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A fundamental fact of Bible study that one needs to understand is that the words are divinely inspired and of divine authority. That is, they are neither based on human authority nor on any source of human inspiration.
When a practice is included in God’s Word we can be assured that it has been authorized by God In the same manner, when a practice has not been included in God’s Word we can be assured that it has not been authorized of God. If this rule is followed much of the controversy that exists in the religious world today, concerning interpretation of the Bible, would disappear. We need to remember that the scriptures were intended by God to provide us with every good work. Consider then some of the things about which the Bible teaches us.
Wisdom: The Bible tells us that God’s thoughts and ways are different than those of man. (Isa. 58:8,9) Consequently,we are admonished to have a Godly fear (awe) of our Creator, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom And the knowledge of the Holy is understanding." (Prov. 9:10). Interestingly, King Solomon could have had anything he desired. However when he prayed to God for what he wanted, he asked for Wisdom, for discernment. (1Kgs. 3:9-12). The Bible tells us us that Wisdom is the most important thing that we should seek, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: And with all thy getting get understanding." (Prov. 4:7).
Jeremiah tells us that the ways of man are not within himself; that man is not wise enough to direct his own life (Jer. 10:23). If we follow religious practices which are not authorized by God’s Word,whose wisdom are we following,-God’s or man’s. Things that may seem right to us, but are not part of God’s revelation to man, put us in the position of knowing more than God. (See Prov. 14:12 and 1 Cor. 1:21-24;2:5) We are told not to add or take away from the God’s Word. If we do not abide in God’s Word, there is no one who will be held responsible but ourselves. We cannot blame anyone else in the final Judgement. We, and we alone will be the one’s held responsible (See Rev. 22:18-32;Prov.30:6;Deut. 4:2)
The Bible teachings on Wisdom are manifold and would require a more lengthy dissertation here. We recommend that you consult our Lessons on Proverbs (see Bible Studies), especially Lesson 1- The Value of Wisdom . These series of lessons contain additional teachings from the Book of Proverbs on understanding,discretion,morality,prudence etc. Each is designed to guide the Christian in a variety of things required for Godly living. The Book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, is also another source for examining man's role and purpose in life.
Worship: We are told that God is a Spirit and "must be worshiped in Spirit and truth." (Jn. 4:24) How then should we worship God and where will we find all the truth that God has told us about how He expects us to worship Him? Likewise what kind of worship is based on human doctrines and what are we told about these practices? The Apostle John writes in John 4:22.23 "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipper shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seekth such to worship Him."
We need to decide whether we desire to have have our worship please God or man. If we follow human practices who are we honoring,-God or Man? The Bible teaches us that when we follow man this is vain worship. Jesus said: " In vain do they worship Me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Mt. 15:9) Obviously, this tells us that when ones worship the doctrines set forth by men that these are false in God’s eyes no matter how we may seek to justify them. It is up to everyone to strive to find out what true doctrine is and whether or not it is right according to God’s revelation. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself."
The church: The church that Jesus Christ founded is a complete and independent organization within itself, with Jesus Christ as its Head and it has no authorized human head. "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." (Col. 1:18). Each local congregation is autonomous and when mature has overseers, called elders,or bishops. (Acts 14:23; 20:28; I Pt. 5:1-4). Elders are appointed within a congregation and have no other jurisdiction or duties outside their own congregation. They are also required to meet certain qualifications before being appointed. (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-10). Each local church may also have deacons who assist the elders in carrying out their duties. These men must also meet specific qualifications before being appointed. (1 Tim. 3:8-13). Those who preach are called "preachers"(Rom. 10:14), or "evangelists."(2 Tim. 4:5; Acts 21:8), and not "reverend or any other name which men have devised to address those who preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church of Christ (Matt.16:18), patterned after the New Testament church which we read about in the New Testament, is not a denomination. Members of the church are neither Catholic,Jewish, or Protestant in their belief or practices. We would refer you to our Bible Study series on "The church Jesus Established for a more in depth study. Also, see Table 4 - The New Testament Church for an overview of the various attributes which are the signature of the church.
Love: We cannot examine all that the Bible teaches about love because there is quite a lot of teaching in the Bible about love. For example, the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 is devoted to the topic of love. Perhaps the most important teaching of Jesus was when He was asked this question by the lawyer: " Master, which is the great commandment in the law." To which, Jesus replied: " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Writing in 1 John, the Apostle tells the Christians this: "Beloved let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."
Whom do we say that we love when we follow human practices and doctrines? When we say that we are happy or satisfied with what we are doing, and yet we are not following God’s truths, are we displaying Godly love? Jesus says: "If you love Me keep My commandments." (Jn 14:15) Can anything be more plainer or simpler?
Faith: The Bible teaches us that faith is the basis for accepting God and His Son, Jesus Christ. For without faith, there is no hope, and without hope there is no salvation. " ….faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."(Heb 11:1). Without faith we cannot not please God. Just as the Apostle Paul tells us that:" "…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." But it must be a demonstrable type of faith (Gal. 2:20). "we walk by faith" we are told (2 Cor. 5:7). This implies that we practice (walk) what we profess to believe. In other words, we are to be obedient to God’s will. Those are some in the religious world who teach salvation by faith. This is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Lip service is not what the Bible teaches. James tells us: "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can his faith save him?" (James 2:14)Hope: One of the greatest teachings of the Bible is that there is hope for the faithful and obedient person. The Apostle Paul tells us that this hope is our anchor "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…." (Heb. 6:19).
Salvation: Whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, the Bible teaches that trust in God and obedience to His Moral Laws are essential for salvation. Under the Old Testament, i.e. the old law, salvation was based on a national level, i.e. God dealing with His "chosen people." For example, their deliverance from Egypt, the Ten Commandments, The Mosaic Law, etc. However, the old law was "nailed to the cross" when Jesus Christ came. That is, it was done away with: "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Col.2:13,14).
Consequently, under the New Testament, i.e. the New Covenant, God no longer deals with people as a nation but with each individual through His Son, Jesus Christ. Just as we are told in Acts 4:12: "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Thus, Each individual is responsible for working out their own salvation and will be judged by God based on their obedience to the "new laws" of Jesus Christ:
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Page last updated:
March 03, 2003