Thursday after the Ninth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 18, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. John 5:39-47 (NKJV)
5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
41 “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Devotion
There will always be those who blame the Bible for the divisions in the visible Church. Everyone who reads the Bible should come to the same conclusion, right? Obviously not. The Jews and the Christians both read Moses, but as Jesus—who is God in the flesh—testifies, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.” Therefore, it is not the Bible, nor is it the doctrine of the Bible, that causes division in the visible Church. Rather, it is unbelief, which sinful men (sometimes unknowingly) mix with the true doctrine of the Bible. For this reason divisions are useful when they make it easier to identify the true from the false. St. Paul writes, “There must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized” (1 Cor. 11:19).
Tragically, all Christians also suffer from the temptation to mix lies into the doctrine of the Bible. We must always be humble and on guard against ourselves, lest we idolize our opinions over the Bible’s doctrine. But how can we ever be confident of the truth, if our own flesh fights it? The Holy Spirit, knowing the weakness of our nature, made the Bible clear, as St. Paul explains: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine” (2 Tim. 3:16). He will always be on solid ground who lets the Bible speak for itself.
Prayer: Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
