New Church Life November/December 2017 | Page 31

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Now before him there was no king like him , who turned to the LORD with all his heart , with all his soul , and with all his might , according to all the Law of Moses ; nor after him did any arise like him . ( 2 Kings 23:25 )
The third Scripture comes out of the mouth of the Lord Himself when tempted by the devil . In each of the three tests , the Lord responded with the words , “ It is written . . . ” ( Luke 4:4,8,10 ; cf . Matthew 4:4,6,7 ) The answer to the first temptation , concerning turning stones to bread , is particularly instructive . The Lord said : “ It is written , ‘ Man shall not live by bread alone , but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God .’” ( Matthew 4:4 ; cf . Luke 4:4 )
The fourth Scripture comes in a famous exchange between Jesus and a lawyer , “ who tested Him , saying , ‘ Teacher , what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?’” ( Luke 10:25 ) The Lord responded : “ What is written in the law ? What is your reading of it ?” Then come the two Great Commandments .
All four of these Scriptures remind us of the importance of what is actually written and recorded for us . The obvious message is that the Word is intended to be a check-and-balance to our actions – as individuals and as a church . We are to return to it over and over , and where we find ourselves out of keeping with its teachings , we are called to correct course .
3 . Drawing on the Lamp of Doctrine Several teachings in the Heavenly Doctrines point to the need for guiding principles to aid in our understanding of the Word . These guiding principles are referenced under several related names : sometimes just “ doctrine ” ( see below ), other times “ the doctrine of the church ” ( Heavenly Doctrine 257 ; Sacred Scripture 50 ), or “ the doctrine of genuine truth ” ( Sacred Scripture 25 ), or “ heavenly doctrine .” ( Heavenly Doctrine 7 ) In all cases , the message is clear that without these guiding principles our understanding of the Word ’ s intended meaning is beyond us .
For example , regarding the letter of the Old and New Testament , we encounter this somewhat ominous teaching :
From all this it is evident that those who read the Word without doctrine , or who do not acquire for themselves doctrine from the Word , are in obscurity as to every truth , and that their minds are wavering and uncertain , prone to errors , and pliant to heresies , which they also embrace wherever inclination or authority favors , and their reputation is not endangered . For the Word is to them like a lampstand without a lamp , and in their gloom they seem to see many things , and yet see scarcely anything , for doctrine alone is a lamp . ( Sacred Scripture 52 )
This teaching is in the section titled , “ The Word cannot be understood without doctrine .” Then comes a passage with the positive side of the message :
By means of doctrine . . . the Word is understood , and is like a lampstand with a lighted lamp . People then see more things than they had seen before , and also understand those things which before they had not understood . ( Ibid . 54 )
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