"There is a disposition, at the present day, to undervalue doctrinal knowledge. Many people think it of little consequence what they believe, if they are only sincere, and manifest such feeling on the subject of religion...Those principles which are believed and received into the heart govern and control our actions."
~A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females; Being a Series of Letters From a Brother to a Younger Sister. Harvey Newcomb, Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 7th ed., 1883, ebook, location 690
Please note, dear reader, that this passage was written in 1883.
Many are worried, and rightly so, by the shift in numerous church faiths. The Bible's worth has shifted at times into some sort of fantasy novel, used to soothe hurt souls at the hardest points in life.
18 For
truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from
the Law until everything is accomplished. Matt 5 Bible Gateway
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jn 14 Bible Gatewau
I am not saying so much that we must follow the exact letter of the Law--one, it is impossible for us, which is why Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was able to follow the letter of the Law but was also God, making His death for us an extraordinarily powerful sacrifice.
Rather I am pointing out that we must have the Word within us.
When we go through life, we must base our choices on whether it pleases God---not whether it pleases man. This a difficult and sometimes distressing issue.
Today, are you pleasing God with what you are doing? Are we focused on what the Word says, what it means in context...or are we basing our daily life on "what feels good", or what we have "heard is right with God". NO! Read for yourself. Find what are good pastors to read.
Remember this passage:
11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." Ac 17 Bible Gateway
These Jews make an important point...they checked what the Scriptures said to make sure what Paul was telling them lined up with the Word.
I have found that the more I read Scripture, sound authors and pastors, the deeper I understand God. I am by no means perfect...but I know God more. And knowing God more is so much more important that pleasing men. The pleasure of God and His presence and peace is deeper beyond our understanding, and so much more stable than that of man. How many times have we been hurt by our fellow humans? The human emotional and thought process is so often selfish, and because of that, it is not a reliable thing. God does not change, and He is always there for us, steadier than anything else we might even imagine to use as an analogy.
Check facts, look at the Word. Know the Word...because without it, it is too easy to be snatched away into the thinking of the World, and find oneself feeling like a bedraggled orphan at one point or another.
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