A few months ago, we stayed in the home of some new friends. It is always a blessing getting to know brothers and sisters in Christ, and this stay was a special blessing in many ways. We were in Florida for a week, staying with multiple families over the course of our 3 city trip, and we were exhausted already with tired children, also preparing for a move to Maine the upcoming week. When we arrived at Nathan's home, the hospitality was superb, and the fellowship of Christians was great. A few other families gathered to meet us for dinner as well, adding to the blessing. We were reminded that night that the fellowship of Christians is not limited to those we know well, but any who are brothers and sisters in Christ are instant friends.
As we spoke about our Savior, our families, convictions, about digging deep into God's Word, and the cultural traditions of the American church, even the persecution seen when we break man's rules and tradition in obedience to the Lord's calling on our lives, our host mentioned a book he had that might speak to some of our thoughts and discussions. He had just one copy of this book, Why Do You Believe That? and I read the book at bed time that night.
As a Christian man with deep convictions and a desire to always learn more of God's Word, I of course devoured the book in no time. I finally fell asleep at 3am, though I finished reading hours earlier. I needed to consider the thoughts shared in this book by God's Word (the point of the book) and pray. I had a great time of prayer that night, so lack of sleep didn't seem to matter. I asked if Nathan knew where to get more copies, and he thought the book was out of print, so I was especially blessed recently to find the book listed for sale on Amazon.You can use the link below to buy the book through our store.
Though it was a short read, a mere 148 pages, this book surprised me. It was conversational, gentle, and yet challenging. Along with many other books that have been handed to me over the years, I found this book contained some things that I agreed with immediately, some that I disagreed with, and many more that required further study. I had been led to study marriage and Biblical patriarchy for months as we noticed the demise of the family in our society, and looked forward to finding a book that stood on Biblical truth more than popular opinion. That is precisely the point of this book, though. He asks a lot of questions and will make you think, and though the book is about common misunderstandings about marriage in the Bible, it urges every step of the way that the reader would seek God's Word above all. We need more people who will study God's Word in the church today, and a little friendly debate wouldn't hurt either in my estimation.
The author does not want you to just believe what he says, but rather urges you to study God's Word on the topic at hand and every topic. He urges you to truly "be a Berean" in your approach to knowledge of God's Word, and in so doing shares the fallacies often seen when men neglect context, setting, audience, and other study tools that help us understand God's Word as it was meant to be studied.. He speaks of exegesis, that is taking what is in the text for what it says and seeing what it was intended to say as truth. Many people rather bring their beliefs to the Bible and find some verse or even part of a verse that seems to agree. They might even ignore context, audience, or skip large passages that disagree with their beliefs. We must seek to know what God wants, says, and intends if we are to obey Him and know Him more intimately. If you are not familiar with this term "Berean", you would do well to consider Acts 17:10-15
"The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
As we spoke about our Savior, our families, convictions, about digging deep into God's Word, and the cultural traditions of the American church, even the persecution seen when we break man's rules and tradition in obedience to the Lord's calling on our lives, our host mentioned a book he had that might speak to some of our thoughts and discussions. He had just one copy of this book, Why Do You Believe That? and I read the book at bed time that night.
As a Christian man with deep convictions and a desire to always learn more of God's Word, I of course devoured the book in no time. I finally fell asleep at 3am, though I finished reading hours earlier. I needed to consider the thoughts shared in this book by God's Word (the point of the book) and pray. I had a great time of prayer that night, so lack of sleep didn't seem to matter. I asked if Nathan knew where to get more copies, and he thought the book was out of print, so I was especially blessed recently to find the book listed for sale on Amazon.You can use the link below to buy the book through our store.
Though it was a short read, a mere 148 pages, this book surprised me. It was conversational, gentle, and yet challenging. Along with many other books that have been handed to me over the years, I found this book contained some things that I agreed with immediately, some that I disagreed with, and many more that required further study. I had been led to study marriage and Biblical patriarchy for months as we noticed the demise of the family in our society, and looked forward to finding a book that stood on Biblical truth more than popular opinion. That is precisely the point of this book, though. He asks a lot of questions and will make you think, and though the book is about common misunderstandings about marriage in the Bible, it urges every step of the way that the reader would seek God's Word above all. We need more people who will study God's Word in the church today, and a little friendly debate wouldn't hurt either in my estimation.
The author does not want you to just believe what he says, but rather urges you to study God's Word on the topic at hand and every topic. He urges you to truly "be a Berean" in your approach to knowledge of God's Word, and in so doing shares the fallacies often seen when men neglect context, setting, audience, and other study tools that help us understand God's Word as it was meant to be studied.. He speaks of exegesis, that is taking what is in the text for what it says and seeing what it was intended to say as truth. Many people rather bring their beliefs to the Bible and find some verse or even part of a verse that seems to agree. They might even ignore context, audience, or skip large passages that disagree with their beliefs. We must seek to know what God wants, says, and intends if we are to obey Him and know Him more intimately. If you are not familiar with this term "Berean", you would do well to consider Acts 17:10-15
"The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as lwell, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left."
We see here what it means when the author calls us to "be Berean" in our approach to knowledge, that is to weigh out the teachings of men comparing them to the Scriptures to check the validity of the information. We see in the following verses of this passage that this truth was contrary to culture and therefore caused persecution for those preaching the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah and Savior.
I believe it is important that we seek to extend ourselves beyond the groups of people with which we are comfortable, to listen to differing viewpoints and learn to love our brothers and sisters in Christ even when we disagree at times. Truth is truth, and I am not advocating heresy or relativism, just a willingness to see what the Scripture actually says without adding our own assumptions. This is easier said than done to be sure. There are some Scriptures that are clear or at least seem clear depending on the context of our culture. Other passages are difficult to discern with complete certainty, or if we are not careful we miss what is there because we think we already know God's whole counsel on a subject.
Are we reading the Bible to find evidence for our own opinions, or do we truly seek to know God's mind even when it runs contrary to what we believe? This was the problem of the Pharisees, who added laws and traditions to God's Law and then crucified the Lord of glory because they held so tightly to their beliefs that they did not recognize the One who they proclaimed to obey. Are there any sacred cows in your life that you will not hear the voice of the Lord about? Are you adding cultural traditions and long held teachings of men to the Word of God and possibly persecuting those who disagree with you without cause? Can you humble yourself enough to say "I was wrong, please forgive me"
Those that know our family have seen our vehement stance on the authority of God's Word even when it is not popular or forces us to change our own lives to obey new found understanding of God's truth. People have seen our testimony of sacrifice, service, and humility as we seek to honor our Savior in all things. Sadly our views on some things have set us at odds with the majority of Christendom. We have accepted that this type of radical obedience to God has given us many opportunities to encourage others to do the same. This is nothing good of us, but the reflection of Christ in His children by His grace.
We believe in the exegetical approach to God's Word, and strive to see what God actually says rather than try to get the Bible to agree with us or confirm what we already believe. How will we ever have unity in Christ unless we take this approach, to find the original intent of the Author who gave us the book for our edification and training?
This following of the Bible even when opposed to culture (even church culture) has put us in strange situations at times, as we see that in many areas we can have differing views on some subjects as Christians and yet be united. We also must recognize that some things are not ambiguous in God's Word and therefore must not be compromised in any way, shape, or form. How will we know which is which, or what side to take on an issue if we do not give due diligence to the whole counsel of God? I suggest that as a culture we have become apathetic and left it to the preachers and conference speakers to dig out the truth of God's Word. This is not acceptable in a society where we have multiple copies of the Bible in our language in most homes. Shame on us for not picking up that Word of God and cherishing it as the source of wisdom! Shame on us if we neglect the reading and study of the Bible and rather just watch the TV preacher, supposing we have no personal obligation to seek out His truth!
I may take up this thought more in another post, and urge you to consider Romans 14 as I have at length these last few months. That passage has reminded me that I ought not be a stumbling block to others, yet I must obey God even if that is not acceptable to others. These thoughts and many more are contained in this wonderful little book, and I highly recommend reading it. Even if you disagree with some of the points, I believe this book will be a great blessing and perhaps inspire you to dig even deeper into God's Word.
I believe it is important that we seek to extend ourselves beyond the groups of people with which we are comfortable, to listen to differing viewpoints and learn to love our brothers and sisters in Christ even when we disagree at times. Truth is truth, and I am not advocating heresy or relativism, just a willingness to see what the Scripture actually says without adding our own assumptions. This is easier said than done to be sure. There are some Scriptures that are clear or at least seem clear depending on the context of our culture. Other passages are difficult to discern with complete certainty, or if we are not careful we miss what is there because we think we already know God's whole counsel on a subject.
Are we reading the Bible to find evidence for our own opinions, or do we truly seek to know God's mind even when it runs contrary to what we believe? This was the problem of the Pharisees, who added laws and traditions to God's Law and then crucified the Lord of glory because they held so tightly to their beliefs that they did not recognize the One who they proclaimed to obey. Are there any sacred cows in your life that you will not hear the voice of the Lord about? Are you adding cultural traditions and long held teachings of men to the Word of God and possibly persecuting those who disagree with you without cause? Can you humble yourself enough to say "I was wrong, please forgive me"
Those that know our family have seen our vehement stance on the authority of God's Word even when it is not popular or forces us to change our own lives to obey new found understanding of God's truth. People have seen our testimony of sacrifice, service, and humility as we seek to honor our Savior in all things. Sadly our views on some things have set us at odds with the majority of Christendom. We have accepted that this type of radical obedience to God has given us many opportunities to encourage others to do the same. This is nothing good of us, but the reflection of Christ in His children by His grace.
We believe in the exegetical approach to God's Word, and strive to see what God actually says rather than try to get the Bible to agree with us or confirm what we already believe. How will we ever have unity in Christ unless we take this approach, to find the original intent of the Author who gave us the book for our edification and training?
This following of the Bible even when opposed to culture (even church culture) has put us in strange situations at times, as we see that in many areas we can have differing views on some subjects as Christians and yet be united. We also must recognize that some things are not ambiguous in God's Word and therefore must not be compromised in any way, shape, or form. How will we know which is which, or what side to take on an issue if we do not give due diligence to the whole counsel of God? I suggest that as a culture we have become apathetic and left it to the preachers and conference speakers to dig out the truth of God's Word. This is not acceptable in a society where we have multiple copies of the Bible in our language in most homes. Shame on us for not picking up that Word of God and cherishing it as the source of wisdom! Shame on us if we neglect the reading and study of the Bible and rather just watch the TV preacher, supposing we have no personal obligation to seek out His truth!
I may take up this thought more in another post, and urge you to consider Romans 14 as I have at length these last few months. That passage has reminded me that I ought not be a stumbling block to others, yet I must obey God even if that is not acceptable to others. These thoughts and many more are contained in this wonderful little book, and I highly recommend reading it. Even if you disagree with some of the points, I believe this book will be a great blessing and perhaps inspire you to dig even deeper into God's Word.
