Saturday Afternoon

As Open Bible Standard Churches and the mission statement of Gateway of the Rock Ministries puts it, “We believe the Bible is the inspired and living Word of God and is the only infallible guide and rule of our Faith.” Much is being blogged lately about the Authority of Scripture. Many people are bashing the Bible and many others are using the Bible to bash. Sometimes I feel as if I am observing some sort of Bible Bowl to prove certain doctrines, the one with the most verses wins. I cut this article out of a Bible Believing, Nondenominational, Charismatic church’s bulletin and taped it into the Bible I use most for study. “In II Timothy 2:15 the word says “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing (handling aright) the Word of God”…The Bible is very amazing in that is was written in different nations and lands over a period of some 1,500 years. No one man or group of men planned the Bible. It was written by more than 35 authors…shepherds, farmers, tentmakers, physician, fishermen, philosophers and kings. These authors lived hundreds of miles apart and some of their lives were separated by centuries. Most never saw each other at all. Yet the Bible has a close fitting unity, as if one author wrote it, which is indeed the case. II Peter1:21 “ for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of GOD spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The Bible has been translated into more than 1,100 languages and dialects…it has transcended all national and ethnic boundaries…” It is for these reasons that I can say with certainty that I believe the Bible is true, it is what it says it is. And it is these reasons I offer when some nonbeliever asks what makes the Bible right and all those other religious books wrong. The Bible is truly unique.
Back when I was a doubter and a seeker, I looked into the history of the Bible. Wasn’t it just a book after all? What made it more trust worthy than any other “spiritual” book? It has existed in the same form that we have it, from Genesis to Revelation, since just before 400AD. But couldn’t some man have written it, putting prophecies in the Old Testament and then writing their fulfillment in the New Testament? Everything did seem to fit together pretty well, but that doesn’t mean they’re God inspired. Couldn’t it just be a big fraud. After all isn’t that what Christians say about the Book of Mormon? What convinced me was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Isaiah 53. I believe that God gave us the book of Isaiah twice. Once, when it was written, and again in the mid 1900’s when everything about God and Church was being questioned big time. No other book of the Old Testament contains more vivid prophecies of the Messiah fulfilled by our LORD Jesus Christ. And we have physical, scientific proof, that these things were written before the birth of Christ. Yes. I believe that the Bible is the inspired and living Word of God and it is the only infallible guide and rule of my Faith. But hold on to your hats. I do not believe that it is to be taken in it’s entirety literally. Within its pages are analogies, metaphors, figurative language, parables, colloquialisms, and even sarcasms. Vanity vanity, everything is vanity. And I also believe that Christians are free to express their faith, to offer their worship, to celebrate their individuality in ways that may not be Biblical. What I am saying for example is drums, guitars, pianos, and organs are not mentioned in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean they are forbidden by the LORD. Putting on plays, playing games, wearing tee shirts that identify you as a believer, using visual metaphors to help illustrate the truth to visual learners, tokens and trinkets and incense and candles…no wait, incense and candles are mentioned in the Bible. Anyway, my point is that just because you can’t point to chapter and verse doesn’t mean it is of the devil. And oh, we must be careful not to use chapter and verse to condemn what we find personally offensive. This is not a contest in which the one with the most verses wins. The word of God is sharper than a two edged sword, and it is a weapon to use against the fiery darts of the enemy, not to be used against each other. Who do they say Jesus is? Then get off their case!
And while I am at it…the question of doctrine, false and true teaching (again I ask, who do they say Jesus is?). Suppose the Bible was a big puzzle? One person takes out all the blue pieces and declares, look the puzzle is blue. Another person takes out all the green pieces and says, no the puzzle is green. Another person takes out a handful of pieces and says, I don’t like these pieces and throws them away. The blue and green people count their pieces and the one with the most pieces says he was right. The one who threw the pieces he didn’t like away will never see the whole picture. The Lord says, my ways are so much bigger than your ways, you’ll never completely understand and the atheist and agnostic looking on says you Christians are nuts.