She didn’t even know she had it. Each morning she lugged herself out of bed and neatly tucked her Bible under arm for another day of showing the world that she…well…that she carried a Bible. She carried on fascinating theological debates with any who dared, always certain to pepper her rebuttals with statements like, “Well, my God would never say/do that” or “My Bible doesn’t say that”. Her debates raged on, while the binding on the back of her Bible remained crisp and even creaked a little when opened.
She carried a Bible in her arm and a head full of misinformation on her shoulders. What she had, and didn’t know, is a disease which has infested the Church in a devastating way: UnBibledChristianity.
UnBibledChristianity is more destructive to the Church than anything the world could ever devise against us. It is brought on by a lack of genuine Bible study followed by a pattern of living one’s life according to an image of God that is unclear at best, and all too often dead wrong. It can be easily transmitted from believer to believer, with some of the most devastating results coming from parent to child transmission.
The degree of symptoms vary, but the most common include: hatred – masked as “righteous indignation”, constant whining about any topic imaginable – under the guise of “problem solving”, idle talk and gossip – renamed “fellowshipping”, over-indulgence in carnal pleasure – cleverly titled “Freedom in Christ”, and outright denial of Jesus Christ as the sole means of salvation – politely called “tolerance”.
If a pie chart of your recent reading material choices shows that the Bible is dead last and smallest slice, I would say that you suffer from UnBibledChristianity. Don’t take this accusation lightly. If you claim the name of Christ and yet do not read His Word, you are anemic and marked for death.
The day is coming when the weak will be sifted from the strong. If you base your Christianity on the words of your preacher, your pastor, your good friend, a radio talk show, a nice pamphlet, or even books about the Bible, you will blow away in the breeze with the weak. Make no mistake about that. It is already happening.
What I have said here is not simply admonishment or good advice. Please don’t take it as such. What I have said here is truth. The Bible is God’s living, breathing Word. There is no way to know Him, to communicate with Him, or to receive His instruction except through His Word. Christians who do not read the Bible are ineffective. Don’t be ineffective. Don’t have a creaky Bible.
Kim Heinecke says:
Serious truth here.
November 7th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Darla says:
This is great. And true.
Thanks.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Sarah S. Chicken says:
Wow.
Guess I’m off to read the Word… Thanks for the reminder.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Lauren says:
Oh, how I do love you!!
Girl, I’m beefing up big time ’cause I feel the wind picking up already. Don’t want to be tossed to and fro, that’s for sure.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Andrea says:
Amen.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Jenni says:
Oh, that’s powerful strong stuff, Amy! Like a fire in the belly, that is…
November 7th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Lisa Emrich says:
Good stuff Amy. I had an experience early during graduate school where I was identified as a visitor when checking out a new church. How did they know? I brought my own Bible to church. Dead giveaway. That just baffled me.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Laura H... says:
Amy, this is truly an AMEN kinda post! Now, for those of us who don’t know… what exactly is a genuine Bible study (yes, I am talking about myself here, too…). Some of us grew up without great examples and never learned how to do something like that. Any help?
November 8th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Daesha says:
I have noticed this more and more. It’s dangerous and pervasive. Makes you want to get into the Word more, doesn’t it? Amen, and preach it.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Cat says:
Hey, you’re back!!! been a while since I visited your site – how refreshing and great reminder for us all.
so glad you’ve taken up the pen…uh keyboard again Amy!
November 11th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Curtis says:
I do not buy the claim that there is no way to know God except through the written word. I believe that we get to know God through life experience, prayer, observing his creation, hind-sight on ways he has moved in one’s life and in other’s lives, etc. The way one interprets the Bible is filtered through all these things as well.
A naive approach to bible that ignores such factors distorts it as surely as the presumed ignorance of those who have a more complex view of interacting with God.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:47 pm