And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Matthew 11:6
The Advantage Christians Hold
There is a season in this age for advantage. The advantage is the free access to God’s Word, complete in one volume. The advantage is a privilege that is taken for granted, for if the Christians of yesteryear had the access to God’s Word as we do today, they would rejoice in the utilization of it. Modern Christians use this season to quarrel instead about whether or not we should believe the Word of God as truth. We have a responsibility as children of God to be hearers and doers of the Word in this age, more so now than any Christian before us. This is because of the words of Christ, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48).
The Irrefutable Doctrine
Now when Jesus spoke there was a certain silence felt among the crowds. The people shut their mouths to listen to the Savior and Creator of all things. The Words of God command respect, reverence, and obedience. It is commonly understood among Christians that verses from the Bible offend many. This was no different in Christ’s day, as many were offended by his doctrine. However, it is more important to understand that the doctrine of Christ was astonishing to some, and was a doctrine with the authority of the Holy Scriptures, as was described in Mark 1:22. Something else sticks out in this verse, which is that Christ’s doctrine had authority unlike the doctrine of the scribes. It was because Jesus spoke with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and not as some who speak for filthy lucre or corrupted gain. Luke 4:32 describes the peoples’ astonishment at his doctrine because they recognized its power. This age is rife with Christians who apologize for the power and authority of the Bible, and they should not do this.
Incidentally, when a sorcerer attempted to refute the doctrine of Christ, the Apostle Paul rebuked him, and the LORD blinded the sorcerer. Understand this Christian, the sorcerer was blind already, all the LORD did was make the outside match the inside, and make his eyes the same as his heart. After all, a man will speak after the abundance of his heart (Matthew 12:34), and so the sorcerer received a just recompense for his lies and blasphemy. What, are you offended that this writer thinks that the sorcerer deserves to be blind? Perhaps the blow may be softened when you come to the understanding of the deputy who was attacked with lies by this sorcerer, who after seeing the power of the rebuke of God was “astonished at the doctrine of the Lord” (Acts 13:12). Therefore, O reader, you have no cause to be dismayed at the outcome of the sorcerer, for the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), so why would a Christian be offended when God is glorified when the truth of his doctrine is understood by the simple?
The Words of God are Precious
Listen, this is all to explain that this day is not the day of Samuel, for when the prophet was young, “the word of the LORD was precious in those days” (1 Samuel 3:1), which was because the masses did not have access to physical copies of the Bible as we do now, and there was no open vision of any prophet except for Samuel a short time later. As these are not the days of Samuel, and the Bible is certainly no longer seen as precious, we should take more earnest heed to both the things we have heard and read, and we should take great care not to let them slip from our minds. Let us read and study the Bible instead of arguing about its origins, instead of arguing about whether we should believe it or not. Paul commended the Thessalonians for their solid belief, “Thank we God…because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). You may notice that these Christians merely heard the truth from a third party, yet by letting the Holy Ghost lead them into all truth, they understood the things they heard to be the truth of Christ. We also should refrain from letting the emotions of the flesh lead us, and instead let the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth. Then we would have no problem believing that the Bible is true.
The Word of Warning
Finally, let us hear the warning of Christ concerning the witnessed truth, “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21). We have witnessed more than enough truth, dear reader. We have the entire canon of the messages of God to mankind in our hands, and can we do nothing about the words written therein? What did Christ say the other cities would have done? Repent? Is it time yet to repent for the sins of our country and our part in the wickedness thereof? We know the truth of the spiritual condition of the United States, and since we can understand this through God’s word, which has been given to us in abundance, much is required by way of reaction. Let us study God’s word again, let us pray again, and let us take responsibility as servants and soldiers of God. For to whom much is given, much is required.
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His Name Is Called The Word Of God 