Christians Who Doubt the Bible
A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News magazine Senior Writer, United Kingdom
It
would seem that, for those who claim to be Christians, much would depend
on their faith in the accuracy and authority of the Bible. Yet many professing
Christians today view the Scriptures as just another collection of human documents,
innately fallible and often fallacious. One observer was so bold as to describe
the services of many churches today as "meaningless, self-centered, feel-good
motivational sessions."
The head dean of a conservative Bible college, after attending a conference
of biblical scholars, theologians and pastors, lamented: "It had
been disappointing enough to learn from one research project that virtually
no one ever preached on the Old Testament...But worse was to come."
They claimed, he explains, "It was a book ... that justified,
even advocated, violence against women, child abuse, cruelty to animals,
repressive attitudes toward law and order, holy war, patriarchy and male
chauvinism." Some of the attendees even declared dogmatically that
the Bible was of no use in their ministries.
This was not the same Bible that dean knew and loved.
Let's now take a brief look into the pages of the Bible and see
what the apostles of Jesus Christ actually said about those Scriptures.
Peter clearly stated that we should be "mindful of the words which
were spoken before by the Holy Prophets and of the commandments of us,
the apostles of the Lord and Savior [Jesus Christ]" (2 Peter 3:2).
The apostle Paul adds that the New Testament Church is built on the foundation
of these apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20).
Moses, an outstanding early prophet, was the author of the Pentateuch,
the first five books of the Bible. He recorded the life of the patriarch
Abraham in the book of Genesis.
Also, being very familiar with Moses' account since childhood,
Paul wrote, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to Him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3, emphasis added throughout).
Abraham's living, trusting faith was reflected in his obedience
to God. So of him it is written, "By works faith was made perfect" (James
2:22).
Many centuries later Paul affirmed his own unwavering belief in the
validity of the Hebrew Scriptures. While defending his ministry before
the authorities, he stated: "But this I confess to you, that according
to the way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing
all things which are written in the law and the prophets" (Acts
24:14).
The apostle Peter also confirmed his belief in the Old Testament Scriptures.
He wrote in his last letter: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy
of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never
came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).
To round out the overall picture we interject Paul's classic
statement. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God..." (2
Timothy 3:16). The Greek word theopneustos, translated "inspiration," literally
means 'breathed out from God.'
The ancient King Jehoshaphat offers some very good advice to all Christians
as well as to those who are just becoming acquainted with the Bible. "Believe
in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets
and you shall prosper" (2 Chronicles 20:20). A truly abundant
life depends upon a right approach to the Scriptures.
From a fourth to a third of the whole Bible is composed of prophecy.
Many of the prophets describe severely difficult conditions of their
time as a prelude to heralding passages about the fabulous world to come—the
millennial rule of Jesus Christ. Sometimes they interspersed the good
news of that coming utopian age with the bad news of their world. The
publications of the United Church of God do the same today.
Do you believe God? Do you believe the prophecies of the Bible? Do
you take them at their face value as an accurate description of the world
we shall face in the future? Or have you, without really looking into
it for yourself, gone along with the increasingly prevailing views of
those who regard the Bible as just another classic collection of historic
books?
  Jesus
said: "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).
Many proofs of the authenticity and predictive authority of the Holy
Scriptures are set out in two of our free booklets. Both are readily
available to you upon request. You cannot afford to remain in ignorance
of this vital knowledge. I recommend that you now request, download or
read online: Is the Bible
True? and How
to Understand the Bible.
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