ORIGINALITY
In the commercial sector, the word original comes to mind easily. Buyers of vehicle parts, household items, beauty products, and anything you can think of desire and want the original. There are modernized ways of doing things, which have changed from originally known formats. In the process, we gained the speed of product delivery but the quality is sometimes compromised. The word original implies that there are fakes and imitated goods in the market. Almost every product has got imitations that are far less in quality. Manufacturers reduce the quality of goods for profit reasons and this is not in the end-user’s best interest most times. We all want originals.
In the religious circle as well, the devil has created pseudo-Christians. They are those who have a form of godliness but lack the power thereof (2Timothy 3:5). They bear the name of Christians, and probably dress or speak like one, but the power of godliness is absent in their lives. They preach in church, but change figures in the office. They dress like believers but commit immorality in secret. Many go to church with itching ears and would rather want the preacher to preach mini, if not nano-messages, so they can jump up to dance. While the preachers’ message is on, they wouldn’t want him to mention their sins, nor interpret the scriptures as they should be. They would want the scriptures twisted for their own profits. They have forgotten that the Church belongs to Christ, He bought her with His blood and she must fulfill her Lord’s will.
We cannot twist the scriptures, nor accommodate any false interpretation, to suit our own needs (2Peter 3:16). What would God want us to do? We must conform to the infallible word of God in whatever we do or say. We must compare our thoughts and conduct with the scriptures. The Lord cannot lower His standards; we must come up to meet His own standard. His grace is sufficient for us if we are willing.
In interpreting the scriptures, we must take cognizance of the recommended guidelines, so we do not go into error. First, a carnally minded man cannot understand the things of the Spirit, for they are spiritually discerned (1Corinthians 2:14). Our spiritual life and mind must be in the right state for us to perceive divine insights and revelations. We must be born again. As believers, whatever fallow ground is in our minds like worry and anxiety, hardened mind, unbelief, lack of open mind and simplicity must all be taken out of the way for us to understand and to profit maximally from the scriptures (Hosea 10:12).
Additionally, we must take into cognizance the law of the first mention- where you compare every subsequent passage on a subject to the first passage on that subject i.e. where it was first mentioned in the Bible. We are not to interpret the scriptures out of context; you cannot just take a verse out of the scriptures and dwell on it while all other passages about the subject are neglected. The Bible interprets itself and we must go line by line and allow the Holy Spirit shed light as we compare scriptures with scriptures. We can also choose to compare versions with each other but the English King James version was found to have been interpreted with the utmost integrity.
The Bible was given to guide us back to God. The original man in Eden was sinless; the devil brought sin and corrupted man. Christ came to redeem us back to God. He came to make the fallen man sinless before God. This can be achieved through salvation and sanctification. Believers who are weak must cry unto the Lord, their Maker, so He would break and re-mold them to His own image. He wants others to see Himself in us. We are ‘little Christs’ (Christians) and this must be seen in all we do or say. Those who are still in sin or hypocritical should repent and return to the Lord so they can regain the original nature God desires for man.
Originality, take a moment and think over it. Are you original? The Lord knows those who are His (2Timothy 2:19; Mathew 7:20-21). Be original!