Frivolity has invaded Christian culture! Every so often, you find a comical text in social media promising to unlock blessings if forwarded to other people. Some pretend to activate prayer for you and others. “By sending this, you will make many people pray for you, and for one another…” Likewise, baseless declarations of divine benefits are uttered with no advice on how to obtain them. “I declare you will be blessed this week! You will find favor and open doors! You will get money, new friends, new opportunities, and so on, and so forth! I wish I didn’t have to burst your bubble, but all that is nonsense! Such, and countless phony tales that claim to educate Christian values, are on a frightening increase.
In our times, comedy has become an acceptable form of entertainment. There’s even such a thing as “Christian comedy” today, whose sole purpose is to make people laugh. Comics thrive on poking fun on prominent people; how they look, talk, gesticulate, dress, etc. Because political and religious leaders are better known to the public, comedians find them perfect targets for parody. Even God Himself has not escaped the onslaught!
Unfortunately, caricaturing of prophets and other genuine ministers has produced absurd materials that pose as gospel content. These are shared on Facebook and WhatsApp pages every minute of the day. Most frivolity texts and images floating around social media are an offshoot of comic arts. Others are creations by irreverent or ignorant parrots who happily mimic what they see others doing.
The Authority of Scripture
Many believers know that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. This message takes that premise as foundation for its content. More than anything, the Bible is a book of instructions rather than an archive of unqualified assertions! Holy Scriptures portray God seeking active relationship with human beings as opposed to a deity dictating edicts from utopic inflexibility. In other words, you work with God to get to where He’s trying to take you.
Many a modern day Christian is confused on whether the Bible is to be taken literally or understood to represent some hidden meaning. This is a huge question today, and both Bible believers and critics often seem to suggest it is. If the Bible is to be taken literally, then certain passages are irreconcilable. If it’s a book of hidden meanings, then how does one unlock its mysteries? Or more importantly, what kind of God gives a ‘Mystery Book’ as a guide to humankind?
These are by no means trivial questions, and whether asked by believers or unbelievers, they demand solid answers. By God’s grace, this article offers a simple guide on how to interpret Holy Scripture. Firstly, we need to realize that the Bible is one concordant document that explains itself. We study it to find answers; we don’t nitpick passages here and there in order to refute their authenticity or advance pet agendas. The Bible is a Legal Document and all human beings are subject to its tenets. We study it to establish our rights and privileges, just as we would any constitutional documentation.
Instruction Book
As Joshua took over from Moses as leader of newly freed slaves en route from Egypt, God told him that Scripture was his instruction book. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Josh 1:8 ~NKJV). Scripture is a book of law i.e. a legal document. It’s to be meditated on as a continual reminder of God’s instructions. It’s to be read in entirety, not in bits and pieces. Only in doing so is success assured. Success is in following God’s instructions, not in formulating one’s own schemes for desired results.
It’s important to remember that Joshua assumed leadership after the death of Moses. Scripture says, “…the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exod 33:11 ~NKJV). What God called “This Book of the Law” were the writings of Moses—the first five books of the Bible—the Pentateuch. God didn’t speak to the new leader as He’d done with the dead one; He told Joshua to read Moses’ books! Do you get that? God won’t repeat what He’s told you in Scripture; you will have to read the Bible.
Leading Israel was a herculean task, and Joshua may not have read what Moses had documented. As the new leader, he not only needed to follow God’s instructions for himself, but to also set an example to the people. In his parting words, Moses made priests the teachers of God’s holy counsel. The presumption of those who failed to heed priestly counsel resulted in a death sentence. “…The man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously…” (Deut 17:12,13 ~KJV). Gospel ministers must, first and foremost, be students of Scripture, otherwise they’ll be presumptuous guides.
The New Testament
It’s the same in the New Testament. For instance, Paul wrote detailed instructions to Titus, Timothy and other church workers. Like Moses, Paul received special revelations that would become a bedrock of Christian doctrine. He passed it on to other leaders. He didn’t assume Jesus would repeat instructions to every Christian. The revelations Paul received from God were not merely to aid his personal ministry but were instructions for the entire church age! “…The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (II Tim 2:2 ~KJV).
The same applies to the writings of Peter, John, Mark and all other voices that the Holy Spirit used to record God’s Word. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (II Tim 3:16,17 ~KJV) “…No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (II Peter 1:20,21 ~KJV)
Never Modify Given Instructions
The value you attach to instructions determines the success of your project. For a student taking exams, instructions are crucial. If you aren’t sure you are responding as required, you can’t expect a passing grade. For a surgeon, instructions mean the difference between life and death of a patient that lies on the operating table. For someone assembling a two-dollar toy, instructions are no big deal. God’s instruction book is of eternal value. Never trivialize it. The Bible is the mind of God. Its efficacy cannot be improved through finite human ideas.
…I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book… (Rev 22:18, 19 ~KJV)