Stop treating the Bible like a leaflet

One lesson I wish I'd learned early on in life is not to join large discussion forums. Very rarely is there any good content on them, only devastating amounts of ignorance, and often a lot of hatred. In one particular group, a brother in Christ asked a very simple question: "What is the doctrine of predestination?" More than 400 comments, and yet, I saw few attempts to answer. One Christian went on an angry rant, demanding to know why people asked questions they hadn't bothered to research themselves. Another shared a quote from Calvin to call him disgusting. I left my own comment, merely sharing the relevant scriptures, with a short clarification comment upon the request of the person who asked the question. I immediately got branded as a Calvinist. Because, you know, only a Calvinist would turn to the Bible for answers, right?

But I'm not here to discuss the hatred or the anger. I saw something I feel I must speak out against. Ignorance so grand that its adherents may as well come out and say "I like being ignorant". More than one person shared memes about how we are saved by Christ, and nothing more. If you know all theology, but don't have Jesus, you're no better than an unbeliever, yet if you know Jesus and little else, you're saved. My simple question to that is "and"? Ok, so, you're saved by Christ, and nothing else you know can save you. How does that answer the brother's question? He asked what predestination is, not how he can be saved. It's a perfectly valid question. He may not need to know more to be saved, but he wanted to know more.

Now, as the number of people sharing these memes prove beyond dispute, it wouldn't even take a leaflet to say that Jesus, not theology, saves. But God didn't give us a leaflet, did He? He gave us a book. And a pretty big book at that. Clearly, though we don't have to know it all to be saved, He still wants us to study it.

I confronted one of these people. He posted a quote from Spurgeon: "I may know all the doctrines of the Bible, but unless I know Christ, there is not one of them that can save me." So I pointed out that Spurgeon is actually quite well known for knowing doctrines in the Bible (and, ironically, was an outspoken Calvinist). The conversation continued a little, and he pointed out that Satan is a better theologian than any of us, yet is still a devil. Isn't that a great excuse for not studying theology? "Satan's better at it than you, so you might as well not bother."

Except, the fact that Satan is a better theologian than you ought to motivate you to become a better theologian. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8). And we see the attacks he launches. His attacks are against God's word. If you don't know God's word, he can trip you up any way he likes. But how did Jesus respond when Satan said "it is written..."? "It is written also...". It is written also. When Satan attacks, he uses God's word. You need to do that too. You can't just brush it off as "eh, I'm saved anyway", because that's exactly what he wants. If he can't sever your relationship with God completely, what better strategy than to at least weaken it a little by discouraging you not to grow in it?

One way we could rephrase the original question is "what is written about predestination?" The Bible does address predestination. And unfortunately, it is a hot topic within the Church. Calvinists have their view, Arminians have their view, Mediates have their view, it's a very divisive topic. And if you manage to avoid the divisions, knowing it is still beneficial to your relationship with God. And the Bible does say that scripture is "profitable for doctrine" (2 Timothy 3:16), even continuing in verse 17 to say that this (along with the other purposes described in the passage) allows the man of God to be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So obviously, this is a valid question. Just because Jesus is all you need to be saved doesn't mean you need nothing else. Would you treat your family like that? "I don't need to know my wife's favourite flower, I'm still married." Well ok, but for goodness sake, buy her flowers once in a while anyway. Or maybe she's not that kind of girl. Would you buy her flowers if she was allergic to them? Do you see already how knowing your wife is important to your relationship with her, even if your ignorance does not cause a divorce? How much more important is it to know God, even beyond mere salvation?

As it turns out, very important. Paul tells us "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15). The KJV renders this "study to shew thyself approved". Even if we disagree with the KJV's rendering (which it would seem most translations do), the point remains the same. No good worker can work in ignorance. You can't rightly divide the word of truth if you don't study any more than a surgeon can rightly divide the human body without years of medical school. Personally, you shouldn't trust me to apply first aid, much less perform surgery. But a well-trained surgeon could replace a dying heart with a healthy one without killing the patient. In the same way, God will not approve those who foresake doctrine for the sake of merely claiming the name of Jesus. That's called "lip service", and in Matthew 7:21-25, Jesus tells us He isn't the biggest fan of that.

Therefore, through Paul, God exhorts us "...do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature." (1 Corinthians 14:20, emphasis mine). This is why Satan falls short. In malice, he is no babe. There are crocodiles less malicious than he is. But a babe doesn't know what malice is. It knows only one thing: Dependence on its parents' care. But for us, that is not enough. We are told twice in one verse not to be babes in understanding. We are supposed to be mature. Therefore, do seek wisdom. If there is a doctrine you don't understand, don't be afraid to try to understand it. Find out what it is, and if it's true. If it's true, affirm it, and defend it if necessary. If it's false, reject it, and attack it if necessary. All this must be motivated by love. Love for God, and love for your fellow man. Then you will be better equipped to walk in faith, and when you meet God face to face, He will be pleased.