Spring Warrior Church of Christ

7432 S. Red Padgett Road

Perry, FL 32348
584-5176

Prove All Things Vol. 1 No. 3

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

God Has Spoken By Jeff Himmel, jshimmel@perry.gulfnet.com

[2/21/01]

The Bible makes a bold claim for itself: it claims to be the word of God.
Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired of God [literally, ‘God-breathed’]” (2
Timothy 3:16). Peter said of the Old Testament, “no prophecy was ever made by
an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2
Peter 1:21). God’s Spirit also inspired the gospel, the New Testament (1 Peter
1:10-12). Jesus promised His apostles, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you into all the truth . . . for He shall take of Mine, and shall
disclose it to you” (John 16:13-14).

The Bible claims to be God’s word. If that’s true, then to read the Bible is
to hear God speak. And if God has spoken, we’d do well to consider the
implications.

If God has spoken, His word can be trusted. Every test has shown that the
Bible is by far the most accurately preserved ancient writing. That’s no accident.
“The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides
forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25). The Scriptures are trustworthy because their Author is
trustworthy (1 Corinthians 1:9).

If God has spoken, His word is right. Skeptics have charged that the Bible
is full of mistakes. Worse, many “Christian” scholars think so, too. Consider the
“Jesus Seminar,” a group of scholars who set out to determine which parts of the
gospels are historical. So far they’ve concluded that Jesus actually said and did
less than 20% of what is recorded about Him; the rest is misreported,
exaggerated, or made up. But if the Bible comes from the all-knowing God, then
it isn’t wrong — not even a little bit. God can’t lie (Titus 1:2) and He doesn’t get
His facts wrong. His word is truth (John 17:17).

If God has spoken, His word is our authoritative standard. God’s word
was enough to create the heavens (Psalm 33:6-12); it is enough to direct us! We
must follow where it leads us, and stop where it limits us. Modern day thinking

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tends to reject absolute moral standards. And in fact, moral absolutes can’t come
from imperfect men; they can only come from God. His message is the one
perfect standard for determining right and wrong, truth and falsehood, good and
evil. If we abide in His word, we are true disciples of His (John 8:31). If not, then
we don’t have God (2 John 9).

If God has spoken, His word is relevant. Even professed Christians will
sometimes dismiss certain scriptures as nothing but products of someone’s
cultural environment or personal views. Some pass over the Bible’s teaching
against homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9) as a personal dislike of Paul’s. Some
write off statements about women’s roles in the church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)
and the family (1 Peter 3:1-6) as reflections of first-century social thought. They
regard such passages as irrelevant to our modern situation.

I see two huge problems with this. First, if some Bible passages are just
ancient men’s opinions, how can we trust any of it? How do we tell which
teachings are from men and which are from God? If we dismiss parts of the Bible
as irrelevant, we cast serious doubt on the whole thing. Second, the Bible writers
claimed to be directed by God’s Spirit. If they were, then their words are God’s
words (see 1 Corinthians 14:37). Do you want to tell God that He’s not relevant?

“But,” someone insists, “if the church is to survive, we have modify the
Bible’s message to fit a changing culture.” Since when is God driven by public
opinion? What He says is right, whether people accept it or not. I’m all for trying
to make God’s word appeal to people, but if we alter it to match our likes and
dislikes, we’re saying God is unable to give mankind a message that’s always
relevant.

If the eternal, unchanging God is behind the Bible’s message, then it is

relevant in any and every age. “For the word of God is living and active and
sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul
and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

God has spoken. We need to hear what He has to say.

Bibleweb.com, Copyright © 2001 Jeff Himmel All Rights Reserved

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