Scriptural Illiteracy

There is a saying that I love. “Just because you are standing in a garage, that doesn’t make you a car.” You can go to church every Sunday, check off all the boxes that a good Christian is supposed to and yet still be no closer to heaven than the atheist next door.

In Matthew 7: 21-23, Christ states, “‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” 23 Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

Only those who do the will of the Father in Heaven will enter the Kingdom, yet immediately after, there is a list of works that the people are doing that sound pretty Christian to me. Yet, apparently, Christ does not know who they are. Be honest, doesn’t this seem a bit contradictory? How about a bit unfair? Hell, they cast out demons! That can’t even be done without the Power of the Holy Spirit! So obviously there is more here.

“…only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven.” The word “does” here is the Greek word poieo which means to carry out or execute. The word “will” is the Greek word thelema which translates to what one commands to be done. So another way to state this is, “…to execute the command of the Father.” This is a military term, carrying out the order of a superior. The inference here is that we submit ourselves to the direction of something greater than ourselves. When you factor in free will, there is no conclusion other than we do so by choice. But is it possible to do the right thing, but for the wrong reason or purpose?

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes in verse in 10: 31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” Not some things, not most things, but all things are to be done for God’s Glory. Christ states in Matthew 6: 5, “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.” Do we do the things that we do for God’s glory or for our own? Christ railed against hypocrisy. The Pharisees were the masters of do as I say and not as I do. Look at me, I am so holy! The sign of character, both Godly and otherwise, is not what we do in front of others, but what we do when no one is watching. "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Do you do what you do so that God may be glorified, or so that you might be?" Matthew 6:6

Then we have the will of the Father in Heaven. How do we know what the will of the Father is? When I left the Church, it was out of frustration of a great many things, but to sum that up as succinctly as I can, I would have to say it was due to Scriptural Illiteracy. How could I be an active part of the Church for 30 years and not know the Bible? 2 Timothy 3: 16 states that, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” To put it another way, the Bible from beginning to end, in its original form, is the inerrant Word of God. The Catechism puts it this way in paragraph 107, "...we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures." If Jesus Himself walked into the room and said, I want to sit with you and tell you exactly what my heart is. I want to tell you the story. Would you give Him the time? Well, He did. It is called the Bible and quite simply, we do not know it.

The writings of the Church Fathers, the Magisterium, the Catechism all flow from the authors’ knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. These works need to be studied in light of the Scriptures, not in lieu of them, not in partiality, but in totality.

I recently had a discussion with a fellow Catholic who wanted to defend homosexual marriage (not getting into specifics now, that is for another post). Of course they wanted to keep referencing the Scripture, “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” and man, they really believed that that single line of Scripture was enough to win the debate. First, that single verse has been taken completely out of context and to apply it to homosexual behavior you would have to abandon no fewer than five other passages that speak directly to God’s view on the subject. Scriptural Illiteracy. To know the will of God, you have to actually study the single most prominent resource He has given us, His Bible, wholly, not arbitrarily as it suits you.

You can do all the right things and check off all the right boxes, but unless you do them for the right reasons, the Glorification of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you can spend a lifetime working for a goal you cannot possibly achieve. Study the Word. Knowing it and knowing His will, will be the difference between hearing on your day of judgment, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers,” and “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”