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Libraries are full of helpful information. But, you have to know where to
go to get what you need. If you're looking for an encyclopedia, it's useless
to search the biography section. The information you need is in the
building, but if you don't know where to look you won't find it.
The same goes for the Bible. Although we think of it as a single document, the Bible contains 66 individual books, each with a different purpose. It's helpful to think of it as a Divine library. And just as libraries can only help us when we know how to use them, we can only get the religious information we need when we know where to look. Consider the Old Testament book of Psalms. Several Jews composed the various songs that make up the book. While some contain prophecy, expressions of grief, and instruction, most of them are praises to God. Yet many who profess to be Christians appeal to Psalms to justify worshipping with mechanical instruments. Jewish worship found in the Old Covenant was never intended for followers of Christ, only fleshly descendants of Jacob. Jesus fulfilled the Jewish law and established Christianity (Matt. 5:17; Gal. 3:24-25; Heb. 8:6-13). Psalms was not written to explain Christian worship. Some are going to the wrong source for information. Psalms teaches us great principles about God's love and the reverent, thankful attitudes we should have toward Him. But we need to find instructions for how God wants Christians to worship. A more elementary concern is the confusion over where to find instructions for salvation. John 3:16 is a good example. Many use this passage to teach that all we need to do to go to heaven is believe that Jesus is God's Son. Here's the problem: The four Gospel accounts, including John, were not written to give the specific terms of pardon. They were written to produce faith in Jesus as God's Son, the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament and Savior of the world, so that sinners will believe and obey Christ (John 20:30-31). The Gospels give components of salvation, but they dont tell the whole story. Many mistakenly cite the epistles to tell the lost how to be saved. A tract entitled The Roman Road to Salvation claims to instruct sinners how to go to heaven from the book of Romans. But the epistles — Romans through Revelation — were written to Christians who were already saved. Paul and the other writers often reminded their audiences what they did when they obeyed the Gospel, but they did not write to tell sinners what to do. The epistles were written to help Christians stay saved. That leaves Acts. Here, for the first time, Jesus is preached as the crucified and resurrected Savior sitting at God's right hand (Acts 2:22-36). Inspired men tell sinners how to be saved for the first time (Acts 2:37-41). Not only does Acts give us a history of the early church, its the only book in the Bible that gives examples of conversion. So, it's the blueprint we must use to know how to receive forgiveness today. And when we examine all of the conversions in Acts, we find that a sinner must hear and believe the Gospel (Acts 8:26-37), repent of his sins (Acts 2:38), be willing to confess Christ as God's Son (Acts 8:37) and be baptized in water (Acts 2:38; 8:38; 10:47-48; 16:33; 18:8; 22:16) to be saved. Part of faithfulness to God involves using His Word correctly (2 Tim. 2:15). You've got to go to the right source within the Bible to get the religious information you need. |