I do not mind studying the Bible with anyone. The problem comes when people throw out all common sense when handling the scriptures. Such happened to me this week, and I found it frustrating. I think there are many lessons we can draw from this experience.

I was asked if the event described in John 16:25 had happened to me. The person I was studying with said it had happened to him. “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.”

I explained that in this text, Jesus is specifically dealing with His apostles. He is describing what is going to happen after the Holy Spirit comes upon them. This was mentioned earlier in the chapter (verse 13). The Lord brought this event up a number of times in the previous couple of chapters (14:26; 15:26).

Did this happen to me? Yes and no. The promise was given directly to the apostles, but everyone after them (including me) benefited from the inspired message that they recorded. In Acts 2:1-4, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and then they spoke the word of God (verse 6). Everybody who has heard the gospel of Christ had heard this plain message about the Father described in John 16:25. But did this happen to me in a literal sense? No, I was not alive when Jesus gave this premonition, nor was I in the audience.

However, the message that the apostles spoke was not a mystery. Paul wrote: “How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Eph. 3:3-4).  The reveals that God’s message is plain and understandable by all, which is consistent with John 16:25.

Having said all of this, why did this man ask me the question in the first place? They are many who think mankind needs divine intervention today to help us understand the message given by the apostles (the Bible). This logic is weak – why would our Lord send the Holy Spirit to guide His disciples into all truth if everyone else would not be able to understand the message that the apostles would then be preaching?  

To help this gentleman rightly divide the word, we read I Corinthians 1:26-27. As Paul said, not many mighty, noble or wise according to the flesh would be called. Few of these people would respond to the gospel because they considered it beneath them.  Consider also these words of Jesus: “I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes,” (Matt. 11:25).

Knowing this, I then answered “yes” to the original question. I can plainly understand the heavenly message. I do not need the Holy Spirit to help me understand what the Holy Spirit revealed. Why? Because the message was revealed in a way that was already understandable to those who are looking for the truth. We already noted that the message is hidden to those unwilling to see it. It is not because they cannot see it – rather because they do not want to!

I finally asked the person if he could pick up serpents and not be harmed as Jesus stated in Mark 16:18. He said that verse was not meant for him. Even though I agreed, it caused me to wonder – why consider the context surrounding the Mark passage but not the John passage? For this man, the only rule is apparently “no rules”.

Chuck

Are Christians brainwashed?

If you read the first article carefully,  you will realize that Christians are not brainwashed. Being a Christian means a person must reason and come to proper conclusions on their own. If saints are instructed to come to their own conclusions, are Christians thus allowed to believe whatever they want? Only if they ignore the word of God.

Children of God are supposed to only speak by the oracles of God (I Pet. 4:11; II Tim. 3:16). How then can we say that Christians are also supposed to think on their own? To answer this, we must understand the concepts of general and specific authority. For example, husbands and wives are to have their own mate to love (Eph. 5:28; Titus 2:4). Yet, the Bible does specifically state how the husband and wife can demonstrate their love for one another. They are simply required to think of ways to please them (I Cor. 7:33).

If married couples were brainwashed, they would mindlessly go through the motions of doing things they were programed to do and would not consider whether their spouse actually appreciated these gestures.  The same goes for Christians in all other areas of their lives. They are to be hospitable (Rom. 12:13). But how is that to be done? One Christian might demonstrate hospitality by letting visiting Christians stay in their home overnight. Another Christian might demonstrate hospitality by having a family over to share a meal.  Or by hosting several families for a meal. Or by taking a fellow Christian out to eat. The point is that Christians are told to be hospitable – a general command – but that there are several specific ways to accomplish this. These specifics are left to the Christian.

If God’s people were brainwashed, then nothing that was offered to the Lord would be genuine. Something cannot be done out of free-will if that person does not even have a will. This explains why Christians are told such words as, “beware”, “watch”, “take heed”, “choose”, etc. Just as God’s people can choose to serve faithfully, they can also choose to disobey (Matt. 13:18-23).

                                                                                        Chuck