Lesson One: Inerrancy of Scripture
Devotion 3: 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Pastor Ryan Story
Back in my B.C. (before Christ) days I was always put off by Christian arrogance, or at least what I perceived to be arrogance. I had a friend in high school who was a believer; I am pretty sure his name was Dan. I remember one day Dan asked me about Jesus and my views on salvation and what not. I do not remember much about the conversation. Clearly, I did not begin following Jesus at that moment, but I remember being so put off by the idea that this guy put so much faith in the Bible. I recall attacking the validity of the Bible, the flaws in the notion that God inspired men to write it, and every other naive argument I could raise. Oddly, one thing I cannot forget about this conversation was my closing remark to him. Not listening or giving him a chance, I remember looking at Dan saying, “You put so much faith in a book as your guide to life, well “Hop on Pop” is the book I choose to put my faith in, what is the difference?” For years I thought I was so clever. I know I used this in different arguments with other Christians, but I look at it now and realize how flawed, immature, and unintelligent I was. It is weird that God never lets this conversation be forgotten. Fast forward eight or so years after that conversation and I sit here typing this as a person who went to college and majored in Biblical Studies. As a pastor, I am a person who is figuring out how to most effectively teach Scripture. It has become an all-consuming obsession of mine. God sure is funny sometimes.
Sadly, I have seen Christians live their lives as if “Hop on Pop” was at the same level as the Bible. Maybe it is not exactly “Hop on Pop” but living as if a book is at the same level as the Bible. Clearly, we scoff at the notion of putting a Dr. Seuss classic on the same level as the Bible, but honestly, at times we let other books become more influential in our walk with God. I have fallen victim to reading Christian books by some of my favorite pastors instead of reading the Bible. I love the mindsets of David Platt, Francis Chan, Charles Spurgeon, and Oswald Chambers but reading these books is not the same as reading the Bible. “Crazy Love” and “Radical” are not cannon. Reading those books is not bad, but I caught myself reading peoples’ perspectives of the Bible more than I was reading the Bible itself. We must make sure the one book we saturate our selves in reading comes from a source that is everlasting, powerful, and true.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” Paul is making a big claim, and as an unbeliever, I could not understand this. Paul is telling people to realize that the things Paul writes about are not just Paul’s opinion or Paul’s motives. The things Paul wrote about were the Word of God. The reality is the Bible did not just fall from Heaven; God used men to pen it. We live in such a cynical indecisive culture that we pick apart and argue about everything. Since God is real, then God’s Word is true. If God’s Word is the Bible, then the Bible must true.
After a few years of living for Jesus, I spun my “Hop on Pop” argument to help me witness to unsaved high browed individuals, like my former self. The thing that makes the Bible perfect is its author. “Hop on Pop’s” truth can only go as far as how powerful Dr. Seuss was. Since the Bible’s truth comes from its author; therefore, its truth can go on for eternity. Since the Bible’s author has the power to lead someone from death to life, I think we can put a high degree of certainty that the Bible is true.
The idea that Scripture is inspired and infallible is a fundamental cornerstone of living for Jesus. This notion cannot be shifted, moved, or even up for debate. Everything in our lives hinges on if the Bible is true or not. If one part of the Bible is not true, then everything can fall apart behind it. In our lives, if we make one part of the Bible to be opinion or a guideline and not a command, everything in our lives will fall apart behind that notion.
The reason the Bible is true is not based on the men who penned it; it is based on the real God that told them what to write. Since an everlasting, Holy, true, powerful God said something, you can pretty much take that as truth.