I was asked… Is it OK to be a fundamentalist…?
The stance of the one asking… came from the perspective that a fundamentalist lives by what the Bible says…
An answer came… was given… and we parted ways…
Yet… on reflection… wanting to know if I answered correctly… I went on a search… to see if what I said was true…
fundamentalist… a person who believes in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture in a religion
In Christ… we are called to trust His Word… to live by His Word… just as He did…
Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14)… I don’t know how you can get more fundamentalist than that…
The key part of the definition to consider is… Who is your interpreter when it comes to a strict… literal… interpretation of Scripture…?
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We must use the same Interpreter Jesus uses… the Holy Spirit…
Jesus did nothing except what the Father showed Him to do (John 5:19)… all relayed through the Holy Spirit…
This is what He came to show us… teach us… how to live His Word the way God literally intended it to be lived…
literal… according with the letter of the scriptures…
–Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed.
Jesus said He didn’t come to change the letter of the law… not one iota… but to fulfill it…
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. …”
Matthew 5:17-18 ESV
We get in trouble when we rely on any interpreter other than the Holy Spirit…
Our reason… the reason and understanding of all mankind… is broken… flawed… skewed by sin…
The Pharisees were fundamentalists according to their own reason… and those who had gone before them…
Jesus wondered… after hearing their interpretation… if they ever even read the law…
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. … have you not read what was said to you by God…?”
Matthew 22:29, 31 ESV
When we allow anyone to interpret the Scriptures for us other than the Holy Spirit… we are led astray from God’s literal meaning of the Word… from one extreme to the other…
This is how I answered the question…
Yes… it is OK to be a fundamentalist… with this one addendum… the Holy Spirit must interpret what the meaning of the Word is…
Jesus… as the Word made flesh… must be our ideal of a strict… literal… interpretation of Scripture… for He alone is the only One… without… sin…
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Corinthians 3:11 ESV
Our fundamental foundation… is… Jesus…
Who is interpreting Scripture for you…?
Or do you even consider Scripture important in your Christian life…?
Invite the Holy Spirit to be your sole Interpreter of the Word… ask Him to reveal errors where you have been deceived… be willing to come into agreement with Him… and repent…
[Photo by RU Recovery Ministries on Unsplash]
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