Shut up, Jesus!

By Ian Wilson

I frequently see this sentiment expressed that we, as Christians, should “follow Jesus, not just the Bible” or that we should “unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament” or even that we “follow Jesus, not Paul”. In Roman Catholic or Orthodox circles, I hear it expressed as “Jesus established a church, not a book”. 

While these sentiments may seem true, or even admirable, they show a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of Scripture, and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. If taken to their logical conclusion, we run the risk of falling into grave spiritual errors. 

Firstly, ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit was behind every single word in the Bible, working through human writers to bring us divine truth. Yes, even the parts we don’t like. It is perfect, without error. Therefore, the words of Paul are the words of God. Paul is writing under God’s direct supervision and we are to listen to him as though we were listening to God Himself – because we ARE. This doctrine of inspiration means that Jesus DID in fact establish a book AND a church.  

Furthermore, all Scripture bears witness to Christ in one way or another; sometimes this is by pointing out man’s inability to keep the laws God has made and why we need Christ to save us. Other times this is by type and example, such as the sacrificial laws. But always, it is pointing to Christ. To “unhitch” ourselves from the Old Testament means that we would not understand the words of Christ in the New Testament. If we pick and choose which parts of Scripture we believe, then we run the risk of creating a God of our own making; i.e. an idol. To say that we may choose to follow Jesus and not Paul is to commit heresy – we divide the Holy and undivided Trinity, saying that God the Holy Spirit and God the Son are of two different wills, or that Paul was not speaking authoritatively. 

Secondly, Scripture is God’s primary means of communicating truth to us. How do we know how to follow Jesus if we don’t know Him? How can we know Him unless we hear His words in the Scriptures? How will we recognize the voice of our Shepherd if we do not listen to it? To say this would be the equivalent of saying: “Shut up, Jesus! I’m trying to follow you!” Kind of silly, isn’t it? 

Thirdly, if we are rightly aligned with the Holy Spirit and walking with the Lord Jesus, then we will desire to hear more of the Scriptures, even the hard parts. No one can read so much Scripture that it would negatively affect their relationship with God. It is literally impossible. And as we read, we will grow in understanding as the Holy Spirit leads. We will learn to comprehend and appreciate the difficult parts, and to rightly interpret them, separating law and gospel effectively. It is an art and it takes many years of practice to master. And the only way to master it is to keep reading. 

Lastly, the Devil is always trying to tear us away from the Word of the Lord. He is always at work, twisting it, or trying to convince us that it is unnecessary for our spiritual growth. From the beginning, he has been at this work, turning people’s attention away from what the Lord has said, and making our own ideas about Him. How are we to thwart him except we are in the Word? 

These are simply the thoughts that enter my mind when I read such sentiments. You are free to do with them as you please, but do consider before you express those sentiments. And as always, be steadfast in your reading of the Word.