CAN WE SEE THE BIBLE ALIKE?

     Thank you.  And a pleasant good morning to each of you in our
listening audience. This is "What saith the Scriptures?" It is my
purpose in presenting these lessons, as well as the congregation
which brings you these thoughts, to do all things according to the
revealed truth of God's Word. We have no desire to add one thing,
nor subtract anything from what God has said through His Word.
     Some years ago I read a report by the Associated Press in which
the police said, "A man was shot to death here last night during an
argument over whether Lucifer of the Bible was male or female."  Now
this is certainly an extreme case, but it does suggest how foolish
men sometimes act in their disagreements. And often when this kind
of action is followed, other men argue that we just cannot see the
Bible alike. Some would even argue that God did not make us so that
we can understand the Bible alike.
     If God caused us to see the Bible differently, why then did He
command us to see it alike? He spoke through the apostle Paul, when
He said, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). How can we
be perfectly joined together in the same mind, if God made us to see
differently? Just shortly before He died on the cross, Jesus prayed
for his disciples, "I pray...that they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17:20,21).
How could Christ pray for men to be one if that unity was
impossible? To be one does not mean one person, but one in aims,
purposes, desires, will. Can all believers be one? Jesus seemed to
think that they could.
     The early Christians showed us that men are able to see the
Bible alike. In Acts 4:32, we read, "The multitude of them that
believe were of one heart and one soul."  There was a demonstration
of unity. If the Christians of the first century could see alike, of
course, we can today, for we have the same message that they had.
     The truth is that if we understand the Bible at all, we will
understand it alike. Surely, some misunderstand the Bible, but it is
these very misunderstandings that lead to religious divisions. We
should never make the Lord responsible for the lack of unity that is
seen today. Who is responsible for the religious division that we
see around us?  Not the Lord. So it must be man. Religious division
is brought about by a misunderstanding of God's Word, as well as
other things of equal seriousness.
     One reason for mankind not seeing the Bible alike is ignorance.
The apostle Paul spoke of the Jews, "For being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to establish their own, they have not
submitted themselves to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3).  On
the cross Christ spoke, "father forgive them; for they know not what
they do." Before Paul's conversion, he spoke of persecuting Christ
and the church through ignorance. Yet, he said that he did it in all
good conscience (Acts 23:1). Can a person be honest and sincere and
still persecute Christ and His followers? Most assured so! If Paul
could oppose the truth because of ignorance, can not man do likewise
today?  Most assured so! Many sincere people today have inherited
their religious convictions from their parents. They
have never stopped to investigate the Bible for themselves. My
friends in this audience, we must not take it for granted that our
parents knew all of the truth. And I surely wish to cast no
reflections upon anyone's parents. Perhaps they lacked the
opportunities which you now have. You have the opportunity to search
the scriptures, as we are now doing. If you do not, your ignorance
will not excuse you for not doing what God requires of you. And by
not studying the scriptures, you, too, become responsible for the
religious divisions around us.
     Deception is another cause of not seeing the Bible alike.
Almost all of the writers of the New Testament sound out warnings
against being deceived. One of the great problems has always been
the gullible element in man's nature. Christ Jesus Himself
admonished us to take heed that no man lead us astray. Paul said,
"Let no man deceive you with empty words" (Ephesians 5:6). And
again, "Let no man beguile you in any wise" (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
We could multiply these warning by many passages, where you and I
are warned not to be deceived.
     Whom shall we blame if we are deceived? Christ said, "If the
blind lead the blind, then both shall fall into the ditch." The one
who deceives shall be lost, but also, the one who is deceived will
fall into the ditch next to the deceiver. Both, the deceived and the
deceiver shall be lost.
     Another reason for not seeing the Bible alike is conceit. Paul
says the Jews of his day did not submit themselves to the
righteousness of God, but they went about to establish their own
righteousness. (Romans 10:3). The Lord says the Gentiles professed
to be wise, but they became fools when they changed the truth of
God into a lie (Romans 1:25). For this reason God gave them up; and
He will do the same with us today, if we through our own conceits,
supplant His will with our own ways and ideas.
     The church in Laodicea thought itself rich and in need of
nothing, but Christ said they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind
and naked (Revelations 3:17). Conceit prevented them from seeing
themselves as they truly were. That same kind of self-delusion is
often an obstacle to seeing the Bible alike.
     Another obstacle that prevents our seeing the Bible alike is
prejudice. Prejudice is the result of having a pre-conceived idea
before all of the facts are known. Someone has said, "Don't confuse
me with the facts, my mind is made up." I am persuaded that many in
the religious world today have made up their minds without
considering the teachings of God's Word seriously.  The Jews of the
first century did not understand the nature of Christ's kingdom
because they wanted an earthly king to lead them in war against the
hated Romans of their day. They simply could not accept Him as a
spiritual leader. They wanted a temporal ruler, a fleshly king to
sit upon David's old rusty throne and rule over this earthly
existence.  Surprisingly, there are many in our day and time that
are still looking for the same kind of kingdom. But, my friends,
Christ has never promised to set foot upon this earth again. He has
promised to take us home to that eternal place not made with hands.
I realize when I say He shall not return to establish some kind of
an earthly kingdom, I disturb a great number of people who are
looking for an earthly utopia upon this earth. But, search your
Bible carefully, and you will find that the scriptures are silent as
to Christ's returning to establish an earthly kingdom.  Perhaps, you
would like to share your information with me if you have found such
in the scriptures. I await your reply. But, I doubt that any will
offer such from the scriptures.  When, oh when, will mankind learn
that our battle is not against the fleshly hosts, but against the
spiritual rulers and powers of darkness. So states Paul in Ephesians
6:12. Ours is a spiritual warfare, a spiritual battle.  Obviously,
we must overcome the flesh and all of its enticements.  But, that is
done with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and not with
guns and tanks, battleships and armies. No, Christ shall not return
to this earth to do battle in some carnal or fleshly manner. When He
comes again, we shall meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be
with the Son of God. Read carefully 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and then
call me. Do you believe that the Lord is going to establish some
kind of earthly kingdom when He comes again?? If so, surely you have
book, chapter, and verse; a passage that so teaches.  As I said
earlier, would you not share that with me.
     We must ever cultivate a sincere desire for truth. One must be
willing to surrender whatever belief he or she has for the sake of
truth. It makes no difference what I believe, nor what you believe;
if it is different from the truth of God's word, we must put it
aside and embrace truth with all our might. The Lord says people
will perish who have not a love for the truth. (2 Thessalonians
2:10). Do you love the truth? Often men are willing to cling
tenaciously to any teaching that justifies what he or she enjoys, or
that promises to relieve us from a responsibility that is
burdensome, or that permits a craving which we enjoy. Thus prejudice
seems into our thinking and it hinders us from seeing the Bible
alike.
     Another cause that keeps men from seeing the Bible alike is
that some are willing to follow the traditions of men. Traditions
which have been added by men to the teachings of the Bible. Christ
said of the Jewish people, "In vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9).  The Pharisees
asked Christ why his disciples did not follow the tradition of the
elders, and He replied: "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye
hold the tradition of men....and ye reject the commandment of God,
that ye may keep your own tradition. Thus ye make the word of God of
none effect through your own traditions" (Mark 7:5-13). Just as the
traditions of men prevented the Jews in Christ's day from properly
understanding His word, so traditions today prevent an understanding
of the Bible. We cannot follow traditions and still see the Bible
alike. Traditions supplant the bible and they obscure its teaching.
As long as we allow them to remain as a barrier to our vision, we
can never see the Bible alike. The religious world today is running
over with the traditions of men. Things which are being done in the
name of religion without even the slightest attempt to present book,
chapter and verse to substantiate the practice. Often we hear
someone say, "Well we like it. No, we do have the Bible for
everything that we do, but we like it." What dangerous ground to
stand upon.  Jesus said there were those who were building upon the
sand and that the sand would not support them when put to the test.
Thus far this morning we have offered some reasons why men do not
see the Bible alike. Sometimes it is because of ignorance.  Often it
is because of deception. It can be because of conceit.  Or it might
be because of prejudice. And lastly, this morning, people do not see
the Bible alike because of the traditions of men. I shall pursue
this subject further next Sunday morning and we invite your interest
and study.
     Before my time escapes, I wish to inform you that the White
Park church of Christ will be engaged in a series of Lectures
beginning next week, Monday, May the fourth and continuing through
Friday evening, May the eight. We have invited five different
speakers for this series of meetings. I wish to invite each one of
you to come and be our guest. I will give you the names of the
speakers and their subjects next Sunday morning over this broadcast.
But, make your plans to visit with us. Bring your pen and paper,
your Bible and your Questions. "Come let us reason together, saith
the Lord."

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