Scripture: Living and Powerful
Listen to: Scripture: Living and Powerful!
This begins a series on the beauty and power of Scripture, and it’s applications in everyday life. It’s not intended to be exhaustive, or present novel and unique insights. Just my thoughts. Enjoy!
For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews Chapter 4 Verse 12
Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, 17. that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy Chapter 3 Verses 16 and 17
What do I wish to accomplish in this series? I would love to highlight a few of the ways in which the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, speak to our daily lives, our work, and our relationships. If we can truly grasp how powerful the Scriptures are in every minute area of our lives, then we will be able to stop treating it as an archaic book full of great platitudes, good prose, and interesting philosophic ideas.
Let’s abandon the spiritual jargon, and the denominational lingo, and take the Words of God in their simplicity, in their power, and in their life, wherever they may lead! Every single word was carefully chosen with love, filled with meaning, not to confuse us, or force our reliance on scholars, or to make us spiritually smarter, but to empower our lives with the knowledge of His plan, and His intense love for us.
When it says in Hebrews 4:12 that the Word of God divides even to the joints and marrow, I don’t take that as hyperbole, or as just a great literary device by the author, but rather I would propose that God is emphasizing just how powerful and effective the Scriptures are in our daily lives, in our health, our finances, our relationships, and our society. It suggests that Scripture touches every minute aspect of lives, not just the “religious” areas.
I have on many occasions listened to well-intentioned Christians downplay the value of the Old Testament for today’s church. I think this is a horrible mistake. When 2 Timothy 3:16 refers to the Scriptures as God-breathed, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness, it is speaking to the “New Testament” church specifically about the Scriptures that we today call the Old Testament.
When we disregard such a large portion of God’s words, don’t we open ourselves up for an imbalanced understanding of God’s plan and work? Yes, the sacrificial laws of the Old Testament are no longer needed because of Jesus incredible sacrifice, but they still allow us to understand the bigger picture of why Christ’s sacrifice was required, and how it covers us all.
In the pages of the oft-reviled Old Testament judicial laws, we see the principles for God’s idea of an ideal society. Not just an idyllic society, but an achievable ideal that takes into account the hearts of man, our weaknesses, and our strengths.
Exploring these principles and many more will be the focus of the remainder of this series.
You may agree or disagree about what I have to say. I’m not really worried about it! I simply encourage you to Read the Scriptures, Study them for yourself, and most importantly, Live it out, wherever it may take you.