Ah yes, but the Bible………

A middle-aged church-going man asked me, “Why is your church marketing itself like a business?”  I replied by informing him that rather than “marketing” ourselves, we were in fact, fulfilling the biblical command of Christ, who told us “go” not “come.”  In other words, our commitment was to go and tell people about Jesus Christ and what He has done for each one of us, not compel them to come to church to be told that.  At the mention of the Bible, he said contemptuously, “Ah yes, but the Bible……….”

His attitude towards the Bible was typical of large numbers of church-goers I had met.  In essence, the Bible was looked upon by them as mostly antiquated, outdated and obsolete.  I say mostly, because what was not deemed as such within it’s pages, had been embraced by themselves as a result of their particular denomination’s teachings.  In fact this man told me it was his church that held the keys to biblical interpretation, not mine or me.  A religious spirit of pride was written all over his face as he expressed this.  There was more than one denomination passing on those beliefs to their people. 

Very much his theology was one of loving everybody and that we (me) shouldn’t be judgmental.  He believed that in his head, but he failed the practicalities of that on both counts.  He asked me how often I, “went to church” every week.  He only asked, he didn’t want my answer.  He simply used the question to inform me that he attended four days a week and that he was a special minister, who also believed that “good works” was a more accurate hope for getting into heaven, “than what you people interpret from the Bible.”  In other words, works were more important than faith alone in Christ and His finished work for us.  That’s the opposite of what the Bible tell us Ephesians 2:8-9.

Another man told me that he used to attend church, but not out of a desire to do so, it was out of guilt.  He was made to attend by his parents and manipulated to attend by the leader of that church and by the doctrines held by that particular denomination.  Manipulation can be one of the ruling spirits in any church, not just his.  His wife was about to have their first child and he said that when that child was old enough he would tell it what he believed about God and then the child could take it from there.  I asked him what it was that he did believe.

He replied, “I don’t particularly know.”  He smiled at his own answer, knowing that his earlier statement was made in haste so as to hurry me on my way.  He too had doubts about the Bible, not because he owned one or had read one but because of the way many Scriptures had been lifted from it out of context, which now successfully filled him with confusion, fear and guilt.  He struggled in accepting the encouragement I gave him, but I witnessed relief coming into his being.  He learned that day that the Bible is God’s word to man, given so that each of us can personally know God as a loving Father through relationship, not through rules.

I asked him not to take my word for that, because if he did, then all he would be doing is listening to another church person.  I figured he’d had enough of man’s “religious” beliefs, it was now time for him to seek out that truth for himself.  Earlier he said he thought the Bible could only be interpreted by the “especially called” or gifted leaders, scholars and theologians etc.  He had never been taught that the Scriptures were written for him personally, as they were for me and everyone else who chooses to seek, so that we can know without doubt what it is that God has revealed. 

He had an unspoken, “You mean to say God tells me in that book that I can personally know Him?”-type look on his face.  But I spoke.  I said, “Yes.  He does.”  I gave him a New Testament and asked him to check the truth out for himself by reading the gospel of John.  It is true that we need leaders, scholars and theologians.  But it is equally true that God shows personal favoritism to no man Galatians 2:6.  If every person were to humble themselves before God and embrace His Son, plus His written, living word, they would reject all who have been elevated to God-like status over them. 

A young man called Ronald was quick to tell me, “I hate churches and all that Bible stuff and being told what to do by others.”  I asked him to clarify the statement and it turned out that he’d never personally been in a church, had never read the Bible and had never been told what to do by any Christian, “but I know plenty of people who have.”  Then he asked me what I thought about the Masonic Lodge, “because I have to join them in a couple of years, my whole family has been in it for generations.”  It seemed that he was being told what to do after all, facing it with much reluctance.

I told him that Freemasonry was/is an anti-Christ movement, therefore it was incompatible with biblical Christianity.  Ronald knew nothing about the Trinity of God, nevertheless I informed him that Freemasonry denies that truth and it denies the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Freemasonry also denies the Bible’s declaration that salvation is by grace through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.  He also was informed that Freemasonry denies the uniqueness of the Bible as God’s sole revelation to man.  If I were speaking with a mature Freemason that day I would have made an immediate enemy for myself.

Why else would I have made an enemy?  Well, Freemasonry, like countless lodges, societies, religions, churches, charities, service clubs and individuals, share the same values as biblical Christianity – that is: charity, compassion, ethics, honesty and integrity.  But that is where the similarities cease, because biblical Christians are told that whatever we say or do, it is to be said and done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Groups and organisations that deny or water-down the biblical God either serve themselves or a god of their imagination.  Not only does the Bible reveal such to be anti-Christ, but it is idolatry as well.  And God has nothing good to say to us about the practice of that.

A seventy-nine year old lady told me that her father died when she was born.  She proudly said to me, “Ever since I can remember, I’ve prayed to dad.  Now I pray to my (deceased) husband as well, plus Mary and all the saints.”  She had prayed to everybody but the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who could grant any real spiritual and practical help for her in life.  The Bible’s revelations that God is a Father who can be intimately known and experienced through faith and trust in His Son meant nothing to her on the day of my visit.  Unless she permitted the Lord Himself to divinely intervene, she would take those beliefs with her to the grave to await a second death at the great white throne judgement. 

Mid-thirties Josephine said to me, “Yeah I believe in God, Jesus, Mary, Buddha, whatever……”  Her beliefs were backed up as well, with images and statues that supposedly depicted each of them.  That was not an uncommon sight for me to view.  Countless people had these displayed, along with images depicting Oriental gods also.  It seemed that all bets were on.  If one let them down then they’d simply focus on another.  I did not draw attention to or ridicule those images or their belief systems, I simply lifted up Christ to them as the way, the truth and the life – here now and in eternity. 

Many people thanked me for telling them about the biblical Lord Jesus, but others were highly offended and accused me of being judgmental.  “You are being  judgmental,” is a favorite mantra of multitudes of practicing Christians as well as all kinds of unbelievers.  There are various reasons for such an accusation and hopefully I will write about them soon.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  Colossians 3:16-17.