Barriers to Knowledge

A few days ago, in my quiet time the Lord took me to 2 Corinthians 10:5 – 6 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Note that I do not hear God’s voice, but there are times that He will bring a passage to mind.  I have learned that it is best to follow that lead.

Last evening, I was speaking to a friend about some sessions our church is doing online during this “interesting time”.  During our conversation we began discussing how to help those who may have been in the faith for a long time but do not have the confidence nor have they been equipped to engage in the Word of God for themselves.  We were thinking through how a believer would get into this state.

One of the ways seems to be addressed by Paul in this verse.  I have heard, and I would expect that you have as well, speakers suggest things in addressing a passage that are not in the text.  In many cases they may be inferences that they have thought about that they think may apply to the text.  Or, they may be something that they have read somewhere that they think may clear up the text.  In some cases what I have heard was essentially made up and had no relation at all to the text being presented.  In the case of historical information that sets a context, I will admit that at times that can be interesting and somewhat helpful.

However, in this passage Paul says that he is destroying everything that is raised up against the knowledge of God.  Think about that for a minute.  If I am a young believer listening to a speaker and he shares a theory, an example, or a “fact” that is not evident in the text, what does that communicate to me?  Wouldn’t it communicate that I need to know those theories, examples, or “facts” in order to understand the Word of God?  In a real sense when a speaker adds to the text, he is communicating that without his help, those who are listening cannot really understand the Bible.  In a sense he is taking the Bible out of their hands.

Speakers who do that are raising up barriers against the knowledge of God.  In that they are creating a dependency on themselves or other secondary sources as a necessary means to rightly understand the Word of God.

My friend had shared in a presentation that he made a week or so ago, that the Word affirms that we are able to understand the Word of God:

• With the help of the Holy Spirit – John 16:13 (here @ Bible Gateway), and 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (here @ Bible Gateway) (all references added to support his points)
• With humble effort – Psalm 119:18 (here @ Bible Gateway), 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:4 (here @ Bible Gateway)
• With (he had “using” but I changed it to match) ordinary means – Ezra 7:10 (here @ Bible Gateway)

We had a short discussion about what he meant by ordinary means.  I will expand on that next post.

The Old is Not

If you are like us, you may be doing some projects at home that you have been putting off.  My wife and I are cleaning out the attic.  We have brought down about 25 years’ worth of old bank records and tax forms.  We have two huge totes on our front porch from the shredding company, one is completely full, the other nearly…

I have been sorting through files of old conferences and training programs in which we were participants or leaders.  I have found some materials that I am going to keep.  I have been scanning all of that into the computer.  The garage is next…  My oldest son said that if any of us exit this time with a cluttered attic or garage we haven’t used the time well.

I have been asked to teach a session at our church online in three weeks.  Its up in the air whether I go to the church or do it from my home office.  I’m one of those who are most at risk.  I have been preparing by reviewing some of the work I have done on the topic in the past.

This afternoon I pulled that file and went through all the studies that I have done on the topic, which is, the necessity of each of us being in the Word ourselves.  It seems I have been hammering that for a while.

I found a message I shared on a Wednesday night at one of the churches we attended in Kentucky.  It was on the same subject dealing with the identical issues that we seem to be facing in many if not all the churches we have attended since then.

Many of us as believers seem to gravitate to those who are excellent teachers or preachers and rather than engaging personally in the Word ourselves, we are satisfied with what we are told by those teachers or preachers.

I have had at least two men, who attended excellent churches, with excellent pastors and teachers admit that they didn’t want to do the work, they would rather have someone tell them what to believe.  In talking to pastors this seems to be a continual and abiding challenge.

So, in three weeks, I will take up this subject again – truth be told, I have never put it down.  I would appreciate prayer should you think of it.  As we get closer, I will give you information on how you can watch it live or on replay.  We are trying  to figure out how to do a live Q&A if I do it from my office and not the church…  Stay tuned…

Confused

There are lot of things in life that confuse me.  Things that I don’t understand.  As one who has had seven sinus operations, I don’t understand piercing noses, for example.

For most of my adult life, I have been involved in some sort of Christian ministry either as a lay member of a church or group or else as staff or leader of those types of groups.  The Lord has allowed me to engage in this either in person or online on five continents and 14 different countries.  In nearly every instance at some point in the process one of the participants asks why they haven’t been shown how to study the Bible in their church.  Or one of the pastors will confess to either downloading and presenting another pastors sermon or else not speaking on the Bible but his own thoughts.

Consistently one thing emerges in all my seminars and workshops.  There are many who have been in churches all their lives who have not been equipped to study the Word of God on their own.  They are dependent then on secondary sources or the teaching of others, which amounts to the same thing.  They are engaged in the Word of God by proxy.

In John 8:31 – 32 (here @ Bible Gateway), Jesus states that in order to be His disciple one must abide in His Word.  If one does not know how to abide, if they have never been shown how, can they be a disciple?  Yet there are many churches of which I am aware who are struggling with the idea of how to more effectively make disciples.

Shouldn’t that start with equipping those in these communities of faith to personally engage in the Word of God?  Rather than giving a member a book about, say, Philippians, why not show them how to study the book on their own?

Rather than giving them a devotional book, why not show them how to engage in a quiet time on their own?

Rather than… well I’s repeating myself…

Thoughts?