On the Laying Foundations Page of this blog there are 5 basic pieces of the foundation this blog is based on. The first piece I will expound upon is Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone.
The 66 books of the Old and New Testament of the Bible are the only source of absolute truth. All major assertions will be based on Scripture alone. The Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God written over 1400-1800 years by over 40 different men under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. II Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.” There is no other book in the world like the Bible. It is both scientifically historically accurate and has even been used to find ancient civilizations that were previously thought to have been only myth and legend. I have also heard, but never confirmed, that the Bible is the only book to claim divine inspiration directly from God. Its consistency over the years is another piece of evidence of its divine inspiration and continued stewardship by the Father. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the late 1940s the texts confirmed that our translations of the Old Testament hold true. No other book has been so meticulously and accurately transcribed through the ages.
When I was a younger follower of Christ, I would read my Bible for two reasons: 1.) “Punch my God card” and 2.) To find the next “self-help” or “practical living” tidbit I could add to my bag of knowledge. Unfortunately, that’s the way a lot of people seem to think about reading their Bible if they read it at all. Many Bibles I’ve seen simply gather dust on the bookshelf or table on display but are never really opened. In many “Christian” books and even sermons, Scripture seems to take a back seat to man’s musings and thoughts about God rather than what God has revealed to us in His word. We have replaced Scripture with false gospels like the “tolerance gospel” and “prosperity gospel”. Christians have failed to teach the truth out of fear of being labeled intolerant, insensitive and politically incorrect just to list a few. This should not be. II Timothy 1:6-8, “Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement. So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.”
Galatians 1:6-10 says,
I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him! For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.”
Scripture doesn’t leave any room to maneuver around the hard truth; It’s the narrow way of God or the broad way that leads to destruction. These are the only two options. We are either children of God or children of Satan. I John 3:9-10 makes this clear, “Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children – and the Devil’s children – are made evident.” Man’s opinions and thoughts do not change what the Lord has said, no matter how much we wish it did. God is not subject to “popular opinion”. God is still on the throne whether we acknowledge it or not. Scripture points to God and His character. If we dust off out Bibles and read His love letter to humanity, we tend to read it with the mentality of “what can I get from this?” What if we read it with the mentality of, “what does this reveal about God’s character and what is my response?” Yes, we can take practical lessons from His word and learn what we are called to, but first and foremost, we are called to glorify the only One worthy of praise and honor. In our praise and honor and worship of God, obedience will naturally occur out of the new nature we are born into when we truly follow Christ.
To put it concisely, Scripture is the only source of absolute truth and was written over thousands of years by men under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit to reveal God and His nature to us. To attempt to twist His word or ignore bits and pieces to suit our own desires is blasphemous and heretical. It must stop. In order for the church to turn back to Scripture, the individual members of the body of Christ must return to Scripture and teach others to do the same. As each of us moves closer to God, we as a whole move a little closer to God.
I pray that revival would sweep this nation but we must first seek God’s face and have a basic understanding of who God really is. To do that, we must return to Scripture to see what He has revealed about Himself instead of relying on hunches and thoughts of man.
For His glory!