Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…..31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Theology is the science of the study of God and the knowledge of God. Theology is not limited to just what we know about God, it is what the Bible teaches on any given topic. Our theology shapes our world view, informs our way of life, it deals with eternal things such as the soul, it informs us about life derived from the knowledge of God and His eternal attributes. God’s Word is good, and it has good intentions of influencing the believer toward great faith for His glory. Solid faith is a structure based upon the solid truth of Scripture, a faith that is not easily moved. God is Creator, God is good, and all things He has made are good and enduring. A faith influenced by His Word is a life captivated by His Word, its theology and its precepts.
Someone who has devoted the major portion of their life studying God’s Word will be profoundly influence by its Truth. It will have a profound impact on every aspect of their lives. It’s not just a “book” that I have studied for many years of my life, but it’s “The Book” that I have studied all my Christian life. It’s The Book that has shaped my thinking, decision making and outlook on life. I am a product of my study and to that end I am very thankful, because the Bible has forced me to think and respond in ways that if I were not exposed to Its Truth, I would perhaps be influenced by counterfeit truth and counterfeit ways of thinking. The Bible has built a strong structure within me; my life depends upon it, and I rely upon its constant guidance. The Bible is not a rule book, it is a workbook, a source so influential and so vital to life that Jesus, quoting from His own authoritative source in Deuteronomy 8:3, reminds us that, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4. God’s intent has always been that man literally lives and sustains his life by His Word. That is a fascinating thought!
When I was very young my dad and I were walking behind my grandpa Zimmerman’s barn some years after his demise. We were getting ready to take it down because time had eroded its rock foundation and our grandmother was fearful of its condition. I asked dad what the pile of all kinds of wire and metal things were behind the barn. He said, “your grandpa was a packrat and would not throw anything away”! What caused him to be a packrat? Well, he was born in the late 1800’s and everything was valuable to him, he fought in WWI in Germany, he raised a family and tried to make a living during the depression. Mother would say that her dad would straighten out old bent nails in order to reuse them. Definite events in his life shaped his thinking and manner of living.
Shaping influences are really events, circumstance, people, encounters in general which make up the catalyst for what kind of person we will become in the future. They come from our family, from our experiences, and from various and asunder exposures to all kinds of life events. It is important for us to understand and determine the positive and the negative influences upon our lives, how they have shaped us. It is wise to manage what influences our lives. It is wise to think about what has become a shaping influence in our lives and determine if those things are wholesome or unwholesome. Not all influences are noticeable, sometimes they occur without recognition, they become a fabric of our being without notice. My parents obviously had a huge influence on my life, there are things I notice and so do others, especially family that plays out in my life because of our home life. Sometimes along life’s way I stumble into an awakening of their influence and realize that I didn’t even know I was modeling a certain way to think or behave because of exposure to my home life.
Those influences that have shaped me as a believer in Christ have come about by being exposed to God’s Word. His truth has proved to be the most valuable shaping influence in my life. You and I should never be ashamed, intimidated, or succumb to the pressure of people questioning our thinking, when our hearts and minds have been shaped by biblical Truth. When you live life saturated by biblical truth, you will not be easily influenced by views counter to the Word of God. A biblical world view, one that is shaped by biblical truth, offers a viewpoint to interpret life around us. Of course, the Bible is our epistemology, or source of truth.
Those who think that the Bible is not a reliable source of truth may indeed think we are not in touch with reality. Biblical truth that has shaped your thinking and has influenced your life has done so because of the Holy Spirit convincing you to believe in those truths of the Bible. This is the main shaping influence of our lives, the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth….
When we tried to tear the barn down that summer with our family and my Uncles family, it was a chore. It was so hard to tear down because it was so well built and had so many nails, heavy nails in it. The oak boards were so hardened from being weathered, the saws dulled too quickly, and we finally gave up trying to tear it down.
When I look back at that barn and the kind of person grandpa Zimmerman was, I know why it was so hard to take down. I can finally understand why we left trying to tear it down and had to dispose of it by other means. That old farmer built a good barn, there must have been good things shaping his thinking as he built that barn, something that said when he was done, “this is very good and will last me a lifetime”, and it did! Influence had something to do with how he built that barn; it was a good barn because of how he built it.
When God made the world, He looked back at His creation. The Bible records that, “God saw all that he had made, and, behold, it was very good”. It is fascinating to enter into the very contemplation of God and see how He considered His creation, and then announced that it was good. God created, then looked back and declared it all to be perfectly good. God spoke His Word, and all was good that came from His Word. When you look back at what you have built your thinking around, can you say it is good?
When you submit your heart on a regular basis by exposing yourself to Truth, in time you will become so strong that your hearts thinking will automatically turn to His Word first. Your life will be so shaped by God’s Truth that you will “think the Word” into every scenario of life. Do you see that kind of influence in your life?
God used His Word to speak the world into existence, Jesus said, “That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Luke 4:4 Strong faith is developed by dependence on biblical truth absorbed and then biblical truth applied. Just as we sustain our bodies by food, we must sustain our lives by the Word. God looked back at creation and saw that it was good because it was shaped by His perfect Word. All things that are good are influenced by His Word. All things spiritual are “well built” by God’s Word. All Scripture is given for the purpose of producing in the believer and equipping the believer for good works.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
I want that kind of influence in my life, don’t you? I want my heart to be so influenced by God’s Word, that I train my heart to probe all of my observations about God and His creation from a biblical standpoint. Only then can I make informed decisions that will bring God the glory due Him. I want to build a strong defense against subjective truth and build a strong structure of objective truth, that being God’s Word. I want to listen to God’s voice through His Word, I want to be strong, I want to be worthy. I want to be like God and say that my work is good because my thoughts, my observations of the world around me are influenced by His Word.
You might be wondering how we finally got that barn down. Well, we burned it down! We really did! It was easier to burn it down then to try to knock it down! The builder, my grandpa, was so influenced by things that shaped his thinking, that it caused him to build a strong structure. Like any structure you will need some upkeep as you go through life as well, we all do. But your structure should hold fast in the Word, your strength and observations about life should be rooted in His Word. Strong Christians are strongly influenced by the Word.
If you have ever read Foxes Book of Martyrs, you will observe how influenced these dear saints were by God’s Word. The Word of God had such a shaping influence on their lies that they willingly gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. Not unlike those who suffered martyrdom in the Bible, their faith and belief in God’s Word and the cause of the gospel took them to a place where truth was worth dying for. These are extreme examples of the shaping influence of God’s Word on one’s life, but God is not requiring you to die for Him, He is however requiring that you live for Him, live for Him being constantly shaped by His Word. How much has God’s Word shaped your life and in what ways?