Why should we know God's Word?

In our day and age where anti-intellectualism runs rampant in the visible church, it is not surprising to see poll after poll verify what students of scripture have known for many years. The visible church does not know much about the scriptures they profess to believe in. This is sad considering many saints during the Reformation period lost their lives for the sake of being able to read and study God's word. Not to mention the many passages in scripture that speak as such:

Isaiah 66:2 This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Psalm 19:7-8 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.

The posts on this blog will address essential Biblical doctrines of the Christian faith. You can find much of the background for the posts here. My prayer for these posts is that the people who read them will be encouraged to open their Bibles and not just read a verse or two, but learn them and indeed, be transformed by them. As Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17). This is my prayer as well.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

God does not need you for ANYTHING

I know the title does not boost anybody's self-esteem or make us feel as special as the world tells us we are (at least my momma thinks I am:). But when we consider that God is self-sufficient in all respects, meaning, He does not need mankind to fulfill some emotional longing, relationship void, physical necessity, mental deficiency or even to complete His plans. Then we begin to understand that God is a pretty special being and we are... uh... uh... compared to God, we aren't much of anything. We are but dust, sinful, rebellious, utterly dependent upon God for everything.

Then why are we here? God in His infinite wisdom, mercy, grace and power created us for His own glory and graciously includes us in His plans on this spinning ball we call earth. The problem comes when we think we are absolutely necessary for God's plans to succeed, and He really needs us to get the job done here on earth. Oh yeah, it is also foolish to think God really, really, really, really wanted a relationship to fulfill an unmet desire therefore He created us. His love is neither increased if we love Him back or decreased if we do not return His love. It is as infinite and eternal as His other attributes.

Once we begin to realize the infinite and self-sufficient nature of God, we will be more in awe of everything He has done for us. It will humble us greatly and we will cry out for more of His strength to accomplish His purposes, realizing there is nothing in us to fulfill them. We will trust less in ourselves and more in the God with whom nothing is impossible. We will rejoice again in the gospel that opened the way to God through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the God-man -- the ultimate example of God's self-sufficiency and our sin-sufficiency. We will quit striving in the flesh and be still and know He is God.

Listen to David's prayer, a man who understood God's self-sufficiency.
"Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 
Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 
And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. 
But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 
For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 
O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 
I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 
O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you."
1 Chronicles 29:10-18
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