If there’s one idea that has changed my life more than any other it would be the belief that the God of this universe is a God who speaks. God is not, as I once believed, a watch-maker god who set the world in motion and is now sitting back and watching it all happen. Rather, he maintains the existence of the universe, even today (Hebrews 1:3); he gives active power to the words of the gospel (Romans 1:16); he resurrects spiritually dead people (Ephesians 2:1-7); he shapes the global political realm to accomplish his desires1 (Proverbs 21:1); and he speaks through his written word (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 4:12-13).

The God who created me and you, and everything else, is a God who is actively involved in his creation. This belief changes everything.

So, the question I want to explore is: So What? If God is the author of the bible and is still active through it today how does that affect our beliefs and our lives? First let’s look at how this belief affects our view of the bible. Then we’ll take a look at how the bible affects our lives

what we believe about the bible

Sometime during my freshmen year of college this truth really began to sink in. Understanding that God still speaks began to change my view of the bible. I began to pay attention to what the bible said and even saw a growing desire to read it. I didn’t realize it at first, but God had begun to open my eyes to the Christian undertanding of the bible.

innerancy of scripture

The doctrine of the inerrancy of scripture essentially says that the bible contains no errors. This can only be true if we first believe that God is the one speaking in the words of the bible. Scripture is authored by God, who is omniscient and trustworthy, so we believe that it is inerrant and trustworthy.

usefulness of scripture

The scriptures are designed by God to accomplish his purposes (Isaiah 55:10-11). God has sent his own word, and he gives power to it. Furthermore, we are built to rely on the scripture for salvation, instruction, comfort, joy, peace, and wisdom. This means that God intended the bible to affect our lives, to be useful. The bible should be integrated into every part of our lives; informing our decisions and tranforming our thinking.

With these two truths in mind (that the bible is trustworthy and useful) we can take a look at what is written in the scriptures.
There’s obviously a lot that could be said here. There are 66 books by 40 different authors. These books cover a wide range of literary genres including Historical Narrative, Poetry, Personal Letters, Apocolyptic Writings, Prophecy, and Wisdom Literature. Through all of this there are a few truths in the bible that stand out among the rest and inform the way we read the rest of God’s words.

sufficiency of scripture

The doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture instructs us to stake our lives on the words of God. The bible, or rather the message of the bible, is all we need in this life. It is sufficient for salvation (Romans 1:16), for joy (Psalm 16:11), for godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and every area of life(2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Sufficiency here does not mean that the bible contains all the knowledge we will ever need throughout life. It means that God hasn’t revealed a partial message or unclear message. The bible is a sufficient source of divine communication for every area of life.

all about Jesus

The bible is all about Jesus. This is true of the whole thing, not only the gospels, not only the New Testament. Take a look at John 15:39-40, 46. Jesus tells the Jewish people of his time that the scripture they read every day, the Old Testament, is really pointing to Him! Luke 24:27-32 also shows us Jesus himself teaching his disciples that all the scriptures pertain to him. Understanding this has changed the way I read the bible. If my goal is not to see Jesus in the scripture, then I will miss the entire reason God spoke it in the first place.

the law does not give life

The laws in the scripture may be the most often misused sections of God’s word. God has informed us how we should treat the law: as a mirror (James 1:23). It’s so easy to read the rules of scripture and start making a list in our heads and measuring ourselves, and others, by these lists. But this misses the point — it takes God’s words out of his intended use for them. God gives us the law to show us that we are undeniably in need of righteousness from outside ourselves.

The laws in God’s word are not intended to be the path to life. They are intended to reveal that we are spiritually dead

This is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 3:19-22 and Romans 5:20-21. The law was not given to give life. The law imprisons everyone under sin so that righteousness might come through faith in Jesus Christ2. Romans 8:3-4 also tells us that the law cannot do what God has done in the gospel. God sent his son in the flesh. He condemned our sin on the Cross, in the death of Jesus. Righteousness is now attainable, not earned through the law, but received through faith.

What this means for your life

To wrap things up I’d like to take a look at some practical examples. As we saturate our minds with the words of God things will begin changing. In the words of Romans 12:1-3, we will be transformed by the renewal of our minds, and no longer conform to this world. This is truly what it means to be a moldbreaker. To no longer walk as a slave to our ever changing desires, but to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27). Psalm 119 is full of the affects that God’s word has on someone’s life. Here are a few short examples of what a moldbreaker looks like

Psalm 119:9: Our hearts can be pure when we guard them according to God’s word. We will be freed from pornography and slavery to sexual desires if our hearts our guarded with God’s word

Psalm 119:36: We can live or lives selflessly, free of selfish gain. This will have a huge impact on our work lives. Rather than emptying ourselves trying to earn more money we can simply do what God has called us to and enabled us to.

Psalm 119:50: Our hearts can be comforted during afflication. Walking through affliction is not easy, but we can be comforted that God’s promisees give life

Psalm 119:104: We will begin hating evil when we gain understanding through God’s precepts. This drives away apathy and motivates us to tackle big societal problems like racism, slavery, and human trafficking.

Read More

  1. See, for example, the books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Zechariah and watch how God governs the decrees of national leaders ↩
  2. See John Piper’s sermon Why Then The Law for a good discussion on this topic: http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/why-then-the-law ↩