We have just posted today's follow-up to the Christmas Advent Study series. Now is an excellent opportunity to continue the spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading, study and worship as a family. Just follow the link below to access this in our blog. I pray it is a blessing. Lessons To Be Learned From Scriptural Advent Mediations You have been meditating not on the mythologies, speculations and traditions of men but rather the holy, eternal, inerrant written Word of God. As a result you may very well have come to view the revelation of God the Holy Spirit concerning the birth of Christ in an entirely new light. Now is a good time for reflection on lessons learned. Each day read the passage, reflect on the devotional thought and then, if doing this as a family, discuss your conclusions.
5. Do not exceed what the Word of God has clearly stated.
I Corinthians 4:6 “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written, in order that no one of you might become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.”
One of the lessons from this study is how easy it is for the sake of expedience to exceed the Word of God. The typical manger scene as played out in countless churches has little to do with reality. A manger with three Magi, shepherds, a star, angels replete with halos and wings – all converging simultaneously upon Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus has little to do with the actual revelation of the Word of God. Similarly too, many ministers cannot resist adding their own devotional observations as if they were the prophetic Word of God. A prime case in point is the number of sermons preached at Christmas in which the gifts of the Magi of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, are given prophetic significance, as if we, as ministers, may declare prophetic significance by our own powers of observation. A third example is the abundance of apocryphal teachings concerning the culture and customs of the times. From here we go into sermons replete with pseudo-science on the star; apocryphal history concerning the Magi and the supposed ancient documents to which thy refereed and even down to the giving of their mythical names. From Magi, to shepherds, to inn keepers we speak with authority concerning that which we have not studied, for which we have no primary historical sources, for which there is no scientific or primary historical evidence. We simply pass along unchecked and unreferenced apocryphal myths as we raise up another generation of Christians in ignorance and superstition. We demean the authority of Scripture by adding to it our own apocryphal psuedo historical and cultural references which have not been researched or proven as true. In His adult ministry Jesus condemned, in Mark 7:8, those who were overly fond of myths and apocryphal sayings with His rebuke “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." We should be careful not to be found in this class of people ourselves. Remember, it is no small matter in God’s eyes for man to add to or take away from the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. In the closing of the Scripture in Revelation 22:18 & 19 God the Holy Spirit gives this dire warning, Revelation 22:18-19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” It is one thing for a greeting card to teach false doctrine, it is another altogether for a pastor or church to sit idly by while half-truths and myths are presented as the Word of God. Where the Bible is silent, we too should be silent and reject all myths and traditions as handed down by man and not God. Now is the time to reflect, “what other areas have we changed the Word of God to fit our egos and personal expediency of time and space?”
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