Imagine you own a nice automobile. One morning you go out to your car, hop in, pop the key in the ignition and start it up. So far, so good.
But what if you put it in drive, and then had to GUESS which direction the car would move! Imagine if some days your car decided to go forward, as the indicator on the shifter showed, but on other days it just decided to remain in neutral — or even go in REVERSE!!! What if there was no pattern to its “decision” but it was totally random. To make matters worse, what if it could “change its mind” every time you came to a stop sign or a traffic light.
Such a car, even though it may have a fine engine, would be totally useless. In fact, worse than useless, it would be DANGEROUS. Without a reliable transmission, a good engine is worthless.
You’ve got the same problem with a compass that points south … sometimes. Not all the time, mind you; but fairly regularly. Unless you can count on the compass in your hand pointing north — and doing so ALL THE TIME — it’s just a useless chunk of hardware. Its entire value is the fact that it is predictable and reliable.
The bible is like that. More to the point, the interpretation of the bible is like that. This is why in the convergence movement we so value the historic Church. Times change, understandings change; but some things ought not change. Ever. When some things change, like your car’s transmission or the direction of your compass, it invalidates the reliability of the whole thing. Some things are like that. And the bible is one of those things.
There is security and stability in having the car ALWAYS move forward when in drive, in having the compass ALWAYS point north. There’s security in having the bible ALWAYS be able to be trusted in what it says.
THE WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE AND POWERFUL
Throughout the history of the Church, we’ve always relied upon the power of the living word of God. The power to speak into our lives. The power to bring life into death when we were dead in our trespasses and sin. The power to break the bonds of sin and set us free. The power to fill us, equip us, engage us in the mission to advance the Kingdom of God. Living power, living in us through His word.
That power and life speaks to a world that is dead, too. It calls sin for what it is, and calls us to be free from it.
If you’ve been reading the Virtue Online website, a voice for global orthodox Anglicanism (found at VirtueOnline.org), you’ve seen conflict and confusion caused by a group that is abandoning the historic interpretation of the scriptures in favor of a “progressive stance on human sexuality issues.” Many people are confusing the teaching of scripture and not applying it in line with the historic traditions. Some of them, knowing their position will cause deep concerns, are deliberately hiding what they are trying to accomplish.
In my opinion, what is saddest of all is that they apparently believe that their deception will bring freedom. Of course, it will not. Deception only ever brings bondage. Rather than change the living and powerful word of God to match the pressures of a declining culture, God’s servants should be shining a bright light into the darkness, and using the word of God to bring TRUE FREEDOM.
When your compass is pointing south, it’s time to turn around. You’re heading in the wrong direction.
