Reasonings Chapter 2

Reasonings

Chapter 2

Reasonings or ideas, go along with the Lessons and are the thoughts that went into them.  I have struggled trying to decide which one is the horse and which one the  cart.  I wanted to introduce HOW we are going to begin trusting His Word but hope people use the ‘Reasonings’ at the same time.  The ‘Reasonings’ focus around many ideas churches have that I found so confusing it just causes more doubt.   They can leave you wondering how am I supposed to believe this?

The answer is trust.  You can only believe someone or what they say, as much as you trust them.  Christians have developed enough trust in God’s Word, they believe and accept His Word even when it is beyond their current knowledge.  Non-Christians have not learned to trust His Word and cannot believe, accept, or understand it like a Christian can.  If you’re a non-Christian searching for God at church, you may be awash in ideas you struggle to trust or believe.

Someone has to teach others how to begin trusting His Word.  Everyone has heard of God and His Word, sadly though only those that learn to trust it will learn from it.  So, just as the Bible tells us in Proverbs 1:7 Fear (old testament word referring to reverential trust) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

KU tries to overcome some of the things non-Christians have heard at church but don’t trust.  I don’t mean people mistrust His Word but if it is combined with messages only Christians might be able to comprehend it can certainly muddy up the waters.

One of the ideas impressed upon in churches is that our faith must be based on the entire Bible and it is the reason they teach the entire Bible.  I can see how a Christian upbringing may help some believe this but for most of us, it’s an  impossibility.  Not an idea to build trust on. It would compare with having to trust math based on all the math ever known.  That is just not how we learn to trust things.  For me, a non-Christian, I have learned to trust His Word the same way I have learned to trust everything else in life; from the beginning and a little bit at a time.  Compare for yourselves things you have learned to do.  Do you have to be able to ride your bike in the Tour de France before you can have faith or confidence in it?  If you ride it only to school and not to the grocery store does that mean you don’t trust the bike yet?  Do you have to know all that mathematics can do before you trust it or have confidence using it?

To say that our faith in God must be based in the entire bible is an irrational statement.  It does not come with any proof.  To say that our faith can be based in the entire bible is a rational statement accepted by Christians everywhere who would confirm they do not know the whole Bible.  This implies that their faith is not dependent on knowledge of the entire Bible but based on what they currently know, trust, and believe.  The statement that you can have faith in the entire Bible includes everyone in life.  The statement that your faith must be based in the entire Bible excludes…everyone?  Perhaps churches could clarify just what they mean in a rational way when they say this.

It’s easy to see how confusing this statement can be if not clearly defined and how discouraged newcomers to God’s Word might feel.  Church sermons would mean more to people if they were rational, providing clearly defined proof.  The things to build trust in.

Discovering how we Trust Anything

KU encourages all readers to spend as much time as possible proving to themselves that their faith and confidence in anything, does not depend upon all the available knowledge there is  about a subject.  Proving this to yourself will also prove your trust in God’s Word does not have to be based on the entire Bible anymore than anything else we learn to trust in life.  In fact it will open the door to realizing your trust in His Word begins the moment you use it for the first time, just like your first bike ride.

So, if you are searching for God at a church and hear about having to base your faith on the entire Bible please disregard this information.  Christians may understand this differently and prosper from the idea but, for anyone trying to learn to trust His Word and begin having faith, it simply does not apply.

KOOTENAY UNCHURCH