As I reflected on My Second Year, I noticed that my early posts were filled with Scripture conclusions and that as time passed the incidence of Scripture became less and less. It’s a little scary to think that this lessening could mean that I’m getting back to life and beginning to put God on the back shelf. That’s what happens sometimes, right?
Maybe I’m just making excuses, but I honestly feel that instead of putting God on the back shelf, I’m bringing God into real life with me. Scripture alone cannot have the same depth of transformative results, also the relationships I develop with other people and the way I show and share the love of God transforms me and hopefully those around me.
So maybe you are disappointed to find that I don’t include Scripture with every post, or even many posts these days. But know that the stories I tell are laced with the actual, hands-on, practical, everyday love of Christ.
Below is the story told by my Scripture choices for my first few posts at My Second Year. It’s fun to look back and see how God really did fulfill his promises.
• But wait…doesn’t God tell us that his plans for us are good (Jeremiah 29:11)?
• “But then the Lord answered Job out of the storm” (Job 38).
• He promised his mercies and compassion would be new every day (Lamentations 3:22-23).
• “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:4-10).
• Let God transform me into a new person by changing the way I think (Romans 12:2).
• Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23).
• Who knows why this purpose has come at this time but I cannot remain silent (Esther 4:14).
• “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13b).
Amen.
Some Christians claim, "The Bible is all I need," but this notion is not taught in the Bible itself. In fact, the Bible teaches the contrary idea (2 Peter 1:20–21, 3:15–16). The "Bible alone" theory was not believed by anyone in the early Church.
ReplyDeleteIt is new, having arisen only in the 1500s during the Protestant Reformation. The theory is a "tradition of men" that nullifies the Word of God, distorts the true role of the Bible, and undermines the authority of the Church Jesus established (Mark 7:1–8).
Although popular with many "Bible Christian" churches, the "Bible alone" theory simply does not work in practice. Historical experience disproves it. Each year we see additional splintering among "Bible-believing" religions.
Today there are tens of thousands of competing denominations, each insisting its interpretation of the Bible is the correct one. The resulting divisions have caused untold confusion among millions of sincere but misled Christians.
Just open up the Yellow Pages of your telephone book and see how many different denominations are listed, each claiming to go by the "Bible alone," but no two of them agreeing on exactly what the Bible means.
We know this for sure: The Holy Spirit cannot be the author of this confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). God cannot lead people to contradictory beliefs because his truth is one. The conclusion? The "Bible alone" theory must be false.