The Word, as it is written
It is impossible for me to understand why I am sometimes ridiculed for believing that God’s word says just what He means for it to say. Some don’t see any need for reading or accepting the Bible, while others feel free to believe part of the Word, and yet reject other parts as being untrue. I wonder if there is anybody who would think “some true, some false” teaching would be good enough for a surgeon, a pilot, or a woman’s first-time lighting of a fuel-oil stove? If you want to belong to God now and throughout eternity and if you want to do everything in your power to be sure that your family and friends belong to Him too, then you need to start looking into the Word of God, for it is there that you will find Him and it is there where you will discover all you need to know about who He is, how He is, where He stands and what He expects from you.
The area between “hit and miss teaching” and absolute truth is Satan’s hunting ground. I know that Satan is the father of lies because John 8:44 tells me so. As long as Satan can keep us from knowing and believing God and His Word, our souls will belong to him, for there is no third choice. There is no neutral ground. Jesus is the way, and you have to be in Him and remain in Him, if you want to belong to Him and receive all that He has promised to you. All ground outside the path belongs to Satan, so a person must choose one or the other (John 14:6). You might not know that, if you don’t read the Bible unless someone, who does read the Bible, tells you. Sometimes a person may think that just being a “good” person is enough for God to sweep you right into Heaven, but that is not what the Bible says. It is for this very reason, because our minds do not naturally know what God would have from us, that His instructions to us are absolutely essential.
When others expound the “Word of God,” it is often wise to remember what you’ve been told, but then be sure to verify what the Bible actually has to say about the subject. It is good to talk about and study the Word together, good for learning and good for reminding. Just always remember that the bottom line is what, and how, God speaks to you from the pages of His Holy Word. This is where study, prayer and personal, practical and spiritual application apply. Yes, it is a job, and God wants you to stay with it forever; no layoffs and no vacations. Working for Him is to be your “vocation,” and yes, this is straight from the Bible (Ephesians 4:1). Being a rocket scientist, car salesman or mule skinner, should come second-only to your main job. Oh and aren’t we glad that forgiveness is ever available to us for the shortcomings that so often occur, especially when the path is rocky.
There is only one path that leads to Heaven, but there are so many that lead to destruction, it would probably be impossible to name them all. We don’t need to know them all, but we must know the real deal that comes only from God. Some of Satan’s people look and act like devils, while others may be brilliant, beautiful, kind, tactful, eloquent; everything that would make us trust and admire them; everything that might cause us to follow them. Satan doesn’t really care about what they do, good or bad, as long as he can keep them from knowing and obeying God. They are his bait of choice for snaring the rest of us. Falling into Satan’s trap may be for life, but it doesn’t have to be.
In closing I would like to say, don’t take my word for these things, but rather go to the Bible and see what God says to you. That is the only way to make an informed choice about the route you want to take.
