Do you believe that the Holy Bible is the Word of God? How you view Scripture has a huge impact on how you view God and the world around you. When we view the Holy Bible rightly as the Word of God, we begin to value it because we realize that the time we spend reading it enables us to grow in our knowledge of and surrender to God. The unbelieving world wants you to believe that God has not been clear in His Word or that it can’t be trusted. We must reject these lies for the truth of God’s Word.
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:9-11
When I began to view the Holy Bible this way it completely changed my life. I truly believe that it is the difference between those who know God and walk in His ways and those who don’t (Matthew 22:29). A friend told me that someone once challenged her by saying Christians treat the Holy Bible like an idol. Christians do not worship the Bible, however we do treasure it like the psalmist above because we know that it brings us closer to the One who deserves all our worship and praise.
My Story
Thirteen years ago, one of my clients, Kim, invited me to lunch to thank me for some graphic design work I had done for her nonprofit women’s ministry. At lunch, she asked me if I was a Christian. I answered how I always answered, Yes, I’m a Christian. Of course, I didn’t know God, I had never read His Word, I wasn’t involved in the local church, and the older I got the more distant He seemed.
Kim then began to talk about God like she knew Him, like He was real, and there were facts about Him that could not be disputed. There was no question in her mind that He was present with her in every moment of every day and that there was nothing in her life that He wasn’t a part of. I left that lunch wondering how she could be so sure of what she knew about God. I later prayed that I could know God like that.
About a year later I received an invitation to a local church. My family and I decided to attend and in the back of my mind I remembered my lunch with Kim. During one of the first sermons we attended (it may have been the first), my pastor said, Do you want to know who God is? Do you want to know what He wants for your life? I remember answering in my head from my seat, Yes, more than anything. And he held up His Bible and said, It’s right here.
It’s All About The Heart
There is plenty of historical evidence that points to the Holy Bible being the Word of God. However, if your heart has not been changed by the Holy Spirit, you will never view it that way. I absolutely believe this was God’s plan for my life, and it was the Holy Spirit who changed my heart and removed the scales from my eyes at that lunch and on that Sunday morning at church. There were times before when I was faced with the truth of God’s Word and my response was, yeah right. This was the first time when faced with the truth of God’s Word that I realized, I’ve sinned against a holy God, I need a Savior now, and I need to submit to His Lordship.
My house was filled with Holy Bibles, and I had never read a single one of them. For years they sat hidden on shelves in my home collecting dust because they weren’t of any value to me. I viewed them as just books written by men about their experiences with God. They probably held some moral value, but could I really trust their accuracy?
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44
After coming to faith I pulled my Bibles off the shelf, and even bought new ones because you can never have too many. I’ve always preferred printed books over digital books. I began to read God’s Word as well as books that helped me study it. I started meeting with other women to read and discuss Scripture. God and His Word became my treasure, and I began to invest my time and resources into seeking Him with all my heart.
The Lies
The world wants Christians to believe that the Holy Bible is not God’s Word, that it’s insufficient, and flawed because it is written by man. This way of thinking assumes God is not all-powerful and omniscient. I believe one of the most loving things God has done for His creation is to reveal Himself to us through His written Word. To claim that His Word is inaccurate and incomplete, is to claim that God is not powerful enough to ensure that His revelation is inerrant and complete.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 1:21
Twice in the Bible, God warns us not to add to or take away from His Word (Deuteronomy 4:2, Revelations 22:18-19), and yet that is exactly what every false religion does. These verses tell us that Scripture is complete and authoritative. The world wants you to believe that you can pick and choose the parts of it you want to believe and ignore the parts that make you uncomfortable. They want you to think that only pastors and theologians can fully understand Scripture. These are lies to keep you from ever knowing God, knowing truth, and submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Anchored To Truth
We must rightly view the Holy Bible as the Word of God in order to know God. Personal revelation is not sufficient and like everything else is contaminated by sin. The Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible make it possible for us to see God’s truth and reject the world’s lies. It is God through His Word that equips us for ministry (2 Timothy 3:16). We must hold fast to God’s Word or else we are just laboring in vain (Philippians 2:14-16).
Anchoring ourselves to the truth of God’s Word means believing that everything it says is from the very mouth of God. I plan to talk more on that later this month. Until then, I would like to ask you these questions: Do you want to know who God is? Do you want to know what He wants for your life? Read your Bible.
Be sure to check out Anchored To Truth: Lesson 6 – The Bible. I would love to hear your story. Send me an email through my Contact Page.