THE Source Text

 

"I cannot stress this enough. So many Christians are in amazement at how much the Church has capitulated to worldly social issues in recent years, and they wonder ‘how could this have happened?’. It is simple: many Christians believed a very subtle lie that the Bible is true, but essentially out of date in its view on things like sexuality, gender roles and many other issues. Note, this lie affirms the truth of the Scriptures, but then removes the Bible from modern consideration anyway. It becomes just one of many opinions, and the least popular opinion, in this modern age. But let me say this again; if you are going to defend yourself, your family, your church, or nation from the schemes of the evil one, the Bible is the most important basis of this strategy. It’s not a source text, it’s THE source text."

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things to see as a pastor is how often people just brush aside what the Bible says about family, marriage and gender, by saying, “That simply does not apply today…” Or, “Oh, that addresses how things were in the days of Paul, but has nothing to do with the world in which we live today.” Or, “I’d like to try and live that way, but its too hard with how expensive life is today…” In many ways people brush aside the wisdom of the scriptures and then wonder why their home is in chaos, their family is a mess and their marriage is on the rocks.

But what if we just decided, as the Church, to ignore what the world says about things like sexuality, gender roles and many other issues and simply prioritize what the Bible said? What if we just gave it a go again? I know, this is a radical thought, so radical and controversial right…sadly, for many Christians today this is a radical thought. But not that long ago this was a basic assumption about how to live life, “God’s word says men should provide, so live that way.” “God’s word says women should keep the home so live that way.” “God’s word says that sex is only safe and good in marriage, so I am going to believe that and live that out.”

Has our society improved since we have rejected this wisdom? No, of course not. The more women have worked to help provide in the home, the more expensive the cost of living has become. The more that people have explored joy in sex outside of the union between a man and woman in marriage, the less attractive and more dangerous sex has become, in a thousand different ways. The more that we have tried to carve out our own way, the more that we have stumbled in the dark because we have been like the blind leading the blind.

The Bible is not a source of wisdom. It is THE Source of wisdom according to which every other so-called source of wisdom must be judged. The longer it takes for the Church to remember this basic reality, the more blows both Christians and society will feel as the result of living destructive lives. 

What would happen if you decided to try and live like Paul describes in Titus 1-2 for some time? Women keeping the home and men providing? What would change in your life, for good? You might be incredibly surprised. You may just find that there is more joy in God's simple way of life explained in the Scriptures than can be found in all the wisdom of the world.