Is the Bible a Weapon?

I have said it before, but I want to say it again, if only for my own sake—I certainly need to be held to the same discipline(s) I promote: To fully appreciate Scripture for what it is and what it is for, we need not simply read it against the world around us, but we also need to be able to read the Bible against ourselves.

If my Scriptural reflection only produces a sense of agreement, a collection of nods and “amens,” and never produces a sense of scandal or proffers a challenge against the self, then I am not approaching the text correctly. The Scripture, in conjunction with the Spirit, is meant to work towards the transformation of the self, at least for the truth seeker, much more than I, or any other truth seeker is to work to transform others by the knowledge of the Word that the individual has gained. In fact, I have no such power, even with all the Scriptural information I can muster.

This is not to say that my being transformed by His Word has no social dimension. To suggest such would be too selfish and antithetical to the Word itself. Even so, Scripture is not mine to wield, as I will.  I can work in love, as the Holy Spirit leads, to sow seeds by speaking Scriptural truths, but I am not the Redeemer. Too often, both the Spirit and the Word are seen as mere weapons to smite, not the Kingdom of the World, but those persons within. Too often both the Spirit and the Word are seen as weapons, not against the sin in myself and in others, but merely against others that I do not agree with.

The Bible is too often used to bash others, to merely criticize their lives. However, admonishment without love, without hope, without His guidance, is mere critique, for it offers nothing of a real solution. We are meant, not to attack our enemy, but to fight for them in love, to reach out by the proclamation of His Good News. Instead, verses of Scripture are wielded against others, and the sad fact is that many—and I have been guilty of this manner of abuse as well—who wield these fragments of the text do so without ever looking up the context for themselves; that is they do not research the author’s intent for saying what he said.

Many simply Google: "What does the Bible have to say about..." They then find the article that best suits their needs, the verse that they did not even know existed, but confirms their own opinion, and then without making sure that the segment the text is set in confirms the text itself, they attack. The verse is never used for reflection upon the self or for transformation, but instead is used merely as an argument.

 Don't misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with an internet search for that ever-elusive reference, but to find it and then scurry off to whatever blog wall we were wanting to comment on, without as much as looking it up in our own Bibles, meditating on it, and seeking His counsel upon it, that is nothing less than a sin, bottom line. We are not the sole interpreters of Scripture. We are called to read in the presence of others, not least the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit works in and through us, and without Him, we cannot truly operate. If we find a verse on our own and use it on our own, it will become as good as any work we do on our own, worthless. Again, I confess, I have worked on this level many times, simply to protect my own statements and worldviews when challenged. The Bible is not meant to simply insulate us from a sinful world. It calls us out into that world, for the sake of others.

The Bible is not merely meant to be the means by which I can say that I am right and others are wrong. It is meant to transform me so that I can lovingly serve those of the world who are in need of the same healing of which I am now a part by the renewing nature of the Word when the individual submits to it. 

The Spirit will not submit to me, nor will the Word. I can pretend that they can and do, but I will suffer for it. Moreover, the world will not submit to the Word, no matter how much I try to force it upon them. Instead, the Spirit will work through my own submission, and, as He transforms me to His Word, I can be a light to the world, so that some might forsake their old ways, leaving the world behind, and they too might join me in submission to Christ’s rule.

The Bible is a sword of truth, but the battle we fight is not like worldly battles. This sword is for my enemies. I am to fight for the lost and dying world. If the sword pierces the heart, it does not bring death, but life.