“All Scripture is breathed out by God…” – 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)
Last week I saw a video applauding the example set by a particular church. [1] The church looked like many, many other evangelical churches, who faithfully proclaim the gospel Sunday by Sunday.
What was being applauded was a kind of epiphany the church had had regarding the way they treated people: the church had recently become openly inclusive and affirming of lifestyles which don’t line up with what the Bible teaches.
Many churches have done similar things, but what was most disturbing was how the pastor justified this position: “We’ve decided [the Bible] fell from the sky, and now we’ve got to use it as a manual for how to run the earth and legislate morality. If we need to consult an ancient book to know what to do when a human being is standing in front of us, I think we’re [lost] already.” [2]
What do you believe about the Bible? What do you believe about where it came from? How do you use the Bible in questions of morality? What do you when it is really hard to submit to what the Bible appears to be saying – especially when the cost of doing so may be a broken relationship, or a loss of face, or worse?
Submission to the Bible can only follow submission to the God whose Word it is. You can’t have one without the other. God will not hold guiltless those who claim his name but reject his Word (Exodus 20:7).
Paul writes to Timothy from his prison cell:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)
We can easily jump to the second part of this sentence, what the Bible is useful for. If we do that, it might appear to be just really good advice for four or five different situations we may occasionally find ourselves in.
These are the words of the Sovereign Creator of the Universe. And being so, yes, they are a manual for how to run God’s Earth and legislate morality according to God’s supreme standard.
We must start with the first part: “All Scripture is breathed out by God…”. The Bible did not fall out of the sky for us to figure out. These are the words of the Sovereign Creator of the Universe. And being so, yes, they are a manual for how to run God’s Earth and legislate morality according to God’s supreme standard.
If we start here, it follows that the Bible is profitable for all of our lives. Being his Word, we can expect the Bible to times teach us new things about him, condemn the sin in us, correct our thoughts and actions to conform to God’s standards, and to train us for life in the new relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ.
In summary, it is given by God for our completion, provided we submit to it, as we submit the God whose Word it is.
Live it: What does your submission to the Bible say about your submission to God?
– Clint Lombard
- “A Church Where LGBTQ People Are ACCEPTED AS THEY ARE” (UpWorthy via Youtube) [Warning: Strong Language]
- Ibid.