The God Buffet
Our
primary source of "knowledge" when it comes to God, His purposes and
will is obviously the Bible. This marvelous book holds all we need for a
lifetime of revelation and awe as we pursue a deeper relationship with the
Lord. We believe that God will never contradict His Word, thus any "revelation"
outside the parameters of the Bible cannot be accepted as having the same
authority as the Word itself. Tradition and culture, though they play a role in
shaping the mind and identity of man, must never have a greater influence on us
than the Bible. Dreams and visions might be compelling, but if they contradict
scripture they are might as well be fairytales. The doctrines and philosophies
of man must take a back seat in the life of the believer, for in this regard
the Word of God is in a category of its own.
It
must be said that the role of the Holy Spirit in the interpretation of the
Bible cannot be overstated. I believe that without the illumination brought
about by the working of the Spirit in our devotional lives the scriptures would
simply be theory to us. Sure there are many passages and pockets of practical
wisdom that would prove useful to the reader. But the Word becomes
"alive" to us through the Holy Spirit's work of enlighting us,
reminding us, revealing, unlocking, connecting and breaking open the Word of
God to us. It's a marvelous mystery, but for those walking with God it's as
normal as breathing.
So
the Bible encompasses all that we know about God. Thus the obvious step in
seeking to know Him better is to spend time reading about Him in His Word and
connecting or communing with Him through prayer and fellowship. "Read your
Bible, pray everyday and you will grow, grow, grow," rings the old Sunday
school song. Unfortunately, as is often the case with us humans, we have the
tenancy of complicating things. Case in point being that although *80% of the
people you will encounter in your lifetime who identity themselves as
Christians read the same Bible, the Church of Jesus Christ is divided. (*an
estimation taking into consideration sects that call themselves Christian, but
that read a different "bible" eg. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc)
The
Church is divided along many lines, some cultural and others pertaining to
style. But by far the most common motivation for the division within the Church
is doctrinal differences. Doctrine, in a nutshell, is what we believe about
something. For instance the Doctrine of Jesus, aka Christology, is a major
doctrine that consists of everything that we believe about Jesus as outlined in
the Bible. The funny thing is that although we read the same Bible not all
Christians believe the same things about what it says — and that where the
division comes in. There are literally thousands of Christian denominations and
movements across the world today. This despite the fact that we came to faith
in the same Jesus, read the same Bible, and will inherit the same eternal life
through faith in Jesus Christ.
Effectively
what we have done is turn God into a buffet — nitpicking the Word for the bits
we enjoy or that are acceptable to us and ignoring the rest. This is more true
today than ever before in the history of the Church. Today, if you disagree
with an aspect of God's character, I guarantee that you could find not only
other like minded believers, but authors, theologians and churches that share
your sentiment with a simple search on the Internet. Don't like confessing and
repentance from the sins you commit? The "Hyper-grace Movement" is
just what you're looking for: all the benefits of the unmerrited favour of God
without the depressing practice of asking the Lord for forgiveness all the
time. Love Jesus and living a homosexual lifestyle? A quick Google search will
yield not only registered Christian marriage officers willing to conduct your
wedding, but LGBT churches ranging from traditional to charismatic and
everything in between welcoming you to worship with them. You desire God's
blessing and prosperity but find His discipline a drag? Holiness hampering your
habits? Self-control sinking your social life? Evangelism makes you
uncomfortable?
This
must be what the apostle Paul was referring to in his second letter to Timothy:
“For
the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to
suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers
to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3 NIV)
The
truth is that every believer in Jesus Christ is in danger of falling into the
trap of the God Buffet mentality. We all are tempted to bring God down to our
level, chisel away the parts we don't like or understand, emphasise what is
pleasing and acceptable, and pledge our lives and devotion to that god.
But to do so would be idolatry because there is a big difference between the
God of the Universe and some human construct. God's character is not determined
by our understanding, nor is He influenced in the slightest by the opinion and
doctrine of mere mortals.
Brethren,
we have the Word of God. As born again believers God Himself lives within us in
the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Though we are mere mortals
with extremely limited understanding of the eternal nature of the God we serve,
let us be sensitive to His voice. Let us pursue a deeper relationship with Him,
remaining humble and teachable whilst at the same time not immature in our
faith. Our God desires fellowship with us — He wants to make Himself known. Let
us not for become victims of our own cleverness, nor the devil's schemes.
It's
not without significance that God calls Himself Yahweh, which means
"I AM that I AM," not "I Am what you want me to be."
Ibarto Botes
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