A Renewed Mind – A New Mindset (Part 2)
Yesterday, much of the message was about Paul, what he was and what he became. With that being so, we much be careful that Paul’s writings are understood; he speaks of what he was (some take that as present tense), and he also talks of His present walk. It was also Paul who wrote most the New Testament; therefore, one would accept what the Spirit of God used him to write as well as all the other writers.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).
That’s the reason we must be careful with some of these new translations. Although I use the KJV as my number one means to study from, it also has errors. Remember the Bible was translated from the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, and there were were errors in the print.
God gives us these awesome brains to search out the matter and see what the Word is not saying and what it is saying. Not only that, reason within yourself, does it make sense?
Paul wrote most of the New Testament books, and he had a spiritual experience with Jesus Christ in the desert of Arabia for three years. Yet, with all that training and getting a new mindset when Paul taught, they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11).
Paul wrote the book of Romans which is called the most exhaustive book; in other words, the book is the foundation of our Christian walk, and all the other epistles hinge on the book of Romans. Once one understands the book of Romans, it is easier to digest the other epistles.
We have been in the book of Romans for approximately two years, it is the meat of the Gospel. In fact, Romans is commonly considered the greatest exposition of Christian doctrine anywhere in scripture. It contains an orderly, logical development of profound theological truths (partial foreword from NKJV- Jack W. Hayford).
Paul was committed to unfolding the the doctrines of grace which were latent (hidden) in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Paul originates nothing, but unfolds everything, concerning the nature and purpose of the law; the grounds and means of the believer’s justification, sanctification, and glory; the meanings of the death of Christ, and the position, walk, expectation, and service of the Christian (partial foreword from Scofield Bible).
Stop: Many teachings have been from the natural mindset, but we must not use our intellect to try and rightly divide the Word; the intellect must line up with the Word of God. Seeing the scriptures from our perspective alone does not make things clear.
That’s why we must interpret scriptures from God’s perspective to get the proper understanding; His perspective is clear. We see the Word from our view, but we must think like God thinks. There have been teachings about marriage in Romans, chapter 7. This is not talking about a physical marriage between a husband and wife, and divorce. It means to divorce from the law and be married to Christ (Romans 7:1-4). Paul wrote about marriage in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11.
My point is brothers and sisters, all of us should come out of our way of thinking and allow the Spirit to reveal to us what the real truth is (there is only one truth). Beware [be on guard] 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).
Note: Study to show your self approved to God…. (2 Timothy 2:15), like the Bereans (noble men who were considered excellent because they searched the scriptures for themselves). They did not search sporadically (occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated), they searched daily! (Acts 17:11)
Sharing this before posting challenges is imperative, because it will give the readers time to process what is written, dig into the Word and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to discern (understand) what is truth- what is good and what is evil (John 14:26, Hebrews 5:14).
Tomorrow I plan to list some topics.
God bless you ~ Betty A. Burnett
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