Christian Faith - Understanding what God wants from you
Our priority is to understand what God wants from us
We have the Bible, God’s message to mankind. Hence, it is important to know and understand what God wants from us through His word, the Bible. The good thing about that is that it is free to read the bible, all it requires is your time to read and understand the word of God.
Our responsibility to understand what God wants from us is vitally important, and we can only know this by reading and understanding His word of truth. (John 17:17)
The scripture is God's Authority
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness – 2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)
There is no doubt, if ever there was question about the bible and the Word of God, that it came from God, written by men, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Now, if that confuses you, please see the further write-up on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God. For now, All scriptures, in the bible, are from God.
Having established this, we need to aspire to gain the knowledge of His word – through studying it.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)
Our diligence resides in presenting ourselves as approved to God, as workers who are firstly not ashamed of Him and what His words stand for, and secondly, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Rightly dividing means to search the scriptures and understand it in the way that God had intended it to be understood, not in our way or interpretation, but according to His will and His way. Therefore, to understand what God wants from us required studying the Bible.
9 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:19-21 (NKJV)
Peter tells us that the prophetic word is now confirmed – meaning fulfilled (apart from Jesus’ return which is yet to happen). However, what is of importance here is that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation – this means that we should understand it in the way that God has written it for us to understand. Hence, we need to be diligent in studies and rightly divide the word of truth.
Prophecy also never came by the will of man – so it is not for our own interpretation.
Why are there so many different churches out there? Why are there so many different doctrines out there? Simply because man has introduced their own teachings – their own interpretations of the truth.
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. – 1 John 4:1-3 (NKJV)
Be careful of anyone bringing you false teachings. Test every word against the bible – which is the only Truth – not against what man says, but what God has written for us.
[Note: The Antichrist refers to anyone or any teachings that opposes Jesus. This does not refer to what movies or propaganda has shown to mislead people. There will be a further write-up on this later.]
There are multiple occasions where scripture warns of false teachings – false teachings also results from private interpretations
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (NKJV)
2 Peter 2 – continues to reveal the doom of false teachers.
Let’s be workers, Christians, searching for the truth. Understand what God wants from us by rightly dividing His word, and we will draw nearer to Him and worship Him in the right way!