Time to Resurrect the WORD of God

Lately I've noticed a disturbing trend-the relegation of the the written WORD of God (here I'll refer to it as the Greek "logos") to the back seat in favor of "God speaking" directly (often called in Greek, "rhema"). I'm not talking about rhema here as the "quickening" of scripture to a believer's situation-that is valid too, but here, I'm just speaking of a believer's experience of God "speaking to" him or her outside of, and not necessarily confirmed by, direct scripture (logos). Both forms of the Word of God are important, but in many instances, the rhema word, as used outside of direct scripture, has taken precedence over logos, and this can bring grave error. There must be balance.

Hebrews 4:12 states, "For the word (logos) of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Then Matt. 4:4 says: "Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word (rhema) that comes from the mouth of God.'" So both are important, and complement one another, and must be equally respected. I submit it's time to return to the written Word as our plumb-line. This isn't to say that God doesn't "speak" to a person, directly to his or her mind, or even audibly at times (I have never heard the audible voice of God, but have had Him "tell" me things that suddenly pop into my mind out of nowhere-great and awesome things, but NONE of them have ever contradicted scripture).

During my 25 years of Christianity, I have often encountered fellow believers who downplay Biblical scripture in favor of what "God has said" personally to them. This was spoken so authoritatively and convincingly, that my inexperience caused me to admire and respect that person as someone who "really hears from God." Since then, however, I have noticed that these "God told me" statements are often employed when that person wants to justify behavior or decisions that scripture clearly speaks against or doesn't really support. My husband once had a friend who totally justified divorcing his wife because he "felt" the Lord telling him she was having an affair so it was okay to divorce her. Turns out she wasn't having an affair; he just was tired of her and had his eye on another available gal. To add insult to injury, the other men in the group "had compassion" for the wayward man and supported his decision! Needless to say, my hubby quit the group immediately. I too was once in a heated argument with another person who actually said, "the Bible isn't everything; sometimes we need to look at what God is saying in the situation." Not cool.

Another abuse of Logos involves taking scripture out of context (I've been guilty of using a single verse to prove my point or to win an argument, much to my shame). So a verse like Matt. 7:1 "Judge not lest ye be judged," seems to indicate we cannot make a judgement call against anything. Looking at the verse in context paints a completely different picture, especially as we get to verse 15: "watch out for false prophets...etc." Obviously we have to make a judgement call here about which prophets fall into the false category. Then to John 7:24, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." While my son was in YWAM's Biblical Core Course in Honolulu, HI last spring, he learned to study the Bible inductively rather than deductively. Tony Warren, from mountainretreatorg.net defines inductive reasoning as "a term of logic that means interpreting scripture with no pre-judgment, from the text itself, through analyzing the evidence and drawing out of it logical conclusions. Biblical Induction literally means 'out of,' or introduced "from" the Bible. The Bible being the source of specifics from which general evidence (and thus doctrine) is derived."

It's so amazing to read the bible without trying to make scripture prove a point! Just READ it and see what it says! How refreshing! And don't let others tell you what it says; it's meant to be read and understood. Get a version that makes sense to you. I personally cut my Christian baby teeth on the New International Version (NIV) and love it, but I don't claim it's the end-all, be-all version. Some folks will beat you over the head, insisting the King James Version is the only TRUE version. Guess what, people, NO ONE talks like that anymore! Get over the archaic language and get a version that is accurate and easy to read. Here's a good place to start your research: http://www.biblestudy.org/question/which-bible-translation-is-closes-to-original-manuscripts.html.

The bottom line is this: we need to desire TRUTH above all things. We need to realize our sinful nature will, at times, rise up and try to take over. The Word of God (both logos and rhema) are God's gifts to us, to help grow us up in Him. We also need to realize that we have an enemy who wants to lie to us continuously, and without our weapons of war, we are vulnerable. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Eph. 6:10-18.

If we neglect our study of the logos word of God, we are susceptible: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Tim. 4:3. And further in that book, Tim 2:15 says, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."