Do Your Homework!

GodWords Newsletter #19

Most of you already know that a lot of what I do on GodWords is answer questions. I get all kinds of questions (mostly via email) and they’re simultaneously interesting, fun, and troubling. They’re interesting because I love to learn what other people believe. They’re fun because I get to meet new friends.

Why are they troubling?

They’re incredibly troubling because it’s clear that there are tons of people out there who call themselves Christian, who talk about their faith on social media, who will argue with anyone who doesn’t agree with what they believe… and who clearly have never done their homework.

This week I was told about the 75 books that have been removed from the Bible. You know, it’s common knowledge. 75 books have been removed from the Bible, and not enough people are talking about it. Really. Seriously. For realz…

On the one hand, I have the opportunity to help this person find the truth. On the other hand, it’s unlikely she’ll do the homework needed to see that she’s been WILDLY misled. Rather than checking it out - something she should have done in the beginning - she’s writing me off as a defender of the indefensible. That’s troubling.

The issue isn’t whether 75 books have been removed from the Bible. They haven’t, and the claims are ridiculous… but that’s not the point. The point is that many of us - most of us, I’d say - are willing to write about, talk about, and defend things we’ve never closely examined. I’ve been there. You’ve been there.

We talk a lot about truth, but are we willing to do the homework?

We don’t need to be experts about everything. We only have one thing to master: what it means to follow Jesus closely. To do that, we must know the Scriptures. If we’re intimately familiar with the real thing, no counterfeit will ever pass inspection.

❤️

---

🔖 Useful Stuff from the Interwebz

• Handling Rejection and Hurt
  We all get hurt sometimes. Following Jesus includes learning how to respond like He would.

• Dads, Your Presence in Worship Matters
  Mother’s Day is the 3rd-most attended church day. Father’s Day is dead last. Seems like we may have a problem. Dads matter.

• Book Review: The Christian Manifesto by Alistair Begg
  Jesus’ sermon on the plain (not to be confused with His sermon on the mount) is His description of life in God’s kingdom, where all that is wrong is being put right. (Please leave a comment: do you like or not like book reviews?)

---

❔Can Non-Christians Go to Heaven?

This week’s email question asks an important question: If you are not a Christian can you still go to heaven? And if you are Baptized will you go to heaven?

Read It Now →

---

🎶 Prove It by Crowder (ft. KB)

There are slaves and there are kings
All are bound 'til they are free
All misplaced 'til they believe
Oh, Lord

If you're free, prove it
If you're not, loose the chains on your soul
Come, freedom

Listen Now →

---

🚀 Quotable

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
- Confucius