The Bible is not a book that humanists can adjust to. It is too extreme. The humanist wants to be good now and then and here and there. His is the religion of random acts of kindness. The Christian must be kind to everyone (1 Timothy 2:24).
Humanists worry that people might have low self-esteem. The Bible says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
Unfortunately, many Christians prefer the humanist approach to the biblical standard. They judge Scripture in the light of our humanistic society. It is easier than judging society in the light of Scripture.
Are the people doing this not Christians? That would be a reasonable conclusion, except that these humanistic voices are coming from mainstream evangelicalism. Television, magazines, movies, schools, newspapers, and the government all inundate us with humanism, and we end up speaking the language of tolerance. We use the words gay, affair, and traditional values instead of homosexual, adultery, and biblical standards. We reflect the world more than we reflect the Bible. Start looking for extreme statements in the Bible. Do they bother you? Why?
Here are some expressions we should remove from our thinking and our vocabulary:
· Where do you draw the line? (Who is going to answer that question, if you refuse to get your answers from the Bible?)
· Nobody is perfect!
· I’m only human!
*Excerpted from Being Christian. To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore.
