The Faith of a Worker

The Faith of the Worker

All workers must have the same faith in the Person and work of Christ. We all need to maintain in our life and work these foundational truths. Should any worker commit error in these basic principles, the elders should stop him from working. Concerning certain cardinal truths, there ought to be proper scriptural interpretations which are commonly accepted. The accurate interpretations of many Biblical passages have already been discovered by others. We need only to receive from them, without our adding on to them. There is a basic principle in studying the Scriptures—which is, to accept God’s spoken word in simplicity, without adding on our own idea. As we study the word of God we need to ask of ourselves, "What has God spoken?" and not, "Why does God so speak?" It is not unlike the situation wherein a citizen of a country has no need to ask why there is a certain law—he merely inquires as to what the national law is. We should therefore ask "what" and not "why." For our basic attitude towards God’s command should not be preeminently a matter of understanding but a matter of obedience.

Due to our different walks before God, different interpretations of the Scriptures arise. Take baptism as an example: Many who were baptized by sprinkling see the teaching of sprinkling in their Bible study. Such teaching is the product of their walk. A person’s attitude before God has much to do with his interpretation of God’s word. Many come to His word with the hope of finding out some rule which will justify his own walk. Their motive is to transform the word of God to be a law which suits them. And hence, they interpret the Bible for themselves. One who has not been dealt with by the cross is unable to study the Scriptures. He who has gone through the cross may alone read the Bible correctly.