A Mission Statement

This site will have studies on various Bible-related issues from time to time. However, they come with a caveat.

The Bible is quite clear on who bears responsibility for the salvation of any given individual: that individual. It does not matter who the evangelist is or how smart they are or how well they speak. What matters is how you respond to the Scripture and as such it behooves you to delve deeply into all matters spiritual for yourselves.

Consider these passages which you can look up at several great sites:

http://www.e-sword.net/ I greatly admire the concept of this site: do not charge for access to the Bible.

http://www.biblegateway.com/ A handy online passage search in a variety of translations.

And best of all, a hard copy at your side that you can easily search out not just the individual verse, but that which comes before and after it.

Philippians 2:12 tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It does NOT tell us to have others work out our salvation.

Note this does not mean we are not to listen and listen closely: Romans 10: 14 speaks clearly to that.

But it does mean your salvation rests on your shoulders. Men are fallible. All of us. Me. You. The apostle Peter.

Thus it behooves us to follow the lead of the Bereans who worked and worked hard to verify for themselves the words of Paul. (Acts 17:11).

Now, if you are paying attention you will note a large problem with the preceding paragraphs. Not once, not twice, but thrice I have put forth individual verses. A single verse in a vacuum is an invitation to twisting and mis-interpreting.

Verses should be considered in the context of the passage, in the context of the book, and in the context of THE BOOK. They must fit with the whole of Scripture.

Failure to study the verses in the contexts they must be considered in leads to doubt, confusion, and false beliefs.

That does not mean efforts should not be made to persuade people of the truth. Indeed, Peter stood ready to remind people of things they knew well. (II Peter 1:12-15)

So we stand at an interesting crossroads. On the one hand, I encourage you to study the Word for yourself and not to trust to commentaries and publications of the current religious world.

Indeed, wolves in sheep's clothing such as James Dobson do far more damage to God's truth than Madalyn Murray O'Haire could have ever dreamed of doing simply by luring in once-faithful believers and infusing them with some of the falsehoods he teaches.

Imagine how much damage can be done if you go to a commentary, trust it, and find yourself directly opposing the precepts of God?

On the other hand, I in tend to put forth studies that will, in many senses, BE commentaries.

So do not simply read and accept. Read, consider, study, ask questions. Pray about the things you read and hear, wherever those sources may be.

If passages confuse you, go back and make them more basic. There is perhaps a truth we can pull forth from I Corinthians 14:33/ While the context is how spiritual gifts were to be used in the assembly, the plain statement should apply throughout our Christian walk; God is not a God of confusion and it seems it might be a fair assessment to say He would not give us a path to walk we could not understand.

Thus we have the mission statement for this particular blog. I shall endeavor to present Scriptural studies which might shine the light of God's truth for any and all who seek.

May the peace of God be with you,


Drew