Dear saints, I trust that the Lord had been blessing and protecting you. When God says something to us, do we take Him at His word literally or do we rationalize, justify and theologize it? Taking God Almighty at His word demonstrates absolute and even fanatical obedience to Him. Sometimes the Lord tests our obedience as He did with Abraham (Genesis 22). Our response to the Lord determines our attitude and state of our salvation.
Let’s turn to John 6:63-64. The Lord tells us, “the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Do we take the Lord literally or do we reason it out? Theology, philosophy, etymology and contextual understanding are all wonderful but can severely dilute and hinder the power of the word of God. The Lord rebuked many present there that simply refused to accept His words as the word of God. Such people were devoid of the life and power in them and continue that way to this day like spiritual wilderness wanderers.
When the word of God tells us that something is sinful or unholy do we justify or rationalize it or do we promptly repent and accept God’s mercy and forgiveness? When the Bible tells us that all scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17), do we argue that that’s not relevant in today’s culture or that it’s irrelevant to us because we live in grace and not under the law? We need to understand saints that Christ did not nullify the law but fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17-20). If we confess our sins then the Lord frees us from the curse of the law into His grace (1 John 1:9) and blessing. But if we reason or theorize it away our sin remains and we are still judged by the law (1 John 1:8, 10).
The Lord Jesus demonstrated a perfect reverence for the word of God and obedience to it. The Lord always lived by the written word (Luke 24:44). Every aspect of His life was documented and prophesied well in advance. He didn’t disregard the word of God when something negative was prophesied (Matthew 16:21). He literally believed the word of God and rebuked His disciples who tried to deter Him from fulfilling the prophecies (Matthew 16:22-23). He believed and deployed the word of God with great power and supernatural efficacy (Luke 17:6). Never did He dilute the word of God with theology, semantics, etymology or modern didactic methods. He was powerful and triumphant because He literally believed and lived the power of the undiluted word of God.
How are we today saints? Do we take God at His word or do we try to contextualize it? Are we receiving the word of the Lord as spirit and life or as just another good religious text? If we diluted the word of God with our own theology then the Holy Spirit can’t operate with full power in our lives and we’ll continue living mundane and mediocre lives. I pray that we’ll take the Lord at His word.
Dear friends, if there be any among you who’re yet to receive the Lord then confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that the Lord Jesus has risen from the dead for forgiveness of your sins and you shall be saved. Amen.