Preachers and Pastors. Have you ever read the Bible with a blank mind? Like a dying man who never heard of it would read it for the first time? With a REAL thirst for truth and NOT to justify what you believe to be true? I mean, without thinking of what you have been told in seminary, by your Bible college professors, other preachers or by your denomination(s)? Without doctrinal goggles or rose colored glasses, etc? Do you come to scripture with humility and prayer that God will show you truth totally unfiltered through any of the above? Or do you have everything neatly prepackaged in a tidy little theological box labeled Arminianism, Calvanism, dispensationalism, Catholicism, Baptist-ism, Presbyterian-ism, Church of God-ism, Campbellite-ism or some other ism? I know that it is really hard to unpack those boxes and get brutally honest with scripture and deal with (put aside) your preconceived notions and ideas fed to you by other really good, well meaning but perhaps also misguided souls. You might have to get a bigger box to put your new thoughts in. It is just so much work! Effort that could go into sermon preparation about some new great idea you had. Or maybe you would discover that a lot of what you know and teach so confidently is wrong and you would have to eat some crow with your church family while you correct yourself and them , teaching them what the Bible actually teaches. Who would want to put that much honest, soul wrenching work into something when you can just glide along feeling right about all things with your favorite ism? Shoot! You might even run a few folks off by making THEM think outside the tidy littles boxes! Gasp! They might not like having their ism blinders removed either. Of course you are justified in towing the line. I mean there is a consensus on all that doctrinal stuff, Right?! Why, they couldnt nearly all of them be wrong, could they? Never mind! On second thought, just go back to sleep and let the high and mighty professionals tell you what to say. That is so much easier than being sincere and diligent in your studies. And the sheep will never know the difference. Heck! They almost never read the Bible anyways. Surely not enough to call you on something that you teach that is not true Biblical doctrine. Besides, What harm does it do? Who cares if the Word is stretched and wrested from context anyways? Carry on.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 02:15:18 +0000
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