Discover Your Bible
THE
book called "The Holy Bible" is the most maligned, criticized, and
misused book ever compiled. "You can prove anything by the Bible," is a
commonly held belief. No volume in history has ever been subjected to
so much scrutiny as this Book of books. Is the Bible really of any
relevance in the 20th century? Should you bother to read and study it?
Can it be relied upon as an accurate guide for living? These questions
cry out for answers in an age when seemingly nothing is sacred.
What Is the Bible?
Is
the Bible merely a collection of Hebrew and Greek religious literature?
Is there more to the Bible than simple human wisdom and folklore? Is
there anything truly supernatural about this ancient Book?
"All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
...," explained the Apostle Paul to the Evangelist Timothy (II Tim.
3:16).
The words of the Bible are inspired by God — they are
"God-breathed." The Bible is the word of God in print. You might say it
is the "Maker's Instruction Book." It is the manual by which the human
creation is to be operated.
God's written Word explains why the
Creator created human beings. It instructs us how to live. It gives
instructions on how to handle emergencies and breakdowns — both
physically and spiritually speaking. The Bible explains how any person
may realize his maximum potential as a human being — how he may achieve
"self-actualization."'
Nor is the Bible an ordinary book. It is
unique in that it contains revealed knowledge. It includes information
man could not normally obtain by conventional investigation.
The
motto of Ambassador College sums up the real purpose of the Bible: The
Word of God is the Foundation of Knowledge. It is the basis by which
all other knowledge and philosophy may be evaluated. It is the
standard, the only really reliable point of reference. While the Bible
does not contain all scientific and technical knowledge, it does
contain the philosophical basis for correctly placing such information
in its right perspective.
The Maker's Instruction Manual helps
crack open the understanding of history. It sheds light on the real
significance of the human chronicle. Neither history nor science can be
correctly understood without the revealed basis of biblical light. Yet
the Bible is neither a science textbook or a comprehensive history text.
Human
behavior cannot be correctly interpreted apart from the Bible. Why do
we see evil? What is sin? What is good? What is normal and what is
deviant? Only the Word of God can supply the true answers to these
important questions.
And what lies ahead for mankind? Will we
survive the present direction the human race is taking? Will there be a
brighter day tomorrow — or oblivion? The Bible reveals the answers to
these and other crucial questions with which humanity is faced.
The Bible — a Deadly Weapon!
While
the Word of God does use the term "two-edged sword" in
self-description, some unscrupulous men have used it as a club over the
heads of gullible "believers." Dishonest men, claiming to represent
God, have twisted scriptures to their own ends and advantage. They have
capitalized on the ignorance of the masses of biblical illiterates.
Peter spoke of such individuals:
"Wherefore, beloved, seeing
that ye look for such things [new heavens and a new earth] be diligent
that ye may be found of him in peace, with out spot, and blameless. And
account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our
beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath
written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of
these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other
scriptures, unto their own destruction" (II Peter 3:14-16).
Notice,
it is those who are unlearned and unstable who twist scriptures! The
word "unlearned" is translated from the Greek amatheis which refers to
someone who is rude in knowledge and uninstructed. Such people are
uneducated in what the Bible really says. They are unstable in the
faith of Jesus Christ — lacking a solid relationship with God.
Secular
education is not the criterion. Many highly educated men — scholars of
considerable note — have not truly understood the Bible, even after
decades of study. Whole commentaries have been written without basic
understanding. Many have been prevented from understanding because they
have not been willing to be corrected by Scripture (II Tim. 3:16). "...
A good understanding have all they that do his commandments" (Ps.
111:10). Those who read and don't do, rarely understand!
The Sadducees' Problem
This
appears to have been the problem with a group of religious leaders in
Christ's day known as the Sadducees. The Sadducees were men very
learned in the forms of contemporary religion. Yet they lacked
understanding with regard to the doctrine of the resurrection of the
dead. They were reasoning with Jesus about the mechanical difficulties
of such an event. The account is quite revealing:
"Then come
unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection. ..." They
then asked Jesus whose wife a woman would be if she had been married to
seven successive brothers, all of whom were deceased. Jesus was quick
to isolate their problem: "Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not
the scriptures, neither the power of God?" (Mark 12:18-24.)
And as Matthew's account puts it: "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures" (Matt. 22:29).
While
the Sadducees were highly educated by contemporary standards, they were
actually unlearned in the Scriptures. By the same token, many of
today's theologians and scholars are actually biblical illiterates!
The Prophet Isaiah offers an interesting commentary on the question of scholarship:
"And
the vision of all this is become unto you as the words of a writing
that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying: 'Read
this, I pray thee'; and he saith: 'I cannot, for it is sealed'; and the
writing delivered to him that is not learned" (Isa. 29:11-12, Jewish
Society Publication).
The real problem is the fact that men pay
lip service to God's way, but are not really willing to simply obey
Him! Verse 13 points this out:
"Wherefore the Lord said,
Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their
lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their
fear toward me is taught by the precept of men."
Jesus Christ
later quoted this very scripture to show the Scribes and the Pharisees
their real problem: All the human rhetoric, tradition and ceremony in
the world is no substitute for the pure truth of God's Word! Only a
knowledge of, and obedience to, the Bible will provide the real base
needed for true conversion and spirituality.
The world of
theology is in a sad state. There are as many theories as there are
scholars to propound them! Few things are considered axiomatic in the
world of biblical scholarship. Priests, ministers, rabbis and
theologians of all stripes have served up a tableful of theological
inconsistencies.
"But they also have erred through wine, and
through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet
have erred through strong drink... they err in vision, they stumble in
judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that
there is no place clean" (Isa. 28:7-8).
Yes, the heady wine of
humanly originated tradition and theology has rendered its adherents
ill. The sheer intellectual vanity of modern scholarship has indeed
created a great spiritual sickness in this age. When theologians — who
claim to be the custodians of theological truth — can seriously
consider and propound the idea that God is dead, you know that all is
not well in the world of theological scholarship!
Who May Understand?
To whom will God reveal the simple truth of His Word? Can the
"unlearned" average person come to understand the deep spiritual truths
of the Bible? Is it possible? Or is advanced scholarship necessary?
Paul
said to the Church of God in Corinth: "I fear, lest by any means ...
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ"
(II Cor. 11:3).
Granted, there are some things that are more
difficult to understand in the Bible. Not everything is childishly
simple. But the basics are. Those fundamental principles in which every
Christian should be well-grounded are not really that difficult to
grasp — with the help of God's Spirit.
It is necessary to first
come to understand the simpler principles of the Bible. The more
advanced "meat" of the Word follows later.
Isaiah answers the question asked earlier:
"Whom
shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the
breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line
upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isa.
28:9-10).
We may learn several things from this important scripture.
God
reveals truth to those who are humble as a child — to those who tremble
at His Word. This is explained in Isaiah 66:2: "... But to this man
will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my word."
Jesus said only those who had the
humility of a small child would ever enter into the Kingdom of God! And
this is the attitude one must have toward God and His Word before one
can progress spiritually.
Once an attitude of respect for the
Bible is developed, then one must learn step by step — from simple to
complex — the fundamentals of the Maker's Instruction Book. All the
scriptures on a subject must be compared and considered together. No
scripture is of any private interpretation (II Pet. 1:20).
How God Revealed Truth
The
Bible has been a developmental process over the centuries. God did not
give the whole story in a single package at the outset. He has revealed
truth on a number of subjects more or less piecemeal over the
millennia. Human experience has provided a rich chronicle of case
histories. The basic law of God has been in force since creation week,
but God has progressively explained its application as new situations
have arisen.
Much of the Bible is a record of what has happened
when God's great law of love has been violated — both individually and
nationally. The entire Bible really rotates around the two great
principles of the Decalogue — love toward God and love toward neighbor.
God intends that we should learn from the record contained in the Bible.
The Lessons of Biblical History
If
there's one thing we may learn from history, it's the fact that we
haven't learned from history! Humanity today seems to continue in the
same path it has for millennia. We make the same mistakes with the same
results. Yet, if man would only learn from history, we would not have
to repeat it!
Speaking of the recorded biblical events, the
Apostle Paul stated: "It all happened to them by way of warning for
others, and it was written down for the purpose of instructing us whose
lot has been cast in the closing hours of the world" (I Cor. 10:11,
Moffatt translation).
Again, speaking of the Old Testament
record, Paul said: "All such words were written of old for our
instruction, that by remaining stedfast and drawing encouragement from
the scriptures we may cherish hope" (Rom. 15:4, Moffatt).
God
has laid bare the lives of those with whom He has worked over the
centuries so that those who read and study their Bibles might learn and
avoid the mistakes made in the past. The Bible is the most meaningful
assemblage of case histories of human behavior ever recorded! No wonder
Paul called the Scriptures "living oracles"!
Your Best Insurance Against Error
A
thorough knowledge of your Bible is the best insurance you have against
being led astray into doctrinal error. The strident voices of those who
claim to represent God are being raised everywhere. How can you know
who does and who does not? Simply by getting your nose into the Maker's
Instruction Book! Read it. Study it. Drink deeply of its teaching and
examples. Become familiar with it. Pray and ask God to help you
understand His Word.
If you do so, you will be able to say along
with David: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
(Ps. 119:105).
By Brian Knowles Good News December 1973 
