Most people don’t discount the Bible altogether. It’s been around long enough for people to treat it with a measure of respect. Christians, in particular, would say that they “believe the Bible.” But that doesn’t mean that it speaks with power in their lives.
I was listening to a podcast yesterday hosted by several preachers sharing insights about wedding sermons. One of the trends they noted was that many couples will ask that they not preach on Ephesians 5:22-33. This is the passage that gives the most direct teaching on Christian marriage in the entire Bible, and many Christians are asking their pastors not to preach on it! That feels like a symptom of a deeper problem.
I think it’s the result of wrong thinking about what the Bible is and what it can do. Ask yourself whether you believe one of these four lies.
Lie 1: The Bible isn’t enough
The Bible doesn’t teach us about algebra or astrophysics, but it does tell us all we need to know about God and the life He desires us to live. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” If you know God’s Word, you know all you need to know to grow in godliness and good works. That’s why the Bible contains warnings against adding to the Scriptures (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19).
Many people think the Bible is good but inadequate. You see this in churches that emphasize traditions that can’t be explained from Scripture. You see this in sermons that talk more about the pastor’s ideas and experience than they do about God’s Word. And you see this in people whose convictions are rooted in thoughts that have nothing to do with the Bible. If the Bible is sufficient, it should be your foundation and your focus.
Lie 2: God inspired the ideas, not the words
As people begin to read the Bible, they realize that it’s written by regular people. In fact, it was written by over 40 people on three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe) in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) over 1,500 years.
From that, they assume that God must have just inspired the ideas and people made up the words. They figure that God just gave the gist of what He wanted to get across, but the Bible doesn’t say that.
When Jesus talked about the Scriptures, He said, “Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). An iota is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet, and the word for “dot” referred to a tiny stroke used in Hebrew letters. This was Jesus’ way of saying even the dots on the i’s and the crossing of the t’s in the Bible are just how God wanted them. That’s why it says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The actual words matter because God carefully chose every one of them.
Lie 3: Something got lost in translation
Another way people get confused about the Bible’s divine/human authorship is that they assume that the human authors were interpreting what they thought God was saying, and the message got mixed up in the process. The Bible says the opposite. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Not only did God say what He wanted to say, but He ensured that it was written down just as He wanted it. So we can’t ever say, “That’s just what Paul says,” or “That was only Peter’s opinion.” God’s Word was given to us through human authors, but the Holy Spirit ensured they got the message right.
Lie 4: The Bible can’t keep up with the times
Every culture and every generation has its defining beliefs. When those are in conflict with the Bible, people often look for a way to explain away what God has said. We’re seeing that today, where the Scriptures differ from our culture’s attitudes toward gender and sexuality. Trends in morality and thought come and go, so we need a timeless perspective to ground us. The Bible is just that. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” With the internet and evolving technologies, we’re constantly confronted with the speed of change. But even in Isaiah’s day, the changing of the seasons was set in contrast to the constancy of God’s Word.
The Bible doesn’t need to keep up with the times because it is timeless. And we need its timeless message in every generation. Where it differs from the culture’s prevailing thought, we need its message all the more!
The Fellowship statement on the Bible summarizes these truths as follows:
We believe the Bible to be the complete word of God, that the sixty-six books comprising the Old and New Testaments were verbally inspired by the Spirit of God and were entirely free from error as originally written, that God has superintended the transmission of Scripture throughout the ages, and that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and is the true basis of Christian union.
Are there areas where your understanding of the Bible differs from what the Bible says about itself? Choose to believe what God has said. It’s in His Word that you meet Him, hear Him, and can be transformed by Him.
In awe of Him,
Paul
