Doubting God’s Word – The Oldest Trick in the Book

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Watching the Ken Ham / Bill Nye Creationism debate tonight reinforced what I knew to be a fundamental issue in our society, and unfortunately even with our churches.  The great divide in culture is what one believes about the nature and authority of the Bible.

Many times during the debate, Ham stood on his belief that the Word of God was both the beginning point and the final authority for an accurate worldview.  Each time, Nye challenged that presupposition, his disbelief every bit a strong as Ham’s assertion.

One of the devil’s oldest tricks is to create doubt and confusion about what God has said and what authority His Word carries. Genesis 3:1-5 describes the first ever challenge to God’s Word.

Unfortunately this confusion and doubt concerning the content and authority of God’s Word is not limited to those outside the church, but it rears its ugly head among those who comprise the Church as well.  Many believers demonstrate through their behavior that they either do not know what’s in God’s Word, believe what’s in God’s Word, or don’t care what’s in God’s Word.

We desperately need to get back to the Bible.  We need God’s Word to saturate our lives to the point that Biblical truth oozes from every fiber of our being.

I want to challenge you to discipline yourselves to engage God’s Word systematically in two ways.  First, read larger portions of the Bible to get the over all story of God’s redemption from beginning to end.  If you begin in Genesis and read for about 15 minutes, about 4 chapters at a time, you can read through the entire Bible in a year.

Second, meditate daily on a smaller portion of Scripture.  Consider its meaning in its immediate context then make practical application to your life.  Think about the passage throughout the day, looking for ways to put its truths to work immediately.

We cannot be casual about something as divine and important as God’s Word.  I truly believe if we seriously begin to study and apply God’s Word to our lives, our lost world will see its power and our lives will demonstrate its authority.  This will be the only way our culture will ever gain a respect for the authority of God’s Word – when they see it alive and active in our lives on a regular basis.

Read it.  Believe it.  Heed it.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8

2 thoughts on “Doubting God’s Word – The Oldest Trick in the Book”

  1. Ed Barham

    While I agree with everything you said, I am concerned about the mechanism. You emphasize disciplining ourselves as if it is all up to us. If we truly believe the gospel, then reading and studying the Bible is a natural response to it. We want to hear what our loving Father has to say, and we follow out of gratitude and a sense of awe in our Savior and Lord. If we have to “discipline ourselves” to read and study, then is God really our Father and is Christ really our Savior?It begins and ends with the gospel, not with discipline and work.

  2. jimdug12

    Ed, I think I know you well enough to know that you don’t mean that everyone who struggles to systematically read and study the Bible is lost. But your comment could be misconstrued by some to mean that.

    One the one hand, I get your point and fully agree that for a believer walking in the Spirit and enjoying fellowship with Christ, wanting to know what God’s Word says comes naturally. But sadly my own personal experience and more importantly the witness of the Bible points to carnal believers who for seasons of time lapse into laziness, selfishness,or fleshiness lose an appetite for the Word of God.

    Peter, writing to believers, in 1 Peter 2:1-2 challenged them to put away sin and begin to desire (aorist imperative) the milk of the Word.

    In James 1:21, he challenges us to put away sin and begin to receive (another aorist imperative) the Word of God.

    Also, Paul reminded Pastor Timothy, of all people, that he had to discipline himself for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

    One more, Paul reminded the Philippians (2:12-13) that although God was at work IN them, they still needed to work OUT their salvation – not work to receive it, mind you, since it is a free gift, but work to get the most out of it that we can. Our spiritual growth is a partnership. God honors our desire to grow by filling up what is lacking in us.

    Ideally, yes, we should crave the Word, but realistically, as believers battling the old nature, we still have to fight even within ourselves.

    Good to hear from you, thanks for the interaction.

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