Articles
Study The Word
Let’s mis-apply scripture intentionally for just a minute to make a point.
Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked run when no one is chasing them...” GNB
That’s what scripture says, I copied and pasted it! (Actually, a paraphrased verse). But does it mean we can’t go jogging otherwise we prove we are wicked? Does it mean we can’t exercise on a treadmill? Does it mean we can’t have sports competitions otherwise we are wicked? Of course not, and we know that. Yet other scriptures get mis-applied just about as inaccurately as we demonstrated, sometimes even by those who claim to be our teachers.
My point is simply that we need to spend time in God’s Word to know it, to know Him, and to understand His message for us. If you read this post often, you know this topic comes up often. I suspect most of us, if we honestly evaluated ourselves, would conclude we need to spend more time in the Word. We need to study more often and more deeply.
Hopefully, we are all past the point of reading a lone verse out of context like our example above and grossly mis-applying it, but it is urgently important that we know what ‘is’ being said, not just what isn’t. Scripture is complete, it is intertwined with all other scripture. It doesn’t contradict itself, and all of the scripture comprises the message from God, not just our favorite passages.
God’s message is basically useless unless we know it completely, and live it out in our lives. Only knowing or understanding a fraction of it, means we are lacking the remainder, and it’s necessary to understand God’s overall plan for our lives. I also noted above that the passage I used was paraphrased. We need to be very careful when we study that we don’t confuse man’s words and ideas with the most accurate translations we have from the original writings, and even the best translations sometimes have a bit of man’s influences in the wording. All the more reason to study thoroughly.
Today, just be encouraged to spend more time in the Word, learning, being built up, and experiencing true spiritual growth. As God’s children, we can use all of His ‘nurture and admonition’ we can get our hands on.
