M-G: 5.24.17 // To Be or Not to Be Relevant

Relevant: “Appropriate to the current time, period, or circumstances; of contemporary interest.” Oxford English Dictionary

Synonyms of relevant according to OED: pertinent, applicable, apposite, material, apropos, to the point, to the purpose, germane, admissible, appropriate, apt, fitting, suitable, proper, connected, related, linked.

So, when opponents of Scripture argue that the Bible is not “relevant” in modern culture they are saying that God’s special revelation is impertinent, non-applicable, inapposite (out of place), immaterial, malapropos, without precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand, not germane, inadmissible, inappropriate, inapt, unfitting, unsuitable, improper, disconnected, unrelated, unlinked.

The antonym of relevant would be “irrelevant” or beside the point, not to the point, immaterial, not pertinent, not germane, off the subject, neither here nor there, unconnected, unrelated, peripheral, tangential, extraneous, inapposite, inapt, inapplicable (OED).

The critics of Scripture charge that its dark-age, medieval teachings are unable to remain relevant in a dynamic, changing world. The Bible is archaic to them. Therefore, the logical conclusion could be drawn that if the Bible is irrelevant, so are all churches that believe the Bible to be the rule of life.

I get the world’s point of view; we can’t expect the natural man (1 Cor 2:14) to cuddle up to the Scriptures, but what I wrestle with are believers who claim to know the Lord, and yet, they treat the Bible as if it is irrelevant by their lifestyle, not a good position to take (cf. Jas 4:4).

We have more information on the Bible today than at any time in human history, and ironically, the greatest threat posed to Christianity in our lifetime is willful ignorance and downright neglect of the teaching of Scripture by believers who also treat those who know a thing or two about the Word in contempt as being self-righteous and judging….

What we have today is a Judges 21:25 mindset rampant among so many believers where everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes or doing their own thing. The Bible is not the rule of life. In those days of Israel’s history, there was no king in Israel, but God did raise up judges or deliverers. Did God ever vacate His throne in heaven during that time when everyone was doing what was right according to their opinion and not according to the Law? No. Was there ever a time when Yahweh was not the Sovereign Lord? No. Was not the Law of Moses in existence during the period of the Judges? Yes. The spiritual digression was plainly seen. They cried out to God when they needed Him and ignored Him when they didn't. Does this sound familiar? 

Doing right according to our own understanding (we determine the standards) is a serious shift of moving from the objective truth of God’s Word for something highly subjective and personal, replacing absolute truth for something relative: our own reasoning and point of view. When we are running on our own authority there is no accountability. The rule of life is self or human standards. 

If you know about the time of the Judges in the Bible, it was not a fun time in Israel. Later through inspiration, Solomon warned about what we think is right could be wrong,

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov 14:12).

News flash: whenever we live a self-ruled life, whether saved or lost, it doesn’t end well. The unbeliever winds up in hell due to unbelief, and a foolish believer trashes blessings for burdens in this life and loss of rewards for disobedience in the next life that could have been his had he been faithful to God.

Let’s get to the quick of the matter. If the Word of God is not the rule of life for a believer, he or she has a serious love problem revealed by disobedience to God (cf. Jn 14:15). Conversely, spontaneous obedience reveals our love for God. Whenever the imperatives of God are being treated as optional, the prime directive is being violated (Mk 12:30). 

There is a debilitating mentality as we get older. “I got by this far without making a big fuss over the Word” is very troubling indeed. Such thinking is based on a wrong standard of wealth and health. Having wealth or good health does not necessarily mean a person is “blessed” or right with God. We all probably know evil men who have both! If wealth and health are the standards, Jesus would be wrong in His assessment of that poor destitute widow who gave all that she had (Lk 21:3). It is a false assumption to think, “Look at me! I must be doing something right!” Remember Solomon's words.

Being a follower of Christ, living in harmony with the teaching of Scripture (you can’t successfully do this and remain ignorant of the Word), worshiping and serving Jesus in spirit and in truth faithfully, day in and day out, until rapture or rest is a testament to other believers that the Word of God is relevant in our lives. People hear what we are saying, but are they seeing it in our walk?

Do you know what makes the Bible relevant in all ages, past, present, and future? It is because the heart of man is the same since the fall of Adam. We are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are born sinners (Rom 5:12). We know the Word of God is God’s self-revelation to man, but it is also a book about our spiritual condition before God and how that can be resolved, and what is expected of us after accepting God’s provision for salvation, and the serious repercussions if we reject Him. In the inexplicable grace of God, He demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8); this is a very powerful and moving passage!

Consider that there has never been a time since the fall of man, that this statement of God through Jeremiah in 17:9-10 was not germane,

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

The only thing new about contemporary heresies, claiming that the Bible is irrelevant, is the change of clothing. No matter the design of the apparel throughout human history, man’s heart is still the same behind that outward adornment because we are all sinners. The sin nature of every man, woman, and child is what makes the Bible relevant at any age and era. No matter how much we aspire to be, our sinful nature is still as ugly as the day that we were born. It cannot be cultivated; it cannot be improved upon. It is deceitful above all and desperately wicked. 

Now let me slip in another theological truth that makes the Word relevant (cf. 2 Tim 3:16-17; Heb 4:12). God’s Word is alive because He is alive; we serve a living Savior. In fact, He is eternal! We see the goodness of our living Lord and the badness of man in Scripture and the power of the Word to change a life for the good! I say that makes the Bible relevant. Have you ever noticed that the irrelevant are always attempting to make that which is relevant meaningless? Can you guess who comes out on top?

We need to be relevant to God by submitting to the authority of His Word, not relevant to the world that encourages being disobedient to God. The truth is this; the Bible is appropriate to the current time, period, or circumstances whether there is contemporary interest or not. There will always be contemporary disinterest in the things of God by the world. 

Look at Noah, he spent 12 decades preparing for the coming flood of judgment; nobody cared, and only 8 people were spared a watery tomb (1 Pet 3:20). Now, fast forward to the second coming when Jesus comes to reign from Jerusalem, literally. According to Jesus,

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man” (Lk 17:26; cf. Mt 24:37).

Even in the future, the normal routines of life go on, and the world will have no thought or time for God, rejecting His offer of mercy just as in the days of Noah.  People were not ready in Noah’s day, and they will not be ready when Jesus returns to rule. There has always been a preoccupation with the mundane things of life at the expense of the spiritual when judgment suddenly appears, and the world of lost men claiming to be relevant in their culture will find themselves to be irrelevant (dead).

Folks, it really doesn’t pay to ignore the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice, the Word of God. Our love for God is unquestionably linked to our treatment of His Word. Do you not think the enemy knows this? The devil and his minions are attempting to undermine the great command (Deut 6:5) by contending that God's Word is irrelevant because the enemy knows that our love for God is expressed by keeping His Word as a rule of life.

Being spiritually faithful to the teaching of Scripture is relevant in any age as a believer. Are we pretending to be relevant, honoring God with our lips but our hearts are far from Him? Or are we truly trying to be relevant in an anti-God culture? God knows our heart, right (Jer 17:10)? To be or not to be relevant really is a question of faith. Suffering from the slings and arrows for the sake of righteousness is a far greater weight in glory than the loss of rewards for temporal satisfaction! <><