The Most Dangerous Way To Read The Bible
Written by Jarred Rushing
(5 minutes)
You are busy analyzing the Scriptures, poring over them hoping to gain eternal life. Everything you read points to me, yet you still refuse to come to me so I can give you the life you're looking for--eternal life. (John 5:39-40)
Pastor Tim opened the message on Sunday with a personal story that showed us all how damaging and dangerous it is to read the scriptures without Jesus. On the morning of one of the most heartbreaking days of his life he was introduced to the book of Job and when he heard the news of his father's death later that day, the book of Job became the lens through which he saw the Father. As a fifteen year old boy, he saw God "as someone rolling the dice with his life," testing him to see if he would buckle underneath the pressure.
This is why Jesus warns us of the leaven of Herod (the political spirit) and the leaven of the Pharisees (the religious spirit). Because if either of them hijack your perspective of God, you will end up farther away from the real thing then when you first began.
This is how the spirit of religion ropes you in:
The first thing it does is paint the Father with darkness. It has to start here, with a distant and disapproving God, because nothing moves us to into action like the thought of someone secretly working against us. Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, he calls Abba's nature of love into question with words like, "Has God really said?" Religion skews your perspective of the Father by laying the foundation that God is not really for you - that God is holding out on you and He's not really good.
The next thing that religion introduces is the lie that you can earn your way into Abba's love if you just try harder. This is where religion sells itself. It promises you that with enough effort you can change how God feels about you. This is where we begin to believe that religion could actually help us, not hurt us. And just like the serpent in the Garden, he appeals to your innate desire for union with Yahweh by promising you that "you will be like God." The only problem is that Adam and Eve were already made in the image and likeness of God, just like we are. Religion tells you that you are missing out and that you are lacking something. The truth is - you had it all along.
Did you know that you can read the scriptures through the lens of religion and never see the Father for who He actually is? The same scriptures that Jesus used to reveal Himself to the men on the road to Emmaus is the same scriptures that the Pharisees had memorized and analyzed their entire lives, but they still could not see Him. That's a scary thought.
You can do the same thing through the lens of the political spirit and never see Yahweh rightly.
This is why Pastor Tim made the statement that, "studying the scriptures without Jesus doesn't get you to Jesus." You can read the Bible until you're blue in the face, but if you read it under the influence of the political spirit or the spirit of religion, you will have read it in vain because you will be farther from His face than when you first began.
There's only ONE way to see Abba rightly. There's only ONE way to experience face-to-face-ness with Him. You must stare into the eyes of Jesus. He is the most perfect picture of the Father. If you've seen Him, you've seen the Father.
Philip, a disciple of Jesus, had grown up with the same lens of the Father that most of us grew up with - the distant, disapproving God. And years into following Jesus, he still raises the question by pleading with Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be all that we need!" It sounds like Philip trusted Jesus, but was still extremely leery of the Father.
In John 14:9, Jesus replies to the disciple, "Philip, I've been with you all this time and you still don't know who I am? How could you ask me to show you the Father, for anyone who has looked at me has seen the Father." This is why we need to stare into the eyes of Jesus. Because it's only in His face that we see the perfect, most accurate image of Abba.
If you're ever reading a story in the Bible and it raises a question in you about the nature of the Father, go and ask Jesus for the answer! If you can't find that nature in Jesus, then you might be dealing with a perspective of the Father that was painted dark by the spirit of religion. Jesus is perfect theology! Jesus is everything the Father has to say about Himself.
When you have questions, Abba wants you go to Jesus, not Job, for the answer.
Part of our journey into the wilderness with Yahweh is allowing Him to redefine how we've seen Him. It has to start with an honest heart that says, "Abba, I haven't seen you rightly. I've only ever known you through the lens of religion. Show me who you really are." And then Abba introduces you to His radiant Son and says, "Everything you need to know about Me is wrapped up in Him." So we become like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus and staring into His eyes. It becomes the ONE thing our heart craves and desires. And as we stare into His eyes, our perspective of the Father begins to change. His kindness and goodness lead us out of religion's sophisticated trap, and we finally begin to see Him for who He really is - our Abba who loves us perfectly and finds His greatest delight in His beloved sons and daughters.
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Worship: "You Walk With Me" by Housefires
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
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