We should read the scriptures for ourselves!

[THIS IS POSTED ON A NEW BLOG HERE]
Why do I often paste scripture as a blog post? Can't you read the Bible for yourself?

I post scripture for two reasons:

1. I just get so excited about a passage that I can't help but share it! I hope that a little scripture as a post is an encouragement to dig into the scriptures yourself. Which brings me to #2.
2. It seems there has become a pretty huge problem in these modern, Christian days: Many of us have stopped reading and researching the scriptures for ourselves. We rely on the wise Pastor,  the intelligent teacher, or pursuasive leader, to tell us what it says -- to "interpret" it for us. So here are some thoughts...

Do we not have the Spirit of God ourselves??...He, the great Counselor, sent from God to remind us of all that Christ came to show us (John 14)? Yes! Yes, we do (John 16)! Therefore, when we take our preacher's word for it, and don't spend time investigating God's message for ourselves, we are guilty of the age-old children's game -Follow the Leader.*** We must read the scriptures and ask God to open our minds to understand them. That's a legitimate, and I would say essential prayer -- "Open our minds that we can understand the scriptures for ourselves (Luke 24:27-32).

If you or I were for some reason thrown in jail for the rest of our lives with only a Bible, and with no access to a church or a church "leader," could we still grow in Christ and in our understanding of what it means to love Him with all our hearts?  ... yes. God can and will open the minds of me and you to understand, and more importantly own and apply the scriptures to our lives.

This opening can happen for EVERYONE!! Not just if you're smart, or old, or educated, or liked, or...whatever. But beware, if we begin to ask God to show us the meaning, and you are in a church where there are "learned" interpreters in place, telling you what the scriptures mean, then it's likely going to cause you some problems. But don't worry, just continue to ask God to reveal the scriptures to you by His Spirit AND --- AND, AND, AND --- ask God to give you the Mind of Christ (Phillippians 2:5).

This IS the real point -- the Mind of Christ is the point. If we don't have the mind of Christ, (which is an amazing way to cut through our flesh) then we will likely use the scriptures as a weapon against others, especially by creating doctrines of division, manipulation and even spiritual abuse. We should always be ready and willing to look at the fruit of our interpretation. And that fruit is always defined by the growing fruits of the Holy Spirit within us and the conformaty of our own actions and mindsets to that of Christ Jesus our Lord. Do we have the mind of Christ and are we growing in the fruits of the Spirit? Those are two very important questions to hold before us as we ask God to help us read and understand the Bible.

We must read ALL the scriptures - for ourselves - and believe the Spirit will show us the Truth, as we follow only the God Who gives us Life. The scriptures do not give us life (John 5:39). No, they testify about Christ, whom we go to -- personally -- for that LIFE! (John 5:40) This is also the only way to avoid "proof texting."

I'll have to write a lot later on about proof texting. But for now, proof texting is simply taking the scriptures out of the originally intended meaning and context and applying them without reading the whole treatment in the Bible on a given subject. Pick a topic, any topic. Then read ALL the scriptures in the Bible that have to do with that topic. Then do a little research (I'll show how later) on what those scriptures meant to the original hearers or readers. Then ASK the Spirit of God to enlighten our minds to the meaning in our own lives. This is the way to avoid proof texting. However, even with that in mind we must remember that we cannot EVER fully escape our own opinions, which are all based in our experiences. So THE most important thing of all is continuing to point to CHRIST as the Living sacrifice for our SINS.

With that in mind, here's a terrific passage, one to change the lives of both the lost and the saved. We ALL must be reconciled to God!! But how???  How can the whole world be saved from the sins that have condemned us? How?!? Here we go...(see if you can feel this one!)

Hallelujah, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us!"**

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.



16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." -2 Cornthians 5

Hallelujah, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us!"
What Good News!!!  What very, very Good News!
~~~~~~~

**At the very second I typed the exclamation point to the sentence above my iPhone received a daily scripture via SMS text, from an App that I downloaded. The scripture appeared with an angelic litte tone: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." I just let out a huge burst of laughter at that moment, and April came in asking "what in the world was that?", and I told her, and we smiled, and we thanked God for His mercy and His kindness, and for His LOVE for us in Christ.

***Disclaimer: I am in no way advocating that you not listen to your pastor, preacher, or leader. I'm saying that if we just take their word for it and let them interpret God's message for you, and tell you what God says, then we are not following God. We are following Paul, or Appolos. It is essential that ALL believers find out what they believe and challenge the teachers and hold them accountable where needed. Even more! - The teachers NEED us to read the scriptures for ourselves and to challenge them with what God might show us. One of my biggest fears is that I would give some teaching from scripture and that those listening would just take my word for it. Crazy! And dangerous... for both me and them. In the end we are ALL in this together and CHRIST is the Head of the Church. We are His Body... and HE is the head.

We should read the scriptures for ourselves.