The Red Letter Edition Error

I've heard that certain Christians believe only the words in red type are important. They naively assume that because Christ said those lines, they matter more than the rest of Holy Scripture. The truth is that every single word in the Bible is important.

Folks who regard those red letters in the Bible as being more important should open their red letter editions and read John 5:39. The Bible in Basic English renders this verse as, "You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me."

If the rest of the Bible wasn't as important as the sayings of Jesus, why did he tell the Pharisees that their scriptures spoke of him? Printing Christ's sayings in red ink was just somebody's idea, not the way the scriptures were originally written down.

Then there's Matthew 21:42 (BBE) which says, "Jesus says to them, 'Did you never see in the Writings, "The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes?"'"

In that verse, Christ quoted Psalms 118:22 and 23 (BBE) which reads, "The stone which the builders put on one side has become the chief stone of the building. This is the Lord's doing; it is a wonder in our eyes." If the Old Testament writings weren't as important as Christ's sayings, why then did he quote from them to identify himself?

The Old Testament also contains references to Christ's crucifixion. Mark 14:49 (BBE) quotes him as saying, "I was with you every day in the Temple teaching, and you did not take me; but this is done so that the Writings may come true."

Then there's Christ's quoting of Psalms 22:1 (BBE) on the Cross. Matthew 27:46 (BBE) reads, "And about the ninth hour Jesus gave a loud cry, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why are you turned away from me?'"

If only the words in red were printed out in order, they wouldn't make much sense. We wouldn't know to whom Christ was saying what he said in most cases. 

On Thursday, if Christ hasn't returned, I plan on posting about a horrendous lie sweeping the African continent.

The Danger of Devotionals

Is it wrong to read a devotional each morning for one's quiet time? Certainly this is a popular activity for evangelical Christians. But I contend that devotional reading must never ever replace Bible Study.

One danger of devotionals is that people replace Bible study with them. It's far easier and more convenient to let somebody else do the hard work of studying. As far as I can tell, many of these readers are like the folks mentioned in Matthew 13:22 (BBE) who never produced spiritual fruit. "And that which was dropped among the thorns, this is he who has the word; and the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, put a stop to the growth of the word and it gives no fruit."

Many of the devotionals I've read are like pablum. They deal superficially with people's emotional problems without teaching the "meat" of the scriptures. Hebrews 6:1 and 2 (BBE) encourages us, "For this reason let us go on from the first things about Christ to full growth; not building again that on which it is based, that is, the turning of the heart from dead works, and faith in God, The teaching of baptisms, and of the putting on of hands, and of the future life of the dead, and of the judging on the last day."

Furthermore, God wants us to study his Word. Jesus even told the Pharisees in John 5:39 (BBE)that, "You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me."

As we also read in 2 Timothy 3:14 and 15 (BBE) we realize what Bible study does for us. "But see that you keep to the teaching you have been given and the things of which you are certain, conscious of who has been your teacher; And that from the time when you were a child, you have had knowledge of the holy Writings, which are able to make you wise to salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus."

Many folks find the Bible intimidating because of its size. Even so, we need to know what God has said. Better still, the Holy Spirit will teach us what we need to know. Jesus said in John 16:13 (BBE) to his disciples, "However, when he, the Spirit of true knowledge, has come, he will be your guide into all true knowledge: for his words will not come from himself, but whatever has come to his hearing, that he will say: and he will make clear to you the things to come."

We also have the wisdom of the apostles and prophets who expounded on God's Word. As 1 Corinthians 2:13 (BBE) says, "And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit."

So why depend on fallible human wisdom when we have all the answers in one book? Devotions can only do a little to give us understanding of the Bible. And as great Bible expositors have said down through the ages, the Bible interprets itself through the Holy Spirit's work.

I'll point out the value of Bible study in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? God wants us all to learn our scriptures rather than depending on professional preachers and writers for our spiritual nourishment.

I'll be posting about our heavenly homeland on Saturday.

The Western Jesus Error

One mistake we western Christians make is assuming that Jesus had western values. By that, I mean that we see him through the lense of our North American norms. What many believers fail to recognize is that Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew living two-thousand years ago.

For one thing, Christ was circumcised. As Luke 2:22 and 23 (BBE) explains, "And when the necessary days for making them clean by the law of Moses had come to an end, they took him to Jerusalem to give him to the Lord (As it says in the law of the Lord, 'Every mother's first male child is to be holy to the Lord'),"

Jesus also celebrated the Jewish festivals. As we read in Luke 2:42 (BBE), he went with his parents to celebrate Passover. "And when he was twelve years old, they went up, as their way was, to the feast;"

Furthermore, Jesus attended his local synagogue. We read in Luke 4:16 (BBE) about when he read from Isaiah chapter sixty-two in his home town of Nazareth. "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been as a child, and he went, as his way was, into the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and got up to give a reading."

Even during his three-and-a-half-year ministry, he often taught in synagogues. As we can read in John 6:59 (BBE) where, "Jesus said these things in the Synagogue while he was teaching at Capernaum."

Christ also healed people in the synagogues, much to the displeasure of the Pharisees. As Luke 6:6 (BBE) relates, "And it came about, on another Sabbath, that he went into the Synagogue and was teaching there. And a man was there whose right hand was dead."

Jesus knew his Old Testament scriptures well. As he said to the pharisees in John 5:39 (BBE) about his authority from the Father, "You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me."

Jesus also outsmarted the Sadducees, who say there's no resurrection, regarding marriage and heaven. Mark 12:26 and 27 (BBE) says, "But as to the dead coming back to life; have you not seen in the book of Moses, about the burning thorn-tree, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: you are greatly in error."

Even the way Christ prayed and broke bread was unmistakeable to his Jewish disciples. In Luke 24:30 and 31 (BBE), two of Christ's disciples recognized him from how he blessed the bread on the evening of his resurrection. "And when he was seated with them at table, he took the bread, and said words of blessing and, making division of it, he gave it to them. And then their eyes were open, and they had knowledge of him, but he went from their view."

So we can tell from just these verses that Jesus wasn't Anglo-Saxon but a real descendent of Abraham. I'll point this out, providing I remember, in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? People have a flannel board idea of Jesus when they ought to understand the culture and time he walked in Israel.

On Saturday, I'll post about how little kind words can make a huge difference in people's lives.

What about the End Times Slaughter of Jews?

Up until a few hundred years ago, Christians uniformally believed in the sudden and total return of Jesus Christ. Then a man named John Nelson Darby ran with an idea by some obscure monk that there are two groups of people who God is working with, namely Jews and the church universal.

Worse yet, some Christians think that there will be a future slaughter of the Jews that will make the Holocaust seem like a paper cut. These people even worked to settle Jews in Israel while believing that most of them would be exterminated during the great tribulation.

I object to this end times notion. People who cling to that idea don't realize that they're reading their Bibles literally rather than literately. Proponents of end times prophecy assume that we who live nearest to Christ's return are somehow special and the Bible is written to us. Careful study and an understanding of Jewish history shows how wrong these people are.

The entire Bible is about humanity's fall and God's plan to save as many as will trust in the Saviour. Jesus himself said to the Pharisees in John 5:39 (KJV) that they should, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Certain people also misread end time scriptures and come up with two resurrections in time. The verses they quote are actually two types of resurrection.

But we can see how the good and bad are separated in Matthew 13:47 to 50 (KJV). "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

I'll be writing so much more about eternity in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heven? Choosing to follow Christ is the most important decision we can make.

What Do We Learn From the Emmaus Discourse?

Continuing on with the theme of discipleship, we often miss key points of Christ's teaching because we're too familiar with the gospel. It's like when a person hears a piece of familiar music and suddenly a lyric or instrument surprises the listener.

I've had that experience with songs like "Are You Experienced" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. On it, Jimi pressed the A key on a piano repeatedly. Until recently, I hadn't noticed that a few of his notes weren't on time.

In the same way, we all hear seemingly-new things when we study Scripture. One point I missed for years is what Christ did on the Emmaus road.

In Luke 24:25-27 (KJV), we read how Christ chastised two disciples for not understanding that the scriptures, what we call the Old Testament,  spoke of him. "Then he said unto them, 'O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?' And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

But this isn't a fault peculiar to those men. It's too easy for us to miss key points in the midst of the gospel story. John 5:39 (KJV) clearly states, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." We become so engrossed in the squabble Christ had with the Pharisees that we miss the truth that the Old Testament foretold what would happen to him.

Another point which is lost to the minds of most people is that God commands us all to be under the rule of his Son. That's partly why I'm writing my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven. Being a Christian isn't just keeping rules or not committing serious crimes, as some folks think. We must all have a relationship with Jesus who died in our place and rose to give us new life. If only people could grasp the ramifications of that.

Don't All Paths Lead to God?

As with reincarnation, many naive Christians are led to believe that all religions lead to God. This is false, as I will now demonstrate.

Some religions teach that there are many gods where as monotheist religions teach that there is but one God. How then can these be reconciled if both lead to the one God of creation? The Bible is filled with warnings against false gods.

The Allah of Islam is totally different in character than the God of the Bible. How can they be reconciled? The truth is that they can't.

What about Buddhism which teaches that we strive to be rid of our desire and personality in order to be absorbed into an impersonal force? That doesn't square with what the Bible teaches.

Christ made it quite clear in John 14:6 (KJV) when he told his disciples how to follow him to heaven. "Jesus saith unto him, (Thomas) 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'"

Jesus also made it clear that he is divine when he said in John 10:30 (KJV) when he proclaimed, "I and my Father are one." By his great miracles and resurrection, he proved his divinity. Only God could do what he did.

Christianity is the fulfillment of Old Testament Judaism. John 5:39 (KJV) proves that when Jesus said, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

As I have shown in past posts, the Bible is reliable and is God's word. It's been proven prophetically, historically, and in many other ways. Only by twisting verses can people make it seem to say something other than it actually does.

I'll be writing more about other religions and how they are antithetical to Christianity in a book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Many people who say they're Christians have never surrendered their lives to Christ and been filled with the Holy Spirit. People need to know about the way to eternal life and accept Christ's magnanimous offer.