A Pedantic Journey?

A PEDANTIC JOURNEY?

There is such a thing as wresting and distorting the Scriptures. And there is such a thing as being true to the Scriptures. There are foundational truths which are non-negotiable. That is a spiritual reality. But do not be deceived. When we stand upon God's Word and truly embrace those foundational truths, the evil one does not just throw up his hands in defeat. He almost always provides a smorgasbord of self righteousness and self assuredness for those who have an "orthodox" doctrine. doctrine.
Do you see just how clever that is? The devil uses our accurate Scriptural interpretation against us by supplying our hearts with self righteousness. It is most subtle and clever and actually marginalizes our doctrinal purity by ensnaring us in other areas. And pride is a powerful poison which keeps us from Christ regardless of how Scripturally sound we are in our theology.

Do you see how clever that is? The devil uses our accurate interpretation against us by supplying our hearts with self righteousness. It is most subtle and clever and actually marginalizes our doctrinal purity by ensnaring us in other areas. And pride is a powerful poison which keeps us from Christ regardless of how Scripturally sound we are in theology.

We may be able to address the Westcott and Hort and the Alexandrian errors while at the same time being completely blind to Christ. You may be able to dissect doctrines accurately and provide Scriptural support for orthodox theology, but you still may be walking in your own flesh. Jesus is not a doctrine, and although truth is revealed in Scripture, without the Spirit we are left with making the Bible a theological math test.

If you do not know what I mean then you do not know what I mean.

There are movements and people who misuse Scripture and practice things they claim are of the Spirit and are not. And there are movements and people who are quite diligent in areas of doctrine and yet walk exclusively in those doctrines. And neither group actually seeks the Spirit in revealing their own shortcomings and deviations from Christ.

Phil.3: ¹⁰ That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

This is the man through whom most of the New Testament came forth? This is the man who met Jesus on the Road to Damascus and also received the gospel of grace from Him personally? And yet Paul says he desires to know Jesus? Didn’t he study his own letters? Did he not understand what he was writing? Does he mean he should study his letters with more scrutiny? Let us be honest with ourselves and honest with this Scripture.

Paul is revealing a great mystery and yet a great spiritual truth. Just studying the Scriptures with an eye toward systematic theology will not bring you to know Christ. You can have a list of all the heretics in your back pocket, and you can memorize the Textus Receptus, and you can agree with Calvin or Arminius in every point and still not be any closer to knowing Christ. Pursuing Christ and knowing Him with spiritual intimacy requires much more than your doctrinal mind. It is a path of great glory but which is filled with early mornings and late nights and excruciating areas of repentance and a kind of humility which almost immobilizes your very being. Go ahead and defend your doctrines and their Scriptural integrity, but if that is your claim to Christian fame then you only know Christ in the doctrinal flesh. And in that you are on the same fleshly coin as those whose claim to Christian fame lies in their emotional flesh. You are just on the other side of the same coin.

I appeal to my “orthodox” brethren to set aside an elongated season to diligent seek just how you have marginalized Christ in thought, word, and deed. I realize that kind of journey requires a level of humility that is very unpleasant and uncomfortable almost absent from any corner of the evangelical community. I admit you may have a sound doctrine especially when compared with the confusion and nonsense that is practiced all across the ecclesiastical landscape. I know that.

But the flesh is very mercurial and innovative and can mimic the voice of the Spirit. It knows the Scriptures and it can provide ample assurance to all of us that we are indeed following Jesus even when we are not.

Following Jesus must never be a pedantic journey which has no Spirit and rejects any emotion or experience at all. We must never rely on experience as the basis for God’s truth, but we must also never build walls that keep out any experience and emotion in our pursuit of Christ Jesus.