It seems that the more that churches disdain the Word and
its teaching, the more they attempt to find Scripture substitutes, and there
are many – affirmative community, social justice initiatives, and mystical
experiences. One such teaching insists that since we have the Holy Spirit, we
no longer need the Scriptures.
However, the Scriptures will not allow them to so pervert
its teachings. Clearly, without the Spirit, the Scriptures become relatively
useless (1 Corinthians 2:14). However, the Spirit informs us that He works in
conjunction with the very Scriptures He has inspired (1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter
1:19-21). Nor does He disqualify evangelists and teachers through His divine
workings (Ephesians 4:11-15) but uses us as messengers of His Word:
·
How then will they call on him in whom they have
not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?
And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14 ESV)
It is clear that our Lord also invites us to participate in
the ministry of His Word as many verses indicate:
· For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
· For the word of the cross is folly to
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to
Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power
of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-24)
· And we all, with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the Lord [through His Word], are being transformed into
the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the
Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
· For the word of God is living and
active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and
of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions
of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The Spirit accomplishes
His work through His Word and His ambassadors. But why? He is omnipotent, isn’t
He? Nevertheless, our Lord has ordained the Scriptures for battle:
· and take the helmet of salvation, and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Ephesians 6:17)
We cannot stand
without the Word. If we say that the Spirit told us ______, the opposition will
gladly inform us that the Spirit has told them the very opposite thing. How then
are we to confidently know what the Spirit has said? By the Word of God (2
Corinthians 10:4-5)! In fact, there are no way to decide any disputes without
Scripture. There is no way to correct, comfort, or to decisively challenge our
own doubts without the Scriptures. My feelings of self-condemnation were so
powerful that I had thought that the condemnation was coming from God, until
Scripture finally prevailed (Romans 8:1).
I had also felt
entirely shamed by my failures and obsessed on my inadequacies until Scripture
intervened:
· I have been crucified with Christ. It
is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in
the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me. (Galatians 2:20)
Thank God, I am free
at last (although I have miles to go).
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