Today Brandon Chase is sharing a few thoughts on what the Bible means, and what we mean when we talk about it. These are eye-opening, provocative, and absolutely necessary questions. I’m grateful for his words.
“HOLY BIBLE”
It’s imprinted on the genuine leather cover and spine of most Bibles you’ve ever picked up. It’s so ingrained that there is a good chance you’ve taken for granted what it might mean.
On the surface, it makes sense; we tend to think of things associated with the Divine as “Holy.” But is the Bible itself “Holy,” really? Can something be declared sacred to the point where it becomes worshipped?
It is ok to view the Bible with reverence, appreciation, love and respect – but to worship the Bible itself is idolatry.
This is where I get worried about the idea of the “Holy” Bible. We worship it, above the purpose and the Person it has been given to reveal (which are the source and fullness of “Holy”). When this happens, the Bible itself can become a barrier to seeing our freedom.
I want to be clear. I love the Bible. I am thankful for it. I believe it is inspired by the Divine, relevant, profitable for His people.
I see revealed in its words the narrative of God’s eternal plan of love and the reality of eternity now. I see in its pages the person of Christ. I see in it the Gospel of His Kingdom.
In this sense I think the Scriptures are Holy – and worth worshipping the Author Himself.
But holiness is lost when this text itself is set as loftier than These.
This happens, often.
It comes down to what we see in the Bible. If we take a document that is just over 400 years old in our language and try to make eternal truth fit into our understanding — as a handbook for godly living or a manual for sin management and behavior judgment — we have lost our sight.
If we are after “knowing the Bible more” rather than allowing Holy Spirit to testify to the revelation of Christ and the purpose of a Holy God, we have lost our first love. This has caused much blood to be spilled, torn apart families, and has been the banner flown proudly above many a crusade. This has divided and weakened the Body of Christ and kept us from Freedom.
Father, Son and Spirit are much bigger than even the inspired words They have given to point us toward Them. Holy Scripture re-fixes our gaze on the Holy One.
The Kingdom of God cannot be contained in the pages of your Bible.
The Kingdom of God lives in you, me, and in eternity beyond time and space. It is possible to receive this Kingdom and It’s King and never open the Bible. But when opened, it confirms what is already true about this King and His Kingdom. It is possible to meet Jesus Christ without ever reading Scripture – because He is all, and is in all.
How many remain shackled, never approaching freedom, because they are in bondage to something they perceive the Bible “says”?
I am not challenging the Bible. I am challenging a mindset about the Bible and the hindrance that mindset imposes on the purpose and the Person the Bible intends to point us to, keeping us in bondage.
So much effort is spent driving Christians to read their Bibles “more”…
You know what? Some of you need to put your Bible down.
You need to walk away. Take a break. Look for and find God’s Word — Jesus — in nature, in people, in rest, in quiet. Learn to hear His Voice apart from the words in your Bible.
There is holiness there. Freedom too.
Then, you can come back to this Bible with eyes of faith. These eyes will see from a heart that is less concerned with being an expert in holiness, or in the Bible – and instead delight in and live out of true indwelling holiness.
These eyes will see truth being authored today as Christ is lived in you, in me, in us, in eternity. These eyes will see as the Spirit testifies to such infallible Truth – even outside the pages of Scripture.
The Bible is nothing more than ink on a page – a collection of words.
It is history, poetry, literature and letters. But when the Spirit reveals the purpose of God and the person of Jesus through the ink, in the words, as both our history and our future, as a poem and a letter of love, then the Bible is more…
Then, it is Holy.
There we see freedom in its pages.
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[ezcol_1third]
[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_2third_end]Brandon Chase is a baseball player at heart; a practicing Crossfitter, golfer, hooper and guitarist; fueled by meat, cappuccinos and chocolate. He writes about Life, Love, and Church – and how Jesus is all of these – on his blog Zōē Perissos.
He is the author of The Path Of Freedom: Few find it. Fewer walk it. Be one of the few. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Marie, and has two daughters McKinley and Delaney. They live in Fort Worth, TX.
You can connect with Brandon on Facebook or Twitter.[/ezcol_2third_end]
[ image: UniversalTransl8r ]
published July 15, 2014
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