Willmington's Guide to the Bible
Perhaps the grandest and most conclusive
description of the Bible was penned by the Apostle Paul in a letter to a
young pastor. He wrote: "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:15-17). In this remarkable passage Paul claims that the Bible is profitable— 1. For doctrine—that is, it may be used as the perfect textbook to present the systematic teachings of the great truths relating to God himself. 2. For reproof—that is, the Bible is to be used to convict us of the wrong in our lives. 3. For correction—that is, it will then show us the right way. 4. For instruction in righteousness—that is, God’s Word provides all the necessary details which will allow a Christian to become fully equipped for every good work. Because of all this, the Bible rightly demands absolute and sole authority over any other source in the life of the child of God. This authority would exceed that of the following: I. Human Reason. God gave us our minds and desires that we should use them! This is seen in two classic passages, one directed to the unsaved, the other to the saved.
II. The Church. The New Testament abounds with passages which declare Christ the Head of the Church. (See Eph. 1:22; 2:19, 20; 4:15, 16; 5:23-30; Col. 1:18; 2:9.) The Savior, it must be remembered, gave birth to the Church, and not the other way around. (See Mt. 16:18.) Thus the Christian must look to the Bible and not to any earthly church for final instruction. Sometimes even those local churches mentioned in the Bible itself were grievously wrong. Note the following description of New Testament churches, some of which were started by Paul himself. A. The church at Ephesus.
B. The church at Pergamos.
C. The church at Thyatira.
D. The church at Sardis.
E. The church at Laodicea.
III. Tradition. In this atomic and space age where change occurs at rocket speed, many have come to appreciate some of our beautiful traditions of the past. And rightly so! But traditions, like changes, can be wrong. If a thing was in error when it began, it is still in error regardless of the centuries that separate it from us today. Often in the past, hurtful "traditions of the fathers" had crept into the church of the living God. Our Savior himself was grieved over some harmful Jewish traditions. Note his words: "And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition" (Mt. 15:6). Later Paul would warn also of this. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col. 2:8). IV. Popes and Preachers. Even the most godly pastors are, after all, only finite men fully capable (apart from God’s grace) of the vilest sins. This is true of popes as well. V. Feelings and Experiences. At times Christians fall into error because they "feel led" to do or say certain things. However, we must learn that at times our feelings can be treacherous and totally untrustworthy. The psalmist often spoke of this: "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. 27:13). "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance" (Ps. 42:5). "I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High" (Ps. 77:1-10). "I said in my haste, All men are liars" (Ps. 116:11). This is not only the case with our feelings, but also our experiences. One of Job’s three "friends," Eliphaz, based all his advice to the suffering Job on experience (Job 4:12-16). He is later severely rebuked by God himself for doing this (Job 42:7). Thus, as valuable as personal experience may be, it is no substitute for the revealed Word of God. Listed below are the various functions of this authoritative book called the Bible. A. It upholds (Ps. 119:116). B. It orders steps (Ps. 119:133). C. It produces joy (Ps. 119:162). D. It strengthens (Ps. 119:28; 1 Jn. 2:14). E. It gives hope (Ps. 119:74, 81). F. It gives light (Ps. 119:105, 130). G. It gives understanding (Ps. 119:169). H. It shows God’s will (Isa. 55:11). I. It builds up (Acts 20:32). J. It produces fruit (Jn. 15:7). K. It convicts of sin (Heb. 4:12). L. It converts the soul (Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23). M. It cleanses the conscience (Jn. 15:3). N. It consecrates life (Jn. 17:17). O. It corrects the wrong (2 Tim. 3:16). P. It confirms the right (Jn. 8:31). Q. It comforts the heart (Ps. 119:50, 54). Because of this, the child of God is to respond to this authoritative book in the following ways: Read it (Deut. 31:11; Isa. 34:16; Lk. 4:16; Eph. 3:4; Col. 3:16; 4:1; 1 Thess. 5:27; 2 Tim. 4:13; Rev. 1:3). Heed it (Ps. 119:9; 1 Tim. 4:16). Seed it (Mt. 28:19, 20). Desire it (1 Pet. 2:2). Preach it (2 Tim. 4:2). Rightly divide it (2 Tim. 2:15). Live by it (Mt. 4:4). Use it (Eph. 6:17). Suffer for it, and if need be, die for it (Rev. 1:9; 6:9; 20:4). The child of God is to know it in his head, stow it in his heart, show it in his life, and sow it in the world. See also the following Scripture verses: Deuteronomy 4:1-10; 12:32; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 33:6; Proverbs 30:5, 6; Mark 4:24; Luke 8:12; John 12:48-50; Romans 8:7; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 2:1-4; Revelation 1:1-3; 20:12; 22:18, 19. Taken from: Willmington's Guide to the Bible © 1981, 1984 by H. L. Willmington. |