You’re a Fool If You Try to Live by the Bible - Part 2

Also available in video format on YouTube Channel E R Potter Podcasts Captions in English and Portuguese

In Part 1, I talked about various ways people foolishly deal with the Bible, the Word of God. Obviously, anyone who does not believe God even exists is at the front of the line of fools. It’s also foolish to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow, or to try to follow it by human wisdom and personal will power.

The Bible can only be followed by those who have been born again and who have received the indwelling Spirit, Who gives them the understanding to know what the Word says, and the power to live by what it says.

To conclude this topic, we need to recognize how even born-again, serious Christians can approach God’s Word and our discipleship in a foolish manner. I call it the “What’s-in-it-for-me?” attitude towards following Christ.

I became acutely aware of this fact in Ehrman’s book I mentioned in Part 1. The title, Armageddon, what the Bible really says about the end, caught my eye in the bookstore. I’m currently teaching the Book of Revelation on Wednesday nights at church, and I knew nothing about the author and had never heard of him. The book cover describes him as “a leading authority on the New Testament”, “a distinguished professor of religious studies”. The New York Times Book Review calls him “A humane, thoughtful and intelligent historian.” I bought the book, figuring the author’s credentials were a guarantee I would pick up valuable insight into the book of the Revelation.

It only took a few pages of reading for me to get the gist of his position: he’s an agnostic atheist for whom the whole book of the Revelation is a fantasy. He says it was only written to encourage followers of Jesus in the 1st and 2nd centuries under the severe persecutions of Roman emperors. To him, the promise of a future glory, with crowns and jewels and streets of gold, is nothing more than an imaginary carrot dangled in front of embattled believers to help them get through the trials and tribulations of this life. In short, his view of the book of Revelation has nothing to do with us today, and it only served to give a false hope to the early Christians, telling them, “Hang on faithfully in your poverty now and receive unfathomable riches in eternity; you who live in slavery now will sit on thrones in Christ’s kingdom ruling over those who oppressed you.” (My paraphrase of his message.) The insight I gained, however, was not into the book of Revelation, but into the author himself as a fool of a different sort, a very educated and highly esteemed fool, who is presented on the book cover as “a distinguished professor of religious studies at the Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.”

Ehrman’s a fool for thinking that people like me are only attracted to Christianity by the prospect of the promised glory, power, and riches awaiting them in eternity. Paycheck time for the faithful, payback time for their present enemies! While there are many who may fit that description, most Christians I know do not. I’m one of those who rarely think about the streets of gold and crowns of glory. My service to the Lord is relationship-based, not reward-based. The illustrious professor of religious studies may know a lot about religion, but he knows nothing of a real relationship with Jesus. Ehrman not only dismisses the book of Revelation, he says the entire Bible is fiction because, in the end, God doesn’t exist.

Only the Lord knows how many millions of believers are like me in this regard, but let’s think about Ehrman’s view that Christians only follow Christ with the thought “What’s-in-it-for-me?”

I trace the appearance of that attitude all the way back to the original sin in the Garden of Eden. Satan tempted Adam and Eve and they fell right into his trap. “Eat from this fruit…here’s what’s in it for you. You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Even the Apostles were not immune to this temptation. In Matthew 19, Jesus told a rich young ruler, “Sell all you have and give it to the poor,” and explained to the disciples that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom. That led the apostle Peter to ask, “We’ve left everything to follow you. What will there be for us?”. Jesus then told a parable about the kingdom of heaven. In that parable in Matthew 20, at the end of the day, workers in a vineyard who worked only one hour got the same pay as those who worked 12 hours. Those who complained about that inequity received a severe rebuke. “What is it to you if I give these last workers the same pay I gave you?” That is a short summary of a more complex teaching, but it comes down to this: if we’re following Jesus with an eye on the paycheck and we’re concerned about whether someone else ends up with a bigger reward than we do, we’d better get over it.

To highlight how pervasive this “what’s in it for me?” attitude is, at the very same time Jesus was instructing the disciples on this point, James’s and John’s mother comes to Jesus and asks Him to promise her that in the kingdom, her sons would sit on thrones, one on His right and the other on His left. Don’t mothers always want the best for their children? Jesus said, “When we get to Jerusalem, I’m going to be flogged and crucified. Do you have a preference about which son gets crucified on my right and which son is crucified on my left?” (My paraphrase.)

The problem is still with us today. Why wait until Jesus comes for power and riches? If we’re busy building the kingdom of God, then as children of the King destroying the kingdom of evil, we should expect to enjoy the spoils of war now. Preachers’ ministries are measured by the size of their megachurches and campuses. Examples of luxurious lifestyles evidenced by mansions and private jets abound among preachers. One could easily confuse their lifestyle with that of politicians.

Paul warned Timothy about those who present themselves as ministers of the Word of God,   “who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.” I Timothy 6.5

Peter instructed pastors and religious leaders to not shepherd God’s flock 7.32 “for the money, but eagerly.” I Peter 5.2-3

I don’t have to call names or cite instances of those in ministry who evidence an ulterior, material motive for proclaiming the Word of God. This greed for power and possessions leads to division and strife, immorality and sexual impurity.

Paul warned Timothy of those

[who hold] to the form of godliness but [deny] its power. Avoid these people! 6For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, 7always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 

2 Timothy 3.5-7

For these, proclaiming the Word of God is a means to a material, selfish end, and it’s no wonder they are always learning and never coming to the truth. In their desperation, they keep looking for something new, something that will set them apart from others.

For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.

2 Timothy 4.3

In their desire for power and prestige, these people who purport to be presenting the gospel, resort to anything to gain attention: Paul wrote Timothy more than once to avoid irreverent speech (1Timothy 4.7; 6.20; 2 Timothy 2.16). The pulpit is no place for coarse language, or props and antics in the style of a sideshow designed to attract an audience.

Such people must always have something new, even to the point of provoking endless, pointless debates over words that are designed to attract more followers rather than build up listeners in the pure Word of God. There’s no shortage of conspiracy theories or “secret” messages hidden in the Biblical text that are “decoded” to gain an audience. Even the pagan Athenians were keen to hear some new theory or conspiracy. Acts 17.21

 “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.”

What’s the latest discovery to be promoted? What is it that God has kept hidden until now? It’s foolish to claim we need something new. Peter said God has already given us all we need for living a Godly life.

“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

 2 Peter 1.3

In his letter, James distinguishes between the heavenly wisdom he calls peaceable, and the “elite” wisdom of an earthly nature, which he calls evil and demonic.

" Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness. 14But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. 17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. 18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace."

James 3.13-18

           You’re a fool if you enter the ministry as a profession, preaching for profit, as means of making a living, or seeking to gain the power of a position and the influence of a title instead of seeking to guide others to know God and His Word.

CONCLUSION

We cannot judge the souls of men, whether they identify as believers or not. That is left to the Lord on Judgement Day. He knows the heart of every person. But we can, and should, judge their fruit. People’s words and actions either conform to what the Bible says or they do not; we cannot judge motives of others, but we can judge their methods. The Scripture is clear about what a follower of Christ will be like. The fruit of the Spirit cannot be artificially produced, although there are many who try. Only the Holy Spirit can produce genuine love, real joy, and abiding peace. Kindness, gentleness, and goodness mark the lives of those whose hearts are transformed by the Word of God. They will have the patience, self-control and faith to withstand any trials that come their way.

To the majority of the world, Bible-believers are fools, but through the Bible Jesus says unbelievers are the real fools, and He’s the one who will have the last word on Judgement Day.