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...the Bible tells me so:
My preaching
career began over thirty years ago, when I was sixteen. It was youth day for the
General Protestant Worship Service on Anderson Air Force Base,
“Too much Scripture.” That statement struck me wrong then, as it still does now. After all, Jesus quoted the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4 NIV).
We could point to many verses that emphasize the importance of God’s word. Jesus said that the word He spoke would judge on the last day (John 12:48). Peter worked to remind Christians of what they already knew, that is, God’s way (2 Peter 1:12). God commended the Jews from the Macedonian town of Berea for examining the Scriptures daily in order to check out the truthfulness of Paul’s preaching (Acts 17:11).
Who can forget the words of Paul, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?
In what is truly the Lord’s Prayer, John 17, Jesus asked the Father, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth” (verse 17).
In
a day when printed copies of the Bible were not readily accessible, God
instructed His people to meditate on His word (Psalm 1:2; 19:14; 119:15, 23,
27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148). He commanded the leaders of
From
a practical standpoint, I recognize that the more familiar we are with a piece
of literature the less we notice new details.
Consequently, we need to read the Scriptures as if we are reading them for the very first time. Then we can pay attention to new details more easily. On the other hand, there is a depth in God’s word that is only recognized through reflective study. Such contemplation depends on previous learning.
Examining how we got our Bibles is fascinating. For example, the early church, both in the east and in the west, recognized the twenty-seven books that belonged in our New Testament. They make up the canon of the New Testament. Such books promoted “the rule of faith.” They were written by (or at least closely connected to) an apostle. They were universally accepted. Other factors entered in for the development of the New Testament canon: answering the rise of false teachers such as Gnostics, preserving copies of the Scriptures that persecution threatened to destroy, and the ease of turning to a passage that resulted from the development of a book form of publishing instead of a rolled scroll.
As we consider the human forces that brought the books of our New Testament together, God confronts us with the fact that He has always used the choices of people to accomplish His will. God used human agents to write and compile His Bible. I am thankful that the apostle Paul proclaimed “the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27; see verse 20). God’s “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3; see 3:18). Again, Jesus said that we must live “on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
The problem that I see is that too many people have a canon-in-a-canon. That is, while they generally accept all of God’s word, they only use very select portions of it.
For some, their Bibles only have Psalm 23, “The LORD is my shepherd…” There is no question about the comfort that God’s people gain from King David’s words. Yet, the Bible also presents God’s judgment against the wicked and our responsibility to obey His will.
For others, their Bibles only have Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” What I have found is fundamental. Those who quote Matthew 7:1 the most have sin that they wish to justify.
For others, their Bibles only have John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is used, among other things, to deny the importance of Christian baptism and obedience before God.
For others, their Bibles only have Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Where is faith? Where is grace?
Some people have Bibles that contain only 50 or 100 Scripture passages, those passages that support their favorite doctrines. When they study the Bible, it is only to find more passages like those.
Some people have only KJV Bibles. All other translations become inadequate. After all, the KJV was the Bible of Jesus and Paul, wasn’t it? The KJV is the (God) Authorized Version, isn’t it? I remember when Brother Hugo McCord translated monogenes, the Greek word usually rendered as “only begotten,” as “special, unique and precious.” Many were upset because Brother McCord was “denying” the virgin birth. He answered that Matthew 1, Luke 1-2 and Isaiah 7:14 still taught it. If we want to be more biblical, then we must recognize that Jesus as the monogenes of God means that Jesus is special, unique and precious to the Father.
Again, I come back to Acts 20:27, where Paul stated that he proclaimed “the whole will of God,” with this question, what do we preach? Do we preach only what we want to preach, or what others do not preach? Or, do we proclaim with Paul “the whole will of God”?
Let’s study God’s word, seeking to discover the meaning that God has placed in His word. Let’s utilize the discoveries of archaeology to understand the historical context of Scripture. Let’s pay close attention to the meanings of words and sentences. Let’s recognize their place in the paragraphs and sections of the various books. Let’s learn the messages of the various books of the Bible and how those messages develop the message of the Bible itself.
You will find such study richly rewarding. You will discover precious truths in God’s word that you had never seen before. Then, you will appreciate the breadth of God’s greatest blessings, His love for us.
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