Study to Show Yourself Approved (Part 1 of 3)
If you are serious about God you will get serious about knowing the Word of God. If you do not know and understand the scriptures you cannot fully know the will of God for your life. Without the knowledge of God you cannot have wisdom, understanding or godly direction in your life. Look at these passages:
Proverbs 15:14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.
Proverbs 10:14 Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
Proverbs 18:15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Proverbs 8:8-12 8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. 9 They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; 11 For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. 12 " I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.
Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Why does the Bible keep repeating the same principle over and over again? In Proverbs alone, we are instructed concerning knowledge 42 times. This does not include the times we are instructed to heed the words of His mouth, attain to wise counsel and other instructions that are based on knowledge. Without knowledge, you cannot understand faith or the heart of God. When the Bible speaks of knowledge, it is the knowledge of God and His word. In 2 Peter 1, we are instructed to be diligent to build our faith in order to succeed in the Christian walk. Faith is a gift from God. Once we receive this gift, we are instructed to add to our faith moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patience, goodness, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. If you do these things, the Bible promises that you will never stumble but you will succeed in the Christian walk and be fruitful in the knowledge of Christ Jesus and the gates of heaven will be opened wide to welcome you in (2 Peter 1:3-11).
In this modern era, we have more resources available than ever before yet there is less knowledge of the Holy or spiritual understanding than at any point in history. Why? We have exchanged the truth of God for personal pleasures, feel good religion and experiential ‘Christianity’. I recently left a church where the exposition of scripture was removed and ‘experiencing God’ was put in its place. In truth, it is impossible to experience God without knowing God. From the pulpit, the pastor shouted, “Doctrine is not important! Nothing is important except experiencing Jesus.” In error many believe, teach, and are taught that experiencing Jesus is an emotional experience. It was also taught that we need to put away the letter of the law and let God speak directly to our hearts. A new song is popular on the radio that also echoes this newly repackaged lie. Nichole Nordeman’s song, ‘Real to Me’ has the following lines in her lyrics:
I am weary of the answers
More theory and cliché
They raise the letter of the law like a banner
’Til You’re small and far away
…
I don’t need to know what I don’t know
Just got to let it go
Be real to me now
That’s all I’m asking
Be real somehow
More than anything
More than anything
So lay down the sword
And put away the doctrine
Love a little more, love a little more
‘Cause everybody’s broken
While there are those who preach a legalistic doctrine that is also a false gospel, the answer is not to put away your doctrine and lay down the sword of the spirit (God’s word – Ephesians 6:17). The scriptures state, “Those who are wise seek knowledge” and the ‘new theology’ being preached and sung in Christian music says, “I don’t need to know what I don’t know”. Which is right? Is it wise to say “I don’t need to know?” Is it wise to toss the Bible aside and say, “put away your doctrine”? This is the message of foolishness. Everyone is broken but the righteous are delivered through knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 11:9, Proverbs 2:2-11).
DO NOT put away the scriptures or push doctrine aside. Instead obey the faithful commands of scripture found in 2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
You will not be ashamed if you study the scriptures and rightly divide the word of truth. In stead, you will be approved to God and will be a faithful worker. Modern worldly philosophies within the church and without the church teach that it is doctrine that causes division when in reality it is quite the opposite. Division is caused by those who do not obey the doctrine of scripture (this includes the legalist). Look at Romans 16:17-18
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
The division is caused by those who do not adhere to doctrine. Keep in mind that when we talk about doctrine, we are talking about the teachings of scripture and its application to life. We are not talking about theological scholars arguing about the meanings of words or denominational differences.
If someone is not in the word, they are not serious about knowing God. At best, they are trying to live out a self-centered gospel – which is not the gospel at all.
The Law of God
This topic really needs more attention than I can give here, but it does need to be addressed since it is scorned by so many within the church. In the song above, it is said that holding up the law like a banner drives people far away. It is also commonly taught that we are not to live by the letter of the law but by the Spirit. This is a misquote and a misunderstanding of Romans 7:6
But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
This is not stating that the commandments of God are no longer applicable. If you read this in context to the whole topic being addressed in Romans, you will see that the subject is the law of sin and death. We are set free from the law of sin by faith in Christ. Look at the end of this discussion in Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
When Paul scolds the early church for returning to the law, it is not the commandments of God that is being addressed but the Mosaic law that was fulfilled by Christ. Circumcision foreshadowed the circumcision of the heart which is faith in Christ. The animal sacrifices were intended to foreshadow the sacrifice of Christ. Once Christ became our propitiation for sin, a blood sacrifice was a denial of the provision God made for sin in Christ. If Christ was our Passover, it is now a sin to turn to another provision for sin. The blood of bulls and rams did not take away sin but instead provided a yearly reminder of sin and served as a testimony that would be fulfilled in Christ. Once Christ fulfilled the law, it was now a denial of Christ to turn again to the law of sacrifice again.
God NEVER did away with the commandments of God pertaining to His moral law. To say that we no longer are under God’s commands is a lack of understanding of scripture. Look at 1 Corinthians 7:19
19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.
The early Christians fell from grace when they were persuaded to turn from faith and to seek justification in the ordinances of the law. When someone sought to be justified by sacrifices, they denied the atonement of Christ. When someone sought to be justified by circumcision, they denied that salvation is by faith in Christ. Faith is the circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29, Jeremiah 4:4).
Today we are so far removed from the Jewish law that we do not recognize the battle that raged in the early church. We see the word ‘law’ and assume it means the commandments of God. You cannot love God and turn from His commandments. This is clearly taught in John 14:23-24
23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
You cannot serve Christ without loving God, you cannot love God without obeying God and you cannot obey God without knowing His word. There is much, much more to say on the topic of understanding the law and keeping God’s commandments; however, it is sufficient for this study to understand that obedience to God’s commands is not the same as returning to the law and departing from grace. The world’s philosophy which has seeped into the church teaches in error that love means no boundaries. People say that God is love and that He will never judge.
The new theology quickly recites that the Bible teaches that we are to love one another and falsely claims that if you question someone’s doctrine or action you are not showing love. What the new theology fails to take note of is that Jesus taught that if you boil all the law and prophets down to its core, everything hangs on two commandments – love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and that you love your neighbor as yourself. People are quick to remind you to accept each person regardless of their doctrine or actions assuming this is love. Unfortunately no one seems to take notice of the greatest commandment – to love God with all your being. If you love God, you will obey Him, seek to know Him, submit to Him and conform to His image and will. If you do not love God, you will not obey God. If you seek a self-centered gospel it is no longer Christianity. If you truly love your neighbor, you will desire to see him or her develop their obedient relationship with God as well.
There is a false experience that is not from the Holy Spirit. There are false signs, wonders, and miracles (Deuteronomy 13:1-5, 2 Thes 2:9-10, Matthew 24:24-25, Rev 13:13-14, and Rev 16:14). All one has to do is look at the Word of Faith movement and other various cults that have infiltrated Christianity and see that what Jesus warned has indeed begun to come to pass. Everything must be confirmed by scripture. Miracles, signs, wonders, spiritual infilling, tongues and any other thing that claims to be a move of God must agree with the revealed word of God without contradiction. Otherwise it is a deception that God allows in order to test those who claim to be of God to see if their heart truly follows Him (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
If you do not know the truth, you will not be able to discern between the truth and the well crafted deception. If you put away your doctrine and lay aside your sword or truth, you will be deceived. Proverbs 6:20-23 says:
20 My son, keep your father's command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. 21 Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. 22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
If you are to be wise, you must seek the law of righteousness and faith. God’s commandments will guide you and reveal God’s plan and will for your life. To say, “I don’t need to know what I don’t know” is foolishness. The Bible says that fools hate knowledge but the wise seeks and heeds instruction.
One last important note that I believe is necessary to understand is the question, “Why is there a moral law of God?” Why did God decide to make certain actions wrong? Did God arbitrarily decide to make certain actions right or wrong without any reason? Of course not. The answer is found in the beginning. Look at Genesis 1:
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
You are created in the image of God. All the law and commandments are based on the nature and character of God – a character that you were shaped after. Every man is a reflection of the glory of God – and yet all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). When you sin, you are defiling the image of God you were created to reveal. God has the right to create you in His image and God has the right to expect you to accurately reflect His glory. The commands of God guide us into and keep us within the glory of God while sin corrupts His image within us and removes us from His glory. We are predestined to conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and the law and commandments are our light that shows us how to overcome sin and conform to Christ. If we willfully sin, we are mocking God and we will reap the consequences. Obedience is essential in the Christian walk.
Go to Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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