Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ~ II Corinthians 3:12-16 NKJV
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 NKJV
I remember watching “Forbidden Kingdom” as a child, and one of the scenes Jackie Chan is trying to get the nation character to empty his spiritual Kung Fu cup. Why? Because he had watched so many Kung Fu movies that he thought he knew so much and therefore became a difficult student to teach. The Church today is much like that main character.
We have a lot of Church tradition knowledge, not necessarily Bible knowledge. Because of that, it’s difficult to actually learn what the Bible says and understand its true teachings. Paul said those under the Law have a blinder over their eyes until they come to Christ and the blinder is removed. Christians today have a doctrinal blinder over their eyes keeping them from understanding the Bible when they read it. Not because it’s too deep, too complex, too difficult to understand, but simply because they have a preconceived notion, idea, thought, belief in their mind that keeps them blinded. It keeps them from seeing the Truth of Scripture.
So, what are we to do? We have to empty our cup of doctrine and tradition, so that when we read our Bible, we comprehend, understand, and see what the Truth of God is. So that we aren’t blinded by the veil of doctrine or tradition. Here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter what a pastor, teacher, “prophet” or anyone of the sort says, it matters what the Bible says. We don’t need out beliefs grounded in what the early Church fathers taught, we need our beliefs grounded in the Bible. Can their teachings be helpful? Absolutely. But unless their teachings can be found in Scripture, then their teachings ate no longer helpful, but harmful. Our faith and our beliefs should be grounded in Scripture, and nothing else, otherwise we are now putting our faith in man. It is now a man-made religion. It is no longer God-ordained.
Therefore, ground yourself in the Word of God. Read it. Learn it. You don’t need to chew on every single verse or you can’t read your Bible. That’s an excuse not to read. That’s an excuse to remain ignorant of Scripture. Yes, we need to study it to understand it. To understand the D eeper things, but we also need to read it to know what it says. Otherwise, anyone who has a little more knowledge than us can lead us astray. Any teaching can sound good and right, unless we read the Scriptures from cover to cover for ourselves.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Empty Your Cup.