The Bible is the book about how God has acted in and through human beings. It contains more testimony, examples, instructions, and exhortations than explanation or theology. One book in the Bible is even called “The Acts of the Apostles,” not “The Theology of the Apostles.” Theological knowledge should never replace daily discipleship.
The Bible is more about having a relationship with God than about trying to figure Him out. It describes what God has said and done throughout history. It praises Him. It testifies to the ways He has sought to reveal Himself to people, heal them, lead and guide them, restore them to an intimate relationship with Him, and unite them heart-to-heart with one another.
The Bible reveals Jesus Christ as Lord, as “Emmanuel — God with us.” It focuses far more on experiencing, surrendering to, and obeying God than on explaining Him. It even explicitly states: “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up,” (1 Corinthians 8:1) and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
The purpose of the Bible is to train people to continually rely on God and to love and obey Him wholeheartedly. It’s not a book designed to be analyzed and picked apart. It’s a book that brings awe, adoration, and transformation to those who persistently read it with a humble, open heart. It leads them into an eternal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
I affirm, believe in, and rely on the theological truth presented in the Bible and ancient Christian creeds. I strive every day to align my thoughts and actions with those truths and be led by the presence of the resurrected Jesus living in and through me.
Creeds without Spirit-led deeds are dead religion. (James 2:17) Most Christians embrace the theology behind Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. They say that they believe Jesus is risen. However, many live like He’s still shut up in His tomb. Instead of relying on the living Jesus to personally lead and direct them throughout each day, they passively trust in church attendance and hearing a preacher’s weekly sermon. How we, who call ourselves Christians, need to move beyond theology into daily following and obeying “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
