2002-01-28 - Loopholes

John 14:16,17 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of  truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.

In 1946, W.C. Fields was on his death bed and was found to be looking through his Bible. Since this was not a common practice for him he was asked what he was doing. He replied, 'I'm looking for a loophole." Those were his last recorded words. There are no loopholes in the Bible and rather than this being a frustration to the Christian it is the basis of his/her hope.

We rest in the authority of the Word of God as the revelation from God to us. In that revelation we learn of Christ. We learn of His incarnation and virgin birth. We learn of His life which was full of wonder and free from sin. We learn of His sacrifice on the cross for our sin. We learn of His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven. We learn that He is coming back again. What may shock you is that we don't learn these things from Christ, but rather from the Word of God which speaks of Christ. We understand these things as we study God's Word and the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to truths of God's Word. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth" John 16:13.

W.C. Fields actually got it right at the end of his life. He was looking in the right place for truth. Who knows? If he was looking for truth in the right place maybe God opened his eyes and he found it. We can't know, but we can hope. We can say for certain that it is a blessing that it is recorded that this well-known man was turning to God's Holy Word at the end of his life. We can learn a lesson from him and turn to God's Word now, before we are on our death beds.

What will we find if we look into the Bible regarding salvation and Christ? We will see our own deformities because of indwelling sin. We will see the beauty of Jesus Christ and learn that He cleanses us from sin. He can take our deformities and make us lovely in Him as He Himself is lovely. The great verse John 3:16, reminds us that, "Whoever believes in Him will not parish, but have eternal life." This means that if you look into God's Word and desire salvation in Christ, He desires to save you. If you long for forgiveness, He longs to forgive you. If you seek Him, He has already sought you. Matthew 7:7 "Seek, and you shall find."

The mercy offered through Christ and revealed in the Bible is broad and deep. As 1 Peter 1:3 tells us, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." May God make this mercy real to us so that we might know and the live the truth of it in our lives.

Soli Deo Gloria,

T-

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