The intent of the scriptures is to reveal a God who is
infinitely loving, good, and loyal to His creation. This revelation, though
often missed and obscured by the ignorance of certain of the scriptural
writers, is perfectly revealed, unhindered, in the person of Jesus Christ!
What the scriptures do *NOT* seek to reveal are their own
perfection, and internal harmony. The truth of God's nature, from beginning to
end, is what they are attempting to communicate. Again, this message is often
missed or misinterpreted, due to the pre-Christ understandings of those who
wrote the scriptures, but is ultimately at the heart of all that they seek to
reveal. Even when things are gotten wrong, the right answer is always God's
love.
What we often do, however, in the name of apologetics, is
use the scriptures to prove the perfection of the scriptures, instead of to
reveal the true nature of God. This is where we often fall into error and
unnecessary debate, for the scriptures are not seeking to prove their
perfection, but to reveal God as infinitely loving and good, which is an
understanding that sometimes runs contradictory to the writer's understanding.
The beautiful thing about God is that He has allowed men - yes, even sometimes
ignorant men - to tell His story, but has finished and perfected it Himself, in
the person of Jesus Christ. Every misconception and every improper view of
Himself is done away with through the revelation of His Son.
When we make the scriptures themselves the point of the
scriptures, however, we are not left with perfection. When we see, however,
that their purpose is to reveal God as loving, even when that means contradicting
themselves, we are left with nothing but perfection.
i think we have missed the message in much of scripture...belittling god and making it more self help...as an elder team we have been discussing things just like this alan...
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