Tuesday, March 22, 2016

You can't take one verse out of the Bible and make a religion out of it.  (Some denominations do this.)  The Bible wasn't written in "verses" any way.  It is a whole.  Each book is entire, not separated into verses and chapters.  You will miss the point if you don't read each book as it was written.

For instance, some verses--often quoted--will leave you only half informed:  John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes on him shall be saved."  That's true.  But that is just part of the story.  What does believing involve?

James 2: 19 "You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble."  So even the devil believes in God.  It isn't enough; there is more.

Luke quoted Jesus:  Luke 13:5 " I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Over and over the Bible--when you read entire passages--it tells us that we must repent of our sins.

Jesus said: "...the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15

And then there is the resurrection.  Paul said we need to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.  "...if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

You can't take one verse and make your religion out of it.  When you read it all, you find that Jesus was God.  He died as a sacrifice for our sins.  And was raised from the dead.  We must believe that.  We must repent.  Change our lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"...Christ in you, the hope of glory."  Colossians 1:27b  He takes up residence in our body.  We become His children.






 

No comments:

Post a Comment