The Bible

Thought for Today
Jan. 07

"WORD ONLY"

What is the gospel? Paul said it was "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:15-16), adding that he was not ashamed of the gospel. In other words, he was not ashamed of the power of God.

Taking all of Paul's writings together, along with the wonderful stories of his travels in Acts, it seems clear that Paul knew nothing of a gospel without power. He suggested this in a letter to the saints at Thessalonica. He wrote to them, "our gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power, and in the holy Ghost, and in much assurance" (1Thess. 1:5). And in his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, "And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. . . . And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (2:1, 4).

There have been those who believed that the Bible was the gospel, but Jesus saw a difference between the two. Remember that Paul said the gospel is the power of God, and then hear the words Jesus spoke to the leaders of Israel, "Ye do err, knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." We need to know the Scriptures (the Bible), but we also need the power of God (the gospel).

In what does your faith stand? In the Bible and what it says? But friend, the Bible has never said anything. Everything you have ever gotten from the Bible, you have read. The Bible did not speak to you. Then, what if you have misunderstood something that you have read in the Bible? What then? What if the man whom you trust as a spiritual guide has not heard from God? What if he also has misunderstood the Bible? What if the gospel of Christ is a gospel of power, not of words? What are his words worth, in that case?

Jesus told his disciples, "These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." That does not sound like a "word-only" gospel, does it? And doesn't it sound like the gospel that Paul preached, "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power"?

"Lean not to your own understanding" David counseled his son Solomon, "trust in the Lord with all thine heart." The phrase "trusting in the Lord" does not mean to trust in what men tell you about the Lord. Nor does it mean to trust in what you understand about the Bible. Trusting in the Lord means to trust in what the living God does and says. If you want to "trust in the Lord", then find out what God is doing, and trust that.

Many years ago, in a meeting in another state, the Lord gave me this question to ask of people, "Whose doctrine is keeping you from the blessings of God?" That is to say, "Whose word-only gospel is preventing you from having your own experiences with God's power?" Oh, what a bondage can be brought upon our souls when a wrong doctrine is trusted! Let us humble ourselves and seek God's forgiveness for trusting in our own understanding instead of Jesus' power! Life is short, and eternity awaits us all.

My hope is that God will forgive His people for following after vain words and forsaking the righteousness, peace, and joy of the holy Ghost. My prayer is that we will be healed from the word-only doctrines of men and be renewed in holiness by the power of God. And "for this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found" (Ps. 32:6).