The Bible Doesn’t Have All the Answers.
Dear Bible,
Why do Christians say you have all the answers? Is it wrong for me to believe that you don’t? Well, I mean, in a way you do, but technically you don’t. Should I eat one or two plates at dinner? Should I go to West Africa or Europe? Should I give this money away or save it…or invest it? Should I buy a new car or a used car? Why do other people make me feel bad because I think that you don’t have all the answers? Does that mean I don’t trust you? Does that mean I don’t think you are reliable and complete? I don’t believe so. I just think there is so much more to it. I think there is something even better.
Sincerely,
Kid who grew up in church hearing you have all the answers and then grew to realize it’s so much better than that.
So. Why do people say the Bible has all the answers, when even the Bible says it doesn’t?
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. – John 14:26
I think that pretty much sums it up. The Bible doesn’t have all the answers, but it does tell us about how we find them. Romans 8:26 even says the Spirit prays for us because we don’t know what we ought to pray for. The Bible doesn’t even tell us what to pray for! It’s a good thing we were given someone who is able to help us do even greater things than Christ himself!
I could write a book about junk I’ve been told throughout my life that people hold on to like it’s Scripture.
Read your Bible every day or you should feel guilty. Where does the Bible say to read it everyday? Is it a good practice? Of course. Is it Scripture? No.
Give 10% to the church. Show me a Scripture where this applies to the New Testament church. Does the Bible teach about giving cheerfully? Absolutely. Does it give us a number? No. We pull a number out of context from the OT law and say, “Well this is how it’s supposed to be.”
Preach the Gospel at the pulpit. See previous blog post…
The Pastor is the only one who baptizes people?! And that’s only after they have gone to classes to make sure they’re ready to be baptized, but hey, if you want to wait that’s fine too. We understand. It’s not a big deal. (SARCASM ADDED)
Truthfully, I could go on for days about stuff that people follow like it’s Scripture but is actually completely contradictory to Scripture. But that’s not really the point I’m going for anyway. The point is that the Bible has a lot of answers, but it doesn’t have them all. However, the Spirit does. The Spirit can tell you when to read your Bible and when to pray. The Spirit knows how much you need to give to the church. The Spirit knows what needs to come from the pulpit and when someone is ready to be baptized. He is our Helper, but we have forgotten/never learned how to listen to Him. We get so caught up in following tradition and church culture that we don’t know how to live by the Spirit. We want so badly to be “successful” that we copy other churches only to find out that it’s not working, so we copy someone else instead of realizing that the method isn’t the problem but rather the heart.
There is so much more that could be said, but I think the point is clearly here. Know the Word. Listen to the Spirit. It’s really not that complicated.
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