'Trusting God's Promises!' (2)

 

'...no...Scripture is...of one's own interpretation.' 2 Peter 1:20 NAS


Sorry for not getting out yesterday's "Thought for Today" to you. My email server went down and I didn't get email till this morning. So if you want to read yesterday's thought, go to our website calvarychurch-ag.org, go to the pastor's page, and go to my blog. Then this blog might make more sense...lol.

 Here are two more principles for discerning which promises in Scripture are for you: (1) Try to understand the context. No Scripture stands in isolation, but should be read in conjunction with every other Scripture on the same topic. If you isolate 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' (Philippians 4:13 NKJV), believing 'all things' includes leaping from a twelfth-story window, don't blame God's Word for your unexpected demise! I know that's a large exaggeration, but there are those who make that kind of leap with the scriptures everyday. If you had read the point Paul was in in it's true context, it would have said, '...I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all [these] things through Christ who strengthens me.' (Philippians 4:12-13 NKJV) This Scripture doesn't mean you can do anything you want, but that God will enable you to get through anything you encounter while doing His will. (2) Test Scripture by Scripture, not by your own desires. 'No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation.' Some Bible promises are universal in application, and some are personal. The personal ones apply to the intended hearer; the universal ones apply to all believers. That's why it is important to know which is which. If you think the Scripture, '...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household' (Acts 16:31 NKJV), guarantees your entire family's salvation, you might be disappointed and think that God failed. No, that was a personal promise made and fulfilled to the Philippian jailer. A universal word for you and your family is, '...In fact, God...wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.' (2 Peter 3:9 CEV) He wants your entire family to be saved! Learning to rightly divide the word is something God himself will help you with. You are loved...