What Is God’s Word?
Judging from most Christian media today, especially print media, one might conclude that the Bible is a self-help manual that promises to help you fulfill all of your dreams, cure all of your ills, and give you a good shot of self-esteem to boot. Is this truly what the word of God is all about?
The answer of course is, absolutely not.
When we look at Scripture we must approach it as a great drama or what the postmoderns call a metanarrative. A metanarrative is the Mother of all narratives. It is an overarching story which provides the frame of reference by which all other stories must be judged. It is the story from which all other stories derive ultimate meaning.
So what is the metanarrative of Scripture? It is God’s redemption of mankind. God creates man, man falls, God redeems mankind through His Son Jesus Christ. Everything, and I mean everything from Genesis to Revelation is intricately woven into the greater metanarrative.
Therefore the word of God is not a self-help book, but rather a book chronicling our “self-helpless”condition and the means by which God provided salvation from sin, and ourselves.
This means that all of the instruction for practical living found in Scripture is given only for the one who has submitted his/her will to Jesus Christ. For example, how is an unbelieving person able to love their spouse “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it” if they have not received and experienced the love and forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ themselves. How is the unbelieving parent able to teach and “train their child in the way they should go?”
The answer is, they cannot. Until man’s sinful condition is dealt with all the self-help in the world is worthless. “Your Best Life Now” does not come through finding value and worth in yourself, but rather value and worth in Christ in whom our righteousness is found (1 Cor. 5:21).
God has some pretty serious words for those who preach any other message, especially one which glorifies man. We see this in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:6-9)
So what is this gospel?
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:23 “…we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness”
We do no one any favors by giving false hope to people based upon their own goodness. We have only one message for the world and that is Christ crucified for the forgiveness of our sin.
God Bless,
Pastor Duane
The answer of course is, absolutely not.
When we look at Scripture we must approach it as a great drama or what the postmoderns call a metanarrative. A metanarrative is the Mother of all narratives. It is an overarching story which provides the frame of reference by which all other stories must be judged. It is the story from which all other stories derive ultimate meaning.
So what is the metanarrative of Scripture? It is God’s redemption of mankind. God creates man, man falls, God redeems mankind through His Son Jesus Christ. Everything, and I mean everything from Genesis to Revelation is intricately woven into the greater metanarrative.
Therefore the word of God is not a self-help book, but rather a book chronicling our “self-helpless”condition and the means by which God provided salvation from sin, and ourselves.
This means that all of the instruction for practical living found in Scripture is given only for the one who has submitted his/her will to Jesus Christ. For example, how is an unbelieving person able to love their spouse “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it” if they have not received and experienced the love and forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ themselves. How is the unbelieving parent able to teach and “train their child in the way they should go?”
The answer is, they cannot. Until man’s sinful condition is dealt with all the self-help in the world is worthless. “Your Best Life Now” does not come through finding value and worth in yourself, but rather value and worth in Christ in whom our righteousness is found (1 Cor. 5:21).
God has some pretty serious words for those who preach any other message, especially one which glorifies man. We see this in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:6-9)
So what is this gospel?
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:23 “…we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness”
We do no one any favors by giving false hope to people based upon their own goodness. We have only one message for the world and that is Christ crucified for the forgiveness of our sin.
God Bless,
Pastor Duane
posted by Duane @ 1:29 PM
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