Get a copy of the Bible for one dollar

 

 

    The world has more access to God's Word today than at any previous time in history. There is a store right here in Auburn, Indiana that sells complete copies of the King James Version Bible for a dollar each.  Near limitless articles, commentaries, and sermons flood cyber space. Yet, it seems that God's message to Hosea is as relevant today as ever: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). 

            It seems in the 21^st century, "knowledge" is not the main problem; the main problem is "wisdom."  By wisdom, I mean people's ability to see, understand, and put to practical use their knowledge of God. 

            For example, people want their preachers to form more "fellowship" activities and yet these same people don't even attend the regular assemblies.  Are they really interested in fellowshipping other Christians?  Where is that special spiritual "blood-bond" that's supposed to bind together all those who are "seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness? 

            A great frustration of many who teach God's true church is that they will spend many hours teaching the uniqueness and holiness of the Lord's church to an individual across a kitchen table – many hours in private prayer and with the individual;  the individual comes to an evening worship and notices that 75% of those who supposedly love God with "all their heart and soul" are not even present. In fact, "I felt closer to God when I attended the ________  church!" 

            The problem is not a lack of the availability of God's Word, coupled with a lack of wisdom; it seems the major problem is a lack of motivation.  For the most part, people know what they should be doing in the name of Christ, they just lack the motivation to do it. Without motivation, nothing gets done, including building up the Lord's church.  "Why" this famine of motivation exists, I don't know. Is it the teacher's job to motivate people to love Jesus? No. It's the teacher's responsibility to teach the Word (2Timothy 4:2).  If God's Word is not enough to motivate people to an obedient faith (Romans 1:5), then there is no other saving message by which they can be saved (Romans 1:16). 

            Most do not understand this because their judgments are made from their own human perspectives.  On Judgment Day, we will not be judged by human perspectives, but by Divine perspectives. Eternal punishment in hell may not seem right from the human perspective, but it is a righteous judgment from the Divine perspective (2Thessalonians 1:6-8).

            Most people will say that one must obey Jesus in order to be saved - - but their life teaches something else.  We must remember that "faith" is something that Jesus can see (Mark 2:5). The biggest hindrance to church growth is not the atheist, it is the hypocritical church member who claims one way, but lives another.  Some of the harshest, most scathing words Jesus spoke on earth were directed at religious hypocrites (Matthew 23). Let's make sure we are not a part of that number.        Toby Miller