Our Attitude Toward the Bible

Is the Bible from God or men?

The Bible has long been upheld as a special book--a divine document--something to be honored and revered because it contains the mind of God revealed to man.

Not anymore.

The Bible has been under attack for a long time now. Is our present Bible really a product of the divine hand or merely the human hand? Does it contain wise words to live by, or is it the living and abiding word of God?

We believe what the Bible says about itself.

Every word in the Bible is inspired of God, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Every stroke of the writer's pen had God's stamp of approval on it--the transmission process was very precise, "Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17-18).

God's intention was to provide men with an accurate rendering of His word--therefore He divinely directed its authors, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Nothing has been lost in either the transmission or translation process, "…and the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

Jesus assured us that we would always have His word--and He has kept His promise, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away." (Matthew 24:35). We must have faith in Him, not in the infallible men He used to author, copy, and translate it, "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever… the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you." (1 Peter 2:23-25).

God answers all of the important questions that we need to have answered, "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

We cannot know what is right or wrong unless God reveals it to us, "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10:23). There is great danger in trusting our own wisdom, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12).

The purpose of the Bible was to make an instrument available through which God could reveal His thoughts and His purposes to us, "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Corinthians 2:9-13).

The Bible is a light that directs our lives, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105).

The Bible can be understood, "by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ" (Ephesians 3:4). If we do not understand the Bible it is not the fault of the author.

The Bible can also be twisted by those who handle it dishonestly--and it is often mishandled, "as also in some of his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16). They can deceive others, and Satan will use them to blind men to the truth, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

God will allow us to believe those lies if we don't love the truth enough to care, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

God has already given all of the revelation He intends for us to have--no more is forthcoming, "… contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3).

The Bible ends with a sober warning--it is a terrible sin to add to or take anything away from God's word, "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19).

That word has the power to save us, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16). It has the power to set us free from everything that enslaves us, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32).

The Bible will also judge us in the end, "He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." (John 12:48).

Do you believe what the Bible says about itself? Your opinion of the Bible will affect your reaction to everything it says.

The truth is that it if we reject the Bible--that doesn't make it any less God's word. It will still be there at the end when our lives are judged by Jesus Christ.

Won't you uphold it with us? Won't you submit to its teachings?
 

- Members of Redmond Rd. Church of Christ