Rightly Handling the Word of Truth

"Did you know that everything I was taught about God as a kid was a lie? Did you know that God actually likes us and gives us grace?"

This statement got me wondering. How in the world could this be a revelation for someone who actually grew up in the church? How could God’s love come as a surprise?

Regrettably, all too many people already know the answer. Regardless of what a church preaches, it is our actions that resonate most clearly. An environment of judgment, works-based salvation, keeping up appearances, and an almost paranoid avoidance of anything remotely “sinful” will leave anyone feeling like God is simply out to get them.

Then again, there are many churches and many pastors who choose to preach nothing but love and grace. They become instant stars in our world and sell books and have fancy TV coverage of their sermons. Some have become so popular that they have to buy their own stadiums to hold all of their followers.

These guys champion love and grace. Surely their followers will never feel the doom of the “big, bad God.”

But can this really be the model for preaching “the true Gospel?” Is love and good feelings really all it’s about?

It seems everywhere I go, people are in search of "what the Bible really says." Nobody has ever seemed to find that person or that church that has all of the answers. But it seems that everyone has found someone or some church that DEFINATELY does NOT have the answers. At least so their opinion goes.

All of which culminates to remind me how difficult it really is to "rightly divide the Word of Truth."

Mishandling the Word of God can have profound effects in someone’s life. (as the comments above easily illustrate) After all, your relationship with your Creator, your Savior, your Hope, and your only true Friend is by nature deeply personal and will affect every aspect of your life. One would expect that any teaching that influences that relationship would be a powerful one.

So the Truth must exist somewhere between the extremes outlined above, but the question is “where.” Even if we find the balance between responsibility and grace, that is certainly not the only principle inherent in the Gospel. Each time I sit down to explore the Word of God, it seems that there is an entirely new aspect to it that I had not previously considered.

So how can one accurately divide the Word of Truth? Who knows. So, may the Holy Spirit guide us and God’s grace save us. We have a lot to learn.