To me the Bible is the inerrant infallible word of God. Many Christians will say they feel this way also, but when it comes right down to it, it seems to me what they really mean is that they believe the Bible is the inerrant infallible word of God except for when it's not convenient to them. Time and time again people try to fit God into their own little box. God is too big to fit in a box, it's up to us to adjust to him not for Him to adjust to us. I feel that God has called me into full-time ministry and I have worked towards this for the past few years now. I have an Associates degree from Bible college and I'm working towards a bachelors in religion from Liberty University online. I believe that my calling is to pastor a small church and that's what I'm working towards. I could also be very happy is traveling preacher but ultimately it's up to God.
One of the things that I do on a regular basis is to check websites that advertise pastor positions. I have applied for a few but for one reason or another it just hasn't been God's will for me yet. Most of the times I don't apply to the positions because I realize that I don't have the qualifications they are asking for. But I still spend time looking at the ads and following them back to the church websites when I can, and try to find out with this particular church is all about. Time and time again I will find that the church professes that they believe that the Bible is the inerrant infallible word of God. But then as I search through their vision statement and statement of faith I will more times than not find out that in my opinion they have adjusted the word of God to fit within their set of beliefs.
One of the things that I've managed to do so far is to not declare denomination. If someone really presses me I tell him that I'm Bapticostal because that's how I really feel. The Baptist in me loves preaching and witnessing to people. I love preaching and there's no better feeling than when the Lord uses you to lead someone back to him. The Pentecostal in me on the other hand believes that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still active and available to those who believe.Although I know that there are many who believe that the gifts ended with the apostolic age, the only way that I find that in Scripture is through interpretation. And interpretation is where we run into problems. I love studying Scripture researching the Greek and Hebrew, researching the context and I know that proof texting leads to many problems, but it is something that we all seem to do. In the end I don't want to hear someone tell me what Jesus meant, I want to read what Jesus said.
Just recently our president used his Christianity as a basis to come out in favor of gay marriage. And the scary thing is that I know a lot of people who feel the same way. To me this is an aberration, it is never right to use God in order to that advance your personal agenda. I also came across something else this week that nearly knocked me off my seat. Someone I know, who knows Scripture inside and out, can quote chapter and verse better than I probably ever will be able to. They question why I have to go to school or college when all I really need is the Bible and they doesn't attend church because they don't seem to believe that there is any church out there that actually sticks strictly to Scripture. Well this person recently posted a couple lines of Scripture up on Facebook.These were lines of Scripture that would normally be very appealing to Pentecostals but I know this person is surely not a Pentecostal. So I read through three paragraphs where they proceeded to explain what these verses really meant. I read it three times and still couldn't figure out how they possibly could have gotten to the explanation that they did. I wish I could say this was an exception to the rule but too often I find it to be more the norm.
I know there are things in the Bible that I may never understand in this lifetime. Yet to the best of my ability and the leading of the Holy Spirit I choose to believe that the entire Bible is true even the parts that I don't understand. There are points that great men and women have been debating for centuries that I know I may never figure out. But it doesn't matter to me even in situations where I may disagree with a particular theory I'm more interested in why I think I'm right as opposed to why I think they're wrong. To me it all comes down to two major points. The first is contained in the book of Matthew chapter 22 verses 37 -39. And he said to him you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The second point to me is doing my part to fulfill the great commission. Whether that is by being light in a dark world, preaching, teaching, or witnessing. If the Holy Spirit gives me with the ability to witness through miracles signs and wonders praise God that's even better. The one thing I know for sure is that anytime I have a question about anything I see, or hear, I look it up in the Bible is that's where the truth is.
