RELATIONSHIP VERSUS METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

The Christian life is about nurturing a relationship by imbibing, understanding, and living–out God’s Word. It is not about adding to various unbiblical techniques and methods to the Scriptures for Church growth, ecstatic union with God, or for receiving various blessings, including peace-of-mind.

This had been the mistake of the seven sons of the priest Sceva. They were itinerate Jewish exorcists. Believing that exorcism is merely a matter of technique, they had carefully observed how Paul was performing his exorcisms and decided that, for best results, they would copy him. However, they found that God would not honor their techniques:

·       Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims”...But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:13-16 ESV)

Their mistake is a mistake that the Church continues to make because we don’t sufficiently trust in God or in the Scriptures that He has given us to make us complete in Him:

·       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 complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We fail to comprehend the simple promise of God that we are complete in Jesus (Colossians 2:8-10) and that His Word has given us everything we need:

·       May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

The sons of Sceva might not have understood the ramifications of a Biblical relationship with God, and how this opens the door to His various blessings. They, therefore, had invested their trust in superficial and unbiblical methods. However, we should know better.