Missing the Point

When we read Scripture

If Christ doesn't become more beautiful,

If we do not see more of God's heart,

If the depth of the sin in our heart is not exposed,

If our souls aren't stirred to praise God,

If we seek merely to understand the meaning of Scripture apart from it's application,

If it doesn't drive us to prayer,

If we do not love God more,

If our love is not stirred for our neighbors, 

If our heart is lifted up in pride and we make a mental list of all the ways we are obeying,

If we focus on a list of to do's, and our goal is changed behavior rather than adoring and worshipping Christ,

If we study looking first for lessons to teach others seeing ourselves primarily as the one that needs to deliver God's word to people rather than one who needs to receive God's word,

If we are hearers and not doers,

If we seek knowledge over intimacy with God,

If we hide it in our heads and not our hearts for any purpose other than so that we might not sin against Him,

If we search Scripture to support our theological positions, 

If we half heartedly skim,

If we twist it to justify our sins,

If we look merely for "answers" rather than for questions to ask ourselves,

If we are fascinated with deep mysteries but don't look in the mirror,

If our Sword stays in the sheath when Satan attacks,

If we use the Bible like a harlot just to get what we want,

If our main focus is meeting our own emotional needs, 

If we search the Scriptures because we think that in them we have life,

If we do not imitate what we learn of Christ, 

If our feet do not follow the path to calvary, and we do not take up our cross and follow Him,

If Christ isn't what we seek when we read Scripture,

Our Bibles would benefit us more if we never opened them because when we read them in this way We get further from Christ and look to ourselves,

We condemn ourselves,

We claim to be wise but become fools,

We dishonor the Name of God before men,

We build false confidence that the act of reading the Word will transform our sinful desires without any effort on our part. The more we trust in our action of reading, the more we see our reading of Scriptrure as meritorious. The more we see our action as meritorious, the more we worship the idol of study. The more we worship the idol of study, the more we are blinded to the fact that we are actually not studying God; we are just working. 

We are working like a Pharisee who knows the Word in and out but who completely misses that Jesus is in our very presence. We are actually mad that He takes away our glory from our good work and we seek to rid ourselves of Him. Oh, what a tragedy to read the word of God and miss Christ! 

What a subtle lie that Satan would have us to believe! In fact, satan is twisting the very Book that should renew our minds to blind them. He is calling idolatry worship of the true God. He is making men twice a son of hell. Satan is not opposed to men reading the Bible and never has been. He even used Scripture when tempting Jesus. Satan's goal is not to destroy Scripture but to twist Scripture to become an instrument of destruction to men.

Our hope is not in the Bible, it is spoken of in the Bible. Our hope is in Christ! Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for God's glory alone, and Scripture alone is our authority. Scripture is not our righteousness. The blood of Jesus, and the blood of Jesus alone can make atonement for our sin. May we cling to the grace of God and put no confidence in the flesh or our abilities to study the Bible. 

However, this message is not just to the lost pharisee. It is to the saved pharisee. What do I mean? Christians can miss the point when they study Scripture. They too can look to complete in the flesh what was begun by the Spirit ( Galatians 3:3). The Christian must cling to the Christ not only for justification but also sanctification. They must abide in the branch in order to produce the fruit of the Spirit (hence the name "the fruit of the Spirit" not "the fruit of study").

What can Christians do about this serious but subtle danger? First, they must pray that God would give them true understanding and true fear of Him. Second, they must continue in prayer as they read. Third, they must worship God truly in love (not in order to merit God's forgiveness). True worship is love to God which works obedience. 

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;" John 5:39

I say this from experience: If you miss Jesus, you've missed the point. For too long, I missed the point, but God has been gracious and shown me that HE is the glorious point! Seek Him! Don't trade him for a counterfeit hope of righteousness. Don't get lost in trying to understand all the mysteries in Scripture, just get lost trying to understand the mystery of union with Christ and obey what you do understand. Christ is the true treasure, and the purpose for studying Scripture is so that we might Him! 

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ," Philippians 3:8

Scopus Vitae Christus, 

Dallas

Follow The Loser

Lost in the Infinite
It is hard for me to grasp how big the sea is, let alone the earth, the sun, or our galaxy. By the time that scientists start talking about the cosmos, I am lost. Even the cosmos are limited though. If I cannot understand how big finite creation is, how can I even begin to fathom the concept of infinity?

Everything I know has limits, and these limits were fixed by God."He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth" (Proverbs 8:29). Everything is limited, that is, except God. Because He is infinite, nothing exist outside of Him. "In Him we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). My mind gets lost when I think about this subject, but it is important to get lost in God's infinite being. It is only in losing our minds that we begin to gain wisdom.

Finite Futility

 Too often, our minds are lost in temporary things and we seek momentary pleasure. A sure way to live a futile life is to spend and be expended for the finite. Scripture admonishes us, " look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18). And John warns, "Do not love the world not the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lust but the one who does the will of God lives forever"(1 John 2:15-17). Our minds are too easily fixated on the finite. The tragedy is, we are not captivated by God's infinite being because of our preoccupation with ourselves. How is it possible that we could find the finite more fascinating than the infinite? How is it that we trade blessed ecstasy for counterfeit fleeting pleasure? How is it that we are still falling for Satan's lie that there is gain apart from God?

Better Than Life
Every temptation is an attempt to deceive us that there is something better than God. Every time we sin, we are essentially proclaiming that God is not good and that we think sin is better. Oh, that we would cry with David, "Your lovingkindness is better than life!" (Psalm 63:3). When we are captivated by the excellencies of the infinite God, finite things disappear in His shadow.

Get Lost!
I fear that when the works of American Christians are tested, many will watch as their wood, hay, and stubble burn up. The question we must ask ourselves is, "What am I investing in? Where are my stocks?" Sure, you may ascent to the fact that God is infinite, but how do you operate? Do you make your daily decisions in light of God's infinite greatness, or are you merely living for the finite? The more lost we are in God's infinite greatness, the more we will find the things of earth inadequate and dissatisfying. When God is awesome to us, then eternity becomes more real than the present. If we truly understood the greatness of God, we would have a passion for advancing His kingdom. Our zeal for witnessing would never wane. Our prayer lives would be vibrant. Our hunger for the Word would be unceasing. God's praises would continually be on our lips, and we would never find worship boring. 

Three Ways to Get Lost 

• Pray that God will help you to see Him as better than life and that He will captivate your heart.
• Open the Bible, and get lost between Genesis and Revelation in the infinite excellencies of God.
• Take up your cross, and follow the LOSER! Jesus lost his will and life in His Father's will. His mind was caught up with one thing: loving His Father. It is through loosing our fascination with ourselves in awe and worship of God that we gain everything! May our minds never be caught up with anything less than the infinite God.

Scopus Vitae Christus,

Dallas