Lately I've been thinking about common words used in Christian settings. For instance, faith is used often, and so are trust, love, and obedience. But how often do we actually dig into the Bible and find out what these words really mean in their biblical contexts? I often wonder if the well-meaning individuals who often use these words (me included) really know what they mean. It seems that as long as we heard it said in church, by a Christian leader, or in a Christian book, we can easily use the statements without worrying about their biblical truth.
This leads me to think about what we say to others who may or may not be Christians. Are we too quick to use cliches that others may not understand? When we talk about faith, are we using the word to loosely, to imply that faith in anything is better than no faith at all? What about trust? Do we make it clear that trust in God is most important?
I think this is a perfect opportunity to look at some of the concepts that are often thrown around in Christian settings, to examine them next to the truth of Scripture, and to clarify that our ideas about those concepts come from God and not from human understanding.
I'm already thinking up another post titled What It Really Means: Trust. Maybe looking at a few of these concepts will help us to
"Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Thank you for your thoughts. I look forward to your next post.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right!!! We too often listen and if it sounds religious we accept it as gospel. There are so may people that are lead astray because the don't verify what is being said. When a preacher makes a statement we must varify it in the light of God's word and not take for granted that it is the truth!! Thannks for the post! Love you!!!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I don't get on often but when I do I am always surprised by how applicable your writing is.
ReplyDeleteDon't be as infrequent as me, your stuff is awesome.