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Our One True Guide

Published 2/9/2024

1647. . .

As the seed that would grow to become the towering oak of the United States of America was being planted, the people of Massachusetts passed the Old Deluder Satan Act out of a belief that education was crucial for children to learn to read so they could read the Bible and avoid being “deluded” by Satan.  Reading God’s Word was the ideal.

Somewhere in the early 20th Century. . .

Americans’ focus shifted toward the worship of economic success.  Thus education also shifted to preparing them to seek a life of success at all costs.  The American Dream becomes the ideal.

2024. . .

Having completely pushed God’s word out of most of public life, mankind itself has become the object of worship leading to chaos and confusion.  The core curriculum of education is now secular humanism.  Man’s pleasure has become the ideal ~ even in the realm of religion in many places.  The final destruction and felling of the once mighty oak seems to have begun.

In chapel today, we were challenged by the account of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16.  The one who believed God’s word received eternal reward.  The one who didn’t, eternal condemnation.

Key points:

  1. If you are saved, you will have a desire to share God’s gospel with others.

  2. A truly saved person will feel guilt and remorse about his sin.

  3. The rich man wanted someone to warn his family, but Abraham’s response was “They have Moses [the law] and the prophets” ~ they had the Word of God and that was all they needed.

Only the Word of God can bring true repentance and regeneration.  

Only the Word of God can give discernment.

Mr. Peters also mentioned a warning about The Chosen and how they have portrayed Jesus as rejecting worship ~ seeming to low-key portray that He didn’t see Himself as God ~ which Scripture clearly refutes.

This afternoon, I sat down and watched some of Dallas Jenkins’ (the director) responses to some of the controversies.  It was interesting.  To be fair, Mr. Jenkins’ response to Jesus (in the show) saying “You don’t have to do that” to Nicodemus when he bows before Him was that Nicodemus was doing what he knew and worshipping Jesus like you actually would a human king and that was what Jesus was referring to.  There may be more recent issues I am unaware of.

I have never actually watched The Chosen.  Although I have heard much praise for it, I am never comfortable with any entertainment medium’s portrayal of Jesus or the “adding to the Scripture” aspect even if it is to flesh out a story.  Because of Who and What it is about, it just makes me uncomfortable.  

To be clear, I am NOT saying anyone shouldn’t watch it, but just that I personally am not comfortable with it.

The point here is that Scripture must be our only guide to knowing, understanding, and following God. Anything outside of Scripture or that comes before Scripture carries the inherent danger of falsehood and heresy.

The rich man’s family had Moses and the Prophets.  That was all they needed to find salvation.  

We have Moses, the Prophets, Jesus’ life and words, and the epistles ~ the completed Word ~ how much more accountable are we if we don’t heed it?

In a world that has mostly rejected the truths of God’s word ~ even while some still pay lip service to it ~ we must be even more deliberate in our pursuit of truth and truth can only be found in God’s word.

Parenting Advice from Tim Challies: Good advice about learning to “let go” of our children before we have to let go of them and trusting God’s grace written by a pastor whose only son died unexpectedly during his freshmen year at Bible college.  You can listen to his story of God’s grace in his life during that tragedy here.  It had a powerful impact in my life.