Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!(Psalm 119:29 – ESV)
The Bible speaks to all of life; you may say it, or even think it, but do you believe it, and by that I mean practice it? As Christians, we cannot place personal sanctification into the spiritual category, while categorizing other pursuits, such as a better marriage or relationships as separate from sanctification or spirituality. If we accept the need for other primary materials that do not draw primarily upon the Bible, as regards to sanctification, then we are tacitly or overtly complying with the notion that the Bible is not sufficient for all of life and practice. By doing this we are saying that it is not sufficient to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Now we cannot deny the value of other material, and we are not saying that we should read only the Bible. God has graced us with many other sources of rich material that draw upon the Bible and expound its application for us today. We should not simply cry “the Bible alone” as our only reference, but whatever we rely on as a secondary source must be in accordance with and drawing primarily from the Bible. We do not need new concepts or psychologized humanism under the guile of Christian ethics, morals, principles, etc (Isaiah 8:20).
Those who would argue that people wouldn’t accept teaching in that sort of format are simply misguided. The answer is not to “do what it takes to get them to listen”. Does that make your method right? What you are doing is saying it is okay to deviate from biblical counsel, when what they need is to change, to renew their mind. However, you are saying that they do not need to, but that instead we need to renew the Bible.
“If you start with the Bible they won’t listen”. Well if they are Christians they must. True, it is much easier to listen and decide if you like the things being taught than be confronted by the proclamation of God Almighty and what He says and demands we do. Our role as teachers and communicators and evangelists in the Body of Christ isn’t about feelings it is about faithfulness. Are you starting from a man-centered point of view, or one that is focused on God?
You may say, “It is the same stuff”. No it isn’t, you are teaching them they don’t have to renew their mind by submitting themselves to the Scriptures themselves. To give them biblical principles without naming the source is to be ashamed of that source. If they are not believers then what are you doing anyway, you should NOT teach unbelievers about “a better life” without Christ and the guidance of the Scriptures.
We are unwittingly devaluing the Bible with other materials and their unbiblical and extra biblical suggestions and putting these on par with the Bible. The net effect is that the Bible becomes only suggestions, to be taken and used if and as the person sees fit. They become the arbiter of truth and of action. Just like you have.
12 comments:
JD, I agree that the Bible is our final authority on everything in our walk with the Lord. It is such a comfort to know that if I find it in the word, I can trust 100%. When I hear any teaching that sounds good, I still like to check it with the Bible. After being a Christian all these years, I am not about to allow myself to be deceived by someone else's interpetiton of the word of God. That's what the Holy Spirit does..leads and guides us into all truth. And the Bible says "Thy word is truth". Love and prayers, Mom
Timely!
I have struggled with this issue within my church. People go out and buy a book by (unnamed, but well-known author), that tells them to 'be a man' or 'use your love language'; using a bunch of pop psyche to validate the approach. But when I suggest that the Bible may have something to say about the subject, or that this author actually contradicts what Scripture has to say, I get "Well, he/she uses Scripture".
Sadly, many people cannot think critically when it comes to areas such as these. And that, combined with the poor state of Biblical literacy within our culture creates Christians who are driven by fads, and best-seller lists...
Good word!
Talk about timely!
Ray, in those two quotes - 'be a man' or 'use your love language' you nailed exactly the two main characters whom I was thinking about...
Good comment!
Mom, I appreciate the visit and comment, looking forward to seeing you Easter Sunday...BTW, though, I am performing a wedding in Titusville on Monday afternoon (4/2), maybe I can stay for dinner, not sure yet...
Amen.
Good writin' and serving up the truth.
Thanks.
I agree. Hearing my pastor defend those who would pull Biblical truth from the Bible, yet not give it its due, bothered me. "All truth is God's truth anyway" they say.
But the OTHER Truth in there is not worth defending (like the pure gospel). How sad.
Since I have been talking about love languages recently, I would be curious to know if there is anything about this that should be curbed, or if I should stop altogether on the basis of biblical incompatibility.
At this point the best thing to do would be to match it with scripture...IOW, "okay this is what he says, now does this line up with the Word?" and "the Bible agrees by saying or teaching, or disagrees by saying or teaching" and so forth...
We are in this exact process right now, Craver, because one of our elders is leading a class on "Marriage and Relationships" and is using the other "G...'s" materials, and so I follow up with scripture such as Colossians 3:19, and ask questions like "why does he go into left brain and right brain, and does everyone fit that mold, and where did he get that" type of stuff...
Not to dismiss it all, but to get out people to think "inside" the box, as it were, then they can be out there in the world and discern for themselves in a proper manner when coming upon seemingly "good" information that may or may not be biblically based...
Just becasue these guys claim (?) to be Christian, and sell to the "Christian marketplace" (?) and teach things that seem to "work" or that seem "right", this doesn't mean that they ARE right...
I don't have an exact answer for you on that particular item, I do own the book, it was given to me by a godly young man who went on and on about its worth, and he is doing right well in his relationship with his wife, as far as I can tell...but frankly, I have never done more than peruse it, and I find it pshychogobbldygook, not all of it, but the profiling is weak at best, and could harm some...
I don't doubt that it has helped people, that isn't the only point, it is who gets the glory, are people led to the Word, will they lead more sanctified lives in obedience to Christ, etc....not if they will be more happy, but will they be more holy...and not getting them to that place subterfuge style...
Good point. We must always have books or what have you line up with God's word. And not with part of scripture,and in the context it was written.
I'll drop the "love languages" thing in a heartbeat, if it is contrary to God's word. I wouldn't classify this one as psychobabble. Psychobabble is founded on error. Probably on the wants of the flesh or evolution, but love languages? If your wife prefers quality time, go sit on the rocker and talk under the moon. If your son likes gifts, bring him that goofy pen you got from the sales guy. If hubby likes touch, how about a long hug before he leaves for work? I don't see any error in that.
Let me argue ad abserdum for a moment. Shall we say that if you get a headache, you should not take aspirin because it's not in the Bible? What about pumping iron? ...There are different programs for strength or tone, but it's not laid out in God's Law. Scripture is silent on things about art and home repair, etcetera. So, unless there is a Scriptural problem, we should not forbid such things, and focus on more strategic battles.
I hope that makes sense.
I hear ya, friend...
As I said, I need to read it more carefully, but why is it that people get so excited about these type of books and so bored with the Bible? Or why can't a book like that reference the Bible more clearly, that to me is the real problem with it...they keep people away from the Word, not draw them to it, the Word becomes second place or worse, has no place...
No, the Bible doesn't talk about certain things in detail, but it does deserve to speak to us no matter the context...and I do find the right brain, left brain, and profiling stuff to be ridiculous...doing whatever is necessary to genuinely share your life with your partner (one of our wedding vows) is indeed a biblcal reflection, but some of this stuff isn't and that seems to be the parts people are most excited about, they love new info because they won't take the time to understand the Bible...
Not all people fall into this mind you, but those that get the most excited seem to be those who are the least excited about the scriptures...balance, yes, but let us err on the side of the Word...to me this is one of THE most stratregic battles, the subtly of "hath God said?" over and over again, in different forms...
It is preachers and teachers of the Word who are also to blame because we don't get people into the Word in any depth and so they THINK the Word doesn't speak to thigns that it indeed does...
Yes it is much easier to leave it to some video or popular book rather than do the hard work of digging for ourselves as pastors, and our laziness leads to biblically illiterate folk who cannot discern the good from the bad in these books...
I know you can, Craver, and I don't worry about Christians who are going after it, but I have people ask me all the time if I have read so and so's hot new book, and they cannot name 25 books of the Bible, yet they think they are spiritually enlightened...
Look, I am a writer, and think God has graced me to say some insighful things, but they are derivative from the scriptures or about the texts themselves, and in that way, our biblical worldview develops and shapes and we can make good informed decisions and actions without needing to hear right brain left brain mumbo jumbo, as if they couldn't just tell us what works without giving that stuff as the basis and creedence for it all, instead of God's Word...
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