Christians are to be whole-Bible Christians. That means that the entire Bible is our authority and is for our benefit. The entire Bible was God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Those who reduce and limit the Bible are doing a great disservice and spiritual harm to themselves and others. Here are two false forms of Christianity:
RED-LETTER CHRISTIANITY
There are those who believe that the only parts of the Bible we truly need to pay attention to are the red letters, the words of Christ Jesus. This is utter foolishness, primarily because the entirety of Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the entire Bible is God's Word. A comparison of any Bible with red letters reveals that we do not know with absolutely certainty where all the words of Jesus begin and end. Some Bibles have certain words in red while others do not. Some Bibles extend the words in red to include other verses that other Bibles do not include, or they end the red letters sooner than other Bibles do. The red letters are rather pointless as no Bible prior to 1899 contained them. The first red-letter New Testament was printed in 1899. The first red-letter Bible was published in 1901.
If you only pay attention to the red letters as your teaching authority, you no longer have anything to judge the creation of the universe. You also have nothing to say that incest, pedophilia, bestiality, etc., are perversions and wrong because Jesus, as far as we can tell according to the red letters, never said anything about them. By relying only upon the red letters as your guide to life, you eliminate all of redemptive history. You eliminate the reason for Jesus' coming and the need for His sacrifice. If you only follow the red letters, you lose the context of why Jesus said certain things and what He meant in saying them.
Claiming that we should be red-letter Christians only makes you a complete and utter fool. Jesus was not a red-letter Christian. Jesus' words were based on the Old Testament. Without the Old Testament, Jesus' words become meaningless. Every time He referred to "the Scriptures" or to "Moses and the prophets," He was referring to the Old Testament. If you only have the red letters, you have no idea what He is quoting or why. You limit yourself in so many ways, including spiritually, when you eliminate all but the red letters. This is not the kind of Christian God intended us to be.
This false Christianity is primarily associated with social issues and used by social justice nitwits. Social justice is an oxymoron because it ignores true justice and fights for societal nonsense that Scripture condemns. This false Christianity was initiated by Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo.
This false Christianity is primarily associated with social issues and used by social justice nitwits. Social justice is an oxymoron because it ignores true justice and fights for societal nonsense that Scripture condemns. This false Christianity was initiated by Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo.
NEW-TESTAMENT-ONLY CHRISTIANITY
There are those who believe that the only part of the Bible we truly need to pay attention to is the New Testament. Some of them will even try to claim that Jesus did away with the Old Testament. I would like to see a chapter and verse for that claim. If the New Testament is your only source of authority, you no longer have anything to judge the creation of the universe. You also have little to nothing to say that incest, pedophilia, bestiality, etc., are perversions and wrong because the majority of those moral issues are found in the Old Testament. By relying solely upon the New Testament, you eliminate all of redemptive history.
Claiming that we should be New-Testament-only Christians makes you a complete and utter fool. Without the Old Testament, there would not exist the New Testament. Jesus and the Apostles frequently referred to "the Scriptures" and to "Moses and the prophets." By doing so, they referred to the entire Old Testament. If you only have the New Testament, you have no idea what is being quoted or why. You limit yourself in a number of ways, including spiritually, when you discard the Old Testament. This is not the kind of Christian God intended us to be.
While many parts of the Bible are not written to us or about us, nevertheless there are lessons for us from Genesis to Revelation. A true Christian embraces the entire Bible and not just the parts they choose to agree with. God and God's Word are the final authority on all matters pertaining to life and faith—not your feelings, emotions, or subjective opinions!
While many parts of the Bible are not written to us or about us, nevertheless there are lessons for us from Genesis to Revelation. A true Christian embraces the entire Bible and not just the parts they choose to agree with. God and God's Word are the final authority on all matters pertaining to life and faith—not your feelings, emotions, or subjective opinions!