If You Had A Message For A Few Billion People...

If you had a message for a few billion people, how complicated could you make it? ....Not very.

If you wanted the message understood it would have to be simple. Like this: "God is Love." (1 John 4:16) Hmmm... pretty simple there.

The Gospel of John and the letters of Paul are about and simple and practical as any written before or since. God, our Creator, has left us, the created, a book that explains in simple language how we operate best. For us that book is the New Testament. We include the Old Testament in our study too because it contains a wealth of information about the attributes of God, the creation of the world and man's history in it. Without some understanding of God's promises to Abraham and David, of the Levite Priests and their religious practices, and of the expectations of the nation of Israel; it is impossible to get what's going on in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts and the Revelation of John.

The Old Testament helps us to understand the New Testament but it is not a book of practical application for us. As wonderful as the Ten Commandments are we aren't living under them as if we are under law. If we were, when we broke one of the Commandments, instead of asking for forgiveness and "being cleansed from all sin" we'd be heading out to the barnyard to find a goat without blemish for an animal sacrifice. If we were living under the Ten Commandments we would need to provide our own burnt sacrifice. Again, not to say that the Ten Commandments aren't right, they are. But if we live by the commandment rather than by the love of Christ expressed through us we have the cart before the horse. As Christians we live by love and the commandments happen. We don't live by the Commandments to have love happen.

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8-10)

God keeps the language simple because He wants us you to understand. That's why He uses words like love and light, spirit and life, heart and soul. Remember the truth expressed in God's word is timeless, absolute and wholly reliable. Spending time with God in the word should lead to clarity not confusion. God is not the author of confusion.

"God is not the author of confusion but of peace.." (1 Corinthians 14:33)

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.." (Romans 12:2)

Well-intentioned teachers can and do make mistakes. Sometimes they (or we) can even be (gasp) wrong. If what you're getting is confusion reexamine what is being taught.

"Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

The Original Author is God

There is only one correct interpretation of any scripture and that is the interpretation of the author. The men whose words we read were inspired by God.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.." (2 Timothy 3:16)

The original Greek word for ‘inspiration' here is literally ‘God breathed'.

Jesus is The Word

We're also told the word is Spirit and that Jesus is the Word.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:1-4)

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:13)

"For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." (1 John 5:7)

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.." (Ephesians 6:17)

One more thing about the word, it works.

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)