The Word Unleashed
Wayne Turner
Sometimes, people manage to overcome a poor family background
to be great servants of God. Josiah is an example. His grandfather
was Manasseh, the evil king who reigned over Judah and Jerusalem
for fifty-five years. Manasseh defiled the temple and land
with idolatry, built high places and Asherah poles and led
the people astray to commit more sin than the nations around.
His son, Amon, Josiah’s father, followed in his evil ways
and after only two years, was assassinated by his own officials.
Josiah thus became king when he was only eight. Likely due
to the influence of his mother, Jedidah, Josiah was a faithful
and obedient servant of God.
In the eighteenth year of his reign, when repairs were being
made to the temple, the Book of the Law, was rediscovered.
After hearing it read, Josiah tore his robes in grief. He
publicly renewed the covenant, restored the Passover and purged
the idolatry that had dominated the land for many years. The
summary of his life says, “Neither before nor after Josiah
was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did--with
all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength,
in accordance with all the Law of Moses.” What an amazing
tribute to his thirty-one years as king – his devotion to
God and his commitment to completely follow His word.
We are well familiar with the passages that describe the
power of God’s word – its role in creation (Genesis 1; 2 Peter
3:5), as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), that it
is sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and is the
seed that brings our new birth (1 Peter 1:23). As God’s word
so powerfully motivated Josiah’s reforms, throughout history
it has had the same effect. Whenever people commit themselves
to learning and following scripture, significant transformation
follows. The leaders of the Protestant Reformation, having
lived under the control of tradition, hierarchy and council,
saw in scripture the authoritative revelation of God. They
proclaimed “sola scriptura” (“by scripture alone”) as one
of the three great pillars of their beliefs, along with faith
and grace. While we might regret that their reforms did not
go further, we should acknowledge the great contribution they
made to the world, the foundation they laid for the future
and the fervency of their belief in scripture.
It was the same conviction that brought about the Restoration
Movement. Disenchanted with the religious division of their
day, as well as authoritarian human traditions and organizations,
men like Barton Stone, Thomas and Alexander Campbell and others,
broke away to pursue a full return to the Bible and, as Thomas
Campbell wrote in 1809, “that whole form of doctrine, worship,
discipline, and government, expressly revealed and enjoined
in the word of God.” Then, he added “ ... from what we know
in general of the present state of things in the christian
world; we are persuaded that it is high time for us not only
to think, but also to act for ourselves; to see with our own
eyes, and to take all our measures directly and immediately
from the Divine Standard; to this alone we feel ourselves
divinely bound to be conformed; as by this alone we must be
judged.” He wanted to see the restoration of unity, peace
and purity to the church based on “Christ and his simple word;
which is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever... returning
to, and holding fast by, the original standard; taking the
divine word alone for our rule: The Holy Spirit for our teacher
and guide, to lead us into all truth; and Christ alone as
exhibited in the word for our salvation...”
Campbell was convinced that diligently studying the scriptures
with open minds and honest hearts would lead believers to
God’s truth and to unity with one another. This is a noble
dream, but a difficult reality to achieve. Each person brings
their own understanding and perspective to the process, their
own issues and traditions, even their own agenda. Part of
our responsibility when we study is to allow the scriptures
to reshape all of these to conform to what the Bible is actually
saying.
It is especially refreshing to come across people from other
religious backgrounds whose study of the Bible causes them
to challenge beliefs they once held. William Barclay, well
known commentator from the Church of Scotland, wrote Turning
To God: A Study of Conversion in the Book of Acts, where
he concluded that faith, repentance and baptism were the demands
of a convert – that baptism was for an adult believer, by
immersion, for the remission of sins, reception of the Holy
Spirit and acceptance into the fellowship of the church. In
Life in the Son and Elect in the Son, Robert
Shank, Baptist pastor, challenged two of the classic Calvinistic
doctrines, perseverance and election. Old Light on New
Worship, a recent book by John Price, another Baptist
pastor, examines and rejects the use of musical instruments
in worship based on “theological, historical and psychological”
grounds.
The value of such studies doesn’t necessarily lie in that
they confirm what we believe. Rather, they should challenge
us to further study ourselves. Our conviction lies in the
power of God’s word to teach and change us. We need to be
the “people of the Book.” As someone once said, “I have a
Bible, and I’m not afraid to use it!”
- Winnipeg, MB
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