Saturday, February 21, 2015

Why Study The Bible...


For us Christians, it's important to know about our faith. We need to be prepared as the blog post below indicates, but we also need to grow spiritually, both as individuals in the body and together as the one unit - the Church. There are a number of venues for that. There is personal study. There is Christian or Bible college. And there is the Church itself. Some of the most valuable spiritual knowledge can be gained by studying side by side with your brothers and sisters in Christ. There is a vast amount of spiritual experience to be mined at church. That's why I would suggest that you look into attending an adult Sunday school class or Bible study at you church. Christian spirituality is intellectually based. It's more than a feeling. It's a knowing. How can you know anything unless you study and learn. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 4:11-16:

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

A properly functioning New Testament style church requires instruction to be able to go where Jesus want it to go. Studying the Word of God is your ticket to go on that ride. As God's saints, we have to be prepared. You can do that in Sunday School.

See ya tomorrow right? OK.
   

The Full Armor of God

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As Christians, we all face times of spiritual testing and trial. What we do in those times depends to a great extent on whether we are prepared. Any test requires study. Any trial requires testimony and witness.We must prepare.

Paul saw these trials and tests in terms of war; spiritual warfare, and that is about the best way to put it.  We are at war and not with non-believers or even other believers that may disagree with us. We are at war with the source of these troubles. Satan declared war on us when Jesus claimed us as His own and took away his twin weapons of sin and death. The Devil is a sore loser. He will not go down alone if he can prevent it. His job from his point of view is to take as many us out of the game as possible and prevent others from seeing the truth and joining us. He is a subtle adversary that takes souls wherever he can and his armies are vast. They have infiltrated every institution from the government to the Church; from the secular to the sublime. They are Lucifer's special forces teams working throughout the world to send as many people to Hell as possible. This is their mission.  

Paul used military language in Ephesians 6:10-18 to describe how we should prepare so that we can stand in times of trouble. I quoted this yesterday in the blog post below, but I did not detail it. What I can tell you is this.

He says to be strong in the power of God. Put on His full armor. the reason for this is what I have already alluded to - that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is against the dark spiritual forces of the spiritual world that exists in the same time and space as we exist in. We must be prepared for their intervention in our world.

Paul described several defensive spiritual weapons in our arsenal that protect us during periods of trial and testing. There is the belt of truth. It sort of holds together our combat gear in a way that protects. The belt of truth is the enduring principles of the Word of the Living God. As long as we are bound tightly by them, we will not fail.

Then there is the breastplate of righteousness. This is another very important bit of spiritual armor that no Christian should spend a day in the world without. It should be noted here that this is NOT the Christians own righteousness. This is the righteousness of God that is given to every Christian for their faith in Him. It is a gift that is close to the heart. It protects the soul from permanent damage or damage that could cause spiritual death.

Spiritual footwear is also important. Our feet have to be fitted with footwear designed for the agility required in battle. Only the gospel of peace will work here.When we are shod with this, we will move with the grace of God even in the heat of the spiritual battle..

Then there is the shield of faith that protects us from the unexpected flaming arrows launched by this demonic army. The best thing about the shield of faith is that it may be used in conjunction with the shields of other believers to protect an entire group under spiritual attack and even those who may have lost their shields temporarily. This is a Christian's most valuable defensive weapon...along with the helmet of salvation. This helmet is another gift from God for our faith. When the negative spiritual forces in the world see a number of these helmets gathered together, they become fearful. It reminds them of their inevitable defeat.

We do have one offensive weapon at our disposal and it is offensive to many in this world. It is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This the most powerful weapon believers have in their arsenals. The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 4:12 says this:

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

This sword can take down any spiritual enemy when used correctly.  And that brings up my final comment. All the armor and defensive gear in the world will avail you nothing if you do not practice using them. They become just useless bits of a spiritual costume if you do not actively prepare to meet the enemy. Use of the sword is particularly important. Know your sword. Take care of it and learn how to use it...otherwise it's a blunt instrument that will fail you when you need it most.

I will close with this from First Peter 5:8

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Stay Frosty. No one wants to be the Devil's lunch.