At all times, and in all ways, the truth of God’s Word is what matters.
I’m not sure why you’re reading my blog post. I mean…why me? Because I have “Vader” in my name? I have zero credibility. None. Being “Calvinist” or “Vader” adds nothing to why you should read what I have to say or take me seriously. I don’t even take myself seriously. I mean, I’m a grown man writing as “Calvinist Vader.” I make jokes about eating Wookies on Twitter. I’m also not here to entertain you or give you clever Star Wars references. I’m definitely not here to tell you how to live or love your life. I should stop writing, and you should find something else to do.
Well, if you want to know the truth, these are the things I tell myself all the time.
I don’t care about how many Twitter followers I have, nor about being in any kind of Anon Justice League or Twitter Church. And I certainly don’t care about my own feelings or anything else when it comes to one very important thing: the Truth. At all times, and in all ways, the truth of God’s Word is what matters. It bends, molds, breaks, shapes, and redefines me. I need it to tell me what I should believe and do. I absolutely love that the truth of God’s Word couldn’t care less about my feelings. It stands strong and unwavering, even when I’m as strong as a wet paper sack.
I know I’m telling you something you already know. Everyone says, “God’s Word is the final authority on any subject,” but is that how they actually live? When someone says something that they disagree with theologically, how do they react?
And what does your heart say within you? Does it instantly reject the alleged truth as heresy, and that’s the end of it, or do you test it against God’s Word? We should constantly test the things brought to us as “truth” against God’s Word. If you hear something that sounds heretical, shoot it down with Scripture itself—unless, of course, it’s actually scriptural. Then you need to adopt it as the truth and shoot down your own heretical belief.
I can’t count the times in my life when what I believed to be truth ran head first into God’s Word, and was destroyed. When I was in a Southern Baptist church, I was told drinking alcohol was a sin, but then I saw in God’s Word that that’s not true. When I was in the “Word of Faith” movement, I was told saying, “I’m sick,” was a sin and a bad confession of faith (even though I was running a 103°F fever and coughing up a storm), but I saw in God’s Word that admitting my struggles is not a sin. I believed that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner—until I read Psalm 5:5. I rejected the doctrines of grace and TULIP the first time I heard them, but when I studied God’s Word I had no choice but to accept them.
To this day, I read God’s Word to be challenged. I want it to say to me, “You are wrong on this subject. You’re not as important as you think you are. You don’t have it all together—but let me introduce you to the only One who does.”
So when I say, “Don’t Read This,” I’m talking to myself as much as you. I am being intentionally offensive to get my point across. What I am saying is that there is nothing more important to read than God’s Word. Have you read it today? No? Then, if you’re looking for the truth, you’re only going to find it one place—your Bible. As Peter said in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
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- “Don’t Read This,” says Calvinist Vader - December 13, 2016
