Weekly Message
Tom Seymour
July 20, 2014
The Truth Of Scripture
An old pop song, The Games People Play, said much about our
culture. The same things the song’s lyrics addressed hold true today,
particularly when applied to our relationship with God.
Last week I performed the wedding ceremony for a friend and
his new bride. The event took most of the day, what with getting ready, the
actual ceremony and then the reception. During my free time, two people, one
whom I knew and one I didn't, approached me and for some reason, felt compelled
to explain to me why they didn't attend church.
Of course churchgoing isn't a prerequisite for living a
spirit-filled life, but it certainly helps. But I sensed that the real reason
for people explaining to me why they didn't attend church was a cover-up for
far more serious and important subjects.
It goes like this. People don’t feel comfortable in church
because the church is A. too strict, B. full of hypocrites, C. judgmental and
on and on. Yes, I agree that it’s not always easy to find a church where you
are totally comfortable. In fact, that’s probably impossible. I myself am currently not attending a church
or preaching at one…although I have set my desire to find a preaching situation
before the Lord. My desire is to pastor a small, rural church. That may not be
what God wants for me, however. I shall wait upon Him, as always.
But let’s get back to this habit people have of explaining
why they don’t attend church. I see it as a way of attempting to justify their
not walking in the light of God and not wholly accepting Jesus into their life.
People believe, but not enough to come to the point of believing that the Bible
is the revealed word of God. To far too many, scriptures are available Ala-Carte. Pick-and-choose is the way of today.
But God never told us we could pick and choose what to
believe or what not to believe. For Him, it’s all or nothing, from Genesis to
the Revelation of St. John. Much of this putting God at arm’s length stems from
our refusal to see sin as what it is – sin, pure and simple. Sin is why Jesus
came to earth, suffered and died. He did it to atone for the sins of everyone
who would believe on him, for people living then and for those yet unborn, now
and forever.
The people at the wedding who shared with me their stories of
why they no longer attend church are on the fence. I’m convinced that they know
they need to have a closer walk with God and are looking for a way. My response
to them was in no way judgmental, but neither did I sugar-coat the need for
obeying God. I hope that those people remember our conversations and that by
their telling me of their situations, a door would open for the Lord to work in
their lives. Faith is a gift from God and without it, we are unable to believe
and thus have eternal life.
So it’s not the people such as those who proffer excuses for
not attending church who are in the greatest danger. At least they are aware of
what they need to do and by God’s grace, will come to the place of peace and
contentment in the Lord. It’s the rest of the people who are really in trouble,
the people who out-of-hand dismiss the things of God.
My chiropractor, who is also my good friend, recently gave me
his feelings about religion and churchgoing. This man is a Jew, but not a pious
Jew. In fact he made it clear that while he was Jewish by birth, he in no way
believed in any of the things his religion holds as truths. In fact, he told me
that he cannot believe that an intelligent being (God) one day decided to
create earth and the life on and in it. I told him I understood his position,
but that I did believe everything, just as stated in the Bible.
To my chiropractor, my belief is foolishness. But he knows
that I am not foolish and perhaps one day will ponder this paradox, a man whom
he knows is intelligent and learned, really takes to heart that which he views
as nonsense. But to those who are perishing, spiritually, that is, the things of
God are as great foolishness.
To close, I will cite 1 Peter 1: 20-21. This is the answer I
gave to my chiropractor friend who maintains that scripture is made up and not
of divine origin. It says: First of all you must understand this, that no
prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no
prophecy ever came of human will, but men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit.” To that, all
God’s people say, “Amen.”
