“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16)
The Bible teaches that all Scripture originates from God and carries His authority to instruct and transform believers’ lives. The Bible is God-breathed, from God Himself, and therefore has divine authority. Practically, the Bible guides God's people in truth, morality, and spiritual growth.
“No prophecy was ever brought about by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The Holy Spirit guided the writers to write the Bible.
Acknowledging the authority of the Bible is important for many reasons, for individuals, families, societies and the world.
Way back in 1965, Welsh theologian Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones noted that, "I have no hesitation in saying that the main factor in the lowering of the moral tone and life of this country has been the loss of authority of the Bible. The Bible has been riddled with criticism - there is no authority here any longer. Modern theologians have put up their own suppositions, theories and speculations."
Why is this?
In the final analysis, it seems the rejection of the authority of God’s written word, the Bible, by our chaotic society, most likely stems from our rebellious desire for human autonomy. It is idolatry and tries to elevate man above God.
As Lloyd-Jones once said, referring to Romans 3, “A very good way of testing any view that you may hold is to ask, ‘Is this view humbling to me and glorifying to God?’ If it is, it is probably right. You will not go far wrong if whatever you are holding is glorifying God and humbling man. But if your view seems to glorify you and to query God, there is no need to argue or to go into details – it is wrong.”
What comes from shifting authority from God to men?
Well, we only have to look at the current state of the world, as well as human history, to see some of the fruit of undermining confidence in God and the Bible. It ultimately causes the chaos we see all around us.
Following God's word, heeding its warnings, listening to its wisdom, leads to good things generally, whereas the opposite is true when one rebels against it. Afterall God loves us and gave us the Bible for our good, so we should expect that it is good for us to follow what it teaches.
Often, men and women complicate things and take things too far in their ultimately pride-driven pursuits. Feminism is just one example of a good cause gone way too far. The same thing has happened with the Bible. Secular attempts to undermine the Bible, as well as scholars trying to be too clever and seeking self-glory, has led to biblical criticism going way too far. Like a wife competing with and constantly criticizing her husband, belittling him, ridiculing him, comparing him poorly to other men, submitting to other men, and demonstrating publicly her lack of confidence in him, so secular and modern critical scholars have done to the Bible.
This undermining results in the children having reduced confidence in their father, and the congregations having reduced confidence that the Bible is true and can really help them. It is the children and the congregations who suffer greatly from this tragedy.
The good news is that God is sovereign. He is authoritative. He has given us his trustworthy word in the Bible. He has given us his Son, Jesus, that "whosoever believes in him has eternal life and shall not perish" (John 3:16), and he has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us.
Read the Bible for yourself. Don't listen to the critics, they ultimately offer no help, no hope. No heaven, just hell. They, along with any men or women who lead you away from God, cannot help you; they have no power to save souls, they have no power to change lives.
Trust Jesus. He alone can help you.
More... Why should a Christian believe the Bible is the word of God? By Craig Manners
The Bible teaches that all Scripture originates from God and carries His authority to instruct and transform believers’ lives. The Bible is God-breathed, from God Himself, and therefore has divine authority. Practically, the Bible guides God's people in truth, morality, and spiritual growth.
“No prophecy was ever brought about by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The Holy Spirit guided the writers to write the Bible.
Acknowledging the authority of the Bible is important for many reasons, for individuals, families, societies and the world.
Way back in 1965, Welsh theologian Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones noted that, "I have no hesitation in saying that the main factor in the lowering of the moral tone and life of this country has been the loss of authority of the Bible. The Bible has been riddled with criticism - there is no authority here any longer. Modern theologians have put up their own suppositions, theories and speculations."
Why is this?
In the final analysis, it seems the rejection of the authority of God’s written word, the Bible, by our chaotic society, most likely stems from our rebellious desire for human autonomy. It is idolatry and tries to elevate man above God.
As Lloyd-Jones once said, referring to Romans 3, “A very good way of testing any view that you may hold is to ask, ‘Is this view humbling to me and glorifying to God?’ If it is, it is probably right. You will not go far wrong if whatever you are holding is glorifying God and humbling man. But if your view seems to glorify you and to query God, there is no need to argue or to go into details – it is wrong.”
What comes from shifting authority from God to men?
Well, we only have to look at the current state of the world, as well as human history, to see some of the fruit of undermining confidence in God and the Bible. It ultimately causes the chaos we see all around us.
Following God's word, heeding its warnings, listening to its wisdom, leads to good things generally, whereas the opposite is true when one rebels against it. Afterall God loves us and gave us the Bible for our good, so we should expect that it is good for us to follow what it teaches.
Often, men and women complicate things and take things too far in their ultimately pride-driven pursuits. Feminism is just one example of a good cause gone way too far. The same thing has happened with the Bible. Secular attempts to undermine the Bible, as well as scholars trying to be too clever and seeking self-glory, has led to biblical criticism going way too far. Like a wife competing with and constantly criticizing her husband, belittling him, ridiculing him, comparing him poorly to other men, submitting to other men, and demonstrating publicly her lack of confidence in him, so secular and modern critical scholars have done to the Bible.
This undermining results in the children having reduced confidence in their father, and the congregations having reduced confidence that the Bible is true and can really help them. It is the children and the congregations who suffer greatly from this tragedy.
The good news is that God is sovereign. He is authoritative. He has given us his trustworthy word in the Bible. He has given us his Son, Jesus, that "whosoever believes in him has eternal life and shall not perish" (John 3:16), and he has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us.
Read the Bible for yourself. Don't listen to the critics, they ultimately offer no help, no hope. No heaven, just hell. They, along with any men or women who lead you away from God, cannot help you; they have no power to save souls, they have no power to change lives.
Trust Jesus. He alone can help you.
More... Why should a Christian believe the Bible is the word of God? By Craig Manners
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