How did we reach this level of Mediocrity? (Part Two)

I read a quote once that said, “The Bible is a listening post where we go to hear the voice of God.”  I do not remember who said it nor where I read it but I do see a lot of truth in that statement.  Without time spent in the Word of God we become desensitized to the things of God because we distance ourselves from the sweetness of His voice.  There is also a lessening of the sting of sin because our spiritual sense has lost its sensitivity to the truths of His Word.  How soon is the heart drawn away from God and back to the things in this world once we quit going to the listening post.  It does not take very long before we slip into sin because we have failed to spend time with Jesus.  It does not take long before self begins to redirect our drive back to the old sinful and selfish ways we practiced prior to salvation.

Without precious daily time in the Word we will soon be drawn away from Jesus and wane in our fellowship with him.  I am not saying that everybody needs to be a Bible scholar.  What I am saying and what I am referring to is that I believe that all believers need to spend quality time with the Lord and that includes time in His Word.  We all know that if we want to get to know somebody you have to spend time with them.  If you want to get to know someone intimately you will need to study that person.  To be like somebody you will have to spend quality time with them.  If we are to be what God wants us to be, (which is to be Christ-like), then we need to spend much time with Christ and his Word.  One of the main keys to any relationship is found in the time spent with one another.  The more time we devote to the relationship the faster it solidifies and matures but again, the key phrase is that it will take time but it will be time well spent.  Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments.  One of his commandments is to search the Scriptures John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

When you wish to become a part of another's household, it becomes of great importance that you familiarize yourself with the do's and the don'ts that are expected for peace within the household.  As believers we are a part of the family of God, we need to read God’s Word to find out what the true do's and don'ts are for His family.  One problem that I have found common within the family of God today is that too much time is spent reading books and about what others say about the Word of God and not enough time in the Word itself.  Leaders and laypeople alike spend more time in the writings of others than they do in the Word.  The problem here is that the Word of God is exclusive but when God’s people spend more time in the writings of others over the Word of God they attempt to turn that which is exclusive to that which is inclusive.  The Word must stand alone.  Those who rely more on man’s writings regarding what the Word says than on the Word itself says have the tendency to do just that.  They tend to regard what one writer says over another even to the disregard of the Word of God; elevating the writer’s personal interpretations of Scriptures over the Scriptures themselves.

I am not saying that we are not to read books, devotionals or listen to podcasts because they are important and have their place in the believer’s life.  They are tools that all of us need to use and take advantage of as we grow in Christ in today’s age of technology.  The problem becomes when you rely upon them more than you do the Word of God.  You cannot solely rely on devotionals because they only give you pointed and specific scriptures, those that apply to what the author is leading you to believe or change.  You cannot rely solely on all “Christian” authors because most authors will write with a certain bias (including this one).  Though study guides and devotionals are necessary to help us study the Word of God they must remain exactly that, “helps.”  If we find that more time is spent quoting authors than we do Scripture we need to take a timeout to check our areas of importance.   There is a possibility that you may be building a relationship with the authors of the guides and devotionals you are reading and not the author of the Bible.

Once again I'm not saying every believer has to be a Bible scholar but every believer will talk about Jesus at one point in time or another.  When they do so they should do so with some respect of Bible knowledge but that is not always the case.  I am reminded of a quote by J.I Packer which says, “Every time we mention God we become theologians, and the only question is whether we are going to be good ones or bad ones.”  This thought comes to mind when I am confronted by bad theology from believers who have been saved 20 or even 30 years.  Most of these people should have a solid grasp of the Word and yet still know very little of the Word of God.

The Bible says in Psalm119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  I often think of this passage when confronted by those who claim to have been in the family of God for years but know little about Him.  If the apostle Paul and the other New Testament writers are right (and I personally believe that they are) then we have a must need to know the Word and the Christ of the Word.  We find in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: (3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”  We also find in Hebrews 10:15-16, “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, (16) This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them”

The real question then becomes, “Do we follow the Bible and what Christ said or do we sit back and celebrate our new level of Mediocrity?”

More to come…