This weekend has flown by. I had wanted to post on two or three occasions in the last few days but just could not find the time.
I would like to speak to something that is sort of a follow-up on the joke I wrote last week about biblical ignorance in the church.
I think that one glaring weakness among Christians is a lack of knowledge where scripture is concerned. They have Bibles, they may even bring them to church, they would claim to revere the Word of God, yet they do not know it. I realize this is hardly an earth-shattering revelation, but it is the source of a lot of problems in the church.
A former pastor of mine used to tell the story of the lady who argued the Bible with him, swearing up and down that the Bible says that, “Every tub must stand on its own bottom.”
For some reason, many Christians have adopted the notion that they can get enough Bible while sitting in church or Sunday School to suffice for their spiritual growth. They place the entire responsibility for their maturity on the shoulders of a pastor, elder or teacher.
In some discussions relating to this matter, I have heard the opinions of some who have suggested that this is the pastor’s fault. I have, personally, never known a pastor who has told his people that they were to rely on him for their spiritual growth. I would say that any “pastor” who does such a thing is no pastor at all, but a cult leader. I have known, however, many pastors who tried to encourage their flocks to take personal responsibility for their growth.
I Peter 2:2 tells us that as newborn babes, we should desire the “sincere milk of the word”. That is, every believer needs to have a hunger for the word of God. We should have a desire to grow that stems from our “spiritual DNA” as children of God. As members one of another in the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to one another to grow. Above all, we should seek to glorify Christ in lives that are transformed by the power of His word.
I have nothing against books, study courses, seminars, conferences, etc. I partake of all of them at any opportunity that I have to do so, but none of these will ever replace the spiritually nutritional benefit of scripture. A Christian cannot grow apart from God’s Word.
How hungry are you?
