The modern day church has the strange idea that we can somehow separate Jesus from His Word, thus allowing professing believers to subtly maintain their autonomy from God’s authority. But the Scriptures clearly teach that you cannot love Jesus apart from loving and obeying His Word. Study it out for yourself: Matthew 12:50; 13:23; Luke 6:46; John 8:31-32; 10:27; 14:15; 14:21; 14:23-24; 15:14; 18:37. The Living Word has forever committed Himself to the written Word. However, today’s separation of Jesus from His words is not new. Charles Spurgeon, no stranger to doctrinal controversy, wrote,
…let us see to it that we set forth our Lord Jesus Christ as the infallible Teacher, through His inspired Word. I do not understand that loyalty to Christ which is accompanied by indifference to His words. How can we reverence His person, if His own words and those of His apostles are treated with disrespect? Unless we receive Christ’s words, we cannot receive Christ; and unless we receive His apostles’ words, we do not receive Christ; for John saith, ‘He that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.’ We must love and reverence all the teaching of our Lord; and we build our houses on the sand if we do not. (An All-Around Ministry, p. 373)
Older
Top
