restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Call Me a Biblicist If You Like

 David Alan Black 

“The Law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19:7).

I have heard that the ancient Hebrews held the written Word of God in such esteem that they refused to write down their reflections upon it, lest they tempt later generations to consider their words as important as God’s Law. Later on, man-made interpretations, meant to bolster the Law, were written down. These commentaries on the Law, collected in the Talmud, eventually assumed greater authority than the Torah.

I recall visiting a Yeshiva in Jerusalem where young rabbis were being trained. I noted the strange absence of the written Torah and a strong preference for the study of the Talmud. It seemed that the superiority of God’s written Word over man-made traditions was a long-forgotten truth.

Those who claim to have reached stratospheric spiritual heights through reading the words of mere men should be prepared for a catastrophic fall back to earth. Too often we seek the opinions of this or that biblical commentator before studying the text itself. However, our feeble writings cannot compare with the Law of the Lord, which is perfect.

In a certain church a large picture of the head of Christ stood behind the pulpit. One Sunday morning the preacher was late entering the pulpit. A little girl in the congregation asked her mother, “Where is the man who stands so that we can’t see Jesus?” We who teach and preach dare not stand in His way. Are not the Scriptures worth our utmost in prayerful concentration in order that we might know the glory of the Person of Christ and the reason for the hope that is in us? Only what is set down in the Word of God shall abide forever.

Modern thought over divine revelation? May it never be! God has revealed the truth in His Word. No other writing is so worthy of our attention. Call me a biblicist if you like, but I seek no other counselor or guide in life.

As we feed upon God’s Word, as we draw our strength from Him, as we depend upon His Spirit and walk in the way of His leading – to such an extent will we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

May 22, 2005

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. If you would like to know more about becoming a follower of King Jesus, please feel free to write Dave.

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