For better or worse, we all see scripture and life in general through certain lenses.  As we have often talked about, our lens colours everything we see.   Therefore, it is really important to consider our lens and see if it is helping us or hindering our understanding of God and His Word.

I try to read God Word very intentionally with a few specific things in mind.   I do this because my natural bend is academic, analytical and rational.   Each one needs to read and see for themselve in scripture what lens should be applied.  I will share with you what my lens is so that you can understand the perspective from which I am speaking and weigh the insights I share accordingly.    This is not to tell you what your lens ought to be, simply to share though that we can even ask God to help us to read His Word and heart it from His perspective and look to His Word for instructions on even how we ought to read His Word.      I encourage you to seek these things out for yourselves. Praise God, at the end of the day, if we are taking everything back to Him and His Word, I sincerely believe He will sort all of us out for His Kingdom and glory.

I take scripturally literally:

Unless it is clearly spelled out that it is a parable ( a little made up story to illustrate a point) or otherwise clear that it is symbolic (the book of Revelation and much of the prophetic writings).    Little children are very literal, they typically don’t read between the lines.

Psalm 119:130 NLT “The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.”

2 Corinthians 1:13-14 New Living Translation (NLT) “13 Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, 14 even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus[a] returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.”

Matthew 18:2-4 KJV “²And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, ³And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

I am often asking some variation of the question:  “Where is the scripture that says that?”  In this way, I am Berean in my outlook.  If it isn’t in the Word, I don’t give it the same value as the Word.  The Word is THE authority in my life.  I will do all to honour and respect the precious ones who are in leadership and to whom scripture calls me to submit, to respect an honour the traditions of others etc..  but I will not break scripture to do so.  I will not intentionally become part of contention and strife either.   My heart is to simply share what I see plainly and encourage each one to go back to scripture and see for themselves what is there.   I do not want or desire the responsiblity of having convinced people to seeing things through my eyes.      Then I would have to give an account to my maker for at times having led people astray.    So my heart is avoid trying to convince anyone of anything.  I believe that is the business of the Holy Spirit.    I put the authority of the Word above everything else.  I am also cautious. When in doubt, if there is any part of me wondering if something might grieve or upset God, I sincerely try not to go there.  As a family, many would call us highly conservative.   But I do not impose these things on others.   I know that we all have to have our own relationship with God and need the freedom to learn to walk as He leads us to walk.

 

I read with the heart to listening carefully and do all that He says fully:

Here is a little link to Bible hub and verses about loving God and keeping His Word.  The verses shared here on this topic were copied from the site listed.

https://www.biblehub.com/john/14-15.htm

John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

John 14:23
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him.

John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

1 John 2:3
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,

2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.

I was very inspired after hearing a funny, so funny sermon online by Joy Dawson.   It was all about the sin of presumption.

The sin of presumption happens when we act without hearing from God or contrary to His instructions and expect His promised results.  Clearly scripture does not spell out everything and every way in which God can express Himself.  We also don’t want to fall into the ditch of legalism and having a religious spirit.    There are a lot of areas in scripture that are relavitely vague and one has no choice but to seek the heart of God and obey it.

Some scriptural examples of partial or slow obedience:

Numbers 20:5-13 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)   “⁵ Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!”   ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staffand assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”  ⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence just as He had commanded him. ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.   ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.” ¹³ These are the waters of Meribah,^[a] where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and He showed His holiness to them.”

Note God’s rebuke to Moses.   He spells it out, Moses did not trust God’s instruction and therefore undermined God’s holiness in the eyes of the Israelites.   Something to think about.

1 Samuel 13 “⁶ The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns. ⁷ Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.  Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. ⁸ He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering.  ¹⁰ Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him, ¹¹ and Samuel asked, “What have you done?”   Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn’t come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, ¹² I thought: The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t sought the Lord’s favor. So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”  ¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel, ¹⁴ but now your reign will not endure. The Lord has found a man loyal to Him,^[i] and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not done what the Lordcommanded.” ¹⁵ Then Samuel went^[j] from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul registered the troops who were with him, about 600 men.”

an example of partial / rationalized obedience:

1 Samuel 15 ” ¹⁰ Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. ¹² So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.” ¹³ Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”¹⁴ But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”¹⁵ And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.” ⁷ So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? ¹⁸ Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are [b]consumed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the [c]spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”  ²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”  ²² So Samuel said:  “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,  As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,  And to heed than the fat of rams.  ²³ For rebellion is as the sin of [d]witchcraft,  And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,  He also has rejected you from being king.”  ²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”  ²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”  ²⁷ And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. ²⁹ And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” ³⁰ Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.”

Saul had genuinely convinced himself that his improvements to God’s instructions would be received and counted in his favour.       This verse is one to be carefully chewed on.     Please note God’s perfectly just judgement and rebuke on the matter.     Saul thought he was helping God, God viewed his actions as rebellion and stubborness.     We must fear God (utterly reverence His Word an Him).     I think there is a lot to learn from this account.

Please also read Deuteronomy 1:19-45.  This is the account of the Israelites refusing to go into the promised land but then after hearing God’s rebuke.  This happens at least twice during the Exodus account, they initially refused to go, and then one time went in spite of God telling them that they would be beaten if they went now as they were no longer going with his blessing.   Slowbedience, rationalized obedience and partial obedience are counted as rebellion several times in the Old Testament.

What scripture says in general about hearkening to and fully obeying God’s Word:

James 1 KJV” ²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  ²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  ²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Exodus 40:16 “Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.”

Romans 4:16-24 King James Version (KJV)
“16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,  17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.  19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;  21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;”

“Zechariah 6:12-15 (HCSB)
^“12 You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; He will branch out from His place and build the Lord’s temple. ¹³ Yes, He will build the Lord’s temple; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. There will also be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them. ¹⁴ The crown will reside in the Lord’s temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen^[b] son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ People who are far off will come and build the Lord’s temple, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the Lord your God.”

Deuteronomy 12:31-32 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
“31 You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practice every detestable thing, which the Lord hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 [a]You must be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.”

The Kingdom being expressed here on earth as it is in heaven, largely hinges on our willingness to say “YES LORD” and do all that He says.

Some more verses to consider.

Proverbs 3:5 KJV “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Jeremiah 17 Berean Study Bible “He will be like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease to produce fruit. 9The heart is deceitfulabove all things and beyond cure— who can understand it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.…”

Proverbs 16:25 KJV “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

I try to resist adding or taking away from what is plainly there:

Deuteronomy 12:32 New International Version (NIV)  “³² See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”

see also 2 Corinthians 1:13-14 at the top of this post.    Paul plainly says there is nothing to read between the lines.

I recognize my own limitations of right now and yet forever rejoice when I see where God is taking me:

There are things that the spiritual man, the one who knows their identity, who has crucified their flesh, who is walking by faith and not by sight etc…  is capable of discerning and acting on.   The mind of my flesh still needs to be crucified and brought fully under the headship of Jesus as Lord.

In all humility, I have to admit that the natural man still very much challenges me and leads me into futile and ungodly thinking and activities.      So I choose to submit to God’s Word to the best of my present abilities and in Christ who strengthens me but also recognize that my prayers and service are still hindered by the uncircumcized parts of my heart, ears and mouth and by my lack of knowledge and lack of complete freedom from fear, doubt and unbelief.   These things are passing away, truly He is changing me from glory to glory, into the likeness of His Son.     As I become more Holy Spirit minded, it will become easier I think to apply the truth in situation not spelled out in scripture.  I have not yet reached the position that Elijah had when he prayed the prayer of faith referred to in James 5.   My knowledge and understanding and level of intimacy with God still limit me, but praise God, these are all improving and I am very much growing in Christ.

Galatians 5 NABRE “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve^[k] one another through love. ¹⁴ For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”^[l] 15 But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.¹⁶ I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.^[m] 17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.¹⁸ But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

2 Corinthians 3 English Standard Version (ESV) “3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our[a] hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.[b]

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.  12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one[c] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord[d] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,[e] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.[f] For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 English Standard Version (ESV)
“12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.[a]  14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

There are so many more verses that we have mentioned.  The mind of the flesh is hostile to God.   Galatians 5:24 the assumption that those who are spiritually minded have crucified the flesh along with its passions and lusts.   The rebuke against Peter “Get thee behind me Satan… you are seeing things from a human perspective and not from God’s”  (Luke 4:8) I am in the process of crucifying my flesh.  I have not arrived yet to a place where I can trust my gut or heart.  So I trust God’s Word as it is plainly written.

John 5:19 NIV “¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

So for now, I keep Jesus and His Word in the window.  Whatever He did, I try to do also.

I consider the full counsel (to the best of my ability) of God on a matter:

I dig, I do word and topical studies, I highlight, I go to the original language,  I track, I systematically record and consider every verse I can find on a subject and compare them to one another and consider the truth in light of the different parts of the truth revealed in each piece of the puzzle.  I aim to never take the verse out of context and also to track down and seek out the full counsel of God on a matter.      God has given us many many verses and has spoken over and over again on the same topics throughout scripture.  When we consider all He has to say, we get a full understanding.  When we take one verse and ignore everything else God has spoken on that topic, we will very quickly be confused and misled.      I also never make a doctrine of any stand alone verses.   If something is a true precept or law of God, I believe that He will have born witness in at least 2 places in His Word to that truth.   God has given us a book, a precious book, full of love, full of life, full of instructions.  Our wellbeing and understanding of Him and His Kingdom hang on us understanding and knowing what He put into it.  There is not one line, not one part of it that is superfluous or in excess or unnecessary.  He has commanded us to read it over and over and know it intimately.

Proverbs 25:2 KJV “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”

John 8:17-18NIV¹⁷In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Acts 20:26-27Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.

There is now only one intermediary between God and man, He is the Christ.    (1 Timothy 2:5) God bless us all as grow individually with Him and as a community, the body of Christ, together.