Lesson 28: How Does God Operate Through Words? Part 2

Last week Bob commented, “How do we separate these false prophets from those who truly proclaim the word of God? I think to do so we have to have a conception, an overall picture, of what Christianity truly is… So from the Bible, other religious writings, sermons, prayer, discussions, etc. each of us must decide what is the essence of Christianity for me? Absent this process there is no compass to navigate among the false prophets, all of whom are quoting the Bible. When anyone speaks the word of God, we have to ask ourselves “is this consistent with what I see as the essence of Christianity”? In short there is no certain answer to the question of who is a false prophet, but there is a procedure for making the best estimate that we are capable of making.”

I think there is more. In the past, in direct response to the problem of false prophets, the Church developed the “c”s – canon, clergy, creed, community, and cult. Let’s take some time to define how these work in the next few weeks. But first here is what I regard as the essence of the Bible (this morning).

You can divide the Bible into three parts: 1) the law that defines justice as the creator meant it—caring for all parts, treating each fairly, and making special consideration for the weak. 2) the prophets who observe the rationalizations that we use to ignore this justice, claiming they are necessary for life, are really evil and self-destructive. 3) the Gospel that proclaims the spirit of justice is love that does not insist on its own way but always returns good for evil even with enemies. Underlying all of this is the history of salvation that promises God’s justice will remain forever and we shall never be separated from God if we have the faith to live it.

Okay, what does this miss?

Tags: canon, clergy, community, creed, cult, false prophets