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Binding the loose leaves
It started out small. Just a few pages in the middle split from the binding. It's getting a lot worse. I now have five sections, of varying thicknesses, still seeking an opportunity to catch me unaware so they can slide out of existence. I keep diligent watch, carefully tucking each back into place. I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel and buy another. This one was a Christmas gift from Danny's sister and brother-in-law in 1992 and it came at a dear price. And I can't afford to miss a single word.
With any other book, I could probably fill in the blanks. I easily read between the lines and some books have a storyline so predictable I feel like I could have penned them my-self. On some, as long as I have the beginning and the end, then the story is complete -- the stuff in the middle fluff. Enjoyable fluff, explanatory fluff, but fluff nonetheless. Not so with this book.
For instance, if I had let that first loose section go, I would have lost parts of Matthew and Mark. Newly loosened sections would obliterate Genesis, half of Exodus, Isaiah up to the middle of Matthew, the rest of Mark through the 10th chapter of John and then the rest of John through the middle section of Romans. None of these are expendable. If I lose the early part of John, there is no John 3:16. If I lose the John through Romans section I lose the entire book of Acts. And from Isaiah to Matthew, well there go all the minor prophets, along with Jeremiah, Lamentations and Ezekiel.
And to lose Genesis would mean a loss too great to imagine. Where would any of us be without "In the beginning, God ... "
I can't spare a word.
None of us can.
Look at the trouble we're getting into just trying.
Church splits are happening on a daily basis, if not at the main headquarters, then certainly in individual congregations. In fact, anytime a believer separates from a worship fellowship, unless they move out of town, then a split in that portion of the Body of Christ has happened. It happens every day.
Years ago, a body of believers took up a cause. Lines were drawn in the sand. People on the periphery were drawn in, encouraged to take sides in a battle they didn't understand, and dissension, gossip and back-biting became the rule of the day.
The result? Bitter feelings, a divided house (and we all know what happens when a house is divided) and casualties galore. Human hearts, torn, wounded and bleeding, with nowhere else to go, went home. And stayed there, abandoning not only the divisive fellowship, but the nurturing presence of the Lord among any of his people.
This latest wave of splits, however, is rooted in a "new way" of doing Jesus, a "new (and all inclusive) way" of doing church. The message of Scripture is plain. It is truth. And it offends. In order to keep from offending people, however, we have decided to water it down, sweeten it with false messages about self-love and how much God can do for us (when he's already done it all) and even dare to dismiss entire portions of Scripture when the message isn't what the majority, or a very vocal minority, want to hear. We do so, not only at our own peril, but at the peril of countless others. Seekers, needing to hear the truth, receive half-truths that prove to be only another path leading to destruction. New believers, earnestly seeking to walk upright on the path before them are led astray with new teachings, new methods of prayer, new acts of righteousness that have little or nothing to do with serving a Servant King. In fact, these varying lists of do's and don't's serve only to burden the seeker, burden the new believer, and blind them to the work the Lord truly wants to do in their lives and can "make him twice as much a son of hell."
This cry has gone out before. There were many ready to heed and to follow then. It must go out again, but with an added codicil. Scripture alone and all of Scripture. No "loose-leaf" editions allowed.
For those who have given ear to the latest wave of doubt -- where did we get Scripture, who decided what went where and why? -- I am confident that the One who created the heavens and the earth and all that dwell therein, is perfectly capable of compiling, controlling, protecting and defending his Holy Word. For it is in these pages and these pages alone that God reveals his character, his holiness and his plan. Dig in, brothers and sisters. Dig in. Start at page one and don't stop until you reach page done. Then turn around and do it again, lest some wily, nearly true lie, deceive even the very elect.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
Things you won't see in heaven:
Three-hole punches
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