Respecting the Lord
and His Scriptures
By Kit Olsen
A relevant Scripture
regarding the life
change one should
continuously
contemplate after
receiving Yeshua
(Jesus) as Lord and
Savior is found in
the book of Romans.
This is a very
important Scripture.
I believe I would
have never strayed
from the Lord in the
early days if I had
really understood
this principle:
“And do not be
conformed to this
world, but be
transformed by the
renewing of
your mind,
that you may
prove what is
that good and
acceptable and
perfect will of God”
(Romans 12:2).
[emphasis mine]
“By this My Father
is glorified, that
you bear much fruit;
so you will be My
disciples” (John
15:8).
It is not uncommon
for some Believers
after getting saved
to
disregard the
importance of
“renewing” our
minds. Instead of
living for the Lord
and reevaluating how
we should go about
living, some
Believers continue
to live with
questionable motives
or as if they never
really made a true
commitment to the
Lord. Are we really
dedicated to God or
are we trying to
control everything
around us? Are we
truly saved or using
God as an angle to
make money or
achieve notoriety?
It is always best
for us to let the
Lord be our agent
and promoter in
whatever we are
working on. If we
trust Him, and. get
out of His way, He
will bring results
into our lives that
He knows are best
for us.
As Believers,
Scripture teaches we
should work on the
disciplined
renewing of our
minds daily,
growing in the Lord,
committed to getting
a better
understanding of
God’s true will for
our lives. Sometimes
we can be so busy
doing things we
think we are doing
for the Lord, but
miss His best for
us.
An example of this
would be not
studying and
comparing teachings
in light of
Scripture, but
instead one might
function in
complacency, on
autopilot, never
delving deeply into
some important
issues of doctrine.
Or attending church
on Sunday, but the
rest of the week
spending more time
on social events and
the selfish pursuit
of personal projects
that far outweigh
the time given to
the Lord, things
that have nothing or
very little to do
with renewing one’s
mind and growing as
a Believer. When I
was first saved, in
the early years, I
really didn’t
understand what it
meant to put the
Lord first. I was
still trying to fit
Him into my
agenda. I told
myself I wanted the
Lord’s will for my
life, but it took
some time to let go
and change my daily
priorities; to
really begin to
surrender to the
Holy Spirit and
consciously begin
the process of
transforming and the
renewing of my mind.
It is a
never-ending,
ongoing process.
Salvation should not
be the only goal in
knowing God. We are
saved by faith and
faith alone, but we
should want learn
how to live our
lives to please the
Lord and follow His
teachings─as
expressed in
Colossians 1:10:
“That you may walk
worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in
every good work and
increasing the
knowledge of God.”
We can all become
vulnerable to
falling into
personal lifestyle
comfort zones, and
not regularly
reexamining the
meaning of the
Scriptures. I would
say when the Lord
commanded us to
not be conformed
to this world, but
to be “transformed
by the renewing”
of our minds, He was
sending us a very
important message.
Every person is
individually
accountable to God.
Perhaps we won’t
always be popular
when we take a
strong stand for
biblical truth, but
at least we will not
become part of the
“lukewarm” church.
Safety in numbers
has been proven to
be a myth.
Selective acceptance
and application of
only some of
the teachings the
Lord left us in His
Scriptures is
guaranteed to keep
us from experiencing
a close, personal
relationship with
Him. Messiah Jesus
spoke strongly
against continuing
to live in a manner
that would show
little commitment to
Him (Revelation
3:15-16). Anyone can
make a “profession
of faith.” But
not everyone who
makes a profession
of faith follows
through with a
repentant heartfelt
commitment;
lifestyle and
attitude change.
It is true that some
professing
“Believers” are
simply social “pew
sitters” with little
or no interest in
examining the
Scriptures, much
less applying the
teachings of the
Bible to their daily
lives. But Christ
asks more of us. We
are commanded to
love the Lord with
all our
hearts, souls and
strength
(Deuteronomy 6:5).
If we are sincere in
our professions of
faith believing God
and accepting His
teachings in the
Bible, then loving
the Lord and serving
Him should be at
the top of our lists
each day;
studying our Bibles,
spending time in
prayer,
communicating with
fellow Believers,
and sharing the
salvation message
with others. Our
love for the Lord
will spill over into
all areas of our
lives and life will
be a blessing and a
joy.
I once heard Bible
teacher David
Hocking say, “Many
people think
they are Christians
but have no
understanding of the
Bible.” The job of a
Believer is to
thoroughly study the
teachings in the
Bible searching
the Scriptures
daily, as
taught in (Acts
17:11) and to tell
others about the
“Light”─Jesus Christ
and His free gift of
salvation (Mark
16:15).
When talking about
the love of the Lord
Jesus, Pastor
Charles Stanley has
stated this about
Him: “I’ll always be
here with open arms.
When you come to the
end of your self,
I’ll be here
waiting.” When we
give up control, put
God first and yield
to the Holy Spirit,
we can to move
forward with
Christ and truly
grow as
Believers.
“I have been
crucified with
Christ; it is no
longer I who live,
but Christ
lives in me; and
the life
which I now live in
the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of
God, who loved me
and gave Himself for
me” (Galatians 2:
20). [emphasis mine]
“Examine yourselves
as to whether you
are in the faith.
Test yourselves” (2
Corinthians 13:3a).
“But do you want to
know, O foolish man,
that faith without
works is dead?”
(James 2:20).
According to
Scripture, a weak
“commitment” is a
tremendous insult to
the Lord. Messiah
Jesus admonished the
Laodiceans, and left
the same message for
us in His Holy
Scriptures:
“I know your deeds,
that you are neither
cold nor hot; I
would that you were
cold or hot. So
because you are
lukewarm, and
neither hot nor
cold, I will spit
you out of my mouth”
(Revelation
3:15-16).
Some say as long as
all Believers agree
on the “core” issues
of the faith─the
virgin birth,
the Trinity, the
death and
Resurrection of
Jesus, the
One God of the
Bible, the return of
Messiah Jesus,
salvation, eternal
life, and eternal
punishment, that one
can interpret
Scripture a
number of different
ways. To imply that
other teachings in
the Bible can be
treated with less
responsibility, with
less respect than
the “core” issues,
and be given
multiple meanings is
in essence usurping
the
authority of the
Bible, and
rewriting the
inspired, inerrant
Word of God.
We
should always keep
in mind that every
passage in the Bible
has only one primary
meaning. However,
there may be many
applications.
Every doctrine found
in the Bible is
absolute. No
doctrine can have
two or more correct
meanings. It is
always the
responsibility of
every Believer to
diligently study the
Scriptures so he has
the correct
understanding of
every doctrine and
passage in the Bible
(2 Timothy 2:15).
“But know this first
of all, that no
prophecy of
Scripture is a
matter of one’s own
interpretation, for
no prophecy was ever
made by an act of
human will, but men
moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke from
God” (2 Peter 1:20).
“For God is not a
God of
confusion, but of
peace” (1
Corinthians 14:33a).
Put on the new
Self
“Set your mind on
things above, not on
the things that are
on earth. For you
have died and your
life is hidden with
Christ in God”
(Colossians 3:2).
“Do not love the
world or the things
of the world. If
anyone loves the
world, the love of
the Father is not in
him. For all that is
in the world, the
lust of the flesh
and the lust of the
eyes, and the
boastful pride of
life, is not from
the Father, but is
from the world. And
the world is passing
away, and also
its lusts; but the
one who does the
will of God abides
forever” (1 John
2:15-17).
As Believers, we are
called to be
disciples. A
disciple is
an
individual who
believes and follows
the teachings and
truth of Messiah
Jesus, a true born
again believer. As
we grow in Christ we
increase our “walk”
and our devotion to
Him. If we truly put
Christ first every
day, our love and
desire for
activities that take
us away from Him
will decrease. Being
“still” and
communing alone with
the Lord through
focused prayer and
committed Bible
study will become a
top priority, not
multiple “social”
activities that
distract us from our
spiritual growth.
This is an important
aspect of renewing
our minds.
If we do not
have a strong prayer
and study time, how
can we serve the
Lord and accurately
decipher the
messages in the
Bible? God is always
available to us as
we seek to make Him
the top priority of
daily lives.
How seriously we
take the Word of
God, how we think,
what we think, how
we behave and live
our lives is a
reflection of just
how devoted we are
to the Lord, and how
authentic we are as
Believers.
On November 21, 2010
I heard Pastor
Darrell Bowen give a
great, heartfelt
sermon at Calvary
Chapel Green Valley
on the importance of
actually applying
the Word of God
to our lives every
day. He said,
“Without application
there is no
transformation.” His
delivery was
dynamic, filled with
love and passion for
the Lord─a message
that should be
preached in every
church throughout
America, and often.
He is absolutely
right. When we don’t
study and know our
Bibles, and fail to
truly apply
its teachings to our
personal lives we
cannot genuinely
grow spiritually,
reap the blessings
of the Lord or be
effective witnesses
and give our best to
Him.
“But be doers of the
word, and not
hearers only,
deceiving
yourselves. But he
who looks into the
perfect law of
liberty and
continues in it,
and is not a
forgetful hearer
but a doer of the
work, this one
will be blessed in
what he does” (James
1:22, 25). [emphasis
mine]
“But we will devote
ourselves to prayer,
and to the ministry
of the word” (Acts
6:4). End Notes
Excerpts from: A
Better World Is
Coming Soon - Don’t
Miss It, Kit
Olsen, pages
174-178.
A Better World Is
Coming Soon - Don’t
Miss It, Kit
Olsen
Paperback:
290 pages
Publisher:
World Bible Society
(April 29, 2011)
Language:
English
ISBN-10:
0578070480
ISBN-13:
978-0578070483
http://www.amazon.com/Better-World-Coming-Soon-Dont/dp/0578070480/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1310068961&sr=1-1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/a-better-world-is-coming-soon---don't-miss-it?store=book&keyword=a+better+world+is+coming+soon+-+don%27t+miss+it
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