The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Biblical"
What does it mean to be "Biblical?" A friend and I recently discussed the issue. All sincere believers in the Lord Jesus Christ seek to walk accordingly. But what does it mean? Our Savior Himself answered the question.
"Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. But they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).
To be Biblical first and foremost means that we seek to know and exalt the Savior as the heart of all Scriptural truth. Every subject we consider must begin with the Person and work of the Lord Jesus as its theme. Be it love, truth, grace, mercy, faith, salvation, righteousness, obedience, prayer, history, prophecy, forgiveness, wrath, judgment, chastening, or any other Biblical issue, the Lord Jesus must initiate our consideration. He must also be maintained as the theme, and there will be no end in knowing Him as the truth of all things. "I am… the truth" (John 14:6).
This means we may sometimes think we are being Biblical when we actually are not. Indeed, I can ponder prayer without emphasizing the Lord Jesus as the source, means, and purpose of all praying.
"God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
"For through Him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18).
"Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you" (II Thessalonians 1:11-12).
We can know much about prayer, or any other Scriptural revelation. However, if do not know Christ as the heart of truth about each matter, we miss the point. "They testify of Me" declared the Lord Jesus of the Scriptures (which at the time only included the Old Testament, which proclaim Him without ever actually naming Him). Only our devotion to the Christ-exalting and revealing theme of Scripture grants us a justifiable claim to being Biblical. Thus, we open the Book to search for the Lord Jesus, trusting that knowing Him regarding any Biblical subject we consider will grant us both understanding and the enabling to effectively respond. "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).
An author once told a prospective reader he had written a new book. He planned to give the gentleman a copy. "Oh, is it about the American Revolutionary War, like your last book?" the man asked excitedly. "Well," the author began to respond, "It's actually about…". The man interrupted, "Oh yes, I love to read about Washington, and Patrick Henry, and the the battle of Bunker Hill!" The author resigned himself to the fact that the gentleman would not likely be interested in his new volume on the Great Depression. He kept the book to himself, and the man did not benefit from his work on a different issue.
The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible to glorify and reveal the Lord Jesus (II Peter 1:21; John 15:28; 16:14). We read out of context and limit our understanding if we fail to maintain this holy determination regarding the Bible made glorious because of the Christ whose wonder glimmers on every page. Let us then open the written Word to find the living Word. The Lord Jesus serves as the center and circumference of all Scripture, and we will be genuinely Biblical only as we devote ourselves to seeking Him as the great and glorious theme of God's great and glorious Book.
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
(Luke 24:27)
Weekly Memory Verse
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).
6224
Weekly Memory Verse
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).
6222
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