sola scriptura 2

As I am growing older, I am become more convinced of the power of the scriptures. There have been several transformational experiences in my life. One of them began to occur when I was reading the words of Jesus in gospels. The Holy Spirit whispered in my heart - Hear it like they heard it. As I began to remove my filter given me by Christendom, personal transformation began to occur. I discovered that for years, instead of allow the scriptures to speak to and shape me, I spoke to the scripture and attempted to shape them.

It is a fearful thing to allow the scriptures to speak to us in an unfiltered manner. I still feel the discomfort at times. Part of the problem is that so much of the belief system given us by Christendom does not align with the scriptures. Our understanding of salvation, the gospel, heaven and hell, have all been skewed by the unscriptural belief system. The problem arises at that point of discomfort. Will I stubbornly cling to the accepted beliefs or will I choose to be transformed? Will I lay aside my filter to be changed by the written word?  

Several years ago I had a conversation with an acquaintance. He spoke to me about his difficulty with my unfiltered reading of the scriptures. In the conversation he mentioned that there were people who were convinced that I was deceived. When I asked why these people refused to speak to me about my "deception" I was shocked at his answer. He replied that they say "you know the Bible better than they do and therefore they do not want to discuss your deception!

Apparently my "deception" is not about my beliefs being shaped by scripture but rather how my putting scripture into practice exposes their own unscriptural beliefs. The words of Jesus as He quoted Isaiah ring true -  This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

While it is a fearful thing to allow the scriptures to speak to us, they will also be a mighty instrument of transformation in the hand of God. Read the scriptures unfiltered. Hear the words as the original hearers would have heard them.