Toward a Proper View of Scripture
A few years ago, I was taking a training class with several others who worked for my company. Because class was all day, you ended up getting to know your fellow classmates pretty well.
At the end of one day, Ali, a student from another district, asked me if I could give him a ride to his hotel. As we got into the car, Ali said, “Ah, I see you are a person of the Book!”
It took me a second or two to realize what he was talking about. He had apparently noticed the Bible in the back seat of my car. I quickly learned that Ali was a Muslim. I remember having a cordial conversation where we talked about some of the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam. Given that the trip to his hotel was only a few minutes, we weren’t able to go into a lot of depth. But as the conversation would bounce around in my head over the next couple weeks, I concluded that I had missed a great opportunity–not to “witness”, but to clarify the truth of Christianity for him. Muslims see Christians as “the People of the Book”. The book they refer to of course is the Bible. We’re the people of the Book because they observe the Bible to be central to our lives.
Have you ever thought of a great response to a comment months later than you wished you had back in the conversation? If I had a time machine to go back to that moment, I would have said something like this…
“Ali, Christians are not ‘the people of the Book’. We are ‘the people of Jesus Christ the King’.”
Key to Christian maturity is recognizing the centrality of Christ above all things. But over the centuries, some things that were meant to support Christ and His Kingdom have themselves attained a sacred and venerated status. When this happens they can become a distraction from fully apprehending our King.
For the next few posts I want to spend some time returning a few things back to their proper place. Not to degenerate them, but to reveal and re-establish their true purpose of glorifying Christ. In this post I hope to offer a proper view of scripture in the life of a believer. Not as the primary means of knowing God, but as a valuable tool through which He can speak to us.
Where Did the Bible Come From?
Contrary to what some might think, the Bible was not given to us with the same pizzazz with which he gave Moses the 10 Commandments. God did not drop the Bible from out of the sky as a single volume bound in leather.
The word bible is derived from Koine Greek from τὰ βιβλία which simply means “the books” or “the scrolls”. It’s not one book, but actually a compendium of 66 individual books, written by around 40 different authors, each for its own purpose and audience. How it came to be a single volume containing the books we have today is a complicated and somewhat messy story.
Of course, the first three-quarters of the Bible is the Old Testament (OT). It tells the history of creation, sin and the Fall, the covenants between God and the descendants of Abraham, the release of the Hebrews from Egypt and their establishment in the Promised Land. It details God’s Law for the Hebrews, chronicles the Kings that ruled Israel, describes God’s dealings with Israel through cycles of obedience and disobedience, and journals the work of the prophets that God used to speak of His judgement and future reconciliation. The books of OT history were written by several authors that include Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Jeremiah, and by various prophets. There are also a few books on wisdom and poetry (attributed to Solomon, David, and others). The earliest books in the OT were written around 1,500 B.C. with the newest uncontested works written as late as 430 B.C. Most of the OT was originally written in Hebrew except for portions of the books of Daniel and Ezra which were written in Aramaic.
The New Testament (NT) includes four books (the “gospels”) which describe the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, His resurrection and ascension. It includes a telling of the significant events of the early church, several letters written by the apostles to various churches, a few private letters written to individuals, and the Revelation of John which symbolically speaks to events leading to Christ’s return and the re-establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. Overall, there are 27 books in the NT which were written by several apostles (such as Paul, John, Peter, and James) as well as other church workers (like Matthew, Mark, and Luke). They were all written within a 40-year period spanning from 50 A.D. to 90 A.D. (give or take). Most of the NT was written in a form of Koine Greek which was the common language of the eastern Mediterranean during that time.
There were other books written around this time, each claiming some degree of authenticity. Church leaders at that time had to make decisions as to which books were included and not included into the scriptures. This process is known as scriptural canonization. The books that passed the test and made it into the Bible are referred to as canon.
Canonization of the Old Testament books was much less complicated than the New Testament. The Torah (which included Genesis through Deuteronomy) were considered authoritative by the Hebrews at the time of writing (with internal attestation dated to around 800 B.C). However, the acceptability of everything after Deuteronomy was not finalized until after 70 A.D. by a Pharisaic rabbinical school. Even today, not every Christian tradition agrees on which books are in the OT. Most Protestants believe it to contain 39 books while the Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and a few other denominations recognize as many as 17 other works known as the apocryphal texts. If included, they fill the historical gap from 430 B.C. to 1 B.C. leading right up to the time of New Testament events.
The first known New Testament canon, known as the Muratorian Canon, was dated to 190 A.D. Interestingly, this is the document where we get most of the “order” of the books in today’s New Testament. It was Paul and the apostolic fathers (Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch) who were the first to confirm several NT letters as authoritative. The canon would continue to evolve over the next 200 years, with certain books (like Revelation, Hebrews, and 2 Peter) moving from “disputed” to “accepted” status while others (like The Shepherd of Hermas, the Letter of Barnabus, and the Didache) being eventually excluded altogether. This process was by no means guesswork. The methods used to test these letters were rigorous, though it did require subjective reasoning and human agency. It wasn’t until 363 A.D. at the Council of Laodicea that there was broad agreement on the list of books that make up today’s New Testament. This list would be confirmed over the next 30 years by two separate councils (Council of Hippo and the Council of Carthage). It wasn’t until 397 A.D. that we had a finalized OT and NT canons that reflect the Bible that we carry around today.
In light of internal, external, and bibliographic tests of reliability, the Bible stands up to logical and historical scrutiny relatively well. The few inconsistencies recognized by Biblical scholars are negligible to affect the overall message, doctrines, and narrative of scripture. The “contradictions” and “inaccuracies” most often touted by atheists and skeptics usually amount to a misunderstanding on the part of the skeptic related to the differences between ancient versus modern thought and aristotelian (western) versus Hebrew (eastern) logic. They’re usually explainable with the help of scholarship. Any remaining concerns are based on disagreements on dates of ancient events and categorical denials that miracles could ever occur. Neither of these constitute evidence of an unreliable text.
So, objectively speaking, the Bible is:
- A carefully selected collection of reliable Judeo-Christian texts
- Written on a variety of topics (history, law, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, and practical guidance)
- Over a 1,500-year span of time
- By over 40 vested and devout individuals
- To several different audiences/recipients
- Which together provide a consistent and coherent narrative chronicling God’s eternal purpose and His relationship with mankind throughout history.
Is the Bible Inspired by God?
Subjectively speaking, most Christians claim that the Bible was inspired by God. Of course divine inspiration may mean different things to different people. Some may believe the entire Bible to be a word-for-word dictation from the Lord. Others believe the authors were given the freedom to express themselves within the general guidance of the Lord. In some cases (such as in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy) I believe it was by direct word-for-word dictation from the Lord. In other cases (like in the letters of the apostles), the authors expressed themselves through the “filter” of the Holy Spirit.
In common Christian parlance, we often refer to the Bible as “the Word of God” to emphasize its source of inspiration. But to be accurate, the phrase “word of God” is used throughout the scriptures to mean different things. For example, it’s used over 30 times to mean the truth which God speaks (2 Sam 16:23; 1 Kings 12:22; Matt 15:6; Heb. 4:12; Heb. 11:3). In the New Testament the phrase can also refer to the revealed truth of the gospel message (Acts 4:31; Acts 11:1 Acts 18:11). There are also verses which personify God’s spoken truth in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:1-2). No doubt the Bible contains the words of God. But I tend to avoid referring to the Bible as “the Word of God” since I think this moniker signals a claim of exclusivity regarding how God speaks to us today. Jesus Christ is the Word. He can reveal His truth to us not only through the words of scripture, but a thousand other ways.
Some offer 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as proof that the Bible asserts itself as divinely inspired. But it’s very possible the word “scripture” in this verse could simply refer to the Hebrew Torah. Some have taken some interpretive liberties to claim that the reference extends to every book in the Bible (even though it would be another 350 years before the Bible would become a thing). Others have pointed out that the word here used for “scripture” is the Greek word γραφή (graphia) which can simply mean “writings”. They suggest Paul, who often quoted pagan philosophers in his letters, was simply pointing out that all writings (whether Jewish or Hindu or pagan) echo Christ’s truth in some way and are therefore useful for godly instruction.
The point of bringing this all up is not to suggest an uninspired text. But I do want to strip scripture of any veneer of artificial holiness. Artificial holiness is when we proof-text, inflate verses, or appeal to baseless tradition to make the case for absolute inerrancy and infallibility beyond what we see in its pages. How much God was involved the process of how the Bible came about is a matter of personal conviction. Ultimately our faith is not in scripture but in Christ alone.
If you have any doubt, I do trust the Bible. But for me, the greatest evidence for its divine inspiration doesn’t come from circular attestation or creative exposition. It comes from the amazing consistency and complementary nature of its writings: Despite 40 authors writing over a 1,400 year period in a variety of styles and purposes, there appears to be one Architect who has organized them into a single, unified narrative.
Bottom line: Christianity will not stand or fall on the absolute inerrancy and infallibility of scripture. Rather, it stands or falls on the historical reality of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and our response to follow Him into it.
What is the Purpose of the Bible Today?
So along with an indwelling Christ, we’ve been blessed during this time in history to own a personal copy of this amazing Book. But what are we supposed to do with it? What follows are what I think are the four main purposes that scripture has for the believer today, in descending order of importance.
Most importantly, the Bible serves as our objective source of truth when it comes to the first things of God, His character, purpose, truth, promises, and broad expectations for His people.
Bruce Shelly, in his book Church History in Plain Language, explains that the church began collecting and cataloging apostolic letters due to the threat of Montanism around 160 A.D. During that time, Montanus had begun a cult within early Christianity that advocated spontaneous reliance on the Holy Spirit. While the practice of engaging the Spirit was in itself not a bad thing, his particular brand of spirituality led to pushing Christ and the apostolic message into the background. To counter the threat, the church felt it necessary to begin collecting apostolic writings which were known at the time to be trusted as accurate and reliable to the original gospel message. By having such a collection, the church could always validate another’s ideas against an objective source.
As it did back then, the Bible allows us to compare and contrast today’s revelations, thoughts, and motivations with the original truth as revealed by apostolic witness. The apostles were most familiar with Christ and His message. If a thought or act is contrary to scripture, then we can rightly deny it having come from the Lord. A world without the Bible could be a spiritual free-for-all with no means of verification. The Bible acts as the guardrails that were meant to keep future generations of Christians in theological check.
Second, the Bible chronicles the outworking of the eternal purpose. It’s a roadmap showing where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going in the narrative of God’s timeless epic. It describes our spiritual heritage–from a Hebrew nation, to those called to follow the Messiah, to becoming a temple made of living stones in whom the Lord dwells. It provides insight into the various problems and issues with the early church and how the apostles dealt with them. It provides us with His strategic plan for the expansion of His Kingdom here on earth. It also describes our future inheritance as co-heirs of Christ who will rule and reign creation.
Our spiritual forefathers saw bits and pieces of the big picture as they participated in it and wrote it down throughout history. Today, those pieces have been collected and assembled so that we can read the Bible as a unified, interconnected, and unbroken narrative. As we live our lives, we’re not adding to the end of that story, but rather the middle. By this timeless epic, we share an unspoken bond with the characters we read about in its pages. We share in their purpose of bringing about God’s Kingdom. We identify with their struggles, fears, doubts and failures as much as their victories, triumphs, and sacrifice. Because of the Fall, we also share in their death. Because of Christ, we will also share in their resurrection.
Third, the Bible provides a tremendous source of encouragement along our journey as believers. It speaks to us using voices from both the past, present, and the future. It’s the voice of truth we can read when the world is too loud to hear any other.
I don’t think it often occurs to us that the Bible was not available to every Christian in history. This is true even today. When we read the book of 1 Thessalonians, we’re reading a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the fledgling church he planted in Thessalonica in northern Greece in 51 A.D.
Imagine yourself a part of this church. At the time there was no “holy book” available to you. You probably couldn’t read anyway. Even if you could, the nearest torah was kept in the local synagogue. If you were a gentile, you likely wouldn’t even have the advantage of Jewish verbal tradition–no context to relate Jesus to a promised messiah. You would also have no long-term professional pastor. For in the short three months Paul would stay in Thessalonica he would teach you how to operate under the direct headship of Christ. Armed with nothing but this instruction, the Holy Spirit, and a tight-knit group of other believers, Paul would soon be moving to the next town in his missionary journey.
Now fast-forward nine months. Paul, Silas, and Timothy had left six months ago to continue their journey towards Athens. The church, which continues to meet at Jason’s house, is starting to succumb to persecution. But one day, Silus and Timothy return, carrying a letter written by Paul! Under the light of a flickering lamp, Silas reads the letter aloud to a room full of eager ears. Paul’s words are familiar to you. It’s almost as if he is back with you, re-revealing the Christ that held you spellbound when he first spoke of the Kingdom. Suddenly, you’re filled again with encouragement. Paul, in the form of his letter, is with you–in word and in spirit.
When we read the Bible, I pray that we would re-capture this enthusiasm. In the stillness and silence of its words, in the echoes of the voices of patriarch, prophet, apostle, and King, we hear a God who begs us to fix our eyes to His. Because it’s in His eyes we find the encouragement to press on.
Fourth, through the Bible God can provide broad and limited instruction to believers. To be clear, not every command in scripture necessarily applies to you and I today. Imperatives in scripture often speak to a situation that was going on at the time they were written. For example, the majority of the New Testament is made up of letters written by the Apostle Paul to various churches he planted. Often, these churches were undergoing some kind of crisis or had very specific questions about how to handle certain situations. Paul’s advice or admonishments should not be automatically assumed to apply to us simply because they occupy space in scripture.
The passages that apply to us will be the ones that are independent of time and context. They apply to every Christian–past, present, and future. One example is the command “love the Lord with all your heart” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” But when distilled from the surrounding instruction, these verses tend to be very broad in their application. They leave room for the Spirit to guide us in how they’re fulfilled.
To discern whether a passage applies to you, it’s helpful to ask the following questions related to time, culture, methods, context, and personal biases:
- What covenant am I currently under (the old or the new)?
- Who was Jesus speaking to in the text? (Do I fit their profile?)
- Is the apostle addressing a specific issue in one or more churches or is he providing direction for every Christian?
- Is the command being asked of every person in the church or to specific people in the church?
- Is this the apostle’s admonishment or is it a command from the Lord?
- Is this related to a localized or cultural issue?
- Do the words spoken fit with what we know of the Lord’s character?
- Is the apostle making specific commands or is he describing what behavior should look like if his audience was occupied with Christ first and foremost?
- Is this instruction a recommended best practice or is it a command?
- Am I looking at the passage objectively or is my objectivity tainted by my personal preferences and ideological leanings?
The scriptures can be quite helpful, reminding us of God’s timeless expectations for His people. However, I would caution that the Bible was never intended to be the primary means of learning Christ as it is often used today. Let me explain.
Crossing the Line
Over the last several posts I’ve made the case that Jesus Christ leads His church. He does this through various means, but never by delegation or proxy. Nevertheless, many of us may have grown up in church hearing something like this…
“But in this time in church history, God has chosen to lead us by the Bible.”
Somewhere along the way we’ve concluded that the Bible, not Christ, has become the inherent source of authority for Christian faith and practice. Some may shrug at this distinction. But to me this crosses a very distinct line bordering on scriptural idolatry.
To be clear, scripture is a tool that aids in developing our relationship with Christ. But when we make the Bible central to our corporate liturgy, group life, and personal devotionals, the living Christ can become marginalized. While it seems to be the standard practice, we’re left to wonder where the idea came from in the first place. After all, there’s scant evidence to support it–neither in the Bible, nor in the early creeds, nor what we know of the practices of the early church. But we know from history that the church has been leaning this way for the last several centuries. While well-intentioned, the Reformation-era doctrine of sola scriptura and the fundamentalist movement of the early 1900’s are prime examples contributing to its momentum. This shift was not intentional, but driven by historical and doctrinal pressures over many centuries and accelerated when the church fails to remain fixated on Christ.
Here are several reasons why Christ’s leadership has slowly been replaced by scriptural proxy:
- First, much of the church equates Jesus Christ with the Bible. The extent of a relationship with the former is limited to time spent studying the latter. This is a false idea that the church would do well to reconsider.
- Second, over the centuries as Christianity exited the dark ages, pursuing God became less of a spiritual activity, taking on an increasingly more academic flavor. We’ve shifted from apprehending God through the spirit toward apprehending Him through the cerebral activity of scriptural study. Jesus tells us both are necessary (John 4:24).
- Third, some churches believe that the completion of the Biblical canon marks God’s “completed revelation” to mankind. They believe the Lord no longer has anything to say to us since everything we will ever need to hear from Him has already been given to us in scripture.
- Fourth, spiritual engagement with an indwelling Christ does not come easily. It requires effort. Mankind has always found it easier to follow a written “law” than to pursue and await spiritual instruction from the Lord. (Note this was Israel’s folly as well.)
- Fifth, church leadership has traditionally feared subjectivity in religious guidance or instruction. Some reason that “listening to voices” has led to things like murder, so it’s best to avoid it altogether. They believe the Bible alone provides needed clarity, objectivity, and scope. It’s a safe and familiar place to play.
- Sixth, since the bulk of pastoral and discipleship training focuses internalizing the Bible, it makes sense that group gatherings led by today’s church leaders effectively focus on the Bible.
Idolatry aside, another danger in replacing the dynamic leading of the indwelling Christ with the static books of scripture is that we can come to view the Bible as a rule book. It can become a new “written law” from which we attempt to derive imperatives that define Christian behavior. When we trade our freedom in Christ with these imperatives, legalism inevitably results. We become a “people of the Book” rather than the “people of Jesus Christ, the King”.
When we seek instruction exclusively from scripture, we can also run into practical issues in discerning God’s will. We’ve already said that instruction properly derived from scripture is broad and limited. Scripture simply cannot offer specific guidance for every situation we might come across. When confronted with this limitation, the church tends to react in a couple of different ways. In attempting to nail down God’s conclusive will on a specific matter, we may be tempted to “proof-text” imperatives out of the Bible that don’t actually exist. Conversely we may find no clear mandate to address the specific problem. Fearing to make a decision outside of the safety net of scripture, we may ignore the issue altogether or become ambivalent to a situation where Christ needs to be represented.
Even as I type this, I recognize many of us may still fail to see the distinction between Bible study and a dynamic relationship with our Lord (and why I’m so pressed to communicate it). I hope it becomes more clear as we get into how to abide in relationship with Christ. Until then, all I can offer is that it’s similar to the difference between looking through a window and actually being outside.
Let’s not worship the window. Let’s be outside.
Toward a Proper View of Scripture
So how should we as believers view scripture today? What place should it have in our spiritual walk?
As we said earlier, the Bible is our tangible record of objective truth. It encourages us as it speaks of life’s truest meaning. Through it the Lord gives us insight into our spiritual heritage, our current situation, and His ultimate intention. It’s a tool which aids in the development of our relationship with Christ. The Lord can speak through the Bible and instruct us as we read it by way of His Spirit. Without the Spirit, the Bible has no instructive value for a believer.
But it’s not the only source of God’s leading. We have the Holy Spirit, circumstances, prayer, and the godly counsel of others who are mature and close to the Lord. As blasphemous as it may sound to some, I would file the Bible under the heading “bonus material” since not every Christian in history had access to it. This is not to suggest that it’s unimportant to those who do have a copy. In fact, we who have been blessed with it should consider ourselves extremely fortunate and take full advantage of its spiritual wealth.
At the same time, the Bible should not be an object of worship. Though it contains His words, the Bible is not Christ. The Bible is a book that the Lord can speak through. Jesus Christ is a person, a life-giving spirit that indwells us and with whom we can engage in dynamic relationship.
In summary, I’ll add to the heap of overstretched analogies related to the Armor of God discussed in Ephesians 6:10-17.
To me, the Sword of the Spirit is our primary weapon. The Spirit is the one that does spiritual violence against the enemy. He’s the one that does the work.
But then I wondered which of these items of armor represents scripture… Of course! It’s part of the Belt of Truth (since it contains words of God’s truth).
Now, I understand the need for a helmet, a sword, a breastplate, and even shoes in a battle. But I always wondered what you were supposed to do with a belt. Then I started thinking. What’s the purpose of a belt?
The belt is the means by which we retain the sword close at our side. It ensures the weapon stays near us so we don’t lose it, leave it somewhere, or try to do something foolish with it when we’re using it outside its intended purpose. The belt keeps the sword in check.
I think the Lord recognizes that living by an indwelling Christ would not come easily or naturally. It’s not normal. It takes practice. Just as the early church dealt with Montanists of the 2nd century by comparing their spiritual activity to known truth, scripture grounds us in truth as we learn to engage Christ in spirit.