While reading Acts, chapter 19 caught my attention. The first part on the chapter tells how Paul met some people who hadn't heard of anything following John the Baptist. However as soon as Paul explained that Jesus had come, they received that new revelation.
It reminded me of passages of scripture that people quote, but take out of context or misunderstand. Some that this happens most often are Matthew 18 and Jeremiah 29:11. Matthew 18 is constantly applied to a prayer meeting when it is actually about church discipline. People love to claim verse 11 but don't claim the other verses in the chapter--that are even in the same paragraph!
I am glad we can act on what we understand even if it's not a full understanding. Revelation is progressive, both through the Bible and through our lives as we grow in Christ. But it really bothers me when someone is shown an error or incomplete understanding and yet continues to misquote or misapply it. They don't do what those in Acts 19 did or the Bereans in Acts 17.
We need to keep on peeling the onion. We may have a good understanding of something but there's always another layer under there. There's always more. We can always go deeper.
We need to continue to learn and study and grow. We need to stop hanging on to old, incomplete revelation. We need to set an example for those around us and not hold them back with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment