Back To The Bible
Google “Back To The Bible” and you’ll get 155,000 or so hits. Although opposed by atheists, agnostics and infidels, it is the mantra of thousands and the focus of nearly all “primitivist” religious groups. It is especially prominent among the somewhat more conservative Evangelical groups who are increasingly “non-denominational” in their approach. It is not a new idea but is as old as the written record of Jehovah’s will for mankind; first to Israel and then to all. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa. 8:20, KJV) Just what is involved in getting “Back To The Bible” anyway?
The answers one gets to that question are almost as varied as the number of religious groups claiming to be “Christian.” David W. Barrett’s World Christian Encyclopedia lists some 33,800 of them. Most, I would venture to guess, claim to be a 21st Century representation or iteration of what the “church” was intended by God to be. I mean, after all, who would suggest that the group of which they are a part is making every effort to be something different than what the Lord had in mind when He said, “…upon this rock I will build My church…”? And, by the way, what did Jesus mean when He said “church”? Did he have in mind a denomination or group of denominations? Did He have in mind a world-wide religious organization with an earthly visible head? Did He have in mind a building, a sect, a party, a religious organization into which one must get in order to be saved? That is a question that can only be satisfactorily answered by getting “Back To The Bible”.
Really, when we get down to it, it is first up to each individual to “…seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us…” (Acts 17:27, KJV) It is the individual who has the responsibility to “…understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:17, NKJV) That is why each one of us ought to get “Back To The Bible” and learn for ourselves what God wants from us. We can and we must understand what God wants from each one of us. We do not need any intervening religious elites to tell us what to believe, tell us what to do or to stand between us and God. The relationship that the true Christian sustains to God does not depend on the “institutional church” or any man or group of men on earth today. We have “…one Mediator between God and man; the Man Jesus Christ.” (I Tim. 5:2, KJV)
I will be posting, from time to time, articles, studies and resources dealing with Bible topics for those who are interested in getting “Back To The Bible.” For now, if you would like a really rewarding study, read and listen to the lessons by Robert Turner on “The People of God” located on this site (links to audio provided).