Know the Word

(I actually wrote this 2.5 years ago for a newspaper article, but it still rings true today, with an even greater urgency)

I recently read where some well-known news talk show hosts were bashing the Bible.  MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell recently went on a rant that no one believes “that book” anymore, no one.  “There are no literal followers of the Word of God as presented in the Bible left on earth.” O’Donnell claimed. Then he went on to bash its contents and give his opinion of “one of our most absurdist traditions” of placing the hand on the Bible during inauguration. CNN’s Piers Morgan suggests that the Bible is flawed and needs to be amended to foster acceptance of homosexuality. He then went on to try to prove his theory by bringing up Old Testament laws and punishments. (Of course, he failed to mention the fact that this sin along with many others are referred to in the New Testament as well.) While Pastor Rick Warren (his guest) tried to explain the background of the text he was referring to, it was clear that Morgan had no desire to understand anything but his own opinion.

While these statements angered me, they did not surprise me. People who live in darkness as these two men obviously do, do not know God’s word, believe it, or respect it. We as Christians have a job to do. We have to get God’s word in our hearts and spirits now. We need to value God’s word. As much as these men and many like them devalue it, we need to cherish it and devour it. We need to know the truth and teach it to our children before the likes of these men turn our children from the truth of God’s word. Deuteronomy 6:7 says to “impress them (God’s commandments) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” It is the most important thing we can do for our children.

God’s word is not just a book. It is Truth and it is alive. “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Many people like Morgan are completely wrong in their understanding of the Old Testament and use this to discredit the entire Bible. I understand how lost people could do that. How can we expect those who do not know the one that the Bible points to, Jesus Christ, to understand if they have not studied its contents, background or history? Even then, it would be the Holy Spirit who would reveal the Truth of its pages to them. 

The problem is that many Christians really don’t know either. Many Christians do not take the time to learn the Bible and probably would not have been able to answer the accusations of Morgan. We as Christians need to be able to give a reason for what we believe. "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15) 

While I don’t believe in arguing Christianity,("The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14) I do believe in standing up for Christ and the Word of God. Does that mean we all have to be Bible scholars? No. However, it should be our desire to know as much about God and His Word as we can. We spend far too much time and energy on non-essential things and not enough on what is eternally important, not only for us, but for our children and the lost people all around us. We need to redirect our energies to knowing and living out God’s word.
 
Yes, we as Christians have a job to do. We need to know the Bible, live it, teach it and share it in love and with wisdom.