When I was very serious about finding scriptural truth, I often missed the essence of scripture. This subject was discussed by The Free Believers Network in the episode The Essence Revelation 12th May 2010. It is better to understand the essence of the Gospel, to know it in your heart, rather than have a load of Biblical facts swimming around inside your head, which have no accord in your heart.
In a recent podcast episode, Darin Hufford presented an analogy of the way in which we become so focused on individual words of scripture, but lose the essence of what it is telling us. He likened it to a person who reads a personal letter, over and over again, until it loses its original meaning. It’s almost like becoming a handwriting expert and examining every little dot above the “i” and so forth.
Outside of the institutional church setting, you no longer have a spiritual coach barking out orders at you. Now you are in a situation whereby you have the freedom to learn what is right and wrong for yourself. Sometimes it is not a case of determining what is right or wrong in a way that applies to everyone: it is more about what is right for you in this moment in time.
Discover the Essence for Yourself
It is important to discover for yourself the spirit or essence behind scripture. Darin Hufford related in a recent podcast episode, the way in which we abstain from doing something, and tell others to do likewise, just because the Bible seems to say so. Now, this would have sounded sacrilegious to me a few years ago – but it makes a great deal of sense to me now. We say something like, “You should not fornicate!” Then when someone asks, “Why” – we just reply, “Because the Bible says so.” Find out what the Bible means to you personally. Discover the essence and spirit behind a verse of scripture. Learn about the context of a verse – you might find that the verse was written to non-believers or just to the Jews, for instance. I’m not condoning fornication or anything else that the Bible says we should not do, but I do believe there is a need to discover what is right and wrong for you.
I remember Joseph Prince providing an analogy of a man who tells his wife that he only has eyes for her; he will never get intimate with any other woman…because the Bible says so. It would be a lot more flattering for the woman if the man told her that he would not spend time with another woman – because he loves her. You see, love engages the heart. But when you are coldly following rules and principles from the Bible, under the threat of punishment and in fear, you become like a robot that has disconnected himself from the heart and is merely living from the head.
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