Often preaching focuses on topics of various sorts and youth group messages deal with what is perceived relevant to teenagers. The goal is to speak to where people are, to get their attention and keep their interest. It is a worthy goal, but it has a significant downside. When the preaching and teaching of the Church focuses primarily on what is perceived as relevant, often the Scriptures play a secondary role in the message. Done enough and the audience has little or no experience with the raw power of the Word of God.
I experience this often on campus with students who, having grown up in the church, demonstrate little knowledge or experience with the Scriptures. I have also experienced this with many adults, even elders in local churches, who have difficulty navigating the Word of God and understanding its basic teachings and experiencing its transformative power.
If we look back to the beginnings of the New Testament Church, the Apostles made clear their priority as its leaders—teaching the Word (Acts 6:2-4). It should be noted that this was in the context of needs in the congregation that were unmet. When faced with a choice, they maintained their commitment to teaching the Scriptures and appointed others to meet the needs.
There are a lot of needs in any church or campus ministry, and the society at large. The temptation is to focus all of our attention on those at the expense of the Word. But the Apostles set a standard that we in the church should always follow—the teaching of the Word should never be abandoned regardless of what needs there are among the people. And from the writer of Hebrews, we understand why.
The Word is living and active; thus, it is not just an old book with cool stories and moral precepts. It has the power to penetrate our hearts, expose what lies deep within us, and to dismantle the facades we have so carefully built. And as Paul writes, it teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, and trains us in righteousness so that we are fully equipped for everything God has for us (II Timothy 3:16-17).
And perhaps this is why churches have often played down the Word because it often makes us uncomfortable and challenges us in ways we find intimidating and troubling. For many, soothing words are more palatable and better received, and, thus, the incentive to say what pleases people and scratches where they itch. But just as children will never develop into healthy adults if they are only told what they want to hear and always get what they want, neither will we grow into mature spiritual men and women if we never become fully adept at handling the Word of God (II Timothy 2:15)
This requires that we first trust that God knows what He is doing. We must believe He has our best interests at heart (and, if we are teachers or preachers, of those under our leadership), even if He requires us to face some painful truths or asks us to do things far out of our comfort zones. If the Scriptures are indeed the Word of God, then we cannot afford to shy away from knowing them and obeying them if we want to be spiritually healthy and mature.
Today, as the original Apostles did, make the Word of God a priority in your life. Read it, study it, and become adept in knowing its truths and putting them into practice in your daily lives. For this is the reason God gave us His Word, so we can grow into the men and women He created us to be. Without knowledge and experience with it, this transformation will never happen.
© Jim Musser 2015
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