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We Believe and Teach
We Believe and Teach
Drive around the block and read the marquees of various organizations: specifically, religious. The sentiments expressed are often directed to festive events, i.e., “Join us for a Seder meal (First Christian),” or “Easter Services.” Some are witty: “Prevent truth decay. Brush up on your Bible.” Some are funny: “Midnight Mass and Toga Party BYOBJ (Bring Your Own Baby Jesus),” or this one “Clown Led Worship.” Then there are the ones that make your toe want to tap and your mouth water: “Please Come | Bluegrass Band | Soups | Chili | Desserts.” Occasionally there are those which make you stop and think: “We Believe and Teach That the Bible is the Word of God.” What exactly does that mean? Let’s explore this a moment.
Let us consider this phrase from a secular standpoint: 1) I Believe and Teach That the Speed Limit is for the Benefit of Society, but it’s not something observed by many who believe it and teach it. 2) I Believe and Teach That the Constitution is a Great Document, but many who believe and teach it do not know what it says. 3) I Believe and Teach that Diet and Exercise are Beneficial to Longevity, but many who believe and teach it have a lousy diet and an inactive lifestyle.
To Believe and Teach something is only beneficial when it’s properly understood and practiced: 1) Knowing and Obeying the Speed Limit. 2) Having a working understanding of the Constitution. 3) Combining a healthy diet plan with an accompanying exercise regimen.
So, what does it mean, religiously, to Believe and Teach That the Bible is the Word of God? It’s all in the taste test, or the proof is in the pudding. The prophet James said, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (1:20-25). Is this not what Jesus said? “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock…Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:24, 26).
Beware: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). If every religious group affirming they “Believe and Teach That the Bible is the Word of God” practiced what is therein written, there would be no divisions, and the apostle Paul affirmed, saying, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). ret
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