The sense of Scripture

"[...]There is a wide-spread desire to appear charitable and liberal-minded: many seem half ashamed of saying that anybody can be in the wrong. There is a quantity of half-truth
taught by the modern false teachers: they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense.[...]"

"[...]True faith is not a mere “mental assent” to certain theological propositions—but a living, burning, active principle—which works by love, purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and brings forth much fruit of holiness and good works. Let us live as if we really believed every jot and tittle of Scripture—and as if a dying, risen, interceding, and coming Christ, were continually before our eyes![...]"

- J.C. Ryle

1816 – 1900  [These quotes were taken from Defending Contending.]

Although these words were written over 100 years ago they sound as though they could have been written yesterday. So much of what we hear and say in church and out, seems to be specifically chosen to somehow resonate with the lost from a human perspective. I don't believe this is intentional all the time, I just believe it is a result of folks repeating what they think sounds religious and profound.

The older I get the more I believe our words to the unsaved (and saved as well) should be either God's Words quoted or at least we should give them the contextual sense of His meaning. As fallen creatures we are capable of so little understanding about our Triune God and His Truth we place ourselves on dangerous ground when we attempt to interpret what we think He meant from our own limited understanding. "Half-truths," are not helpful.

Somewhere this morning I read a church sign which quotes Luke 4:7 as though these words were a positive benefit for mankind. The sign reads: (Luke 4:7) "If thou wilt therefore worship me, all shall be thine."

The problem of course, is that the quote is Satan tempting Christ in the wilderness. Christ answered with a rebuke in the form of "It is written...." I believe that should be the model for all Christians: But then to respond as Jesus did we have to actually read our Bibles and I'm sure, as the church sign quote makes clear, even some of our teachers are lacking in that department.

Ryle's statement still rings true today. "[...]There is a quantity of half-truth taught by the modern false teachers: they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense."

The challenge for the Christian is to know his Bible so that when the "half-truths" are taught those that teach them can be made aware of their error. I wonder what the American Church would be like today if Christians had been doing that all along?