Bulletin Articles
Bulletin Article for August 06, 2023
“What It Means to Think Biblically”
Dwight Bowerman – church of Christ-Rockville, Fairfield, CA
As we live our lives as Christians, we must not be caught up in the world, but we must look to the Bible and recognize our human need to reach out to God. When we use the term “Biblical,” we mean that God has communicated through a written medium that which has been preserved and passed down throughout the generations from the beginning, which has resulted in a collection of works and accounts that we call the Bible. These words that have been inspired and delivered through God’s great plan teach us how to think on what is true – what is good – and what is beautiful. This is so very important because our worldview entails what we conceive about reality. This includes not only the reality of the material world but also moral reality. Is reality the product of mindless, chance processes - or is it the product of an ultimate mind? How we answer that question will affect how we perceive everything else and how we choose to live.
The apostle Paul spoke about this human need to reach out to God in Acts 17:25-28, teaching that God is not “served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist…” This view of the world is founded upon God, who needs nothing from us, but who gives to us all, life and breath and all things. Therefore, our humble recognition of God's power and grace is a vital part of choosing to live a faithful life in view of our present world.
One of the important reasons for focusing upon the questions we face in life through listening to God’s word – the Bible - is that it forces us to consider the most important issues of life by the perfect plan of our Creator. We’re taught who God is. We’re taught who we are as human beings. We’re taught why we’re here and what is our purpose. With God’s word – the Bible – we can understand where are we going and how do we know what is right and wrong? God teaches us through His word, why we should treat others with respect. Our view of the world cannot be clear and right without consideration of these important matters. And no approach to life can ever be considered adequate if we do not pay attention to God’s answers for these questions of life. Our need to search out these answers appears to be fundamental to who we are as human beings. This makes sense if, as Paul says, “in Him we live and move and exist.”
Learning to think Biblically is a challenge, but it is necessary if we are going to think God's thoughts after Him. Why would we say this? Think about Paul's point in 1Corinthians 2. “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God” (v. 11). We cannot know the thoughts of other people unless they tell us what they are thinking. Even more, we cannot know the thoughts of God unless God reveals those thoughts to us. Paul continues, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (v. 12). The Spirit has revealed the mind of God so that we might know God's will. This is the purpose of His revelation. Without the revelation of the mind of God – without the Bible - we cannot possibly begin to understand God's thoughts. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9). When God speaks His mind, we know that it will accomplish what He desires. In the same context, the Lord said through Isaiah, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (v. 11). And it is absolutely imperative that we, as God’s children, pay attention to God's revelation as we have it recorded, because therein are recorded “words of eternal life” from our Lord (John 6:68). We have got to have faith that if we search the Bible, we will find the answers to all of life’s questions and all the questions for eternal life. And that’s where faith comes into the picture. We have to have faith that the answers – every one of them – lie within the pages of the Bible – God’s word – and we have to have faith that as we find the answers within the Bible – we must trust God and trust His word.
The point is that we cannot have a clear picture of the world without acknowledging the Bible as the perfect, written standard for the way that we must think. We are not at liberty to fabricate, edit, or change any of God's will for us and then think we can say that we are thinking the way God desires. What this means practically is that the development of the Biblical view of the world must be built upon our need and desire to do God's will. Jesus, our perfect example, expressed it this way: “Yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). These inspired words of our Lord and Savior capture the essence of any attempt we should have to develop and live righteously in a world that is so wrong. It is what being a disciple is about. “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32).
We sing a song – “Trust and Obey.’ The words we sing are so very true.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.
Chorus – Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
To God be the glory.
