The bible reveals who God is.
Growing up there was a little saying that went like this, “The bible is, “Basic Instructions before leaving earth.”” Now there are a number of things wrong with that saying as well as a few good things. However, it shaped my view of the scripture, and in a way closed me a little to its power.
One negative was in viewing the bible as a means to know how to act. It definitely does reveal a lifestyle for God’s people, but what is the motivation? At times, I would read the bible to know how to act. Then ever so slightly I began to believe that God will accept me if I act a certain way.
However, the gospel is about a God who loved me before I was a following him. The gospel calls us to holiness, but only after Jesus has my heart. The gospel reveals that my motivation for living a holy life does not come out of the need to be accepted. Jesus is already there. It comes out of who God is, what he has done and who I am in Christ. By the way, fulfillment in Christ deals with our need for acceptance.
What if as you read scripture you change the lens a little? What if it has less to do about how you should act, and points us to what to believe and how to think? For example, I obey because of who Jesus is, and not in order to be accepted.
Please hear me, I believe there is a lifestyle that Jesus calls us to. We cannot just go live how we want. I do believe that to follow Jesus means one limits his or her life. Then, in this limitation a wholeness is experienced, or we are on the way to experiencing it. The scriptures do reveal a lifestyle that is expected of a child of God. For example, one aspect is living a generous life. However, the motive is based on who God is and who I am in him. Often one is not living the gospel life because there is something they are not believing to be true about Jesus.
As you read the scriptures, let it challenge you about who you believe God is? What if you let scripture challenge how you think? Our actions come out of what we believe.
Jesus said to a group, “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside all will be clean” (Matthew 23:26).
There is a sense here that this group of Pharisees’ motivation was all wrong. There was a wrong belief which resulted in destructive behaviour. There was a wrong understanding of who God was and the life he was calling them to.
What if the scriptures are directing us on how to think? How we think or what we believe will drive how we act. We will not see the fruit Jesus speaks about if our thinking or belief does not align with who he is and who we are in him.
Therefore, as you are reading the bible, ask these questions:
How is this passage challenging my belief about who God is?
If this is true about God, then how does this direct how I live? What is my motivation for that?