What Truth Do You Tell Your Online Disciples?
August 15, 2011
Which of these phrases are in the Bible and which are from Shakespeare?
1) Apple of his eye.
2) Blind lead the blind.
3) City set on a hill.
4) Pluck out the heart.
5) Confess yourself to heaven.
6) Eat, drink, and be merry.
7) Get thee behind me, Satan.
8) Neither a borrower nor lender be.
9) Passing through nature to eternity.
10) The rest is silence.
Sometimes people say things that sound good and are convincing, but sometimes these things are wrong.
Recently the way that I approach scriptures has changed. I used to read the Bible according to other people’s perspective; I would determine the meaning of what I read based upon what I had been told. I would take what preachers preached, authors wrote, or friends spoke as the truth. They must have studied up, right? I’ve since realized that a lot of what I have been taught goes against what the Bible really says.
Have you ever heard “God helps those who help themselves” or “This too shall pass”? Those aren’t in the Bible. Have you ever told someone that all they have to do to become a Christian is to accept Jesus into their heart? You might want to run that by scriptures. Do you think sin has control over your life once you become a Christian? Check out Romans 6.
I have started to ask myself what Biblical truths I would believe in if no one had ever told me anything about it; if the Bible was the only book that I ever read. Would my life even look the same? I am grateful for all of the teaching that I have had in my lifetime, but I now recognize the importance of having my own understanding of the Bible as opposed to just taking on other people’s thinking.
You may have online disciples that only have the Bible to go by; they don’t have people teaching them about scriptures. Maybe your disciples haven’t been taught how to live or what is true. They have a unique and valuable perspective. As you communicate with these disciples encourage them to ask God to reveal Himself through His Word. Let them know that they shouldn’t be discouraged by their lack of knowledge, but instead intrigued. And lastly, I encourage you to look at the Bible through their eyes. Look at God’s Word with an open heart and a desire to know the truth.
-Amber Marshall (SVSP 2011 Intern)
P.S. In case you were wondering, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10 were all Shakespeare.
P.P.S. This video by Francis Chan has been a wonderful challenge for me!
GMO Blog 
August 15, 2011 at 4:50 pm
I found that many things I was taught over the years do not appear in scripture. And the way that I learned that was to go look it up and then when I found it was not there, I vowed to correct the error if it ever came to me again.
August 15, 2011 at 5:25 pm
that JESUS is the ONLY WAY to eternity.
August 19, 2011 at 1:06 pm
[…] Which of these phrases are in the Bible and which are from Shakespeare? 1) Apple of his eye. 2) Blind lead the blind. 3) City set on a hill. 4) Pluck out the heart. 5) Confess yourself to heaven. 6) Eat, drink, and be merry. 7) Get thee behind me, Satan. 8) Neither a borrower nor lender be. 9) Passing through nature to eternity. 10) The rest is silence. Sometimes people say things that sound good and are convincing, but sometime … Read More […]
August 19, 2011 at 1:08 pm
This is a topic that can provoke thought for those who are TRULY seeking truth.
Anything taught to me is because the teacher wants me to learn it in the way it is being taught. It is up to me to discern the factual matter from the slant of the teacher.
Separating fact and fiction can be difficult at times. The video lays out the idea quite well.
September 2, 2011 at 5:34 pm
I’ve been studying the King James (Received Text) vs. Modern Translations of the Bible controversy. I was getting confused studying my NIV Bible because some of the verses were missing from the text and moved into a footnote that said, “older, more reliable manuscripts do not contain this verse …” After significant study, I believe that the Received Text of the King James Bible is more reliable. The two main men that wrote the Greek text underlining the modern translation, Westcott and Hort were not Christians, but spiritualists who wanted to destroy the King James Bible, the RT and the Christian faith. I also studied the verses that had been changed, and it seems to be a work of Satan to remove and change those verses. I have been studying the greek behind the KJV on BlueLetterBible which has excellent study tools. Conclusion, it was important for me to pray about and studying this controversy, because having an accurate Bible is important to know the Word, God, and His ways. Look at Matt 17:21, 18:11, 23:14; Mark 7:16, 15:28, 16:9-20; Luke 17:36, 24:40;Acts 8:37, 28:29 in your NIV Bible. These are just a few of the several hundred changes and omissions.
September 6, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Hi Pamela, Can you explain to me what you are referring to… was it something in this blog? One great site I find helpful is http://www.gotquestions.org. It really helps give the biblical basis for many questions. 🙂