Nine Years!

This July our church has been going for nine years. I still consider it an honor and privilege to play a small part in peoples proper understanding of scripture. I said “proper” understanding of scripture. Many feel they understand the Bible. Many are adamant of certain doctrines and belief systems that even I once would have defended. There is a saying; “you don’t know what you don’t know” How true this statement is! I wish I had learned a few things earlier than I have. How sad I am to try to help others and am met with rejection. I tell our church all the time that you were successful when you tried to share the gospel or the mystery, not when someone believes. We are responsible for the telling and they are responsible for the believing. Talking to 5 people are receiving 5 rejections IS SUCCESS. God is pleased with your attempts! Don’t stop. This past Sunday a lady that has visited our church twice now asked about this thing we teach called “the mystery” I was in this exact position not all that long ago. I was never taught the mystery and since I was never taught how to read the Bible, I never learned it on my own. It took me hearing a few very interesting comments and some digging on my own to eventually figure out this whole mystery concept. What a life changing revelation! How can so many Christians be so oblivious to this teaching that is so obvious? Well, I was. We need teachers and some people willing to stick their neck out and take a shot at explaining it to someone else. In my opinion, beyond a proper understanding of the gospel of the grace of God there is no more important of a Biblical concept that you can understand beyond the mystery. Virtually all confusion in Christianity today is a direct result of not understanding the mystery. The mystery is clearly seen in scripture when one understands one of the most basic principles for proper Bible understanding which is the requirement to rightly divide. Unless your one of the lucky ones, we were not taught to rightly divide and thus did not see the mystery. I teach the mystery virtually every Sunday. I tell our church that I can’t teach it all and so they must study on their own to show themselves approved of God. These past nine years the mystery has been unashamedly taught and kept at the forefront of what we do here. Paul’s instructions for our doctrine and daily living are primary in my teaching. I am not ashamed of this, nor back down for teaching this. Yes, I teach from the entire Bible. I can do this because I understand the mystery. A proper understanding of the mystery allows you and I to properly understand the whole of scripture. Understanding that it’s all for my learning but it’s not all written to and about me is such a simple but ignored concept. My regret over the past 9 years is how few are willing to challenge their beliefs. I wrote a blog some time ago titled; “Your beliefs don’t matter” Give it a read sometime. How much of the mystery have you learned in the last year?