The Spirit and Scripture: More than Divine Advice
Article
by J. Todd
Billings June 2015
Loss.
A car accident -- with a "recovery" expected to last five
years. Maybe ten. Maybe for the rest of this mortal life.
Poverty
-- not just for a year, but for generations. One generation after
another.
Obsession
-- always needing another dozen Facebook likes, a new drug, a new
"god" that leaves one hungry for more.
Response
to problems like these often comes in one form: advice. Do this,
don't do that. Here are the steps to healing and success.
Our
own day has seen a revival of short, pithy proverbs -- with advice
about "five steps to be happy" or "six ways to
financial security" going viral through social media. Often, the
way that Christians approach the Bible fits the same mold: we
approach the Bible as a divine self-help manual, with a collection of
Bible verses to give us advice to help us live healthier, happier
lives.
Indeed,
good advice is a gift. Advice can be part of the wisdom that comes
from God. Practical wisdom to address loss, poverty, and misdirected
hearts can be a cup of cold water to those in need. Scripture itself
offers proverbial wisdom in many places.
But
if we approach the Bible primarily as a source for divine advice, we
are in trouble. If we really believe that the Holy Spirit inspired
scripture, and that the Spirit illumines our hearts and minds in
receiving the Word, then we need a larger, deeper context for
interpreting the Bible. As sinners, we do not just need advice. Our
situation is more desperate than that: we need a Savior. Moreover, we
need the new life that comes by the Spirit in God's household: with
its costly discipleship which displaces our selfish preoccupations as
we gather together to receive the Word of the one Lord.
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