Dr Freddy Boey started by stating that Grace and Truth came through Jesus (John 1:14, 17). In John 4:24 it says that we worship God “in Spirit and in Truth”. The Bible also calls the Holy Spirit as the Advocate of Truth (John 15:26) and Truth came to us as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. How do we know about grace and the Holy Spirit? These truths are revealed to us in the “Logos” which is the written word of God, the scriptures.
We need to see grace and truth in an integrated way. Each of them is inclusive of the other. Take for example, one cannot be cheating and at the same time, be praising God for the wealth gained through such means. Becoming rich through lottery or a sinister way is not God’s way to prosperity. God’s ways do not contradict His written word.
Dr Freddy highlighted that “Rhema” (which is the personalized word of God for the believer) cannot be without “Logos”. It is insufficient to have only the “Rhema” word and not understand the “Logos” (which is the written word of God). Prophecies and convictions from God need to be checked with the “Logos”. Our spiritual walk requires both the Spirit and the Truth to be fruitful in the long run.
He shared briefly on how he has encountered God through the Holy Spirit during one of the Sunday Services in Riverlife Church and through the “Logos” by devoting himself to the study of God’s Word. He mentioned that one who is filled with the Spirit should also be aligned with the word of God. It is imperative to let the word of God guide us through the Holy Spirit.
Dr Freddy further shared about two areas which believers face:
1) Mammon
Matthew 8:20 says “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Mammon refers to money, possessions which include the insatiable greed or desire to engage in activities for the purpose to gain wealth. If you want to follow Christ do not expect to become a millionaire. Serving God is not about money. It is a sacrificial service.
2) Integrity
Integrity is generally regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. We judge that others "have integrity" to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold. When there is integrity, it builds trust and respect.
Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” And in Psalms 15:1-2, it says “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart.” From here, we learn that integrity and truth are related. Truth, the “Logos” can shape our views which influence how we react to the situations we face every day. That is why we let what we say and do be consistent with what we believe which should be aligned with Truth, the “Logos” word of God. We must not neglect the word of God.
Let us examine if we need to re-calibrate ourselves with both the Spirit and the Truth so that our faith can sustain us in our spiritual journey without falling into the lure of mammon or compromise on integrity.
Discussion Questions
1a. Why is it important to know the “Logos” or Truth? [5 min]
1b. How is knowing the Truth related to our relationship with God? [5 min]
Leader’s Notes: a. A recap question on why knowing the Truth matters. Have members shared why they read the bible or why not if they are not reading the bible if they. John 6:35 says “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Fundamentally, Christ is the Bread of life and it must be ‘consumed’; Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain our spiritual life.
b. Let’s relate how knowing the Truth affects us and God. We should endeavor to know about God and know God. Understanding the character and nature of God involves much discipline through the Bible. As disciples of Christ, let us be disciplined to read and study the Bible. There are those who prefer to spend their time on what they want to do rather than getting into the Word. Caution needs to be taken if we start to think that God is more tolerant with our sins aka the hyper-Grace mentality which can lead to licentiousness. We should not rationalize why we do not put time aside to discover Him through scriptures when we are all given twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
2a. What could have led Christians to neglect and know the Word of God (“Logos”)? [10 min]
2b. What does this tell us on how to prepare a new believer to get into the Word of God? [5 min]
Leader’s Notes: a.A relate question on the foundation of our faith through the reading of God’s word. We like to think that all who are truly born-again believers will not choose to ignore the scriptures deliberately. However, it is evident that there are certain challenges that a Christian encounter when it comes to the discipline of God’s Word (the bible) and therefore, knowing the “Logos”. Have members share briefly what their challenges, their circumstances or their capacity are – all the possible causes that can influence them towards knowing God through His written word.
b. Share what will help for a new Christian to start reading the bible, include tips on what to avoid especially if it is doing follow-up with a new believer. Get to know your resources/materials such as ‘My Faith Journey’ that will help start the new relationship with God. This question will help prepare cell members on how to do follow-up with their guests should they make a salvation response this Christmas season.
3. In our Christian walk, how will our faith be affected if we seek after the manifestation of God’s power and presence only? [10 min]
Leader’s Notes: A reflect question on our faith towards God. When our attention is instead on God Himself but on His gifts, His expressions of presence/power through acts of divine healing, word of knowledge, material blessings being overly emphasized to the extent that cause us to divert our devotion away from God the Giver, the Source Himself and to deviate from the doctrines of our Christian faith; it can mean that feelings influence our understanding of the truth or who God is. We begin to base our faith solely on events/people, our feelings and our physical attributes. We maybe led to think that without achieving a certain level of “feelings” means that we have not “TOUCHED” God and have not “ENTERED” into a “ZONE” where His presence is. Worship experience means that “the nearer I draw to Him” equates to the “good” feelings I MUST experience. We could end up just wanting to “feel” Him than to understand Him. We would live with a knowledge of God that is warped.
Another example is when we have a ‘download’ of God’s word of knowledge to us without further discernment, or to test it with the scriptures and to seek godly counsel.
4. What would others say of your integrity quotient (IQ)? How much of the bible is evident in your daily life? [10 min]
Leader’s Notes: A response question. Ask cell members to post the question to their family members or people who know them quite intimately and interact with them regularly. What would others comment on how much integrity they see in us? What would God say about our integrity?
While we want to get as much out from the Word of God, let’s examine how much has the Word of God got hold of us, from the inside out. Dr Freddy answered with Micah 6:8 “… to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” as a sentence he would use to live his life. Perhaps, for some of us – we need to repent and prioritise the discipline of ‘consuming’ God’s word daily into our lives so that our faith can be strengthened in Spirit and in Truth and our walk steadfast and blameless.
