Think on These Things
September 1999
3. Is the Bible Authoritative?
This should be the major motivation for recognizing God’s authority and seeking after His will for us today. When we teach that the bible is authoritative, we are not stating that the authority rests in the pages of some book. We are teaching that God is the author; more specifically: "... Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). It is God, through His Word (Jn. 1:1f), that created us and has all power and authority over us. He will exercise this power definitively and completely on the day of judgment, according to His will (Mt. 7:21f).
The question that we want to answer in this and upcoming issues of TTT is: given that we believe in God, how do we learn God’s will for us? How do we know that the bible is God’s word, and what are the first steps that we take to understand it? We will have much to say on these subjects in the months to come.
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The goal of this page is to promote morality and justice in our society (Prov. 14:23).
Gambling: If you lose, it is a crime against your family;if you win, it is a crime against humanity.
Legalized gambling is legalized stealing; it’s never a victimless crime.
Y2K. Good news: Having made it through July (the start of the 2000 fiscal year for most states) and the August turnover of the Geographical Positioning System (GPS), we conclude that the computer problems caused by Y2K will not cause much discomfort to the average person. If there was to be a problem it would have been caused by the panic triggered by these early warnings more than from the problem itself. Nevertheless, we should always be prepared for a week or so of self-sufficiency — this is just good common sense for any possible natural disaster. (The Red Cross has provided good guidelines.)
The bad news: Overconfidence abounds. A very large proportion of our population (in the US) have never personally experienced either a major recession or a major war. The attitude held by many is — it just cannot happen now; we have solved those problems. But such pride is exactly what causes catastrophe. Hear the words of wisdom (Prov 1:20-29): "Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; At the head of the noisy {streets} she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings: ‘How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel, and did not want my reproof; I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, When your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress {and} anguish come on you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD.’ "
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The most fundamental question that deserves consideration is: "Is the bible really the word of God?" This question can be answered in light of the only alternatives. If the bible is not from God, then either: (1) God did not communicate at all, or (2) God gave us a different means of communication. The fact that we believe in a loving God who created us and has our interests in mind enables us to discard the first alternative immediately. The second alternative leads to considerating all possible ways that God could communicate.
This would be a hard problem were it not for the fact that very few documents even claim to be God’s word. Most of the ones that do (e.g., the Book of Mormon) freely declare the bible as being authoritative as well. Of itself, the bible declares: (2 Tim. 3:16-17): "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." How do we know that the body of work called the bible is "all scripture?" This we must accept as an act of faith in a loving God. If God preserved what we now have, would he not preserve it in an adequate form to provide all necessary information for salvation? If we believe in a loving God, we must answer: yes.
But what about all of the other works that claim to be communications from God? Take these under consideration one at a time as you encounter them. Read and study them in light of your knowledge of the bible. When compared to the bible, they pale in comparison. The answer is within (Rom. 10:17). (See also our article on the next page.)
Attacks on the bible often take the form of: "the bible is only one of many books." The objective is to destroy our faith in its authority. Yet, those who launch such attacks rarely have a working knowledge of either the bible or any of these other works. Challenge them to name one of these works, and ask if they believe all that is taught therein. This will provide a sound basis to move ahead in determining the truth.
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but Jesus said (Mt. 4:4) ...
"It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"
There are two ways that this refutes the idea of many diverse documents. First, Jesus responded: "It is written ..." and proceeds to quote from Deut. 8:3. This, along with many other references of Jesus and the New Testament writers, attests to his/their acceptance of the currently accepted version of the Old Testament. Much like our bible today, it was handed down through the religious powers that be, despite many of them being worldly and evil. The providence of God assured that it was preserved for the purpose for which it was created.
A second nail in the coffin of diverse documents is the that Jesus required that we acquire knowledge of "every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." If God revealed himself out of a huge diversity of books (some even include parts of Shakespeare), this would be impossible. It would be humanly impossible for us to distinguish what portions of certain books were God speaking and which were not. Further, if he were continuously revealing himself with new writings and statements every day, this would also be impossible. Jesus was looking to that point when all that needed to be revealed would be revealed and "that which was perfect [fully grown] was come" (1 Cor. 13:8-10). See also Heb. 1:1ff and Rev. 22:18-19.
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