Put it on the shelf
Since my earliest days in the message, I heard message preachers tell the people listening to them that, if they had something they didn't understand in the Bible - a place where the Bible and the message "seemed" to disagree - they should simply believe William Branham. They were encouraged to place their understanding of the scripture "on the shelf" until such time as God revealed to them the proper understanding of the scripture (which was always in agreement with William Branham's teaching).
Is this the correct way of approaching scripture?
What being a Christian requires
A financial adviser is somebody who you ask for advice. They give you a report and then you can do what you want with it. You can put it on the shelf, or you can follow it, or you can put part of it on the shelf and follow part of it.
But Jesus doesn't want to just be a consultant, he wants to be my CEO, the Lord of my life.[1]
When we put scripture "on the shelf" what we are really doing is selectively ignoring Scripture to support our position, the position of some preacher, or perhaps the position of William, even if that position completely contradicts the clear teaching of the Bible.
If we can't go to the Bible for understanding, where should we go?
What putting scripture "on the shelf" really does
When someone puts a scripture on the shelf and accepts the view of William Branham, what they are doing is placing William Branham's teaching on that issue above the Bible.
Five ways we can treat a passage in the Bible
There are 5 ways different ways that we can deal with a specific passage in scripture:
- Respect it - we simply obey it. We read
- Reinterpret it - we may come to understand that our view of scripture was incorrect and we reinterpret it. We then respect it in light of our new understanding.
- Relinquish it - we place a particular passage of scripture "on the shelf" until such time (which might never come) that we can get it to fit into our understanding or theological framework. This is the most dangerous approach to scripture that a sincere Christian can take.
- Reposition it - this is the approach commonly taken by liberal Christians or those who compromise Biblical teaching with other beliefs they hold. They reposition the meaning of a passage based on the various voices or other views that are held by themselves or others. In effect, they consider it but it is only one view among many others.
- Reject it - A decision is made to simply believe that the passage is untrue or has no application to us.
Footnotes
- ↑ Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).