Quote Source – Jeff Hilles
A Biblical Christian worldview perspective – A reader on Medium of whom I have great respect offered the thought that Christians, “have lost the deep matters of faith and now wrestle with the only connection to Jesus left, the many translations and varieties of ancient writings…. What a significant loss!” His point perhaps was that we are too focused on the Bible and that there is a, “tendency to get caught up in words [which] can close our eyes to the truth.”
However, as Biblical Christians, we need a foundation to begin and support our journey (sanctification). By far the best foundation comes from the “words” found only in the Bible.
Matthew 7:24-27 – “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
My Response to this Reader
Respectfully, “words,” as relates to the Bible, form the basis for our beliefs and truth. [Without the Bible we would have no consistent framework from which to understand God.]
I believe “the significant loss” begins with a lack of attention to the “written word” so that believers spend their lives drinking spiritual milk, rather than solid food [1 Cor. 3:2]. It is from that poor diet that the “deep matters of faith” are never discussed because there is no foundation [Biblical understanding] on which to offer comment.
Conclusion
Knowing this reader as I do, I suspect I have misinterpreted his point. However, the issue still remains that today many who call themselves Christians live on a diet of church attendance once or twice a month, with a significant lack of other forms of spiritual discipline (reading the Bible, regular prayer, Bible study, etc.). Similar to Jesus’ condemnation to the church at Ephesus, many have lost their first love.
Revelation 2:4-5 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Perhaps more significantly, since James makes it clear that our faith is demonstrated by our works (James 2:22), the question can be raised… is the horizontal focus on “loving our neighbor” sufficient to call one’s self a follower of Christ, or are we missing out on the sustaining power that comes from the vertical relationship we need with God Himself (Eph. 3:20).
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Please Read/Respond to Comments – on Medium
