Herein lies the problem in the church (just one of them actually), the voice of men and women is becoming louder than the Word of God. We are building our lives on the “sinking sand” of human popularity, sensations, opinions and stories more than on the Word of God. To restore sanity amongst our fold, the authority, the finality of the authority of the Bible must be restored.
The place of the Bible should not be substituted with opinions from any preacher: no matter how gifted and anointed they are. If whatever they are saying disagrees with Scripture, throw it out quickly away from your mind. Don’t entertain it, no matter who you are listening to or reading.
The Bereans in Acts 17:11 are a perfect example: “…they received the word with all readiness [alertness, attentiveness, sobriety ] of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (vs11b). Anytime I quote them, I get amazed. I mean this is no other person than Paul; Apostle extraordinaire, yet when he spoke, he was scrutinized: “…they searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” How many, myself, included, bother to check after a sermon “whether those things were so”? The Bereans did exactly what many don’t do, they “…searched the scriptures daily….” That means even days after they had heard the message, they kept at it, they investigated what has been said, they probed further to make sure they have not been lied to. And guess what, their astuteness towards Paul and Silas’ message got special mention: “[The Bereans ] were more noble…”(vs 11a). Can I say then, inferring from the Bereans, that searching Scriptures is a mark of nobility?
Searching Scriptures, that is the way forward! The Word should be the plumb line for measuring truth, not someone’s giftedness or years in ministry . In all humility, please don’t misconstrue my words. I am in no way inciting disrespect towards spiritual authority. I should make that clear before I am accused of “touching the Lord’s anointed”. But if Paul’s words were not taken just because he is Paul, who, which minister of today marks up to Paul’s stature in ministry that we shouldn’t probe whether the things they are saying are so. …we need some boldness to start asking questions.
Some of our problems can be blamed on out of context handling of Scriptures for personal gains. The flock, instead of being fed, are being fleeced. It’s no wonder Paul admonished Timothy his protege to “rightly divide the word of truth”. If there’s an advice to “rightly divide the word of truth”, it means there’s the possibility of “wrongly dividing the word of truth”. Take particular note: you can’t rightly divide, if you don’t make time to study the Bible. This means we all have a personal responsibility to study the Bible. Studying the bible is not the preserve of a few. Note also that studying the Bible goes beyond flipping through a devotional every morning.
Studying (learning, investigating, reviewing, reading) the Bible is not mere religious activity. It is fellowship with God. We cannot relegate it to the background in pursuit of “latest anointing in town”. If we will give the word, the reverence and attention it deserves; both on our pulpits and personal lives, we will protect ourselves from much disaster.
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