From Cover To Cover

From Cover To Cover - By Grant Phillips - http://www.raptureready.com/2018/02/06/bible-cover-grant-phillips/

 

Have you ever heard anyone say, "I believe the Bible from cover to cover?" Have you ever said that? I have. If we really do believe the Bible from cover to cover, does it show in our lives? I find myself coming up short so many times. Do you?

 

The Bible is not just a history lesson from Moses or a group of letters from Paul. It is not only biographies or a list of commands and prophetic sayings. Neither is it only a songbook or a long list of wise sayings. The Bible is so much more. It is the very Word of God.

 

"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21)

 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

 

"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:15-16)

 

"He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27)

 

The Bible, God's Word, says we are saved by grace through faith plus nothing. Yet, entire denominations teach that something must be added to be saved. God says, "...that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." (Galatians 5:2) Circumcision is just one example among a long list of works that "profit you nothing."

 

The Bible, God's Word, says we are to love the brethren. (Consider 1 John) How much honest-to-goodness, real, selfless agape love is actually demonstrated in most churches?

 

The Bible, God's Word, says that Jesus will soon return and remove His Church before He pours out His wrath on this world, but you would never know it by observing most Christians. Is there anyone in the Church looking for the soon return of Jesus for His bride? Oh yes, there are many earnestly looking for that day while they serve Him on this earth, but how many? I cannot provide a number and would even be hesitant to guess at a percentage. However, I believe I would be safe in saying that most Christians don't give it much thought.

 

If we really believed the Bible from cover to cover, don't you think most of us would be living much differently than we do at present? By the way, I most certainly am not excluding myself from these soul searching questions.

 

The Bible tells us how to be saved and how we are kept by the power of God. It tells us how to live a life for Jesus Christ. It tells us about God and the eternal state. The Bible has been 100% accurate on hundreds of prophesies, of which some are being fulfilled today, in our lifetime. Over 7,000 promises are within its pages, and God always keeps His word.

 

Where is the sleeping Church? Where is the Bride, who should be looking daily for her Bridegroom's return?

 

In my opinion, the worst thing that could happen to the Church is to live in an affluent society. We, in the United States of America, are cursed with this malady, because it has made so many of us lazy and apathetic.

 

There is nothing wrong in being affluent. There is nothing wrong with money. We can like and enjoy living in an affluent society and we can enjoy money, but let us as Christians never love either. The "niceties" of life are fine, but have they replaced the time we once spent with Christ in His Word? Our priority should always be Jesus, our Savior and Lord, over any and everything else. Unfortunately, that isn't the case with many folks. How do I know that? Their lives broadcast it.

 

The churches throughout this great country of ours are spiritually sick. Many are spiritually dead. How many of our churches actually emphasize the Bible in all they teach and do? How many are just "playing church" as a little girl would play with her doll house? In too many of our churches the Bible has been replaced with man's opinions and the social hour.

 

If all true believers really believe the Bible from cover to cover, then why do we sit back and not stand up for the Truth? Why do we rely on just a few to carry the load? Why have we allowed the filth of our society to worm its way into our homes, our lives and our churches? Why have we become comfortable with that which is not of God? Why do we give more credence to what Oprah has to say than Almighty God? How much time do we spend in the Bible and prayer?

 

No true Christian is perfect (mature), but we should always be maturing as Christians. We should be growing, but yet there is so much immaturity displayed among Christians. If we are growing in the Word, there will be more love for others, and less criticizing, jealousy and pride. Sad but true is the fact that gossip is just as prevalent in the local church as it is over the neighborhood fence. Why? There is no knowledge and acceptance of the Word.

 

The Bible is the holy Word of God, every page, from cover to cover. Ignorance of what is between those covers is a major problem with those who are called Christians. Since it takes a great deal of work to study the Bible, laziness has encouraged many to take the word of man and form their own opinions.

 

We know more about sports and celebrities than what is contained in the Bible. Now why is that? The answer is obvious. There is no interest in the Bible by many Christians. We want someone else to feed us our baby food while we pretend we are eating a steak.

 

If we really do believe the Bible, from cover to cover no less, maybe it is time we actually read it to verify what we say we believe.

 

Every true Christian should be a full-time disciple of Jesus. The first thing we reach for should be our Bible, not the remote or smart phone. The fruit of our lips should be, "Have you heard about Jesus?" The desire of our heart should be to know and follow Him above and beyond anything else. Until this is the case, I doubt we truly believe the Bible from cover to cover.

 

Grant Phillips

 

 

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