Thursday, March 5, 2015

The Bible Is Just Another Book And It Has No Magical Powers Or Any Power At All OtherThan To Instruct People Of The Plan And Purpose Of God



A number of people have told me that they were saved from reading the Bible, but this is an impossibility because the very scriptures that they claim have saved them inform us that this is not how people are saved.

Myself, I began reading the King James Bible when I was twelve years old and was turned off from reading it. However, when I was given a Living Bible, I found it easier to read and actually read from Genesis through to Job, before realizing  the Bible was not doing it for me and I really needed to know Lord Jesus Christ.

The testimony of my grandparents is what made me realize my need to know Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, my grandmother was the one who gave me the Living Bible to read.

Some have told me that the reason I was not saved by reading the Living Bible is because it is not really a Bible but a paraphrase. If I read a real Bible like the King James Version, then I would have gotten saved. But as I have already stated, I tried reading the KJV and it turned me away from wanting to read the Bible.

After I encountered the Lord Jesus Christ in person and received the joy of salvation, what surprised me was to read one day the following words in the Revised Standard Version:
You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)
 The reason why I was unable to be saved and find eternal life reading the Bible is that it is impossible and this is exactly what the Bible says. The Bible says the only way we can have eternal life is by coming to Jesus in person.

What is amazing, though, is the number of people who reject what this actually says. They read the verses, claim the Bible is the Living Word of God, Infallible, Inerrant and reject what it actually states.

More to the point, people have shoved the King James Version in my face and told me that John chapter five, verses thirty-nine to forty actually says that unless we search the scriptures we cannot have eternal life. These people have claimed to be Pentecostals, Evangelicals, Calvinists, and Seventh Day Adventists. Yet, how deceived they are. This is what the King James Version states Jesus said:
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5:39-40)
 The King James Version says the same as the RSV and every other version that is a translation from the Greek. Only the King James language is not quite in keeping with what most people understand. Often words and sentence structure misleads people who have grown up not learning and speaking Shakespeare.

One Calvinist claimed that there is no invitation to come to Jesus in that text only an instruction to understand the doctrines of total depravity, unconditional election , limited atonement, irresistible grace and the perseverance of the saints.

How deceived can people be? But then if the god of this world is really the god these people are following, even though they claim they believe in Jesus, what are we to expect but a denial of the Lord Jesus Christ and the very truth that bears witness to Him.

There is no difference in people saying that the Bible is the Living Word of God and able to save of itself than:
  • Mormons saying they are Christians but everything depends on you believing the Book of Mormon comes from God and Joseph Smith is his Prophet;
  • or  the Muslims saying that the Koran is superior to the Bible and Muhammad is his Prophet;
  • or the Jehovah Witnesses denying the divinity of Lord Jesus Christ and rejecting that in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead;
  • or the Roman Catholics worshiping Mary and making her out to be the Mother of God.

 All these deceptions lead people astray from the truth and heading towards eternal damnation.  Unless you have a personal relationship with Lord Jesus Christ having been baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit, you do not have eternal life and you cannot know your Heavenly Father. For only Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

The Bible bears witness to Lord Jesus Christ and is essential reading for those who desire to be saved. It informs us how to be saved through faith in Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible also contains God's purpose for humanity and tells of what is going to happen in the future. However, only the Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ can save us from the power of the Evil One.

No comments:

Post a Comment