This Is Very Important

The Holy Scriptures have only one meaning and that is the meaning God intended it to mean.
1 Corinthians 14:37 (KJV) If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

This is a two edged sword. On one hand Paul is making the case for an oracle of the Lord. This is the WORD of God. If you even think you are spiritual then recognize that this is the Word of God. On the other hand he says in verse 29 and 30 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. The Bible is not for ignorant people! Neither should it be handled by ignorant people.

Paul says at the beginning of this section, "Brethren, I would not have you ignorant" and at the closing he says, "But if a man be ignorant, let him be ignorant." Often the Bible is left to ignorant men to direct us. When men think that the Word of God is their word or that God has trusted them alone with the Word then they are ignorant. I heard Adrian Rogers resort to this tactic many times when he preached. He would preach what was clearly his interpretation then add "this is not my opinion but the Word of God." "Don't argue with me take it up with God!"

I have a good Jehovah Witness friend and we discuss the Bible nearly every day at work. Now he is a Bible-believer. He seriously believes that the Holy Bible is our guide in daily living. As they have it in the form of the New World Translation it is the perfect guide for all things spiritually. He is a student of the Word. Repeatedly he tells me what he believes and when I repeatedly disagree he shakes his head in disbelief that I would disagree with the Word of God.

"Charles," he says, "this is what the Bible says." Rarely in my discussions with him do I use the Bible as a proof text for what I believe. Why? Because he believes in the infallible and inerrant Bible and it is useless to argue with a person who equates his traditions, especially Watchtower traditions, with the Bible. You have no argument and never will. He is closed minded! He is my friend but he is ignorant!

The same can be said of a Catholic. They equate tradition with the Bible. Christ had the same problem with the Jewish rulers, they thought the same way.

James White encountered this in discussions with Dave Hunt's denial of Calvinism. He said his "denial of Calvinism is not based upon careful, consistent exegesis of the biblical text. it is based upon his traditions, which then determine the meaning of the biblical text and therefore (and this is very important) cannot be tested by that biblical text. Those traditions become infallible in and of themselves, even if they are contrary to the actual meaning of the text." -Hunt and White, "Debating Calvinism" p. 419 [emphasis mine]

This is not a politically correct post and I say it with all sincerity, when it came to the Bible, Adrian Rogers was ignorant. All who handle the Bible the way he did are ignorant as well. Boy, does this broadbrush American fundamentalism! Everyone wants to be just like Adrian Rogers, but believe you me he, at this moment doesn't want you to be like him. He handled the inerrant Scriptures deceitfully and is still teaching by video technology how to handle the word deceitfully.
Jeremiah 23:36-40 (NLT) But stop using this phrase, ‘prophecy from the Lord.’ For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “This is what you should say to the prophets: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ But suppose they respond, ‘This is a prophecy from the Lord!’ Then you should say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have used this phrase, “prophecy from the Lord,” even though I warned you not to use it, I will forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors. And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”