A couple of weeks ago I recounted a conversation that included the following ideas: counseling can/should be conducted with a little bit of the Bible as opposed to a lot; and, that man's opinions are somehow the same as a pastor, teacher, counselor in a local church rendering a particular interpretation of Scripture.
To start, if we claim to be Christ followers and are submitting our lives under the authority of (a) Jesus Christ and (b) His Word (the Bible, both Old and New Testaments), does that not require us to give our full allegiance to Jesus Christ? Jesus, when referring to money, makes it clear that man cannot serve two masters. Is this not also true when referring to a world view or perspective on life? To say that one can be a believer and then teach others with a Bible + something else theology is to be disloyal, disobedient, and, in some cases, heretical. Either you are submitted to Jesus and His Word or you are not. This is an indictment against us all at some point or another I am sure as we constantly work to filter those teachings which are of this world and those which are sound and in accordance with God's Word.
Secondly, man's opinions are irrelevant to biblical teaching or counseling, if one is truly counseling and teaching biblically. If one is counseling, teaching or preaching biblically the following can/should be expected: he/she is submitted, fully, to Christ and His Word; he/she seeks to discern what the Bible says through an intensive study of the original languages (Greek/Hebrew); he/she prays seeking God's instruction through the Holy Spirit to rightly discern what God's Word says; he/she measures God's Word against God's Word to see how other verses or passages address the question/issue/teaching at hand; he/she tests their understanding against other believers who exhibit a responsible handling of God's Word; he/she may consider the writings of others specific to the issue/verse/passage at hand to further consider the plausibility or implausibility of their conclusions; he/she subjects their conclusions to the question of whether that conclusion glorifies God and is true to the whole counsel of Scripture. The point, then, is to avoid merely giving one's own opinion and to understand and expound upon what God's Word truly says and what it means for our lives today.
Man's opinion, after all, is what put humanity in the position to need a Savior (see Genesis 3 and the fall of man, "Did God really say...?"). Therefore, we need to seek God's truth and avoid worldly, human wisdom at all costs (see 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16).
Monday, April 12, 2010
Read the instructions.
Moments ago I was discussing a blog post with a close friend and my thoughts on some of the responses. My friend made use of an illustration that could not be more true regarding many who claim to be Christians, my self included.
The illustration went like this: Men, when they get something new out of the box, they often fail to read the instructions; many Christians are no different.
This could be further expounded upon in the sense that when we fail to read the instructions we end up having to back track, taking apart what we started to the point that we initially "messed up." Then, resuming our attempt at assembling whatever it is that necessitates our attention.
This illustration is oh so telling of our dealings with the Christian life. We claim to follow Christ because, maybe Jesus or a particular verse in the Bible makes us feel better or addresses some immediate need of our life. Then, we put Jesus and His Word back on the shelf when we are no longer in need only to return when we sinfully mis-assemble our life or the lives of others.
The moral of the story: consistently read the instructions (the Bible) and we will be less likely to continue having to fix this and fix that. After all, life promises us plenty of suffering and difficulty without us adding on top of it all by "shooting ourselves in the foot."
Then again, I have to wonder, if the living of our lives as Christ followers is to be for God's glory, not our own, and in service of our Lord Jesus and other people, is the moral of the story really the point? If our aim was/is to glorify God, then our relationship with him and with other people would be less fraught with sin and the need to "fix it" all the time. If our aim is simply not having to fix our lives and ridding our selves of the consequences, that seems, still, less than what God desires and, still, centered on ourselves rather than God and others.
The illustration went like this: Men, when they get something new out of the box, they often fail to read the instructions; many Christians are no different.
This could be further expounded upon in the sense that when we fail to read the instructions we end up having to back track, taking apart what we started to the point that we initially "messed up." Then, resuming our attempt at assembling whatever it is that necessitates our attention.
This illustration is oh so telling of our dealings with the Christian life. We claim to follow Christ because, maybe Jesus or a particular verse in the Bible makes us feel better or addresses some immediate need of our life. Then, we put Jesus and His Word back on the shelf when we are no longer in need only to return when we sinfully mis-assemble our life or the lives of others.
The moral of the story: consistently read the instructions (the Bible) and we will be less likely to continue having to fix this and fix that. After all, life promises us plenty of suffering and difficulty without us adding on top of it all by "shooting ourselves in the foot."
Then again, I have to wonder, if the living of our lives as Christ followers is to be for God's glory, not our own, and in service of our Lord Jesus and other people, is the moral of the story really the point? If our aim was/is to glorify God, then our relationship with him and with other people would be less fraught with sin and the need to "fix it" all the time. If our aim is simply not having to fix our lives and ridding our selves of the consequences, that seems, still, less than what God desires and, still, centered on ourselves rather than God and others.
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