4 Things Everybody Needs to Know About the Bible

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i-knowWhen I think of all the important theological truths that we Christians need to understand, I have to begin with teaching about the Bible. If we know the textbook well, even have it memorized, but the textbook has errors, then our knowledge is flawed.

So as we begin this journey on Fridays looking at essential doctrines about which believers should be knowledgeable, we begin with the Bible. God’s Word is our standard for truth and there are four things about the Bible we need to understand before we can learn about the other important truths.

  1. The Bible is the Word of God.

The Bible is not just a word from God, it is the word of God. In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul tells us that all Scripture is inspired by God. To day God’s Word is inspired is not to say that it inspired like a modern work of art, poetry, or song. The word literally means to be breathed out by God. God is the source of the Bible.

The Bible contains 66 books written over a 1600-year span by 40 authors from 3 different continents. These authors include shepherds, kings, scholars, fishermen, a priest, a butler, and a even a military general. In spite of all of that, the Bible maintains a unique unity from beginning to end. It is a redemptive story from creation, through fall, and continuing in redemption, leading up to our ascension to Heaven.

All the words and each individual word in the Bible comes from God.

  1. The Bible is our ultimate source of authority.

In 2 Timothy 3:17, Paul asserts that the Bible produces a mature person, perfectly equipped for EVERY GOOD work. The Bible’s teaching is comprehensive. It contains all we need to know to live obedient lives and in obeying it, we are made complete and enable to handle what comes our way in life.

  1. Bible truth is timeless and always relevant.

In Psalms 119, David tells us that the Bible will keep our way pure (vs 9), keep us from sin (vs 11), and give direction and guidance (vs 105).

Isaiah 40:8 reminds us that unlike flowers and grass, God’s Word does not fade, go dormant, or disappear.

While others claim the teaching of the Bible are foreign to today’s culture, we realize that the Word should inform, instruct, and guide our living in our contemporary culture. What God said was TRUTH then is still TRUTH today.

  1. Obeying the Bible leads to a successful life. (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 19:10-11, Matthew 7:24-27)

Self-proclaimed secrets to success change with every generation, but God’s Word has stood the test of time. We can trust God’s Word to guide us directly down a path to the success that God has for us.

Our knowledge of God, His Son Jesus, and all other important Christian doctrines are only as reliable as our source for that knowledge. You can trust that we have a sure and certain Word of God that reveals all He desires us to know.

The Word of God: Affirmation or Transformation?

His family thought He was “out of His mind.” (Mark 3:21) Yes, even Mary.  She was there, too, and presumably she agreed with Jesus’ siblings, her other children, that Jesus had crossed the line.

How could Mary misunderstand?  She had received an angelic announcement tell her she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and carried the Son of God in her womb.  At Jesus’ birth, she received visits from shepherds who had received a heavenly announcement as well, telling them that this baby was the long awaited Messiah.  Magi from the East came calling, bearing precious gifts, and recognizing the significance of her firstborn.

She had watched her son grow from the twelve year old boy who confidently taught adults in the temple during a trip to Jerusalem to the man who now forged out on his own, teaching other men the ways of the Kingdom.  Really, how could she miss it?

She missed it the same way we do.  She had preconceived notions about the Messiah that obscured the truth right before her eyes.  She thought Jesus was blowing His chance, misusing the opportunity that God had given Him, and going about Messiahship the wrong way.

To her, the Messiah would be a popular, national and political leader who would rise among the ranks of the religious establishment and eventually take His place at the top.  He would lead Israel away from Roman domination and establish His throne in Jerusalem.  But all He was doing now was alienating the religious establishment and acting quite… well, foolish.

If only she had read and received God’s Word with an open mind and heart she would’ve seen the truth. The Messiah would be not only a Righteous Ruler but also a Suffering Servant.  If she had listened carefully to what He spoke and recognized that even though He was her son genetically, He was her Lord supremely.

We come to God’s Word the same way all too often.  We have a notion of the way things should be, or at least how we want them to be. We consequently either twist Scriptures to mean what we want them to mean or ignore them if the meaning cannot be manipulated.  We read the Bible looking for affirmation rather than transformation.  We claim the Scripture is unclear or difficult when actually it is quite clear, but fails to say what we want it to say.

Let me challenge you to come to God’s Word humbly and with an open heart.  Let God’s Word shape your understanding rather than your presuppositions shaping God’s Word.  Let the Word speak for itself.  Consider it in its contexts – historical, literary, grammatical, and revelatory.  Seek its true meaning and conform to it.  Let God’s Word speak authoritatively in your life.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. – Hebrews 4:11-13

Challenge #1 – What Is the Church to Do with the Bible?

One of the evidences that the 21st Century church is in trouble is our posture toward the Bible.  Not, our doctrinal statement about the Bible, but our use – or misuse/lack of use – of it.  Several symptoms point to the reality that we do not consider the Bible to be our authoritative guide.

    • We elevate our feelings and experiences over the clear teaching of Scripture.  Books and movies like Heaven Is For Real gain popularity even though many things in the book are contrary to the Biblical account of heaven.
    • We lack discernment of Biblical truth and buy into preaching that seems to “make sense” to us.  John Hagee’s recent book concerning Blood Moons lacks good Biblical scholarship, yet many treat its teachings as gospel truth.
    • We spend more time reading, teaching, and talking about books that address Biblical topics than reading, teaching, and talking about the Bible itself.
    • We establish church policies and practice based on worldly, political models rather than on Biblical ones.  We place unbiblical expectations on our leaders.
    • We make decisions based more on “I think,” “we want,” “we’ve always,” and “it would be nice,” than “the Bible says.”  In fact, all too often I have heard from believers, “I know the Bible says ____, but…”

The list could continue, but that is sufficient for now.  One 1st Century church was famous for being Bible-centered.  Acts 17:11 tells us that the church in Berea “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”  Everything they heard was first compared to what God had said in the Bible.

We need to remember the standard of God’s Word in the church today.  God’s Word is the all-sufficient source for teaching, reproof, instruction, and training in righteousness.  The Bible will equip us for “every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

When the Church decides to return to the Bible as the source for faith and practice, we will be inching closer to revival.  Such a return will not come easy, however.  Precious traditions will have to go.  The church will take Biblical stances that will be largely unpopular; not to those one the outside, but to church members.  The way we do things will have to change drastically to square up with God’s Word.

Yes, it will be difficult, but well worth it.  Without such a change, the future looks bleak.