A Big Question
Explaining why they could not stay in a church they had been attending someone said, “There is no hunger for the Word of God there.” They further said that what was said from the pulpit was not wrong and there were plenty of opportunities to serve in ministry. But, among the people, there was no hunger for His Word.
This conversation came back to my mind when I read a quote from Martin Luther that he said about Erasmus (described as a “Christian humanist” and considered a great scholar of the 1500’s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus). Luther told him, “Your thoughts of God are too human.”
Though the Lord has left us a Book that we can read and study, we have abandoned its truth of who He says He is for our own human picture of who He is.
In His Word God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” He also clearly lays out what is moral and immoral, what is right and what is wrong. Many seem to think that this a God who is not “fair.”
Many people tend to decide what would be desirable in a god and adopt that thinking as “truth” and believe it. The scriptures say that the Berean Jews were more noble than others because, “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
In Acts 20 when Paul was addressing the Ephesian elders, knowing he would never see them again, he was preparing them for future challenges in the church. He testified that he “did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Further, because of that he knew he was innocent of “the blood of all.”
In other words, he would not be responsible for those who refused the Gospel. Judgment on them would not be because they had not heard the truth from Paul.
When we read of Paul’s boldness, it’s easy to think that we are called to a very different kind of ministry. We do not have the wide influence that he had or the vast missionary calling.
Though our spheres of influence may be smaller, the expectation is quite similar. We are to be bold with the Word of God (and realize that Paul’s Word of God was the Old Testament). We are to speak freely and often of the goodness of the Lord, of His justice and His mercy, even His laws (Deuteronomy 6:6-8, Psalm 9:11; 35:28; 66:16; 78:4; 105:2; Mark 5:19).
Lifeway research reports a statistic that says only 11% of Christians have read the whole Bible – ever! Only 9% have read all of it more than once. This is a huge contributing factor to the lack of boldness and truth the church is willing to speak out about today. (https://lifewayresearch.com/2017/04/25/lifeway-research-americans-are-fond-of-the-bible-dont-actually-read-it/)
Christ promised us that after He left earth He would send us a Helper. In John 14:26 He says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
One of the most frequent sources of communication from God to His people is through His Word. He expects us to read it. If we do not read the Bible and hear solid doctrinal teaching from our pulpits we have limited our knowledge from which to proclaim Christ to our children and our neighbors.
The more we read and study the scriptures the less we are likely to be caught by the warning Jesus gave the Sadducees, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
Knowing the scripture gives us knowledge of God from a 100% reliable source. Knowing Him means we know that He is a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). He is trustworthy to keep His promises, and able to guide us on a path of righteousness.
But this brings us back to the big question: do we have a hunger for the Word of God (Amos 8:11-12)? Is our failure to be bold for God because of our failure to know His Word so that our thoughts of God are too human?