YOU MAY BE THE ONLY BIBLE PEOPLE EVER READ

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Matthew 5:14-16

“‘You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.’”

 

Several years ago there was a celebration in the Congo commemorating the 100^th Anniversary of Christian missionaries coming to the area and sharing the gospel with the unsaved people of the area. During the celebration a very old man stood and asked to share a true story. He feared that because of his age he might pass away soon and would take this story to the grave unless he was allowed to speak. Everyone was anxious to hear what he had to say. So he began.

 

He stated that when Christians first came to the area the natives were suspicious of this new group of people and did not trust what they had to say concerning Jesus Christ. They were not sure whether they should believe their book, the Bible. After much discussion the village elders decided to devise a test to determine whether these new people could be trusted. They decided to poison them and watch how they reacted.

 

There were several families in the missionary group and the first person to succumb to the test was a young preschool girl. The parents of the girl tried everything in their power to diagnose and treat her symptoms but eventually she died. Soon a man in another family got ill and died within weeks. One by one the Christian missionaries fell as a result of the test of the natives. The elders and villagers watched closely as the people of faith remained steadfast in their belief in the goodness of God and their commitment to sharing the gospel with them. After all the Christians died, the elders stated that because of the dignity with which the newcomers died and the tenacity with which they believed their message of Jesus Christ, they believed the gospel of the missionaries must be true. Through the witness of how the Christians faced death the natives chose to believe in Jesus Christ. So goes the true story of how salvation came to the people of the Congo.

 

After hearing such a story you and I must evaluate our living witness. Believe it or not non-Christians watch us closely. They hear what we say about our faith and our spiritual experiences and weigh it against how we live in our everyday life. They evaluate how we behave to discern whether the gospel as we live it is true. The Christian missionaries witnessed in their death. We witness by the way we live.

 

Do we walk our talk in all areas of our lives? Is what we say about our Christian faith consistent with how we live for our Lord? It’s been said, “You may be the only Bible people ever read.” In many ways it is true. People watch you to see if what you say you believe is reflected in your lifestyle and habits. It’s a heavy burden to carry, to realize that you are being evaluated on a daily basis as to the validity of your faith. But isn’t that what we are called to do? We don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to God. We have been bought with a price and are expected to serve God in all we do (1 Corinthians 6:20). There is joy in serving Christ. There is happiness in living a holy life. There is fulfillment in obeying God in all areas of our life. If we have such an attitude as we live as Christians, people will be attracted to the good news of Jesus Christ. They will see that what we speak about the gospel is true because they see it reflected and patterned in our lives. This is not something we can do on our own.

 

God has given us the Holy Spirit as a gift to help us live the way we should so others can see Christ in us. When we let the Spirit lead in our lives we can live the life that will reflect Christ in all of our actions. When non-believers see a Christian living according to the Holy Spirit’s direction, according to the scriptures, they see truth in action, they see Christ living in their midst. This is the same thing the natives saw in the lives and deaths of the missionaries in the Congo.

 

Are you living a life pleasing to God? Are you living a life that reflects the leading of the Holy Spirit? Are you living a life that demonstrates to those watching you that what you say you believe is really true? We preach in the way we live, the gospel of the Bible.

 

2 Corinthians 4:4-6

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

 

Consider the following scripture passage as a challenge to evaluate the quality of your spiritual life and witness. Can you identify the 22 jewels of Christian holy living that would represent a follower of Christ living by the Word, filled with the Spirit and following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ? A harder question might be do you live out these 22 spiritual jewels in your life as you rely on God’s Word and the Holy Spirit who lives within you.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:11-28

“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

 

Here’s another scripture passage you can use to evaluate your holy living. Can you identify the 7 attributes expressed by a follower of Christ that witness of their applying diligence in their faith? Can these 7 attributes be found in your life on a daily basis?

 

2 Peter 1:2-11

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

 

Possibly you are reading this and do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. There is no way you can live a life pleasing to God without accepting His Son’s sacrifice for your sins. There is no way you can find true happiness and fulfillment in life without a relationship with God and you can’t have an intimate relationship with God without accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

 

Below are some steps to help you in the process of

accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

 

Admit you’re a sinner. In the Bible, the Book of Romans states “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 

 

The penalty for sin is death. Jesus Christ paid this debt on the cross. Acknowledge that Christ paid your sin debt in full when He died on the cross. Jesus didn’t wait to pay for the sin of the world until the people became worthy. He did it while people were sinners. This is how God demonstrated His love for us–offering a perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ to save an imperfect world. 

 

Verbally invite Jesus into your heart to reign over your life. Know that only through Him will you gain salvation. 

 

Abandon your efforts to earn heaven. Christ paid the full price on the cross. But Jesus does tell us that we show our love and commitment for Him by obeying God’s Word, the Holy Bible. 

 

Once you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, read the Gospels and the Book of Romans. Jesus’ words and actions are recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Book of Romans offers the new Christian words of wisdom and guidance. 

Learn more about the teachings of Christ through the Bible. Christ championed the poor and the meek. He preached universal love for each other, spurned violence and taught against slander and hypocrisy. Apply these lessons to your life daily. 

 

Pray to God each day and not only share with him troubles and needs you have but also praise and worship Him in your prayers and your life. 

 

Find a Bible-centered church to attend. Ask other Christians you trust about which church to attend. Bible-believing churches place the Bible as central to their teaching, that Christ was both man and God and that only by faith in Jesus Christ can one be saved. If possible become involved not only in a local church but also a small group where you can obtain support to grow and help serve other Christians. You faith will grow with the support of fellow believers. 

 

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

1 Corinthians 15:3-6

“For I delivered to you 1as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;”

 

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Romans 5:8

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

John 14:6-7

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

Acts 3:19

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,”

 

John 8:32

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 

John 1:12

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

 

John 10:10

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”