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Put it on the shelf: Difference between revisions

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Is this the correct way of approaching scripture?
Is this the correct way of approaching scripture?


=What the Bible teaches=
=What being a Christian requires=


A consultant, a teacher, is somebody who … You ask for their advice and 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. I began to realize, like Judas, that Jesus didn’t want to just be a consultant and wouldn’t stay in the role of consultant, but he wanted to be my CEO.
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.  


Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
But Jesus doesn't want to just be a consultant, he wants to be my CEO, the Lord of my life.<ref>Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).</ref>


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.


Christianity is not a supplement. Christianity is not some new information you add. It’s a complete reorientation. It’s a complete change. Look! When a person becomes a Christian, they don’t just get some new information they add to things. They don’t just put a new file in the drawer. They don’t just put a new book on the shelf.
If we can't go to the Bible for understanding, where should we go?
Instead, when the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to the truth, when you’re born again, religious people, to their shock, realize all of their lives their religion was really a way of keeping Jesus away. Religious people, when they’re born again, realize all of their lives their religion and their morality and their religious activities were just strategies to keep from having to really trust Jesus as Savior. It was a strategy to be their own savior.


=What putting scripture "on the shelf" really does=


Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
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=
=Five ways we can treat a passage in the Bible=