30 Days in the Bible, Day 25: Deuteronomy 6:1-9

The Sh’ma is the foundation of a devout Jew’s morning and evening prayers. Traditionally it is supposed to be the last words spoken before sleep at night, and for many Jews they are the last words they speak. It is a reminder that one’s faith is in the one and only God, the God of Israel.

It is also the basic creedal statement of Judaism. Creeds have been used for millennia to remind religious believers of the foundational teachings of their faith in summary form. For the Jew, all other beliefs are dependent on who God is. It speaks of God as one, as the only God, and as the God of Israel. By reciting the Sh’ma, a Jew is reminded of his or her relation to the one true God.

Christians have developed their own creeds over the centuries. They started to appear even in the first centuries, while the Bible was being written. They were recited to remind Christians of the foundations of their faith, and often said in group settings to remind everyone present that they shared a common faith.

Many Christians today still recite the Apostle’s Creed, which is based on basic statements that began to develop in the first two centuries of the church. As a student at a non-Baptist seminary, I would recite this creed several times a week in chapel. It was a constant reminder to me of three things: (1) the basic beliefs of my faith, (2) the faith I share with all Christians throughout the world, and (3) the fact that I follow a faith that is rooted in a long history.

Some Christians are skeptical of creeds. “No creed but the Bible!” is often the cry of groups that reject any creed. Yet we all have our own “creeds,” statements of what we believe. Your creed can be found in the answer to this question: “What do you believe?” The answer you give to that question reflects your basic beliefs.

Creeds have been used as teaching tools in many churches throughout the ages. They do not take the place of the Bible; a creed is only as valid when it is true to the teaching of Scripture. They do serve as an outline of the teachings of Christianity. In one sense, they serve to help us understand our faith in the same way the Lord’s Prayer helps us understand how to pray.

As we study the Bible, we can help ourselves recall its teachings by finding summary statements like creeds and statements of faith that organize Biblical teaching into an easily remembered form. Those statement aren’t our faith, which is found in our relationship to Jesus Christ, but they can help us understand and grow in our faith as they remind us of the truths we have learned from God’s Word.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 17: Deuteronomy 17:14-20

If the instructions in today’s passage had been taken seriously by the kings of Israel and Judah, how much different could the course of their history have been? God commanded each king to read and follow His law. As we read through the historical books of the Old Testament, we see that this command was ignored by most of the kings. Even if they kept up the external tradition of writing out their own copy of the Law (which we are not told that any king did), they clearly failed to put its precepts into practice.

While not kings, many leaders in the broad stream of Christianity fail to understand and apply the Word today. We see large numbers of churches that call themselves “Christian” espouse teachings that openly ignore what the Word says, sometimes defiantly so. These churches are more interested in fitting in with the intellectual, social, and moral climate of contemporary society than they are with remaining true to God and His Word. They believe that by reflecting current ideals they will attract the world to them.

Most of these situations do not arise when people who attend a church start to pressure the pastors and teachers of the church to compromise. More often, they begin when leaders come in who reject or reinterpret Biblical teachings to match popular thought. There is a lot of pressure to be acceptable to those who have status outside of the church, to appear to be reasonable and tolerant by people who are more interested in justifying their sin than to be faithful to Christ.

When we look for a church, or for a pastor or Bible teacher, our first criterion should be “Is this someone who knows and lives the Word of God?” While we’ll never find someone who is perfect, we should seek out leaders for whom the Bible is their authoritative guide for life and whose lives reflect an understanding and commitment to following the Lord and His Word.

Ironically, it is denominations and churches which have turned away from the Bible which are losing members most rapidly. The very thing they thought they could achieve by compromising with modern culture has not happened. When we seek to be like the world, we give those in the world no reason to join us. We can’t offer them anything they don’t already have.

The Bible as the revealed Word of God provides the Christian and the church with something far more important and valuable than anything this world has to offer. Through the Word, we learn of our need, of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, of eternal life, and of a life with meaning that goes beyond our time here on earth. We need to learn from leaders and teachers who know, study, live, and proclaim these truths to us. For that, we must always come back to God’s Word, and to what it reveals to us about Him.