We live in a world of
The church has a wonderful and yet weighty responsibility to be loyal to the way of
in a world of lies.
“The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.”
Our interpretations are always influenced by 4 factors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
“The moment you opened this book to read, a powerful set of preconditioned dynamics of perception went into operation. You are the “victim” of a lifelong, educationally enhanced learning mode that establishes you as the controlling power (reader) who seeks to master a body of information (text) that can be used by you (technique, method, model) to advance your own purposes (in this case, spiritual formation).” —M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Shaped by the Word, 19
John 10:34-36 CSB
Mark 12:36 CSB
“The overriding reason for accepting the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture is plain loyalty to Jesus…Our understanding of everything is conditioned by what Jesus taught. And that includes his teaching about the Bible. We have no liberty to exclude anything from Jesus’ teaching and say, ‘I believe what he taught about this but not what he taught about that.’ What possible right do we have to be selective?” —John Stott
Matthew 5:17-19 CSB
What are ways we can set aside the authority of God’s word in our lives?
1. The
Reader (the Pharisees)
The Legalist reader values
Mark 2:23-28 CSB
2. The Ambiguous Reader (the
)
The Ambiguous reader values
Matthew 22:23-29 CSB
“We often are not looking for a transforming encounter with God. We are more often seeking some tidbits of information that will enhance our self-protective understanding of the Christian faith without challenging or confronting the way we live in the world.” —M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Shaped by the Word, 54
Matthew 5:20 CSB
“For Jesus, jot-and-tittle loyalty to Scripture is neither legalistic nor evasive… Jot-and-tittle fulfillment of the law means avoiding anger as well as homicide; lust as well as fornication; swearing as well as perjury. It means turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, and blowing no trumpets when we make donations to charity.” —Donald Macleod
Does the Bible guide all I do?
Access resources for this series at formedbyJesus.com/scripture