“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. For God sent not his
Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might
be saved.” -John 3:16-17
It
is easy to assume that everyone else is like us. The familiar becomes the normal, the normal
the culture, and the culture the world.
What is familiar to us typically we assume is familiar to all. In the USA, the church culture vary, but
somethings are just plain familiar.
However, the reason it is familiar is because it was first fundamental.
Growing
up in church, I have heard on more than one occasion: “This is familiar
scripture.” The text listed above often
accompanies this statement, but not always; and no doubt to some this scripture
is familiar. The greater part of the
people in my church were raised from our youth up to go to church, and Sunday
School. We were taught these verses from
day one (Praise God for that wonderful blessing). We were taught many things about the Word of
God. We were taught that God created the
world. We were taught that God made
mankind, that man sinned in the Garden of Eden, which made man inherently evil,
and mankind needed a Savior. That Savior
is Jesus Christ. Certainly, our little
church on was not the only one in the world teaching these familiar truths, and
these familiar scriptures, but we were one of them (Praise God!); and I was
blessed to be raised in one of them (Praise God again!). By and by, time moves on, and familiar grows
into normal, which becomes culture, and that has a way of becoming our whole
world, and we forget that not every song, every story, every word in John 3:16
is familiar to everyone. This is both a
blessing and a curse, because there are some who have never heard this gospel,
and there are some who have heard it and forgotten it. To say: “this is familiar scripture” is a
selfish and alienating statement. Not
evil, but selfish. It exalts your
position, and understanding and it segregates those who do not find it
familiar. No doubt, it is a great
blessing if you find the Word of God familiar, but it gives little increase to
the souls around you to profess it. How
much better off would we be if we but possessed it and plainly taught it as
fundamental truth? How often what is
familiar in the scriptures coincides with what is fundamental? To whom
much is given much is required. In
the Old Testament: Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Joshua, David and Goliath,
Daniel; in the New Testament: Matthew chapter five, John chapter three, Luke
chapters one and two, First Corinthians chapter thirteen, Romans chapter six,
the list goes on and on. The reason it
is familiar is because it was first fundamental. Fundamental scriptures, that teach
fundamental truths, which save and sanctify men and women. If we call them familiar, it is because we
were blessed to be grounded in the fundamentals of the Word of God, and if we
call them familiar then we annex those who were not; and simultaneously annex’s
ourselves.
I
was a sinner, and I needed a Savior.
When God sent Jesus, he sent him for the whole world; past, present, and
future. He died for you, and he died for
me. He died so that we might have
eternal life. Jesus can forgive you, and
come into your heart (sanctify you). If
you let him, this will punch your ticket to a home in heaven, and Jesus will
stay right there in the driver's seat, keeping you free from sin and guiding
you right into those pearly gates. This
is a fundamental truth of the Word of God.
A truth that the world needs to hear; familiar or not.
