DON'T BE AFRAID OF SCRUTINY-GOD ISN'T
"Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God], with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11AMP).
God welcomes those who seek to know Him. That is one of the reasons He sent His son Jesus Christ. At the time of Christ, Israel (the Jews) had, once again, gone their own way, establishing traditions that kept them from the knowledge of God; traditions that did not honor God. Jesus came and shed light on their errant thinking. Did they go to the Scriptures to seek the truth? No, they claimed to be children of Abraham, having as their birthright, connection and knowledge of God. And, no, they clung to the Law of Moses as their refuge, their interpretation and resulting traditions as their guide and protection. The Law of Moses is contained in two books of the Bible--God is revealed in sixty-six books (or, at the time 39 books without the Apocrypha). Jesus pointed out to the Jews that they thought knowing the Scriptures would save them, when in fact, the Scriptures pointed to Him, the Messiah, the Savior. Jesus invited the Jews to scrutinize both the Scriptures and His doings for evidence that He truly is the Son of God, the Christ. But they had lived so long with out the light of God that they had become blinded by their pride of self-preservation. Their faith had dwindled to what they could do to save themselves from the penalty of sin. They had settled for the ineffective power of "the Law" to reconcile themselves to God.
Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, came to open the blinded eyes of the Jews; to set them free from the heavy and wearisome burden of trying to earn the grace of God. He came to minister healing to the suffering, hope to the afflicted, and, announce that the favor of the Lord was theirs by faith not by works. But though many turned to God and put their faith in Christ, still others preferred to keep to the familiar, although deadly, sinful brand of their own religion. They could not and would not allow the Spirit of God, through Christ, to enlighten them as to their error and sin, that they might turn and be saved. They preferred the darkness. They chose not to study the Living Word but to trust only in their traditional interpretation of the written Word.
God is not afraid of our scrutiny. Nor should we be afraid when our fellow Christians choose to scrutinize the Scriptures to see if what we preach or teach is so. (In fact, we should welcome and encourage it). And, we should not be afraid of God's scrutiny either. Think about it.
"Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God], with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11AMP).
God welcomes those who seek to know Him. That is one of the reasons He sent His son Jesus Christ. At the time of Christ, Israel (the Jews) had, once again, gone their own way, establishing traditions that kept them from the knowledge of God; traditions that did not honor God. Jesus came and shed light on their errant thinking. Did they go to the Scriptures to seek the truth? No, they claimed to be children of Abraham, having as their birthright, connection and knowledge of God. And, no, they clung to the Law of Moses as their refuge, their interpretation and resulting traditions as their guide and protection. The Law of Moses is contained in two books of the Bible--God is revealed in sixty-six books (or, at the time 39 books without the Apocrypha). Jesus pointed out to the Jews that they thought knowing the Scriptures would save them, when in fact, the Scriptures pointed to Him, the Messiah, the Savior. Jesus invited the Jews to scrutinize both the Scriptures and His doings for evidence that He truly is the Son of God, the Christ. But they had lived so long with out the light of God that they had become blinded by their pride of self-preservation. Their faith had dwindled to what they could do to save themselves from the penalty of sin. They had settled for the ineffective power of "the Law" to reconcile themselves to God.
Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, came to open the blinded eyes of the Jews; to set them free from the heavy and wearisome burden of trying to earn the grace of God. He came to minister healing to the suffering, hope to the afflicted, and, announce that the favor of the Lord was theirs by faith not by works. But though many turned to God and put their faith in Christ, still others preferred to keep to the familiar, although deadly, sinful brand of their own religion. They could not and would not allow the Spirit of God, through Christ, to enlighten them as to their error and sin, that they might turn and be saved. They preferred the darkness. They chose not to study the Living Word but to trust only in their traditional interpretation of the written Word.
God is not afraid of our scrutiny. Nor should we be afraid when our fellow Christians choose to scrutinize the Scriptures to see if what we preach or teach is so. (In fact, we should welcome and encourage it). And, we should not be afraid of God's scrutiny either. Think about it.
© S.M. Hudson, Hidden Treasure Ministries, December 2003. All rights reserved.
Categories: forgiveness
