these options have search features that can be helpful to your study.
Bible.com
Biblegateway.com
Enduring Word Commentary: The Holy Spirit should be your primary guide when studying the Bible. But having a good Bible Commentary is a great resource as well as being able to learn about the historical, geographical, and scientific significance of scripture as well. After reviewing Enduring Word commentary, I find it to be one of the better, free, online sources. It contains both written as well as video commentary.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Royalty-free images from Videoblocks.com
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