Framework

This week I read a small little book entitled, "Preaching for God's Glory" by Alistair Begg. Even though this book was about expository preaching and the crafting of a sermon I found a sentence in it to be very applicable for my life outside of the pulpit. This sentence and the idea that was understood from it got me to think about when I interact with people in the world around me what is my foundation.

"While we recognize that one's theological framework affects our view of the Bible, we need to work hard to ensure that the Scripture rules our framework, not the other way around".

So the Bible should be the foundation of who I am. The Bible should be the foundation of what I am about. Every aspect of what I say, what I do, how I act, and what I think, should start from Scripture. The framework of who I am should be from the Bible. That means my position on election should not be who I am, but what the Bible tells me about my salvation. My ideas about Spiritual gifts should not be my focus, but what the Bible tells me about the gift and blessings God has given me to use for Him should be what I understand.

This means practically, other people should not see my thoughts and hear my words, they should see Scripture and get a clear picture of what the Bible says lived out. Others should not hear my words, they should hear what Jesus is telling them through my voice. This means that others should not see a framework of who I am and what I am about and my personality, but they should see what God has done in me and is continuing to do in me and through me. The frame work of who I am has to start from the Bible.

This means then that I must be going back to the Bible for what I know. When I have questions about life where do I turn, myself or God's word? When I do not understand why things happen, do I go inside myself and mind to figure it out or do I go back to Scripture to see what God is saying? To have the foundation of the Bible to live I must know the Bible. So is the framework of what I think me or is it Scripture? Where do I turn, myself or God's word?

In order to have a framework in life of the Bible so other see God not me, I must have the framework of Scripture as my thought. This must mean I turn to the Bible daily for everything I need. great thoughts to live by and remind ourselves of daily in this busy fast paced world.