When it comes to being a Christian, it seems that you get the uncanny ability to see things that – to the rest of the world – just isn’t there.

Don’t you remember that part in Armageddon when Bruce Willis’ team was being evaluated before they shot off into space and saved the world against all odds?  The evaluations were pretty funny, especially the part when Ben Affleck took the psychological inkblot test and every inkblot picture that he saw, he interpreted it as Bruce Willis’ character rejecting him saying, “This is Harry giving me a hard time.  This is Harry saying I’m not good enough…” and so on.  Those little inkblot things are interesting.  I’ve seen them in a few movies, but I wonder what I would interpret if I took the test.  Different people can look at the same inkblot and see something completely different and the cool thing about it is no matter what you see, you aren’t wrong about it.

 

Well, the Bible is kind of like that inkblot test.  Everyone looks at it and many people see something different than the next person.  However, the difference between a harmless inkblot evaluation and the Bible is: there is only one correct Way to see the Bible.

 

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#1.) John 13:35

 

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It can be difficult to separate Christianity from the Bible.  Often, when I tell people I am a disciple of the Son, they look at me with a curious look and usually begin to interrogate to make sure I’m not some Kool-Aid drinking kook in a candle lit basement leading a cult.  Interestingly enough, however, the Bible actually calls us to be disciples and never calls us Christians.  The few times that “Christian” is in the Bible it’s always something that non-believers and gentiles called disciples; never what disciples called other disciples.  Another interesting stat, “Christian” is used a whopping three times in the Bible compared to the 250+ times “disciple” is used.  But hey, being a Christian, it’s perfectly natural to see something different.

 

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#2.) 1 John 3:20

 

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There are a number of verses in the Bible that God used his prophets and apostles to warn us and focus our thinking on His righteousness, yet many Christians are able to use their remarkable abilities to change a warning to a security blanket.  1 John 3:20 advises us that any guilty feeling that we have, even if it is hidden from the world, is not hidden from God.  However, when Christians read this verse they see it as “God knows that I mean well even if my pesky heart condemns me… aww, He loves me.” This could all be cleared up by reading the verse before and after. For instance, 1 John 3:19 speaks of assurance in our hearts, which is the goal, then 1 John 3:20 contrasts this assurance with uncertainty or guilt in our hearts.  This gives us a sort of barometer to measure our conduct by on the fly; if our hearts condemn us we need to do better.  Finally, 1 John 3:21 brings us back to focusing on having a confident heart before God that does not condemn us. In short, if your heart condemns you then study, pray and repent until your heart is made confident through the knowledge of Christ.

 

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#3.) Acts 20:7

 

 

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I’m a huge advocate for the Sabbath so I often ask pastors why they have their standard weekly service on Sunday.  Most of the time at some point during the conversation Acts 20:7 is referenced which always boggles my mind. This verse literally documents a single, one-time, event, but it is used to justify a weekly Sunday service as a standard.  Never mind the fact that this is the only time the “first day of the week” is mentioned in Acts compared to the disciples gathering with Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath being mentioned at least eight times.  But hey, let’s say this individual description of an event that happened to be on the first day of the week is sufficient enough to forget the Sabbath – God forbid – then I wonder why Christians don’t acknowledge the Holy Days like the Week of Unleavened Bread which is mentioned – just one verse prior – in Acts 20:6 or Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) which is mentioned in Acts 20:16.  You would think if one random mention of “first day of the week” is enough to justify a weekly Sunday service then surely the mention of well-established celebrations given by the Most High Himself would give all credence to observing God’s Biblical holidays… right? Who knows, ask your pastor, we’ll see if he saw it differently.

 

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#4.) Romans 3:25

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Unfortunately, the world is plagued with this idea that it’s impossible to stop sinning.  So, as a result, much of Christian teaching involves an idea of immunity as long as your “heart is in the right place” – whatever that means.  This belief requires the Bible to be interpreted differently; in such a way that will allow for sins that have not been committed to be proactively atoned for.  The Truth is, we are called to repent (turn from all sins against the Covenant) and He promises to cleanse our old sins.  If we walk worthy of the calling then there should be no present or future sins to remove.  Just remember, we all have sinned, we all fall short, and He gave His life while we were yet sinners, but none of that means we have to keep sinning.  Be transformed by the Spirit and He will cleanse you of your past sins and then “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5:14)

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#5.) 2 Corinthians 5:8

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I’m not the only one who had this thought of my grandparents hanging out with the angels and God looking down rooting for our family like I root for the Lakers… or nah? Well, this verse is the one that the Christians used their super powers to see what they want which caused my imagination to go wild.  Once I read it for myself a few times, I was instantly cured and was finally able to see it for what it is.  Hallelu-Yah.  Paul is actually talking about where we place our hope, our affections and our value.  At the beginning of the chapter he talks about the fleeting value of our earthly bodies then describes our eternal bodies that God has for us.  He goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “we walk by faith, not by sight” meaning we aren’t focused on the present nor do we value our physical bodies, but we look forward to being united with the Messiah at His return.  That’s why in the next verse, 2 Corinthians 5:8 he says, we are CONFIDENT and WILLING to be absent from the body.  In other words, we are ready to die.  He is not saying people die and appear instantly in heaven.  But how could we expect Christians to see that?

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#6.) 1 Corinthians 10:13

 

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Probably one of the more butchered verses of the Bible. As if the actual message isn’t encouraging enough Christians tend to leave out some of the most important details of this verse which inadvertently suppresses much of the effect.  Paul is telling us that there is not any sin that we cannot overcome; each sin is common and has been overcome by someone in the world.  That in itself is powerful and encouraging letting us know that we can go the rest of our lives without sinning.  The next part is even better because Paul says that before we are tempted to the point where we can no longer resist, there is an escape afforded to us by God that we will be able to overcome and not sin.  Our God always clears Himself and makes it known that He has done His part, now the ball is in our hands.  Despite the empowering information and grace described in this verse, it’s often denigrated into a one-liner to inspire people about career choices or cheer people up about financial hardships.

 

This condition is probably the hardest obstacle for a long time Christian to overcome.  Even when presented with this information they find ways to see things the way they have always seen them.  If only they could admit that they are seeing things wrong but it’s difficult because they prefer it that way.  Only the sick need a physician and if a person can “see” then they won’t be interested in glasses… even the Son of God knew that.

 

John 9:41

Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.