The Word of God and The Church- David Wells
"For it is certainly the case that the Word of God, read or preached, has the power to enter the innermost crevices of a person’s being, to shine light in unwanted places, to explode the myths and deceits by which fallen life sustains itself, and to bring that person face to face with the eternal God. It is this biblical Word which God uses to bring repentance, to excite faith, to give new life, to sustain that life once given, to correct, nurture, and guide the Church (Jer. 23:23; II Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; Jas. 1:18). The biblical Word is self-authenticating under the power of the Holy Spirit. This Word of God is the means by which God accomplishes his saving work in his people, and this is a work that no evangelist and no preacher can do. This is why the dearth of serious, sustained biblical preaching in the Church today is a serious matter. When the Church loses the Word of God it loses the very means by which God does his work. In its absence, therefore, a script is being written, however unwittingly, for the Church’s undoing, not in one cataclysmic moment, but in a slow, inexorable slide made up of piece by tiny piece of daily dereliction."David F. Wells – Above all Earthly Pow’rs
posted by Doug E. @ 10:45 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
What an excellent book! I thought about quoting from it on my reading blog, but soon realized that the whole book is worth quoting!
A pivotal read, in my opinion.
Kim,
I had the same problem. I could have quoted the entire book too. I have two chapters left and I can't wait to read them.
Doug
I've also found that it is a hard book to quote, because of the building of his arguments. To take a section out of context tends to weaken it because of the way he writes. But there are a couple great points he makes that I may try to post in the future.
Doug
Excellent stuff.
I also have a couple of links re: the Wells book my reading blog, Hiraeth Warehouse. (One is an interview--good stuff) You can get to it through my profile if you are interested.
I know what you mean about the difficulty in knowing where to start and stop when pulling quotes. I started to try to read this book while my husband was reading it, but found I really needed to devote time and thought to it.
This is great to understand what Mr Wells is saying here.
It is so good when the bible is read even a chapter at a time in a service.
In my opinion this can be more beneficial and spiritually uplifting then anything else. Praise and worship or a whole sermon is often insignificant in comparison.
Scripture will always uphold itself and back up itself. It is like no other book in this aspect.
The biblical Word is self-authenticating under the power of the Holy Spirit. This Word of God is the means by which God accomplishes his saving work in his people, and this is a work that no evangelist and no preacher can do.
I love this quote! I'm going to have to find a copy of this book.
Reading this quote made me think of Hebrews 4:12. The book sounds very good.
May have to check it out.
The Christian faith is not a "religion of the book." Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, a word which is "not a written and mute word, but the Word which is incarnate and living." If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, "open {our} minds to understand the Scriptures."
CCC #108
Hattie,
Amen! I agree. That is why Wells said that the scriptures are "self-authenticating under the power of the Holy Spirit"
Thanks for your comment,
Doug
Doug,
The comment wasn't mine! Catechism of Catholic Church, paragraph #108.
I love the song in one of your recent blogs. Sang that in choir a couple years ago. Ever listen to Lindell Cooley's CDs? Awesome worship.
Blessings, hattigrace
Hattie,
There are many things in the Catholic Catechism that protestants agree with. I once read a portion of a book on law written by the John Paul and for the most part he was right on the mark.
I haven't heard Cooley's music. I'll have to check it out.
Doug
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