 The
Bible - What’s the Use?
With this
issue of PT, we reflect our Conviction that, in the Body of Messiah,
many varied ministries must work together for the equipping of the
saints. Here, David Andrew
introduces a new series, exploring the practical value of God’s Word to
life in our complex world. Is the Bible reasonable? Is it reliable? Is
it true—and does it matter?
Free Bibles anyone? If you know where to go you don’t
have to pay £45.00 for that new guilt-edged reference Bible with
concordance, you can pick one up from a skip! It’s not uncommon for
expensive, beautifully produced Bibles—in numerous languages—to be
disposed of in large numbers by printers who are not legally permitted to
sell off surplus copies. Elsewhere, in the same print shop, publications
which promote homosexual, lesbian, feminist and anti-family views are
produced with the utmost care and attention for a ready market. Before we
ever again think of Britain as a ‘Christian’ country, we would do well to
ponder the contents of the skip...
Let’s not rush to judgement, though. It’s worth
considering how the Bibles got into the skip and who really put them
there. That God’s word is of no value to unbelievers and people of the
world is not surprising—but could it be that they take their cue from us?
No, not another lecture about Bibles gathering dust on bookshelves.
Underpinning this new column is a pastoral heart for the state of faith in
churches, and especially in the Christian family. The concern here is not
for those of us who don’t read our Bibles, but for those of us who do. Is
God’s book any use to us? As Prophecy Today continues to bring ‘the
unchanging word of God to a changing world’, is it perhaps also time to
bring the unchanging word of God to an unsure church?
Life and Death
Families are under pressure as never
before—especially Christian families. You may not yet realise it, but the
security of your family might depend entirely on your answer to the
question: ‘Is the Bible God’s Word, or does the Bible merely contain God’s
Word?’ Think about it. The distinction is a matter of life and death.
When, in 1932, the late Professor C.H. Dodd wrote his commentary on the
Epistle to the Romans, he said in his introduction:
 ‘Sometimes
I think Paul is wrong, and I have ventured to say so. Clearly, for this
scholar (and many like him), the Bible contains the Word of God, but where
it seems to contradict his own view it is merely ‘the word of Paul’, and
open to debate. If his view is right, we are left with huge questions:
‘which parts are God’s word to us, and which are merely the opinions of
Paul and other men—and who is to decide which parts we can trust—an
academic, a Pope? How you and I view the Bible depends on our view of God:
the measure of His power, and the state of His heart towards those He knew
would read His Book.
Remember, our purpose here is not theoretical but
pastoral and practical. Is God almighty? If so, He has the power to ensure
that His Book is free of contradictions and mistakes, however many ‘copy
editors’ he may have employed along the way. If not, then the Bible is a
sort of ‘holy lottery’, a lucky bag of wise (if impractical) sayings—now
you trust it, now you don’t; now you agree with it, now you argue with it.
Wonderful, even inspiring literature, but what has it to do with the price
of eggs?
Devotees of PD James will be relieved to know that her
books are thoroughly proof-read at several levels before the text reaches
the press; what you read is exactly what she wanted to say. Yet some would
have us believe that God Almighty simply left Moses, Jeremiah, Matthew,
Paul and Peter and many others to peddle their own favourite legends and
opinions—using His Name like a rubber stamp so that they could control the
lives of the gullible. God’s character is at stake here. Did He love us
enough to proofread His Book? Has Our Eternal God given us a solid,
reliable source of wisdom for life in all times or are His commands and
advice completely out-of-touch with our age and our needs? How we answer
these questions is crucial. Either we will debate with what we read, or we
will agree and trust. When He says: ‘Have no anxiety’, we will either
dismiss it as unreasonable and unrealistic, or we will dare to believe
that Our God of Love would never command the impossible, and take hope
that our lifelong habit of worrying can be broken: ‘I can do all things
through Messiah who strengthens me’. When Jesus commands ‘love your
enemies’, we can argue that this is sweet, but unrealistic, and takes no
account of the wrong we have suffered, or we can remember that a just and
fair God must withhold forgiveness from one who refuses to forgive, and
besides, if He commands it, it must be possible.
A story from Victorian times tells of the famous
dare-devil tightrope artist, Blondin, who once performed before Prince
Albert. Declaring his intention to push a wheelbarrow while suspended
above Victoria Falls, he asked his royal spectator: ‘Do you believe I can
do this?’ Albert was enthusiastically confident—until Blondin offered to
take him across in the barrow! Do we merely believe, or do we really
trust? The roots of our faith are Hebraic. Our God has worn our flesh. His
word speaks to flesh and blood practicalities. ‘All Scripture is
God-breathed and useful’ and yes, He is concerned about the price of eggs,
as today’s unscrupulous profiteers will one day discover...
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