John 8:32--And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
It baffles me how many people claim to be a Christian, attend church, and assume they are going to heaven, not knowing(or at least not acknowledging) that they have accepted false doctrine. These individuals often are very intellectual, very learned, very astute; but when it comes to this area of doctrine, they have rather chosen to exchange the truth for a lie. It is because of this that we see many congregations walking in darkness, living lives that God would detest. What false doctrine am I referring to...the validity of God's Word.
Some say it's full of fairy tales, some say it's insufficient(even accepting another book as equal to God's Word). Some believe that it was written by ignorant men, some say it is full of errors; others discredit it, believing it was written for long ago and not for today. Now, I would not have a problem with these views, if they were being voiced by those outside the church, but when they are being uttered by those within it, concern arises. I will attempt to lay down a foundation exposing these erroneous thoughts; expressing my belief that if God's Word is not viewed as all-sufficient, all-inspired, without error, you may want to recheck your faith and examine whether or not you are truly in the faith. II Corinthians 13:5
God's Word is all-sufficient. II Peter 1:3 says, "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue." Every believer must understand that contained within the 66 books of the Bible we have everything we need for life and godliness, nothing more is needed. We don't needed added revelations, a new history of a distant land, or any other material to aid us in living a life that is holy and pleasing to Him. The problem is, most "believers" wont go to the Word for guidance; instead they will lean on their own understanding, allowing that to guide them. The above verse states that the only way to live and be godly is through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. My hope is that all believers will depart from all other sources of knowledge(self-help books, book of mormon, etc.) in their search for godliness and wholly lean on the all--sufficient Word of God.
God's Word is all-inspired and without errors. II Timothy 3:16-17 says, "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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." II Peter 1:21 says, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, by holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Every Scripture written, from Genesis to Revelation, was inspired/breathed by God. The authors were moved by the Holy Spirit to write as He directed them. This being said, it is impossible for such a document to contain errors, since its originator is perfect. So, what is one to do with stories like Jonah and Noah's flood, can they be truly believed? One may discredit the account of Jonah and forget that Jesus directly referenced him twice (Matthew 12:39-41 and 16:4). Others may disregard Noah's flood as fairy tale and forget what Jesus said in John 5:47, "but if you do not believe his (Moses') writings(he penned Genesis), how will you believe My words?" The point is, if you choose to displace such stories as false, you have discredited God and called His Son a liar. Every jot and tittle is inspired and without error and able to make every man complete. Believe it and be saved.
To close I will give you some closing thoughts to demonstrate to awesomeness and uniqueness of God's Word. Did you know that the Bible is not one book, but actually 66 different books? Did you know that those 66 books cover different genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, letters and more? Did you know that those 66 books, of different genres, were written by 40 different authors(shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings and prophets), over a period of 1500 years, written in 3 different languages(Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic), on 3 different continents(Africa, Asia, and Europe)? What's even more amazing...those 66 books all share a common story line, common theme and common message. No matter how far and wide you search you will not find another 66 books that meet those characteristics. God's Word is sufficient, it is inspired, it is without error and in it you will find the truth that can set you free.
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