FRUITLESS BIBLE STUDY
You study the scriptures diligently, supposing that in having them you have eternal life; yet, although their testimony points to me, you refuse to come to me for that life. John 5:39, 40, N.E.B.
When Jesus chides people for studying the Bible, you can guess He has a large concern on His mind. In this straightforward appeal He deals with perhaps the most dangerous of all Bible-oriented delusions. It's the belief that salvation is found in the accumulation of religious data and that the Bible is a warehouse of such facts.
A variation of this belief is that the Bible is filled with requirements that the devout must follow to commend themselves to God. It is true that the Bible does contain much information about how people should live. The deception is one of sequence and of motive.
Since Scripture requires the actions of love, only those who have first become lovers can fulfill its commands in letter and spirit. And people become lovers only by being in living connection with their loving Father.
Jesus spoke later to these very thorough Bible students regarding their evangelistic approach. He said, "You travel over sea and land to win one convert; and when you have won him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves" (Matt. 23:15, N.E.B.). On the surface, that was a harsh thing to say to devout folks whose interest was in imparting codes for right living.
But all such behaviors are ultimately meaningless rituals to those who have not first found their Father to be the natural center of their souls. Any religion that appears to impose upon its youth or its new converts a staggering list of lifestyle requirements without first leading them into a personal interaction with God is subject to Jesus' same appraisal.
You can hear the tears in Jesus' voice as He says, "You refuse to come to me for that life." Why should anyone be reluctant to come to Him? to know His gracious welcome? to rest secure in His love? There can be but one reason: the enemy has succeeded in deceiving that person into thinking he or she will not receive a gracious welcome, that there is no security in His love. What a tragedy!
The answers we find in Scripture depend on the questions we ask. If we ask each time we open its pages, "Who is He, that I might know Him, love Him, trust Him with my life?" we shall not be disappointed.
You study the scriptures diligently, supposing that in having them you have eternal life; yet, although their testimony points to me, you refuse to come to me for that life. John 5:39, 40, N.E.B.
When Jesus chides people for studying the Bible, you can guess He has a large concern on His mind. In this straightforward appeal He deals with perhaps the most dangerous of all Bible-oriented delusions. It's the belief that salvation is found in the accumulation of religious data and that the Bible is a warehouse of such facts.
A variation of this belief is that the Bible is filled with requirements that the devout must follow to commend themselves to God. It is true that the Bible does contain much information about how people should live. The deception is one of sequence and of motive.
Since Scripture requires the actions of love, only those who have first become lovers can fulfill its commands in letter and spirit. And people become lovers only by being in living connection with their loving Father.
Jesus spoke later to these very thorough Bible students regarding their evangelistic approach. He said, "You travel over sea and land to win one convert; and when you have won him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves" (Matt. 23:15, N.E.B.). On the surface, that was a harsh thing to say to devout folks whose interest was in imparting codes for right living.
But all such behaviors are ultimately meaningless rituals to those who have not first found their Father to be the natural center of their souls. Any religion that appears to impose upon its youth or its new converts a staggering list of lifestyle requirements without first leading them into a personal interaction with God is subject to Jesus' same appraisal.
You can hear the tears in Jesus' voice as He says, "You refuse to come to me for that life." Why should anyone be reluctant to come to Him? to know His gracious welcome? to rest secure in His love? There can be but one reason: the enemy has succeeded in deceiving that person into thinking he or she will not receive a gracious welcome, that there is no security in His love. What a tragedy!
The answers we find in Scripture depend on the questions we ask. If we ask each time we open its pages, "Who is He, that I might know Him, love Him, trust Him with my life?" we shall not be disappointed.
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