Gay marriage, women in ministry, abortion, social reform versus saving souls, capitalism verses socialism, these are some of the hot-button issues that are causing turbulence for some Christian groups in America today. Several denominations are undergoing sharp disagreements about what they believe and what they stand for.
At the center of these highly emotional issues that are disturbing so many churches in our nation stands the Bible. Is the Holy Bible God’s perfect word to humanity or not? If it is not, then where can we turn for answers to life’s most important questions?
Those who are skeptical about the claims in the Bible tend to value pluralism over truth. They approach the Bible as one source among many for spiritual reflection and insight. In their minds, the Bible must compete with human reason, traditions, personal experiences and other holy books from non-Christian religions.
Skeptics cannot speak with a voice of confidence or authority about right and wrong, good and evil, or heaven and hell. As a result, they offer few if any clear answers to a world that is increasingly mired in moral and spiritual confusion and darkness. In addition, they consider those who have confidence in the Bible to be closed-minded, rigid, and even hateful.
But the Bible presents compelling answers to the deepest questions in life. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? The Bible gives us God’s answers about our life in this age and in the age to come.
The Bible tells us that God has spoken a complete and coherent message. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible warns us that we must respond to God’s message. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever trusts in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Our generation is not the first to see God’s word questioned, criticized, doubted, and attacked. The unchanging truth revealed in God’s word has always encountered stiff resistance in this world full of sin. But the anchor for our souls will never fail, despite the wind and waves of skepticism raging all around us. If the foundation beneath our feet is the word of God then we can live with assurance.
Influential men and women come and go, but Jesus is still God’s Savior. Mighty nations and cultures rise and fall, but God’s Kingdom is still advancing. Impressive ideas and philosophies are celebrated then forgotten, but the word of God will never fade away.
This is our great task as Bible-believing followers of Jesus: To know the Bible and its Author; to live according to the unchanging Truth revealed in the pages of Genesis through Revelation; to celebrate the victory that comes from following the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ.
We are a people of the Word.
May the God who has revealed himself to us in the Bible always be our wisdom and our power in everything,
Brother Richard
brotherrichardsblog.com 