By Not Known
Today is Reformation Sunday. We remember the gracious act of God to reform his church through people such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox.
One feature of the Reformation was insistence on the rule of Scriptures. The church and its members were not to be swayed by tradition, pragmatism or their own ideas on what was right in faith, life, worship and church order. Instead, God’s people were to listen and submit as God spoke in the Scriptures. That emphasis on God ruling all things through his Scriptures is especially strong in reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Today is also the end of our four week series from 2 Timothy 3:14-17. This passage teaches us that the Scriptures are God-breathed. God’s word was expressed in the words of human language through men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The passage also explains the uses of the Bible. It will make us wise for salvation; teach and correct us in the content of our beliefs; rebuke and train us in Christian conduct.
Today also marks the end of Christian Education emphasis month. Over the last few weeks we have been exposed to the various Bible teaching ministries of the church. Today’s focus is on adult learning through our revamped School of Christian Ministry (SoCM). The courses and programming of New SoCM give us all many opportunities to grow in the faith.
The purpose of this growth is summed up in the words: so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:17). That is, we don’t study the Bible as an end in itself, but as a means to a greater end: that we might be: God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10).
All of today’s themes come together as we mark the church’s anniversary. We need to scrutinise church life by the Scriptures lest churchly traditions or pragmatism take us from God’s way. We need to reinforce that the whole church is to be a Bible-learning and Bible-doing church at all times.
The anniversary is also a time to remind one another of our calling. We are to be ready to go with God as we live the life that he sets before each of us. We are to be ready to go for God as we fulfil his mission to make disciples of all nations. This readiness is a product of being a Bible-learning people.
May it please God to make us a really useful people in his next year.
David Burke