In a bid to deliver people from one end of doctrinal extremism, we drag them right (past the midpoint of balance) to the other end (of another extremism).
So we find that the church (the believer) most often is not at the centre of the road, but either at the left ditch (gutter) by the road or at the right ditch by the road.
For instance:
In a bid to deliver people who thought, "Poverty is a sign of piety... a sign you've died to the world and are living for the Kingdom; wealth is a sign you are not Kingdom minded", we produced a people who think, "Prosperity is a stamp of God's approval on my life. Poverty is a sign one's walk with God is not pure."
In a bid to deliver people who are bound by 'the law', we produced a people who are not bound by grace.
But God wants us to stay right at the centre of the road!
But how do we ensure we do that?
By reading ALL of Scripture.
Don't just read 'Jude 5 vs 2018' and form a doctrine out of it.
Read the Old Testament.
Read the accounts of Jesus' life.
Read the accounts and letters of the apostles.
Read ALL of Scripture.
That's the way to stay at the centre of the road.
And yes, one more thing!
Don't read the Bible as a lawyer wanting to prove a case!
He already has his stand; he therefore reads merely to find points to back his claim, and then twists points that stand against his claim.
Read the Bible as a detective wanting to solve a mystery/crime!
He doesn't have a stand ab initio; he reads the whole counsel and at the end draws his conclusion/inferences.
N/B:
1.) I didn't say the pastors should study ALL of Scripture; I said YOU, the believer, should.
Pastors are believers too, so they should too.
We don't study Scriptures because we are pastors with a message to preach; we study Scriptures because we're believers with a life to live.
2.) I didn't say you should listen to more of your pastor's messages. I said read ALL of Scriptures.
Don't get it twisted, I love listening to messages... and in them lie a lot of mysteries that would probably have taken me my whole live to unlock...
...but I also understand Scriptures is the final authority.
Pastors can make mistakes; Scriptures cannot.
Grace to your heart.
