Following the Word of God in a world of modern philosophy

In Pauls letter to the Romans he urges them to no longer live in the worldly system, one that was previously illustrated in the book of John, through material pleasures, the lust of the eyes, the rational mind of the ego driven human, and instead instructs us to connect with the divine knowledge of the spirit. 

Romans 12:2

“Do not copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

Faith is not something for us to shape, it is something that shapes us.

There is an arrogance of mankind that leaks across the modern age, one that looks at truth and morality as subjective, a malleable wind that chops and changes with the cry of public opinion. We see today in many cases where this arrogance seeks to bend the authority of The Holy Spirit to suit the desires of the modern world. But Christianity is not a rule book written by man, it is not part of the flux of political and socio-economic agendas, it is the divine law of the holy spirit given to us for the spirit of man. 

It is the incorruptible law. 

1 Corinthians 2:14

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him … they are spiritually discerned.”

Human understanding, whilst cut from the same cloth of the divine, is limited in this form, as we aim to rationalise and analyse Gods exact nature, we do so from a fragmented and confined point of view. We are localised to ourselves, and to the society we grow up in, our ideas are temporal, but the word of God, it is eternal. 

The human mind does excel, and will continue to do so, but we can only inform ourselves of this world, however for the eternal realm, for illumination of God, we must put our faith in the source, the word of the Holy Spirit. When people aim to ignore particular parts of the scripture to accommodate their personal belief system, they do so led by man. This is a systematic difference between being spiritually led by the word of God, and being egotistically led by cultural values. This is the difference between following God and following ourselves. 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns us of this:

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine… they will gather around them teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

This speaks of a propagation of false belief, people coming together to support one another in their rejection of the word of God. I see it frequently across a multitude of Christian sects, groups and believers, the concept that a particular part of the bible is outdated, or certain concepts do not fit our modern evolution of secular ideologies, cultural norms or individual autonomy. But I ask you this, if we find ourselves in a political spectrum that questions the law of the divine source, is it the divine source that has simply made a mistake about the constructs of the spirit, or is it that the  collective values of the time that have strayed away from the concept of holy and fallen into the pit of selfdom. 

2 Peter 2:1-3

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.” 

We are told of this happening, already it happened at the dawn of the church and we are warned it shall happen again, an attempted pollution of the faith. The danger here is nuanced, ideals hiding behind the facade of compassion, political progress, love, tolerance and inclusion, but it is also a trojan horse, holding inside of it a rejection of the divine authority. To uphold the word of God is not unkind. Jesus sat with sinners, but he never sinned with them. In much the same way, the path of Christ is open for everybody, for all to follow, but in doing so, it is to embark on a journey that aligns each individual with the divine will of God, rather than twisting scripture to spare offence, and in doing so neglecting the spirit and enabling acts contrary to the Word of God. 

It is not for man to broaden the path of God, but instead let us narrow ourselves so that we might walk upon it. 

Isaiah 40:8

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

The word that we have received from God is one of love, but also one of guidance, so that we may shape ourselves into the likeness of Christ, so we too may be resurrected in spirit. It is not we who define the spirit, but the spirit who is to define us. 

Colossians 2:8 

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and perceptive philosophy … rather than on Christ.”

The bible is full of lessons just as it full of warnings, lessons to lift us towards God, warnings that if not heeded shall lead them to spiritual blindness. When mans heart no longer submits and releases itself from the lustful desires of the physical world, perversions of man that come in many forms, concepts and actions. We must not seek to reshape the faith to suit a personal narrative, for in doing so man blinds himself, not in the name of God, but to his own self. The way of Christ is not shaped by the justice and righteousness of our temporal world, but of the eternal world. 

Let us love in truth, stand firm by the spirit, and not be swayed by the fables dressed in language of kindness, for they lead people down a path of destruction, where we seek to lift them into the light of God. 

Matthew 5:18

“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”