Day 2698 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Psalm 119:11 NIV

Without Scripture, how do we have any idea what we're doing or whether or not we're anywhere close to doing it right? Still thinking about this recent study that shows that a majority of self-professing Evangelicals don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God. So what do they believe? Why do they believe it? How do they gauge the rights and wrongs in their lives? What is their goal? What is their foundation? What is the purpose of their faith? And how do they know who and what to place that faith in if they're not guided by the Holy Word of God given to us in Scripture?

It just doesn't make any stinking sense! I'm not only confused, but I'm sad. I'm sad for those who are believing a faith that isn't built upon a central truth. I'm worried for those who apparently think that Christianity is subjective and something that each person gets to decide for themselves how they'll approach it. I'm scared for those who may spend a large portion of their lives doubting the Word of God and missing out on the truths and lessons and guidance found within.

But perhaps most of all, I'm angry. I'm angry that folks think that our faith shouldn't require anything from us. I'm angry that they feel as though our faith shouldn't cost them anything. I'm angry that there are people out there calling themselves Christians but not understanding what a life of Christian faith is meant to be, what Christianity is all about. How could they know what this faith is supposed to be if they won't trust in the Word that helps us learn how to live out our faith and the purpose of doing so?

The Psalmist here writes that they have hidden God's Word in their heart so that they might not sin against Him. They have stored up His Word in their heart knowing that doing so will help them know deeply the difference between right and wrong and ensure that they're following the correct path through life. They have chosen to set their hearts on following God's Word knowing that doing so leads them toward continued growth in righteousness and helps them grow to abhor sin and evil.

But today, many obviously can't say that they've stored up God's Word in their hearts so that they won't sin against Him. Instead, the message they have to share is that they've basically ignored His truth and set their hearts on this hope that they're simply doing what's right without any real gauge by which to measure their success or failure. They're simply hoping for the best and assuming God's continued patience and grace as they're bound to miss the mark from time to time.

There's no concern about growth. No concern about learning. No worry about messing up or doing what we're told in Scripture is wrong. Just a half-hearted assumption that we humans can figure out for ourselves the best way to live by faith without any external or higher guidance. We've taken the whole idea of faith and turned it into a glorified version of self-help. We use things like happiness and instinct to determine whether or not we're doing what's right. We rely on praise and applause and acceptance from the religious to verify that we're living right.

But if it's based on human wisdom or human tradition or human religion or human praise or human ability then that faith is in humanity and that's in no way what a Christian faith is supposed to be. People are so adamant to make this road easy that they've ignored the road signs, thrown out the map, and are simply winging it as they go along hoping that God will catch them when they inevitably screw up without having to put in any effort whatsoever to make sure they're doing their best to keep from screwing up.

Friends, like I said, it's aggravating because faith requires focus. It requires commitment. It demands our humility and can only help us grow through our willingness to admit that we need to but don't know how to do so correctly. Faith should cost us some things. It should cost our pride. It should cost our arrogance. It should cost our time. It should cost our worldliness. It should cost our selfish hopes and dreams and goals. It should cost our foolish vanity that tells us that we can do it alone, travel this road alone, and make it to Heaven without anyone else's help or input.

It honestly infuriates me to know that people are calling themselves Christians without knowing anything about Christianity other than what they happen to hear once a week on Sunday morning. It irritates me knowing that people are willing to use Christ's name to make themselves feel good about themselves and paint this picture that brings social approval and appreciation without any willingness to humble themselves to studying His Word and conforming their lives to do what it says.

Do folks not understand that calling themselves Christians without a heart set on growing their faith is nothing more than using His name in vain? Like I said in yesterday's post, folks just want the beautiful promise of Heaven without doing any work in their lives to make sure they're heading there. They want to die and end up inside those pearly gates without having spent any time whatsoever studying, or learning, or praying, or repenting, or trying to actually walk by faith and build a relationship with Christ.

And that's honestly perhaps the saddest part of this study. People think they're Christians yet they don't know Christ. How could they? If they don't read the Bible, if they don't believe the Bible is the Word of God, if they don't study the Gospel and set their hearts on squeezing every ounce of truth out of those pages, then how can they know anything about Christ? Because they go to church and hear a few verses that some other human has picked to talk about? Because they consider themselves good people and don't know that the Bible reminds us that there are no good people?

Friends, faith isn't an hour on Sunday morning. It's not a single prayer prayed one time a few years ago. It's not an idea that we consider when we're not busy thinking about other things. It's life. It's eternity. It's a relationship. It's a foundation. It's Scripture. It's learning and studying and growing. It's about losing ourselves in exchange for the Holy Spirit that Christ promised to those who follow and believe in Him. How can we do this if we're the ones who are deciding what's right and wrong? How can we grow in Christ if we don't even know His story? How can we ensure that we're not living in sin if we're not studying the Word of God that helps us understand what's sinful?

Faith cannot be simply some version of self-help because honestly, we suck. We can't help ourselves. We can't figure out the way to Heaven. We can't ensure we're doing what's right. We can't ensure we're avoiding what's wrong. We can't remain adamant in doing this our way because our way is what separated us from Him to begin with. As we discussed yesterday, we need help. And God knows that even better than we do. That's why He gave us His Word in the Holy Scripture of the Bible to help us learn His way, His truth, His calling, His expectations, and His promises.

Trying to live a life of faith without the Word of God that helps us learn what faith really is just can't work. We don't get to decide how this works. We're the ones who are to humbly learn from God through His wisdom and guidance. Because without them, without adhering to His truth, without setting our hearts to studying His Word, without a heart full of His truth, I can promise you that we're still living in sin and no amount of self-delusion can change that.

It's only through His Word that we can learn what's righteous and what's evil. We don't learn it from the world. We don't learn it from our friends. We don't learn it in school. We don't learn it all at once. We learn it across a lifetime spent in the Word, studying Scripture, praying for wisdom, and constantly humbling ourselves to realize that we simply do not know everything we need to know and that we never will until Christ returns to finish the good work that He began in us. This is a journey, and on any journey, we need a roadmap to help us make sure we’re going the right way. That roadmap is Scripture.

Please don’t buy this lie that you can do this without God’s Word. Because if we don’t have His Word in our hearts helping guide us in His way, I can promise that we’re doing it wrong!

#LeaveNoSoulUntold