A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day Jan. 22, 2019
Therefore lay apart all filthiness and the superfluity of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
Once I asked a Christian man if he believed a certain verse in the Bible. To my surprise, he commented that he would have to read it first and let me know later. Isn’t that amazing? Why would a Christian have to read a verse before deciding whether or not he believed it?
God’s Word is true. Not just a verse of it, not just a chapter, not just a book, but all of it – the whole Bible is true. Yet we must believe God’s Word and act on it in order for it to be effective in our lives.
Years ago when I was pastor of a denominational church, a man counseled with me that he loved his wife. He said that he loved her with all of his heart and that there would never be anyone else he could ever love the way he loved his wife. The problem was he didn’t act like it. All of his actions were opposite of the way he said he felt. The result was she left him. In the spiritual realm, things are much the same. We must not say we believe in God and His Word and then act like we don’t. We must believe and act on His Word. That’s what we call faith. It is being hypocritical when we say we believe but do not act like we believe.
No one likes a liar. No one wants to be a liar. But when we say we believe but act like we don’t, we are liars. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that if we would abide in His Word, then we would be His disciples and we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. In other words, in order to be set free, we must know the truth.
Without getting into a deep study of the Greek language, let me say this. The word know used in this passage for “know the truth” is ginosko. This doesn’t mean knowing with your head only. It’s not talking about intellectual knowledge. It means to be one with the truth, to be so intimate with the truth that it is actually a part of you. When the truth is that much a part of you, you will instinctively act on it. When we do this, we are acting on the Word of God and when we do that, we get results. This is what the Bible calls “walking by faith,” and that pleases God (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Little children believe the Word of God so easily. Probably that’s because they have nothing to unlearn. A few years ago, a missionary friend of mine returned to the United States with some exciting stories. In the continent where he was preaching, most of the people had never heard of Jesus. They had never been exposed to missionaries and because of this, they had to be taught the basics of God and His Word as a child would be taught. In sharing his testimony, the missionary said that literally thousands of people were accepting Jesus and some great miracles had taken place. He said the blind regained their sight, the lame walked, and a man had been raised from the dead. It was at that point someone looked at him and said, “That is really hard to believe.” The missionary looked back and made a statement I’ll never forget. He said, “You find it hard to believe? That, my friend, is why you haven’t seen it.” How right he was.
