Is God's Word Lost Today?
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles Tags: Bible Lessons on Hearing the Word
There is a sense in which the Word of God is lost today. When one puts aside (or hides) any of God’s instruction, that instruction becomes of no effect to that person. The person is like many of the Jewish leaders in Christ’s day:
“For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their heart and turn, So that I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15).
The Word of God is effectively “lost” to that person.
In another sense it is “lost” to the world. So many are hardened against God, and are against anything that has to do with God. We see this in the battle over the Ten Commandments or the effort to remove the motto “In God We Trust” from everything in the public eye. They ridicule God’s word. These have lost touch with the reality that God is their creator. They are like the Gentiles spoken of in Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians:
“And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:23; Romans 1:25).
They are like the hardened soil in the Parable of the Sower:
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Matthew 13:19).
The Word of God is hidden from their minds:
“Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
How terrible that some just can’t find the truths in God’s Word.
There is another sense that comes to mind. Think of the thousands of dusty Bibles lying on coffee tables or shelves that are never opened. In this case the “Book” is in plain view, but it is never opened. The “Book” might as well be lost as was the book of the Law in Josiah’s day. If it is never read, never consumed in the minds of people.
But think of this point: In Josiah’s day, it was lost in the Temple. That’s like being lost in the church building. Could this be true for us today? Just suppose the Word is preached every appointed time during the assembly of God’s people. If one is not there to hear, then to them the words spoken are lost. If one is present but will not heed the instruction, the effect of the word is “lost” on that person. For some the Word goes in one ear and out the other. Josiah wanted to see that the Word of God had its opportunity to effect the minds of everyone. He gathered all of them to hear it:
“And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD” (2 Kings 23:1-2).
Then Josiah made a covenant to keep the Word of God by walking in His commandments:
“Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took their stand for the covenant” (2 Kings 23:3).
Brethren, we are responsible for gathering folks to hear the word (Matthew 22:9-10; cf. Acts 10:24). And everyone has the responsibility to live by His instructions (Ecclesiastes 12:13; 1 John 3:21-24).
Therefore, let us find “The Book,” then let us proclaim it to the people, and above all, let us “walk after the Lord …. to keep His commandments…..” (2 Kings 23:3 NASB).
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