In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin brings news to Chancellor Palpatine that Obi-Wan has engaged General Grievous.
Shortly after that, Anakin is shocked to find out that Palpatine knows about the dark side of the Force.
That is when Palpatine replies “Anakin if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi.”
Palpatine is doing what he can to throw doubt and suspicion on what Anakin knows about the Force and what he was taught.
Know Why You Believe What You Believe
As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to research what we believe. However, when we do it, we should be honestly searching for the truth.
The devil can lead us to question everything; not to find the answer, but to get us to doubt everything and not trust in God.
We need to make our faith our own.
We need to research it, not just take what we are fed. Check our pastor’s sermon against Scripture, (and not just what they quote.)
Compare what the Sunday school teacher’s lesson is with what all of the Scripture says.
Be mindful of pulling a single verse out of its context. No everything in Scripture is to be lived out. There are times when Scripture specifically shows up what NOT to do.
People are quick to point out Matthew 7:1 where Jesus tells us “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
Some will stop there and say we are not to judge others. But we are called to call sin, sin. Later in Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that we are to recognize false prophets by their fruits. That means we will see the results of their actions and judge whether their fruits are good or evil.
All of Scripture
Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
This includes ALL of Scripture from Genesis to Revelations and NOT just our favorite books or chapters. While some passages are more difficult to understand and apply, they are still profitable to learn and study.
We Must Continually Be Growing In Or Faith
We start out as those Peter addressed in 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”
However, we are not to stay there. Paul chides those in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3a for not growing in their faith when he writes “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, 3for you are still worldly.”
As we study Scripture, we will find the answers to many of our questions about God, Jesus, and the essential parts of salvation.
As we “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), we should start to wonder why the modern church does certain things, teaches certain things.
Scripture is clear that we should test what is being taught, so we need to know Scripture and church history.
