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The Rightful Way of Using a Formidable Bastion
The Old Path Magazine | Vol. 1 No. 2 | 2005 |
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 he Bible, which contains the words and the laws
of God, is a formidable weapon in a time and
dispensation like ours when uncertainty, chaos, and
evil seem to be an everyday norm. Indeed, our times
is what Paul dubbed as “the perilous time” wherein,
“men shall be lowers of their ownselves, covetous,
boasters and proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural
affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are
good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God …” Needless to
say, we should take all necessary precautions in
times like these, and the best ‘weapon’ one can have
in his arsenal to have an excellent chance of
survival is none other than the irrefutable words of
God which is described in Ephesians 6:13-17 as a
“spiritual sword” that goes along with the “whole
armor of God …” that Paul admonished Christians to
“…take unto you … that ye may be able to withstand
in the evil day …” because “…the word of God is
quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword…” (Hebrews 4:12).
The biggest question that faces us is the manner or
way by which we are going to use this formidable
weapon, because there are a lot of things in this
world that when used improperly, will cause harm.
Take for example a knife. This simple utensil can be
of great help to people if used properly. A knife
can be of use to housewives with their cooking
chores. It can also be of benefit to fisherman, a
meat retailer, or even a farmer. Yes, a knife is
arguably one of the best utensils that mankind had
devised. But a knife, as a useful and as handy as it
may be, if used in a rather demonic manner, as in
man slaughtering, will certainly bring damage to
both the victim and to the suspect. Another good
example is ‘pain killers’ such as Paracetamol. These
drugs can be helpful to alleviate intolerable pain
one may experience, but without proper prescription,
and if abnormally used, can ultimately result to
addiction, leading to overdose, and more often than
not, eventually cause death! These are just some of
the many fine examples wherein something that is
supposed to be beneficial to us will turn out to be
harmful because it is not used the proper way that
it should be.
The same can be said with regard to the word of God,
because there are certain prescription or
instructions on how we are supposed to use them. If
we know the appropriate way to employ it, if we do
not follow the right instructions, if we pervert it
even, then it will lead us to eternal damnation. One
of the best illustration of this is the very popular
incident that happened to Guyana, wherein a
religious group called “The People’s Temple,” led by
Jim Jones perished, all 913 of them, when they
literally took cyanide, as per instruction of Jones,
in his belief that they will not die. They acquired
this conviction after reading the book of Mark
16:19-20, which, unfortunately, are verses not
actually contained in the original Greek scriptures,
according to Bible scholars. This therefore, proves
the statement made by St. Peter in his epistle that
(2 Peter 3:16):
“…in which are some things hard to understood, which
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as [they
do] also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction.”
We really should know how to use the bible. We
should not perceive it as something so simple that
anybody can readily interpret. In fact, it is the
opposite! The Bible is not a plain as it may seem to
be. The Holy Scriptures has the highest degree and
the utmost quality of words and wisdom any book
could offer that a man can read in his lifetime.
According to the book of Isaiah 55:8-9:
“…my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are]
your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the
heavens are higher than the earth (which distance,
up to this day, is still unfathomable by modern
science) so are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts.”
The Bible is unique and more special than any other
book essential to our salvation. Hence, not anybody
can just stand up and explain, elucidate, or even
interpret the words of the Almighty Himself! Why?
Clearly because a simple man does not have the
capacity to understand God’s words (2 Corinthians
2:11):
“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”
By the ‘spirit of man’ that is in each and every one
of us, one can easily understand what it means if we
see someone trying to rush his or her way to the
restrooms. It is also the ‘spirit of a man’ that let
us know what is the feeling of a male and female
staring at each other. These are a couple of
instances in which a man, with the aid of what the
Bible refers to as ‘a man’s spirit’ that is in him,
can effortlessly construe actions made by his
fellowmen. But for a simple man to construe he words
of God, using ‘the spirit in man’ that is in him, is
as unconceivable as the distance of the heavens from
the earth especially, if you are asked to explain
what was written in the book of Psalms 22:6, 16, 18;
John 8:40; and 1 John 5:20.
In Psalms 22:6, the one who is speaking is
supposedly “… a worm, not man. Reproached of men,
and despised of people.”
Continuing in verse 16 and 18, this so-called ‘worm’
said that: “…dogs have compassed me: the assembly of
the wicked have enclosed me … For they pierced my
hands and my feet, they part my garments among them,
and cast lots upon my vesture.” These descriptions
fit very well to our Lord Jesus Christ because
Christ experienced all these at the time of His
crucifixion and death. Therefore we can safely say
that Jesus Christ, as He himself said, is “a worm,
not man;” but, in John 8:40, Jesus said to the
Pharisees that He is “a man hath told you the
truth”. Still, in 1 John 5:20, it says that, “Jesus
Christ is the true God and eternal life.” Here, we
are faced with the dilemma of distinguishing the
real nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is He a worm,
a man, or a God? This is one of the greatest debates
in the religious world; but how can we, in our
humble being, be able to understand this seemingly
complicated issue? Is it possible for us, human
beings, to comprehend complexities such as these? In
2nd Corinthians 2:10, it is said that “…God hath
revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God.” Therefore, there is hope for us humans to
understand such intricacies if, and only if, it will
be revealed to us by God himself, through the
Spirit, which, according to the verse, “searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
Consequently, if we want to gain knowledge of even
the deep things of God, we must have the Spirit of
God!
The next question is: Who may have the Spirit of God
in him? Are there any requirements? If so, what are
those requirements? In the book of Psalms 25:12, it
clearly says that: “What man [is] he that feareth
the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way [that] he
shall choose.” For us to obtain God’s Spirit, we
must first have that so-called ‘fear’ the Lord in
the same way that some people allegedly fear what
others call as ghost, Dracula, werewolves, or
Frankenstein (we do not believe in them anyway).
“The ‘fear’ of the Lord …” according to the book of
Proverbs 8:13, “…is to hate evil …” such as,
“…pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the
froward mouth …” It basically means that every time
we turn away from evil deeds and refrain from all
iniquities, we are demonstrating our fear of God,
that is, conclusively, according to Ecclesiastes
12:13, keeping his commandments. If we do this, then
God will pour out His Spirit on us to allow us to
grasp truths written in the Holy Scriptures.
The need to seek and read (Isaiah 34:16)
This is where other religious denominations often
fall because whenever they encounter some
difficulties in the Bible, they tend to pin their
hopes on supplementary materials or references such
as the “Webster’s Dictionary,” Encyclopedia, “The
World History,” or any other books that they deem
will help them explain or solve whatever is needed
to be solved in the Bible. Take for example the
“four angels” that is mentioned in the book of
Revelations. How can we know the possible meaning of
these supposed “four angles?” Do we need to refer to
the “World History” and recklessly conclude that
these “four angels” that the Bible is talking about
are Lloyd George of Great Britain, Clemenceau of
France, Orlando of Italy, and Wilson of America? Of
course not! The book of Isaiah 34:16 prescribes us
to “… Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read
…”
Therefore, each time that we have questions or
problems to solve in the scriptures, we need not use
any reference, other than the Bible itself, to get
to the bottom of anything that appears to be a
conflict of some sort, or else, we will be arriving
at a wrong conclusion and, ultimately, be misled. Of
course we can use references to prove the
authenticity of the Bible but not to explain the
meaning of its verses. All we need is to have
patience to seek out the answers from within the
pages of the Bible, and read. Why? Because there is
a guarantee from the Lord that “…no one of these
shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth
it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered
them.” Always bear in mind that the Holy Scriptures
is sufficient enough to explain itself.
We should always be faithful to the Words of God
that are written in the Bible so as not to put our
chances for salvation at risk. Thus, every time we
see a religious group uses other books to interpret
the contents of the Bible, moreover, uses other
references instead of the Bible, then that religious
group could very well lead us to damnation.
The Stern Warning
Always be confined within the parameters of the
Scriptures. Paul said in his letter to the
Christians at Corinth: “…not to think [of men] above
which is written …” For this reason, we should
always be on the lookout for people who speak beyond
what is in the Scriptures. There are a lot of
preachers, in our time, who add their ‘own’ doctrine
to what was already written in the Bible—doctrines
that are bogus, absurd, and unbiblical! Some of them
tell their members to raise their umbrellas
upside-down when it rains; or lift up their
passports towards the sky and immediately expect to
have a job opportunity abroad the following day. In
Proverbs 30:6, it says, we must not add things like
these unto the words of God that is written in the
Bible; we also must not deduct anything from it,
because “if any man shall add unto these things,”
according to the book of Revelations (22:18),
“God
shall add in him the plagues that are written in
this book.” And in verse 19 it says: “…if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the
book of life, and out of the Holy City, and from the
things which are written in this book.”
The words of God in the Bible are very potent
weapons if we only know the right way of using it;
but if we do not follow these instructions and
pervert what is written, then eternal damnation will
follow. The key is to first have fear in the Lord;
follow His commandment, so that He will pour out His
Spirit among us for us to be able to discern the
words of salvation which s the best formidable
bastion.
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Doctrines of
Christ
