“Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Prov. 30:5
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Tim 3:16
Indictment 1: Ignorance of scripture.
As Christians we are woefully ignorant of scripture. We talk about the Bible a lot more than we read it. We use it more to judge others than to guide our own paths. We are often fooled about what it says or doesn’t say. Last night I attended an in-depth Bible study at my church. It was great. I learned a lot. It was poorly attended. That’s sad evidence in support of this indictment.
Not only do we not read or study scripture enough. We don’t really understand its proper place in our faith. On the “Our Beliefs” page of our website, the very first paragraph reads:
Holy Bible:The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority for determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, the Bible is inspired, infallible and inerrant.
I stand firm on that statement. The problems and controversy comes with issues like: “What is doctrinal?” We all agree that part of scripture is poetry. Not everything in it is literal. What is to be taken literally? What is not? We are no longer “under” the law. What “rules” should guide us? Which were meant only for Israel in a certain time and place?
Not enough Bible. Many of my “liberal” Christian friends (yes “liberal” and “Christian” are not mutually exclusive.) don’t give scripture enough import. They support the famous “three-legged stool” of scripture, reason and tradition. I can agree that scripture is best understood with reason and tradition in mind, but I don’t put reason and tradition on the same level as scripture.
Too much Bible. Many of my “conservative” friends put too much emphasis on scripture. For them the Bible is it. They act like our mission is to introduce the lost to the Bible instead of to Jesus. Before you guys stone me. Give me a minute.
Jesus is the Word. We call the Bible “the Word of God.” It is. We also call Jesus, “the Word of God.” He is. Scripture is the story of Jesus. It’s all about Him from Genesis to Revelation. The written word of God is not the end. Jesus, the Living Word, is. Discipleship isn’t giving a new believer a Bible and saying or least implying, “Here are the rules.” Discipleship is introducing others to the Living Word with guidance and help from the Written Word.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33. God’s promise and goal is not just to give us a book about Him, but to give us a relationship with Him.
So what’s the importance of Scripture? It is our guide and our anchor. It teaches us. It points us to Jesus. It keeps us from drifting off into the metaphysical wilderness. “Christians” who don’t hold on to scripture find themselves denying the virgin birth, the deity of Jesus, or claiming that everyone will be saved. Those who “obsess” with scripture live their lives majoring in the minors. They enjoy arguing over details. They keep falling back into the law. They become modern-day Pharisees. You don’t want to do that. Read Mathew 23. Bottom line: They don’t love like Jesus loves. Their heads may be full of scripture; their hearts are far from Him.
We all need to spend more time in the Word (Scripture) and a lot more time with the Word. (Jesus) We need to treasure the Word, written and living.
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