I was told by someone that the most important thing about me is what I think about when I think about God. Since I am a man with the convictions that there is indeed an Almighty Creator, this rings true to me. Anyone who claims to a be a person of faith in God is already espousing a theology.
I believe that it has always been important to study the Bible for the purpose of getting to know God and to grow in our faith. But I believe that there are three reasons why this matter more now than ever, that Christians send down deeper roots into the knowledge of the God who has revealed Himself in His Word.
1. Deconstruction is On Our Shores
Deconstruction is a particular challenge to the processes of logic and rational thought. Without getting too academic, deconstructionism began as a challenge to the authority implied in language. The basic concept is that words do not have any fixed meaning, but they are open to interpretation and therefore the real meaning rests in the listener and not in the hearer. The effect of this is to cause all knowledge and communication to break down in terms of meaningful communication of truth.
With deconstructionism on the rise, it is more vital than ever that we listen to God’s Word and take our understanding about God from the things He has communicated about Himself. What we think about God is of eternal importance. It is no wonder to me that Satan would desire to attack the very heart of communication. And deconstructionism represents a very imminent threat to the advance of Truth in our post-modern culture.
2. Our Culture is Fragmenting
I am not a prophet. I am not predicting the future. I am observing things and stating what I see. There are titles I would’ve readily used for myself 20 years ago without a shred of concern that I no longer use. I am not quick to call myself an “evangelical” because the word has become political. I am certainly not quick to call myself a “fundamentalist” because the word is significantly misunderstood. (Though I am a fundamentalist because I am a strong supporter of the fundamentals of the Christian faith, like the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ).
But the redefining of these terms is a byproduct of a bigger shake up occurring in our culture and the church. We are moving away from labels. We are moving toward individualism. We are moving away from historical sources of authority. We are decentralizing Truth. If someone were to tell me that they went to church this past Sunday, it would not tell me much about what they believe regarding God. The state of the church in America is so fragmented that it is not likely that 10 church leaders could get together and agree on a definition of church.
We need to dig into God’s Word to stabilize ourselves in the waves of culture. And we need to saturate ourselves in the Word as the unifying Truth that binds church together.
3. People are Desperate for Truth
The world is in need of Truth. But we will have nothing to give to the hungry world around us if we have not been taking in His Words. Every theist has an opinion about God, but what good is an opinion about God? How does one measure opinions? If we do not have the revelation of God through His written Word, then we can only ever share our opinions.
The Bible is the self-disclosure of God. It is an anchor that has weathered the storms of centuries of cultural moments. Our moment is a bit rocky. But I am convinced that there is nothing new under the sun. It has always been the need of the church to remain steadfastly connected to the Word. For our unity, for our strength, but also for our witness. We are not inventors of content, we are the arrows pointing to the content. We must be students of the Bible so that we are sure that our lives are pointing in the right direction.
