Did You Hear the Christians Tremble?
In the 1950's when my wife's grandfather G. Mark Denyes started ministry he felt prompted by the Lord to read only the Bible for the first several years of his ministry.
He later learned that doctors listen to only a good heartbeat for the first few years of their studies. In this way, later on, they immediately recognize a bad heartbeat when they hear it. In this same vein - those who study Scripture can clearly see whether or not teaching is Scriptural or not.
When leaders today and through Church history have asserted heretical teachings, they can often, easily be seen as unscriptural. Especially to those who know and love the Word of God. But it takes that extra effort or discipline in our lives to study and memorize Scripture to "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15).
When we get the Scripture wrong, there is a problem with us, not the Word of God. In the words of T.D. Jakes, "The Word works when you work it!" Scripture declares, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." (Romans 3:4).
Paul writes to his apprentice Timothy: "From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:15-17.
Paul expressed the authority of Scripture when he wrote the Church in Galatia saying, "even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" (Galatians 1:8). The power of Scripture is not even linked to the pillars and foundational leaders of the early Church (or any leaders of the Church today!), rather it rests in the power of God.
Scripture tells us "The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils." (Psalm 18:15, NIV). If this is what one breath of God accomplishes, what can one word from His mouth do?
One of my favorite Scripture verse for nearly a decade has been, "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2). The Quaker denomination is one that has been known in Church history to take this Scripture very seriously, thus they were dubbed the "quakers"!
When is the last time you trembled in awe of God's Word? A good rumination of Psalm 119 should help us all!
