Most of our Bibles are hard covered. Yes, but it is not meant for hitting the other person in the face for correction. It is to protect the papers inside. To protect the strong but delicate Words stated on these pages. I also think that it is a metaphor to look within. That the Bible may be filled with hard to swallow the truth, but inside these truths are God’s sweet and soft message of redemption to mankind. I believe it is a metaphor for God. Him being Holy and Just at the same time full of love and compassion.
But let’s face it, as young Christians (or maybe until now the old ones are still guilty of this), we tend to use the Bible to persecute other people — especially to those people we hate the most — and hit the hard-covered book on their faces.
But the purpose of the Bible is not like that. We are not the stereotype that the media keeps on portraying us. Those “Christians” people they are showing on TV are full of hate and condemnation in their mouth that makes everybody think — is the Bible a hate message?
First of all, it is not a “hate” message. It is a message about love, forgiveness, and acceptance (with, of course, a strong build-up of history, lots and lots of history, but trust me, this is the main theme of this book).
But the problem is, a great message is a bad one in the mouth of a bad messenger.
We’ve been messing up the message of God since the dawn of time, people. When the serpent told Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge, she stated this:
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” — Genesis 3:2–3
But God said in the earlier Chapter:
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” — Genesis 2:16–17
See the difference? God never said “do not touch,” He said “do not eat”. So, unless the human race evolved from having a mouth on our own hands, this is literally incorrect carrying of the message.
Most of the “Christians”, like Eve, are having trouble carrying the message of love from the Word of God. And that confuses others. Instead of showing concern to others, we are showing hate. So, it is not the Books’ fault, like many non-Christians believed. It is the wrong message some immature Christians are implying.
Now if you are saying “I really want to just correct people of their wrongdoing”. God is the God of justice and believes me, what you are feeling to correct something wrong is from God Himself. He created us in His own image so it is from Him. Because justice is good. However, if our motive is to make it right within ourselves, then that is selfishness. That my fellow brothers and sisters, is not from Him — because He is selfless.
So, how to know if we are using this message to be a weapon against other people and not against injustice? I created some basic point to consider but first, let us revisit the verse that states the purpose of the Bible:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. — 2 Timothy 3:16–17
Yes, the Bible is meant to teach. Teaching is hard work. And some people always take it to the extremes of both ends. When they see some injustice, they have two options.
first, they will extremely condemn the person. They will tell the person his/her mistakes as if it is already a part of him/her.
second, they will tolerate the person. Thinking “we are all human, I have a mistake, he’s got a mistake. who’s perfect anyway?”.
Seldom they chose the third option — teaching them. By teaching, we meant that the person is not meant to be wrong, that he has so much potential to be right. Seeing his mistake as a part of the learning process. Recognizing his mistake for him not to commit it again or at least feel bad about it because that is not who he is. There is a lot of Bible verse that we can use for such a person. Verses that can encourage him to be better. To be more like Christ.
Yes, the Bible rebukes. God is the God of truth. So, if you’re saying that the blue crayon is red then expect Him to say to you: No it is not. Our ideals are not the reality, reality is the reality. As a messenger, we are meant to tell people the truth. It is easy if they are aligned with the truth but newsflash, they are not. They need to hear the truth. Now, here comes the question: How to say the truth with a clear conscience that you say it purely because the Bible told us to do and not because we just want to rain on someone's parade? The answer was easy, say it with the hope that they will be better. If we tactlessly say to people their mistake because “the Bible said so” then we are having the wrong motive. And that is the great thing about the message of God, it is being carried not just by the mouth but also by our hearts and action. I imagine it as an object with three handles. A handle for the mouth, for the heart, and the action. If one is not holding the Word properly, it will not move. If you have the heart and doing every action to send the message of God but never share the Word with someone by talking to them, then this is a slow process. If you keep on talking with all your heart but without action, then this is a bad testimony for others especially to those who can see you slacking around. And lastly, if you keep on talking and doing all the things you need to say and all the things you need to do, but not putting your heart into it, you’re just a heartless robot doing what he is told. If we want the person to see his mistakes or wrongdoing, then we must be available to give solutions and be a part of it. Rebuking is not stating what is incorrect, it is inviting them to be correct. By inviting I meant reaching out our hand.
The Bible is used to equip us for good work. Christians are never a display for any Christian merchandise. We are not a face for a book or a movie. We must be the face of good work and that is not to earn salvation — but we are meant to do good work because we have this salvation. We are using it for good as the salt and light of this world.
In conclusion, we will know if we are speaking for the Bible if we are using this for God’s glory and not just for our own pleasure. Not to feed our anger or be dismayed to other people but to be hungry for the hope and potential that God has planned for them. In short, it must not be about us. It must be about God. it must be about His acceptance at the same time justice. It must be about how patiently He is waiting for us.
I believe real Christians will admit that they’ve already committed these mistakes. And that is fine, we are not perfect (not yet, in God’s timing). And I believe real Christians really know when God is talking to him about his mistake. A good father will talk to his son immediately if something is wrong. And a good son knows when to apologize and not to reason out. God is a good Father who never lets His sons and daughters stay on this mistake. And a good Christian knows when to admit it and learn from it.
That my friend is a step closer to Him. Think of this blog as a sweet rebuke to those Christians who are being mistaken (that includes me). And accepting that we do commit mistakes and it will make us more understandable to those who need correction. Mistake remains a mistake when we never learned from it.
Always remember that the Bible is God’s breath and it is alive. Know that it knows what we need to learn. It is not here to condemn us but to give us hope. Carrying that in our hearts, we can deliver the exact message to other people. Being the version of the Bible other people will understand. Be the speaker of the Bible and not a speaker for yourself. Because we live for Christ now and our job is to carry the message. He wants us to carry His message with His patience, humility, and compassion. Carry his light with the hope that this world needs the good news that you’ve heard a long time ago but never been the same ever since. The real Bible is not the hard-covered book on the shelf but the words that are kept in our hearts. It is the sword that we carry to give life, not to end it.
The best Bible translation is one that is translated into your life.” — Pastor Rick Warren