Psalm 119
16I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
20My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
24Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
40How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.
43Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.
47for I delight in your commands because I love them.
48I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.
70Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.
72The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
77Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.
92If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
97Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
103How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
111Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
113I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.
119All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes.
120My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.
127Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold,
129Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.
140Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.
143Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight.
159See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love.
163I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law.
165Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
167I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly.
174I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
(Psalm 119 – selected verses, NLT)
NOTE: Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible. I’ve included selected verses that reflect the content of this blog post
The Daily DAVEotional
A while back, I read a social media post from a person with a sizable following in which he exhorted people, “Don’t make the Bible an idol.”
My first thought was, “what does that even mean?”
Is it possible to make the Bible an idol? What would that even look like?
I immediately thought about this Psalm (119), which is the longest chapter in the entire Bible and is an extended discourse on the wonders and virtues of God’s word. I’ve written about this Psalm before in my post “The Endless Virtues of God’s Word.”
It’s well worth your time to read the entire Psalm but due to the sheer length of the text, I’ve only included selected verses that highlight the devotion, awe and love that the psalmist has for God’s word.
If ever someone might be accused of worshiping God’s Word and making it an idol, it would be the author of Psalm 119. Notice some of the language he uses to express his feelings about God’s laws, statutes and precepts.
Words like delight, love, long, hope, consumed, sweet, joy, precious and awe are all used to describe how the psalmist feels about God’s laws.
There is clearly a reverence and respect and a deep LOVE for God’s word. But does that equate to idol worship?
To answer that question, we need to understand what idol worship is.
I wrote in a previous blog post, “A Discourse on the Foolishness of Idols” that an idol can be thought of as a substitutionary object of trust. Instead of trusting in God as your deliverer, your provider, your protector, your source of life, your savior, etc, you transfer that trust to something or someone else.
But you can also think of an idol as anything that takes priority or precedence in your heart over God.
So how about this Psalmist? Is he guilty of idol worship? Is it possible to elevate the Bible to a position over God in our lives?
I suppose that if I were to worship the physical book of the Bible as if it were a deity itself, I could be accused of idol worship. But I don’t think that is what’s happening with the psalmist.
The word of the Lord – his law, precepts, ordinances and statutes – are all merely an extension of God Himself. They are not God, but they are a revelation of the character of the true God.
When the psalmist says he loves God’s law, and he delights in His word, he’s making a statement about God’s character. He’s acknowledging that God’s word is a source of revelation about God’s nature and in it, God has provided wisdom and instruction for righteous living.
God’s word tells us who He is and how we’re to live. The psalmist simply acknowledges these facts. Moreover, he’s speaking directly to God when he makes these statements. Therefore, the praise and adoration is directed toward God and not some inanimate scroll.
Think of it this way – let’s say you read a book that you really loved. Then one day you meet the author at a book signing. While you’re at the table, you go on and on about how much you loved the book. You share that the character development, plot lines and context were all relatable and engrossing. Do you think the author will be offended because you praised his/her work and not the author directly? No, the book is an extension of them and it is obvious to all that your praise is directed toward the author.
That is exactly what is happening in this psalm. The psalmist is simply recognizing that God’s laws and statutes are righteous and life-giving.
So why would this online social media influencer bark out that we should not make the Bible an idol? Why is this even a concern?
My desire to answer this question led me down an online rabbit hole. This particular influencer, and others who also warn that we should not make the Bible an idol, belongs to a strain of religious faith that is known as Progressive Christianity.
Progressive Christianity uses the word “Christianity” but it is hardly Christian. While they utilize the same language and reference the same characters as traditional Christianity, they redefine the meaning of words, concepts and even characters in order to suit their own theological preferences.
Progressive Christians occupy a broad spectrum of beliefs but there are some things that tend to be common among most who identify themselves as being a part of this camp.
Perhaps the hallmark value of Progressive Christianity is their view that God is always evolving. Hence, there is an emphasis on searching and questioning, while those claiming to know truth may be labeled as unenlightened or immature.
Progressive Christianity tends to be very ecumenical, embracing all faith religions and ideologies as equally valid and helpful. Loving others means you shouldn’t offend others by telling them that their beliefs might be wrong. Hence, Jesus has been recast from His role as exclusive Savior of the world to that of a moral teacher whose example we’re to follow.
Standing in contrast to Progressive Christianity is Orthodox Christianity, which teaches that God can be known because He has revealed Himself to us through His word and through the person of Jesus.
In addition, orthodox Christianity teaches that God is NOT evolving. He has laid out for us in His word what His standards are for living and because God doesn’t change, the standards and statutes set forth in His word apply to us today.
Perhaps you are starting to see the problem. If God doesn’t change, then that means His moral code and His rules for righteous living are not optional and must be obeyed today.
The Progressive Christian attempts to get around this by doubling down on the assertion that God IS evolving while adding the caveat that the Bible is not written by God.
Their claim is that the Bible we have is simply a record of writings by fallible men; they are NOT God’s spoken words. While the Bible may be helpful and inspiring, it is only a tool that you may choose to use; it is NOT authoritative for our lives. If the Bible lacks authority, then it logically follows that I don’t have to abide by all of its restrictive and antiquated rules and regulations.
This is where the rubber meets the road. For the evangelical (orthodox) believer, the Bible is authoritative, for it reveals God’s very nature to us and it contains His laws, statutes, precepts and ordinances for righteous living. This is what the psalmist was extolling in Psalm 119.
The Progressive Christian denies that God is the author of Scripture and so for anyone who believes in the authority of Scripture, they are told by the Progressive Christian, “Don’t make the Bible an idol.”
So you see that this whole argument is based on a completely different foundational view of God’s nature and how he reveals Himself to mankind. The Progressive Christian denies that the Bible is an authoritative tome that accurately reflects God’s nature and provides rules and guidance for living. To them, there are many other ways God may communicate to us apart from the Bible, including other faith traditions.
This denigration of the authority of Scripture allows the Progressive Christian to decide for himself which of the statutes in the Bible are valid for today and which ones aren’t. Conveniently, this allows the Progressive Christian to formulate a view of God that matches their preferences and proclivities exactly, which, strangely, is exactly the definition of forming an idol.
Amazingly, we’ve come full circle. The Progressive Christian tells us not to make the Bible an idol because doing so limits God and restricts our view of Him to how He is portrayed in Scripture.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Christian untethers themselves from the shackles of Biblical revelation of God as an immutable template for representing who God is, opting instead for the freedom to develop an image of God that is highly influenced by their own experiences and preferences.
Ironically, that sounds like idol worship to me.
To learn more about Progressive Christianity and what they believe, watch this 12 minute video from apologist Alisa Childers
Reflection
What is your view of the Bible? Do you see it as God’s word or a collection of writings written by fallible men?
What is the source of your information about God? How can you know if your view of God is accurate to who God really is rather than just an image you developed about Him that suits your preferences?
Do you think that the commands of the Bible are valid for people today or are they optional? What are the reasons for your position?
What has been your experience with Progressive Christianity? Do you think Progressive Christianity is compatible with traditional, orthodox Christianity? Why or why not?
Why do you think people opt for a Progressive version of Christianity instead of traditional, orthodox Christianity? What do you think are some of the main reasons and driving forces?
The Lowedown 