A Seminary Student, A Synagog and the Bible

Introduction: A Conversation About Faith

I was driving down the road with a student in his final year at a local seminary, and he asked me, "What's the difference between what you believe and my denomination?" I said, "Probably the biggest difference is how we answer the question about salvation." I added, "The second thing I would say is the value your denomination places on historical Christianity—books, volumes, and commentaries from hundreds of years ago, like during the Reformation. There's a kind of deification of historical Christianity."

He looked at me and said, “That is interesting, just the other day I said to a few sitting around me, ‘Why is it we spend all this time reading all these books and we spend so little time actually studying what the Bible says? I would like to actually study the scripture rather than all of this other stuff.” I told him, “Exactly. Our focus and intent should be to understand scripture rather than to want to know what John Calvin said about it. Who cares? What did Jesus say? What did Paul say? What does the Bible say?”

When asked about salvation, “What shall I do?” I will read from the Bible about how the apostles responded after Jesus gave the Great Commission. (Acts 2:26-40) I believe that answer is the correct answer to that generation, and it’s the only answer for everyone today. I would say that if someone gives an answer that differs from this, they are giving a different answer than the Apostles, including the Apostle Paul. (Acts 19)

The Authority of Scripture

My position is that Scripture interprets Scripture. Anytime we allow someone else's view of Scripture to affect how we read it, we're missing the point. The Scripture says what it says and means what it means. Anybody who inserts their opinion, view, dream, revelation, or claims an angel told them something that takes away from the written text of Scripture—that's a problem. It's fine for people to write devotions or draw out insights from the Bible, but when I'm reading Scripture and a denomination's tradition or a deified, honored, respected individual says something different from what the Scripture says, we face a choice: Am I going to believe what the Bible says, or am I going to discount, doubt, and diminish Scripture because this person said something different?

I told him, "From an authority point of view, I discount out of hand all the people in historical Christianity. The Scripture is here, and everybody else—including what I think, feel, or my opinion—is way down here." The challenge is that many people elevate historical Christianity, and though they may not say it, they place it above Scripture. Anytime Scripture contradicts tradition, they dismiss it, saying, "All these historical, wonderful, righteous people couldn't be wrong, so the Scripture doesn't mean what it says or isn't important."

Jesus and Tradition

This idea is what Jesus dealt with in His day. He said to the Pharisees,

"Through your tradition, you make the Word of God of no effect" (Mark 7:13).

A Lesson from a Hebrew Class

I went to a local synagogue to learn Hebrew. They offered a free class, provided you bought a book and attended every Tuesday night. I learned the characters, how they sounded, how to draw them, and, on an elemental level, how to read them. I don't remember much of that now, but the most startling thing I learned was unexpected.

One day, the teacher shared what the rabbi had taught the previous Sabbath. The rabbi said that in the story of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, the reason Isaac didn't fight back was because he was a child with special needs. I was shocked and asked, "What do you all think about that?" They looked at me strangely. I said, "Have you read the story?" The teacher and the other Jewish people there admitted, "I'll be honest, I've never read the story about Abraham and Isaac."

This was mind-blowing for a Hebrew, a Jew, to say. She added, "We call ourselves the people of the book, but most of us have never read it." So I asked, "Do you believe the Bible is explicitly, absolutely true? Do you believe in absolute truth?" They immediately said, "No, we do not believe the Bible is absolutely true. We believe the interpretation of the rabbi—what the rabbi says the Scripture means is what we believe is true."

Modern Christianity's Misstep

I had an epiphany: this is where modern Christianity is today. Many have the same mentality. They claim to believe Scripture, but often, their understanding of Scripture doesn't originate from Scripture itself. It comes from preachers, bishops, councils, creeds, or confessions, but it's not in Scripture. They're taught these things as if they were Scripture, but if you examine the Scripture, it doesn't say what many people believe it does.

Who Should We Listen To?

Who should you listen to about Scripture? I would say, listen to the Scripture. The Bible says,

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

We need to study for ourselves. How do we know the truth unless we know what the Bible says? I heard someone who worked at a bank say that to recognize a counterfeit, you handle the real currency so much that when you see a counterfeit, it's immediately apparent that it's not genuine. The reason many people don't know the truth of Scripture is that they haven't handled enough of the truth.

The Call to Read Scripture

Everyone needs to learn the Scripture for what it says. When they read someone's opinion about what the Scriptures say, they'll know if it's being twisted, diminished, discounted, or doubted. Sadly, many attend seminary with a sincere desire, but they often do so at denominational seminaries, where they emerge spouting the teachings of Luther, the Pope, Calvin, or other historical figures, spending little time in the Scriptures.

The senior seminary student said to me after our conversation, "Man, that's exactly what I've been feeling. Just last week, I told my friends, 'Why can't we just read the Bible instead of reading all these dusty books about what somebody said about the Bible?'" I thought, "Bingo!" That's the difference between what you believe and what I believe. I believe Scripture is not just an authority; it is the authority, the paramount and top authority.

The Inspiration of Scripture

What I might write, what my grandma might write, what my bishop or the Pope might write, or what someone wrote 100, 500, or 1,000 years ago—none of that compares to Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation,

"All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

How to Study the Bible

If you have biblical questions, let the Bible answer. No doubt, you need to study and read it. There are proper ways to divide the Scriptures—there's the Old and New Testaments, the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles. You need to understand the audience, purpose, and intent of these divisions, rightly dividing the Scripture and seeing the progression. How do you do that? Start reading. Begin in Genesis and just read. Do you know how long it takes to read the Bible? About 72 hours, maybe under 100 hours. With 365 days in a year, about 20 minutes a day, you can read the Bible through in a year. Alternatively, if you read or listen to it for an hour a day, you could complete it in under three months.

Avoiding Denominational Lenses

Who should you trust for guidance on Scripture?

Be sure that whoever you're listening to isn't reading the Scripture through a Calvinist, Lutheran, Methodist, or Pentecostal lens. Ensure they let the Scripture speak for itself. If someone says, "That's not for today," or "That's just cultural," verify that what they're saying is accurate. If they're pointing to things in the New Testament and saying they're not for today, beware—they may have attended a seminary that taught them to doubt the Word of God rather than believe it.

The Problem of Doubt

The sad commentary of modern Christianity is that many people's most firmly held beliefs are what they don't believe about the Bible. They don't believe baptism is essential, obedience is necessary, you have to repent, or that hell or heaven exists. Why? Because they entertain what I call the four questions of doubt: "I think," "I feel," "In my opinion," and "What if" (hypothetical situations). I've seen it so regularly it's astounding. When you teach someone a scriptural truth, people will say, "Well, I think," "I feel," "In my opinion," or "What if?"

The Example of Baptism

For instance, regarding baptism, the Scripture says,

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).

Jesus Himself was baptized, saying to John the Baptist,

"Suffer it to be so that all righteousness be fulfilled" (Matthew 3:15).

The apostles commanded people to be baptized, even re-baptized—Paul re-baptized the disciples of John the Baptist. Yet, many say, "Baptism doesn't do anything; it's just an outward sign of an inward work." Can you show me that in Scripture? Search for "outward sign, inward work" in a Bible study app or on Google—you won't find it in Scripture.

What does doubt sound like?

When one reads the scripture makes an emphatic statement the response will be one of four statements.

1. I think…

2. I feel…

3. In my opinion…

4. What if…

When you show someone what the Scripture says about baptism, they often respond with, "I think," "I feel," "In my opinion," or "What if” someone wants to be saved but has a car wreck on the way to get baptized and dies? Are they going to hell?" My answer is: God is the judge. Far be it from me to discount the Word of God based on a hypothetical situation. God will sort it out—He decides who gets saved or damned, who goes to heaven or hell. I don't get to choose that, nor does anyone else. If someone is in the process of getting saved and never gets baptized, that's on God. He's a just God and will sort it out. However, I won't use my opinion, feelings, or hypothetical situations to suggest that what Scripture says doesn't matter.

Following the Apostles' Teaching

If the Scripture says you must believe and be baptized, and someone asks me, "What do I need to do to be saved?" I'll say, "The Scripture says you need to believe and be baptized." If the Scripture shows that everyone in the New Testament baptized by the apostles was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, that's how I'll baptize people—exactly how the apostles did it. Jesus chose the twelve apostles and said the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. When Peter stood up and said,

"Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38),

I'll preach that. If the bishop, the Pope, Calvin, Luther, Joseph Smith, or others say something different, that's fine, but I won't put merit in what they say. Don't even put merit in what I say—what does the Scripture say?

"Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4).

If what they say discounts, diminishes, or disqualifies the scriptural mandate, it holds no weight.

The Power of God's Word

All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished. I'm going to put my faith in the Word of God above all else.

In my opinion, in every hypothetical situation, you should take the Word of God as the sole and highest authority on all things. That's how we can know we did it the Bible way—not Bob's way, Joe's way, the bishop's way, the Pope's way, the Catholic way, the Methodist way, the Lutheran way, the Mormon way, the Jehovah's Witness way, the Church of Christ way, or the Pentecostal way.

I want to do it the Biblical way, according to the apostles, the prophets, and Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone.

Faith vs. Doubt

What does doubt sound like? It sounds like "I think," "I feel," "In my opinion," or "What if." What does faith sound like? Faith sounds like, "I believe in God." Jesus said,

"He that believeth on Me as the Scripture hath said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).

He didn't say, "As the Methodists say," "As the Pentecostals say," "As the Catholics say," or "As the Baptists say." He said, "As the Scripture hath said."

Rejecting Denominational Tradition

Let's be Bible Christians.

Let's move away from denominational traditions that historically attempt to boil the truth down to the lowest common denominator, so everyone can agree, thereby eliminating the whole of Scripture to agree on something not even found in Scripture. For example, nowhere in the Bible will you find the words "faith alone" together, except one time, and they mean the opposite of what many preachers say today. Preachers say, "We are saved by faith alone," but the Scripture doesn't teach that. The one place you find "faith" and "alone" together is in James:

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17).

Conclusion: Listen to the Scripture

In conclusion, who should you listen to concerning the Scripture? Listen to the Scripture. Open your Bible and read it for yourself. You don't have to listen to anybody else. Find preachers, pastors, and believers with that same narrow focus: to follow Christianity, not a denominational, discounting, diminishing, doubting way, but a faith-filled way. I believe in the Word of God. If the Word of God declares something to be sin, it's still sin. If it declares that certain things should be in the life of a believer, I want to incorporate those into my life. If it says that some things should not be in the life of a believer, I want to cleanse myself, repent, and strive to keep them out of my heart and mind.

I get pretty passionate, and I desire to avoid offending anyone.

I guess I've encountered this so many times, and it hurts my heart that people are missing out on so many things the Scriptures say because they've been told, "That's not for today," or "Just believe, and you'll be fine."

In reality, people feel that there must be more. They're missing many promises in Scripture that are intended for today and for them, but someone has taught them to doubt them.

I suggest to you that you believe what the Bible says on face value. Pray for them, seek them, and expect them. You know what will happen?

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”. John 7:37-39