You have not read my OPs because if you did., you'd have read about how when we are resting in the righteousness of Christ., we end up reflecting Jesus in our lives.If you are looking at yourself and others., that is who you will reflect.. The Holy Spirit always points us to Jesus and then we can reflect Him. If you are looking at yourself and others., that is who you will reflect.
John 5:39-40 is Jesus speaking to the Jews that rejected Him.
[SUP]39 [/SUP]You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me!
[SUP]40 [/SUP]And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life.
We can make the scriptures "God" When I say that - it is really our "interpretation" of the scriptures that we make to be a "god" in our own mind. Without the Holy Spirit's revelation to show us Christ - we are at the mercy of our own religious un-renewed minds.
The Bible is not a roadmap or instruction manual in a"completed" sense. The Bible is NOT God - God breathed - inspired - YES!
But the Bible is a book about Jesus. The Bible is not an end to itself - the Bible speaks of Jesus. He is the true reality that the scriptures speak off ( This is why there is so much controversy on the Sabbath Day issue )
Jesus said "...you search the scriptures because you think ( human reasoning ) "in them" you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." John 5:39-40
Reading the Bible without wanting to know and see Jesus and the Father for whom they truly are is like reading someone else's love letters. You might learn a few things about love but this will not move you toward the one who wrote the letters.
Some people get confused because they think the Bible has all the answers - it does not. It does however point us to the One who "is"the answer! James never said - "If anyone lacks wisdom you should study the Bible - He said - you should ask God Himself. James 1:5 ( God may use a verse in the scriptures or a word from another teacher...etc )
God surely speaks to us through the Bible but if the Bible doesn't lead you to the revelation of the One called Wisdom - you will be no wiser than a Pharisee. If we look for Jesus - the Holy Spirit will reveal Him in the Old Testament.
A mis-guided ( albeit maybe a well intentioned ) teacher/preacher will use the scriptures to tell you what you should do, but a grace/Christ oriented teacher/preacher will use the scriptures to show you what Jesus has done and who you are in Him now because we are in Christ and He is in us. The Holy Spirit in us teaches/guides/reveals to us Jesus and the Father's true character and finished work.
Read the scriptures with the view to "see" Jesus. In Him we see the heart and will of the Father being manifested on this earth. The best translation of the Bible is Jesus!
He is the "living word" within the written word and He is flawless and free of translation errors. All of man's translations have biases and inaccuracies. Sometimes translators give their "doctrinal beliefs" when translating a verse or word.
The scriptures teach us that we are not living by the teaching of the Bible per se - we are living by the life of Christ in us. The source of our life is not the Bible - the source of our life is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father.
In the Old Testament when it refers to "the word of God" and the life it brings - it was in reality talking about "the living word of God" ( Jesus Himself ) - of which the scriptures are a "shadow" of the real substance - Jesus. ( another reason why strict Sabbath Keepers cannot see Christ as our true Sabbath rest now in the New Covenant - they are stuck in the shadow and think that it is the real )
The Bible shows us the ways Jesus Christ wants to express His life through us to a hurt and dying world. In Him we live, move and have our being. The Bible leads us to the source of life = Jesus Himself.
The Bible is NOT God but we can make our own interpretations of the Bible to be our "god" in our own un-renewed minds. The Holy Spirit has come in us to show us the things "of Christ" and reveal them to us - His beloved children.
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I agree with this 100%. The reason people get the Bible all mixed up is that Jesus is not being seen or revealed.
Re posting for clarification. This was emailed to me by a dear friend who wrote this in his journal. I 100% agree.
Is Jesus expressing His life through me? I think that is a question each of us has to ask ourselves about OURSELVES. The best translation of the Bible is JESUS.
Joanie...are you having memory lapses? saying I have not read your op's? if you were trying to be honest at all, you would not say something so obviously contrived and disingenuous.
funny how you would seem to think one must read YOUR op (which is really nothing more than an advert for Mr Prince) in order to know about the righteousness of Christ.
we do not rest in the righteousness of Christ. we are obedient to Christ...something that Prince leaves out of his renderings and something you might look into. if a person is actually IN Christ, they will begin to obey Him...actually Jesus says that is a test of whether or not you love Him...we do not earn salvation but we had better exhibit it
you are not making any sense here....since you know full well I have participated in your Prince attributions...as do most people here who have participated in your copy/pastes...
as the entire op is about obedience...to Christ...I guess you missed that somehow as a copy/paste did not fit in for a response...and of course how would it, when Prince never speaks of obedience
If you are looking at yourself and others., that is who you will reflect.
I guess you must be reflecting Joseph Prince then since you constantly refer to him
You have not read my OPs because if you did., you'd have read about how when we are resting in the righteousness of Christ
it may surprise you to know that every single saved human being actually depends on the righteousness of Christ...which righteousness He obtained THROUGH OBEDIENCE..
it is my opinion that you are depending on others for your understanding (well actually many people have said this to you mulitple times) and your response in this thread certainly underscores that evaluation
you can tell your dear friend that he is rather mixed up but also rather also good at talking so much you loose track of what he says and I understand he cannot be questionned...but only agreed with