CAN WE TRUST THE WORD OF GOD?

When we pick up our Bibles and read in the Old Testament, we are reading about the way life was 3,000 or 4,000 years ago. We are introduced to a world that most of us know little about, set in a time when life was primitive and there was very little mechanization. It is in this “old world” setting that we are introduced to the major stories of Scripture and characters such as Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Joseph, David and Solomon. Their world is interesting but very different from ours.

A close friend of mine, a dear brother in the Lord, has largely given up reading the Old Testament. He reads only the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. My friend is like many others in the church of the twenty-first century who struggle to see how the words and actions of men who lived thousands of years ago have much relevance to the world we face in 2012.

I think if we are honest, most of us would admit that at times we too have questioned how important the Old Testament is since we are no longer under the Law but under grace (Galatians 3:13).

 

My friend who has given up on the Old Testament is deeply in love with Jesus and spends large volumes of time reading and studying the Gospels and the letters of Paul. So the issue for this brother is not that he is unsaved but, rather, how can we answer the question for him, “Can we trust all of the Word of God or can we only trust and relate to parts of it?”

First, let me say that what I am talking about in this brief article is not the various translations of the Bible. I was brought up on a steady diet of the King James Version and I love that translation. However, it is no more perfect than any scribes’ writing down of dictated or copied words could ever be. Over the years I have enjoyed reading and studying the New King James Version, Living Bible, New International Version, Amplified Bible and recently I have begun doing my devotional reading in the English Standard Version.

One of the passages of Scripture that has captivated me on this subject is 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “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 competent, equipped for every good work” (ESV). These were among the final words that Paul shared before his life was taken by a Roman executioner. Paul knew what was coming and he wasn’t into wasting words — this is an important message for then and for now!

Paul is saying, “All Scripture” has the life of the Holy Spirit in it. “All Scripture” is valuable to us in learning how to live successfully as His children. Paul says we need it all so that we will be fully equipped for all we will face.

The Word of God that I am referring to is not one of the aforementioned versions; it was not written down by human hand several thousand years ago. The Word of God I am speaking of is that which resides in the eternity of God’s heart — who does not change, who does not lie, who knows no beginning and no end. It is there, in His heart, that we find the unchanging and pure Word of God! The message that we read and understand — with the Holy Spirit’s help — is an expression of His nature and character which is eternal and is breathed out by God from the pureness of His heart. Because the Word resides in eternity with God, its value cannot be measured by what we consider to be relevant.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, ESV).

If the Word of God comes from the heart of an eternal God, then the question we are pondering circles back on itself and asks the real question, which is, “Can we trust God?” If we cannot trust His Word to be true or relevant, then we are saying that we do not trust Him.

Lots of believers in our world today mouth the phrase, “I trust God,” but then their lack of receptivity to portions of the Word of God shows that their trust is actually a partial measure and not full. A rendering of that phrase is printed on our money and people get very bent out of shape when some suggest that it be taken off all currency. But the truth is that as a nation we do not trust God, our leaders do not trust God and, sadly, most of the church does not really trust God, either

.

”Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89, NIV).

“All your commands are true. . . You established them to last forever” (verses 151-152, NIV).

We can trust His Word . . . all of it!

”For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, ESV).