Sound bite: “a short extract from a recorded interview or speech, chosen for its succinctness or concision.” Apparently the primary reason sound bites are important to Television news media is because of tight time restrictions. Remove the commercials plus the weather and sport from a 30-minute news service for example, and you’re left with about 12 minutes of actual news. No wonder clever politicians favor sound bites; they understand only a few seconds of what’s said will be aired. No wonder self-opinionated, politically biased news journalists favor them as well. What better way to shred a person’s character in a few seconds than to air his or her quote out of context!
I suppose though, in general, sound bites could be a good thing. I think of people with short attention spans; succinct or concise statements made to them in a few seconds could be more advantageous to their classroom learning than verbosity. How many of us were at first attracted by sound bites or “print” bites of Sir Winston Churchill’s famous speeches before we went on to read them in full? It was this “method” that attracted me to study the works and lives of a few people of the past honored for their achievements. But when used for negative and harmful purposes, when used for indoctrination and brainwashing purposes, when used for the deliberate purpose of dumbing down individuals and groups, then the use of sound bites and “print” bites is an evil practice.
But enough on sound bites and “print” bites. I want to address Scripture bites. What on earth are Scripture bites? They are similar to the others – Scripture quotations of a few seconds habitually proclaimed by pulpit preachers and teachers, giving listeners the impression they are God’s final word on a matter. Take, “God loves you,” for example, that is a very popular Scripture bite. Even the most vile and perverted have gone into eternity with only that thought on their mind. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son,” that’s a popular one too. How about, “Do not judge,” ? Is there a better Scripture bite for him or her to publicly quote from a pulpit to those who have gone and spoken privately to them about their misuse of Scripture for doctrinal and political biases?
Now God does love us of course, for if He didn’t He would not have given the world (us) His Son. But He gave us more than a Scripture bite on the matter. He also gave us the condition we must meet to personally experience His love. The condition is, believe; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3:16. To ‘believe’ means: to entrust one’s spiritual well-being to Christ, to surrender one’s earthly life to the Lordship of Christ. You mean, no life of my own? No life of your own. It is not life in any case, it is death! To be dead is to be absolutely void of all spiritual life. And you (believers) He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world,…… Ephesians 2:1-10.
As for, “Do not judge,” not only is it a favorite Scripture bite of many pulpit people, but equally, it’s a favorite of many pew people! To those with little knowledge of Scripture and even little desire to become knowledgeable, that one or its equivalent, “Don’t be judgmental,” will roll of the tongue without a moment’s thought. For such pulpit people, they will be totally dismissive of John 7:24, Do not judge according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgment. For such pew people, they will be totally ignorant of it. What is righteous judgment? It is standing for everything God stands for and standing against everything He stands against. Both the “for” and “against” are to be found solely within the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The Trinity of God do not speak outside of the Scriptures.
Christians feeding on a “diet” of Scripture bites can never develop to spiritual maturity; they’re always going to be babes in the faith. As a result, they will compromise their Christianity when push comes to shove and tolerate that which is not of God. That’s why there’s much sin in the church system. We’re all sinners, but the expectation from God is that we become redeemed sinners. One can walk into a church in a state of ungodliness, but the proclaiming of Scripture should be such that, over time, one will not want to remain in that state. In other words, the ungodly will desire to become godly. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…… But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us Romans 5:6, 8.
Pastors in possession of a “seeker sensitive/friendly” mentality will load their 20-minute, 4-point, Power-point “sermons” with Scripture bites. What advantages do they receive for this? 1) it makes them popular, 2) their weekly meal ticket is guaranteed, 3) they are never in danger of offending their people, 4) they run no risk of persecution from the insiders or the outsiders. Not only will they be thought highly of in the church but also in the community. And when they tell the media that they stand for tolerance of sexual practices that society tolerates, that they stand for interfaith unity between all religious faiths, they’ll become media darlings in no time. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ Philippians 3:8.
“Jesus Christ is Lord,” so says the church. And He is too; New Testament Scripture confirms it everywhere. But we must be discerning as to who proclaims that truth and in what context, for there are churches and religious groups who proclaim it but they don’t mean it. In other words for them, it’s a Scripture bite. The Roman Catholic Church is a prime example. They’ll tell you Jesus Christ is Lord, but at the same time you will be told if you want to get to Jesus, then the only way you can do so is through Mary, His earthly Mother. Romanism says Mary shared Jesus the Redeemer’s life, suffering, and death, hence the title given her, Co-Redemptrix. Which ever way they try to spin it, the Bible makes it firmly clear, there is only one Redeemer, Lord Jesus Christ.
“Jesus Christ is Lord,” is a Scripture bite for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the New Testament context, “Lord” means “God” when referring to Jesus. JW’s vehemently deny this truth. To them Jesus is the Son of God, as in God Senior and god junior. The J W’s deny the One God Who exists in 3 Persons – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. They deny the existence of the Holy Spirit as a Person. They reject the doctrine of the Trinity. They reject the doctrine of hell. Jesus the Lord spoke of and referred to them all many times, even if He didn’t mention the word ‘Trinity.’ JW’s, like Roman Catholics, interpret the Bible in the light of their own doctrines and books. They interpret the New Testament in the light of the Old Testament. We Bible Christians do the opposite. Clearly, Jesus Christ is not Lord to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“Jesus Christ is Lord,” so say all “Christian” Cult leaders. But in proclaiming such, they will also declare to their followers, “I am the human face of Jesus Christ to you.” Does that mean they expect to be treated as “Lord” too? It certainly does, even though they won’t voice that. Scripture bites, especially when lifted from their biblical context are perfect for indoctrination, brainwashing and controlling purposes. And because truth is not the primary reason most people join cults (or churches) anyway, they’ll fall for whatever they’re told. Savage wolves Paul called them; speaking perverse (distorted, misinterpreted) things, to draw away disciples after themselves Acts 20:30. Jesus Christ is not Lord to these wolves but unless their people submit to the biblical Lord Jesus Christ they will remain forever trapped.
At the beginning of this post I gave mention of self-opinionated, politically biased news journalists favoring the use of sound bites to shred a person’s character. That’s exactly what preachers, teachers and others in churches do when using Scripture bites – only this time it is the character, the nature, and the reputation of God in Jesus Christ they’re shredding. This is the primary explanation for the lack of knowledge and serious commitment to the biblical Lord Jesus Christ and what His commands are to those whose Savior and Lord He is. In addition, it’s the primary explanation for the unbelieving world’s increasing mockery, blasphemy and hatred towards Christ. When they see us compromising the Lord by trucking with the world’s sordid playthings, why should we be surprised by their behavior?
Feeding on a “diet” of Scripture bites causes one to bow to the pressures of the devil’s crowd constantly. How dishonoring that is to God who exhorts us, to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God Ephesians 3:19 and to, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly Colossians 3:16a. Bowing to the Scriptures is bowing to God. Those who make that their daily practice will, by God’s power, bow to no one else’s pressures, whether from the devil’s crowd or from the very devil himself!. The truth will set you free, Jesus said. Unless we commit to the Scriptures in total and not simply Scripture bites, we will never know by experience what freedom actually is. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings,…… 2 Timothy 2:15-16.