KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE MATTERS
In one of Jesus’ powerful teachings known as “The Parable of the Sower,” He made two compelling statements:
Whoever hears the message about the Kingdom, but doesn’t understand it, is like the seed sown along the path — the Evil One comes and seizes what was sown in his heart… However, what was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the message and understands it; such a person will surely bear fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:19-23 CJB)
According to Jesus’ teaching, there are four types of listeners, and only the “good listener” is the rich soil in whom God’s Word takes root and bears much fruit for His Kingdom.
The Bible is God’s revelation, inviting us to taste an ever-increasing knowledge of Him and live the most fulfilled life possible.
Being avid students of the Bible helps us:
- Understand the Gospel of the Kingdom,
- Distinguish Truth from Error,
- Discern Unbiblical Mindsets, and
- Become Effective Disciples of Jesus.
Let’s look at each one of these benefits closely.
1. Understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom
Jesus only taught one gospel: The Gospel of the Kingdom. The entire Bible revolves around it. It is unique. It is exclusive. It stands alone far above all religions ever known to mankind. It is a Kingdom. It has a King. It has Laws. A language. A peculiar lifestyle. It demands complete loyalty. Total surrender of our own will to the King. It exists among us, inside us, and is within our reach. This is the Gospel that Jesus preached. Confessing Jesus gets us to the threshold of His Kingdom. Delving deeper into the Bible allows us to know God more intimately.
Throughout history, different “gospels” have been taught, emphasizing good habits such as charity, prosperity, generosity, and positivity. The Gospel of the Kingdom includes such attributes, but it is far beyond “good” because it is not of this world nor man-made. It is divine.
The Gospel of the Kingdom is about establishing the will of King God on earth.
This is the Gospel that Jesus preached and commissioned His disciples to continue spreading. It demands repentance, obedience, and complete surrender, even to the point of death. Jesus’ kingdom message is summarized in one word―repentance:
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17 NLT)
To repent means to turn away from sin. In Hebrew, repentance is Teshuva. To make teshuva means to return to God, to return home into the arms of our Heavenly Father.
What does being a citizen of God’s Kingdom look like?
It is putting God first, where He is “número uno”, number one, above all else, including your spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, job, career, hobbies, pets, and yourself. When He is first, everything else in our lives comes into alignment.
But seek first His kingdom And His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB)
What traits and values do citizens of God’s Kingdom exhibit daily?
The traits resemble those of our heavenly Father: justice, righteousness, mercy, love, and holiness (set apart).
Righteousness and justice arE the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before You. (Psalm 89:14 NASB)
But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 NIV)
2. Distinguishing Truth from Error
Stark contrasts between the Biblical text and man-made doctrines are easy to spot. That which looks like the truth, sounds like the truth, and apparently acts like the truth is dangerous territory to engage in.
Jesus only preached one sermon known as the “Sermon on the Mount” found in the book of Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Here, the Lord Jesus amplified the meaning of the Torah (laws) given to the Jewish people, commonly referred to as the “Law of Moses,” which includes the first five books of the Bible. In Hebrew, Torah means teaching or instruction. In a series of “you heard it said… but I say…” statements, Jesus expanded the understanding of the Kingdom code to live by. And He did NOT make it easy!
Jesus got to the heart of humans because from it, all issues of life flow.
For example,
- • To avoid committing adultery, Jesus said to not even look at a woman with lust because doing so is already sinning in your heart.
- • To avoid committing murder, He said not to get angry at our brother because anger leads to murder. And don’t even think of calling him a fool because that puts you in danger of burning in hell!
But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ [Arameic, “empty head”] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:22 NJKV)
In His only sermon, Jesus addressed real issues of life on earth and how to deal with them. He addressed suffering, murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, injustice, hatred, vengeance, charity, prayer, forgiveness, fasting, worry, anxiety, judging, valuing, persistence, trust, treatment of others, doing the right thing, avoiding false teachers, listening, and obeying. (See Matthew Chapters 5 through 7).
Certainly, we cannot live righteously on our own. And that’s the point Jesus made. We can never meet God’s high standards for holy living. We need a Savior, an intermediary who can help us stand right with God. That is Yeshua (Jesus). Thank God for the blood of Jesus, which cleanses us from all sin! And thank God that we have the Holy Spirit to counsel, guide, and strengthen us to do the will of our heavenly Father.
Jesus provided the standard to live by as members of the Kingdom of Heaven.
How can we differentiate between the true and false Gospel?
The fruit. Jesus said:
You will recognize them by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-20 CJB)
3. Discerning Unbiblical Mindsets
One of the greatest attacks against our faith today is mindsets that oppose the knowledge of God established in His Word. Embracing such mentalities desensitizes us to God’s moral laws. If we give in, it’s because we do not know nor understand God’s Word.
We may think this is a new challenge, but the apostle Paul dealt with it during his time, and his counsel is written for our benefit. Paul addressed this war of unbiblical mindsets in his letter to the Corinthians:
For although we do live in the world, we do not wage war in a worldly way; because the weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God’s power for demolishing strongholds. We demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 CJB)
Analyzing the text closely, the apostle Paul clarifies that:
- We are in a spiritual war.
- We don’t fight in a worldly way but instead use weapons with God’s power.
- Our weapons are so powerful that they crush “strongholds”. Strongholds include fear, doubt, unbelief, strife, accusations, and sinful habits.
- Those strongholds are “arguments and arrogance,” every mindset that opposes the divine counsel established in God’s Word.
- We overcome those strongholds (mindsets, arguments) by confronting them in light of the truth of God’s Word. For example, we overcome the strongholds of fear, doubt, and unbelief with faith; we overcome strife with peace and accusations with silence, as Jesus did when He was falsely accused; and we overcome sinful habits with the powerful trio God gave us: the spirit of power, love, and self-control.
Any thought or mindset about anything in life that presents a perspective contrary to the Word of God is a stronghold, an argument founded in pride and arrogance against what God has established. It is Satan’s old trick of deception with a few modern tweaks customized for today’s era. It is professional, polished, knowledgeable, sounds good, smells good, and can sometimes be convincing. A 99% truth mixed with a 1% lie is still a lie.
Satan’s method has not changed. It worked wonders for him in the Garden of Eden, and it still works wonders for him today. His arguments oppose the counsel of God and subtly twist God’s Word into deception.
Here’s Satan’s strategy used in the Garden of Eden, which he still applies today:
- • Oppose: “That’s not what God said!”
- • Deceive: “He knows that the day you eat of the tree that He said not to eat, you will be like Him knowing good and evil!” (See Genesis 3:1-7).
Deception camouflaged with truth is still deception.
For every law, commandment, and instruction written in the Bible for our benefit and protection, Satan argues against it. He makes the argument so convincing that we’ve all fallen into his trap that the grass is greener on the other side. Once we’re on the other side, we realize there’s no grass! Only thorns and thistles. We find ourselves feeling full of shame. Naked. Stupid. Accused. Stripped of our voice.
Today’s mindsets (strongholds, arguments) that oppose God’s Word affect individuals, families, congregations, and entire communities, cities, and nations.
The Problem: Biblical illiteracy
We don’t know God’s Word. Therefore, we fall easily prey to the enemy’s lies by embracing arguments that oppose God’s counsel. Satan’s tool to keep us from effectively studying God’s Word is busyness. We are too busy with information saturation, bombarded with all kinds of teachings, books, and blogs that crave our attention, and our calendars are full of activities that keep us entertained away from the daily study of God’s Word.
The Result: Spiritual apathy
We lack power. Being empty of God’s Word in our hearts, we easily drink the Kool-Aid of modern-day arguments that desensitize us from the principles established in the Word of God. These arguments cover all issues pertaining to everything in life, from family to marriage to the sanctity of human life to sexuality and overall moral behavior. Biblical precepts are seen as old, archaic, and done away with. Yet, these age-old foundations hold the secret to truth and abundant living. Even though we live in the most brilliant information age, we find ourselves spiritually inept.
The Solution: Return to God
We must return to God. Make Teshuva. Turn away from sin. Return to God wholeheartedly. Stop being in love with the world and fall in love with God’s Word again. We cannot say we love God if we do not love His Word. The Bible is our instruction guide, safeguard, and counselor that sets the standard for living the most fulfilling life possible. Being separated from His Word cuts us off from the knowledge of God. Being cut off from the knowledge of God leaves us vulnerable to embrace all kinds of human-made philosophies that rise up against the counsel of God.
4. Becoming Effective Disciples of Jesus
The Gospel of the Kingdom is one of discipleship, which is learning and teaching others the commandments of Jesus to live godly lives.
We can be fond of Jesus and be a convert, or we can love Him and be His disciple. A Convert vs. a Disciple.
Being a disciple of the King means obeying what He says, as in a teacher-student, father-son, or master-slave relationship. Being a disciple of Jesus is not easy. It requires being different, set apart, and unpopular.
Any teaching that makes the Gospel of the Kingdom seem easy, promising a life of wealth and comfort and without any cost whatsover is NOT the Gospel Jesus preached. For example, the “Prosperity Gospel” that promotes an unbalanced focus on material possessions is NOT the Gospel of the Kingdom. Despite spiritual-sounding labels, any “gospel” other than the Gospel of the Kingdom is NOT the Gospel of Jesus.
It’s the hard truth, but the truth sets us free!
The Gospel of the Kingdom has a huge price: obedience.
Jesus warned those wanting to be His disciples:
If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. (Matthew 16:24 CJB)
Jesus also declared:
If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else [meaning He comes first]—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-27 NLT)
What does life adhering to the Gospel of the Kingdom look like?
The Gospel of the Kingdom requires complete devotion. 100% loyalty.
If we are not completely loyal to the point of being willing to die for Jesus, then we cannot be His disciples. But to those who wish to be His disciples, Jesus promised rest for our weary souls while we live on earth:
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29 NKJV)
Being a disciple of Jesus means:
- • Denying ourselves.
- • Being willing to die for Him.
- • Taking His yoke voluntarily.
- • Following Him daily.
- • Doing God’s will, not our own.
- • Making His Kingdom our priority.
In doing so, God will take good care of us and everything we hold dear (family, health, etc.) while giving us eternal life!
Yeshua said to her (Martha), “I AM the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever puts his trust in me will live, even if he dies; and everyone living and trusting in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26 CJB)
To be disciples of Jesus and citizens of God’s Kingdom, we must become avid students of the Bible. To interpret the Bible correctly, we must understand it in its Hebraic cultural context.