Pastor Victor Tafoya Only the whole Bible can make a whole Christian
Devotion in Motion
Jeremiah 36:20-23
Verse 20, “And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the
king.
Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month (or December), with a fire burning on the hearth before him.” It must’ve been a little chilly.
The king was keeping warm by the fire –
feet propped up – hanging out in the royal recliner
“And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” Jehoiakim didn’t even let Jehudi finish. All it took was three of four columns to
infuriate the King.
Jehoiakim grabs the book from Baruch, takes a knife, cuts it
up in pieces, and then tosses it in the fire.
Ever run across a critic of Christianity and the Bible, who
had rejected it without even reading it through?
They’d made up their minds in advance. Why let facts interfere with their prejudice. They’re certainly not seeking the truth. Their goal is to back up their basis. Think of ways that people today cut up the Bible. There are
liars, and liberals, and the lukewarm. Liars are cultists who deny doctrines clearly taught in Scripture. They cut and paste, twist and torture to make the
Bible say what it was never meant to say.
Today in Kingdom Halls and in Mormon wards, rather than let the Bible mean what it says, it’s being sliced and diced to fit someone’s bias and false doctrine.
The same is done in liberal circles in the name of what’s called “Higher Criticism” – where scholars dare to tell you what is and isn’t the reliable Word of God. These people have an anti-supernatural bias, so that anything in the text that smacks of a miracle is rejected off- hand. It’s arbitrary and arrogant. It’s the equivalent of grabbing the book in anger, and cutting it up with a knife, and
eliminating what makes you uncomfortable.
It reminds me of the atheistic professor who asked his class satirically, “How did Jonah possibly survive in the belly of a whale?” A Christian student replied, “I don’t know, but when I get to heaven I’ll ask him?”
The professor smarted back, ”What if Jonah isn’t in
heaven?” The Christian replied, “Then you ask him!”
It’s interesting, Jehoiakim cut up the scroll before he threw it
in the fire. And this is what liberals do today. They don’t just reject the Bible and throw it in the fire, they first have to try and cut it up – discredit its authority. It’s not enough for liberals to dismiss the Bible, they first want to mock it, refute it, discredit it. For the last century the Bible has been under attack.
The Documentary Hypothesis… The Deutero-Isaiah Theory… Late Dates ascribed to Daniel… The Jesus Seminar… Today, there’s the search for the historical Jesus… and post-modern takes on the Scripture… these are all efforts
to cast doubt on God’s Word.
The warning Jesus gave to false teachers in His day, applies today, Matthew 18:6, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were
drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Yet perhaps the worst example of a modern-day Jehoiakim is the pastor who believes the Bible to be God’s inerrant Word, yet rather than teach the whole counsel of God, he only addresses the portions that are his favorites, or that
won’t spark any controversy. You don’t even have to dull your blade, you can eliminate whole passages of Scripture by just never dealing with them. If the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the reality of hell is going to make the pastor or his listeners uncomfortable – just avoid it. Don’t go there.
Christians often make the same mistake by always reading the same passages, to the neglect of others. For some of us our highlighter is actually our penknife. Paul told the Ephesians in Acts 20:27, “I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Don’t ever forget
we’re responsible for all the Book! It reminds me of the son who went to seminary. His father was worried about the school’s liberal leanings and what it might do to his son’s faith.
Before he left home dad told his son, “Don’t let them take Jonah from you.” He knew that Jonah contained some miraculous elements which made it a
favorite target for liberals. When the son came home, dad asked him, “Do you still have Jonah?” The son said, “No dad I don’t, but neither do
you.” His dad was appalled, “I certainly do!”
His son said, “No you don’t. Just check and see.”
The father retrieved his Bible, and sure enough Jonah was ripped out. His son said, “I did that before I went to seminary. What’s the difference if I lose Jonah through doubt, and you lose it through neglect?”
Only The whole bible can make a whole christian
Amen
Victor Tafoya
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