THE WALLS ARE STILL STANDING

The winds may blow and howl. They may rip and tear. They may destroy temporal things but Jesus Christ's Church will stand despite all of the violence that attacks it.

In the center of the picture, you should be able to make out the Methodist church's bell tower and roofless building. The church is on the Island of Grenada in the southern Caribbean and it was ravaged in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. Note that even though the roof is gone, the building still stands. I was reminded of Christ's promise that He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it the first time that I saw it and it will always remain in my memory as an illustration of the strength of the Church in the face of the violence of this world.

This past weekend, Pastor Fred Winters of the First Baptist Church of Maryville, IL was gunned down by a lunatic with a handgun as the pastor stood in the pulpit of the church at their 8:15AM worship service. The gunman approached Pastor Winters in the pulpit and the gunman and Pastor Winters briefly exchanged words and then the man opened fire on Pastor Winters. Pastor Winters apparently raised his Bible to shield himself from the gunshot but even though it seemingly stopped the first shot, three more rounds were fired before the gun jammed. Had the weapon not jammed there may have been several more funerals being observed tomorrow.

The reason that I've brought this incident up is that while I was contemplating the events of Sunday, March 8, it occurred to me that the Bible that Pastor Winters held up against the bullets that were used against him did indeed protect him from the first shot, but in the end he died.

How often do we lift up the Bible by itself to ward off the evils of this world without going to its Author for instruction, comfort, healing and power? Every Sunday morning I declare that the Bible that I hold up before my congregations is the Word of God for the people of God and while I sincerely believe that declaration to be true, the Bible itself declares Jesus Christ to be the Word of God. Jesus is the Word Incarnate and while the Bible is God's verbal revelation of His loving acts done on behalf of His people, it is the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ, who saves us from our sins. I feel that too often the people of God trust in the inanimate object that we call the Bible to deliver them from evil while forgetting that Jesus Himself instructed us to pray to the Father to deliver us. I am beginning to realize that for many Christians the Bible is lifted up to have the same sovereignty as God.

God reveals Himself to us through His written Word, the Bible, but more importantly He has revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit. I have no doubt that the Bible has been and will continue to be used to draw many - myself included - to the truth of God's love and desire for us to spend eternity with Him; but I am equally convinced that many Christians have elevated the Bible to be equal to or even superior to its Author.

Hebrews 4:12 declares "... the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit , of both joints and marrow, and able to judge thoughts and intentions of the heart." Let us always take care to use the Bible as an instrument of revelation rather than one of devastation.

Pastor Winters lifted up his Bible and today we have every reason to believe that he is looking into the face of the Author and as he was met at the gates of heaven heard "well done, good and faithful servant." Will you be welcomed similarly because of your faith in the Word Incarnate, or will you hear "...depart from me, accursed one, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" because in the process of your religiosity, you failed to lift the Creator above the created. Use His Word to strengthen your faith and to draw others to Christ but please don't worship the Book and forget the Author.