4. A belief in the truth of scripture inspired under God’s control

This non-negotiable of the faith is as fundimental as believing that God exists. The Bible is our guide book for living. It is the source of what we know about how Jesus lived. In order to follow Jesus, it is essential to hold to the truth of scripture in very high regard. It is the inspired, true, flawless Word of God to our lives.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

God In Control – From Beginning To The End…
“All scripture is God-breathed” What more do you need to know about the the truth of the Bible? The Bible is under God’s complete control. From it’s writing to its gathering together into one book to it’s copying/translating through the generations, I believe the Holy Spirit was intimately invovled with making sure the Bible remains true to the message God wants to send to His people. Charles Ryre explains the concept of inspiration this way:

God’s superintendence of the human authors so that, using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error His revelation to man in the words of the original autographs. (Charles Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972), p. 38)

Even to this day, archeology continues to unearth artifacts that support the bible we have today. Examples like the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm many of the key passages of the scriptures. Experts say that the Bible we refer to today is about 98.5% accurate to the earliest manuscripts that they have. The about 1.5% in differences that have been found are minor changes and do not in any way affect the main message of God’s story to us.

Think about that, 4000+ years from the writing of the first books of the Bible and it is still accurate to the original. That is unheard of for any other book in the literary world. Only under God’s control, could something like that occur.

The Purpose Of God’s Word
“is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Why did God watch the formation of the Bible with such care and control? Because it is our guide on understanding who God is and what God has done/is doing.

The Bible is also our training manual on how to follow Jesus and relate to God and man. If we do not read, meditate, and study it, we won’t know how God wants us to live our lives.

The goal of the Bible can be summed up in verse 17 says, “so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God wants us to be prepared to be used by Him for any good work.

The Spirt and The Bible Work Together
But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. – Job 32:8

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 1 Peter 1:21

The writer of Job hits the nail on the head. The only way that to truly understand what the scriptures are saying is through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes the unclear, clear. Paul explained it this way to the Corinthians by writing,

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

In this passage, Paul wrote about understanding gospel of Christ and how that is a revelation from God, via the Holy Spirit. I believe in the same way, it is the Holy Spirit working in us that reveals the truth of scripture in a way that those who do not have the Spirit (unbelievers) can not understand.

Without a solid foundational belief in the truth of scripture, everything comes into question. God and how He relates to us, Jesus and what He has done for us, and the Holy Spirit with His guiding principles all hinge on the truth of the Bible and its being the inspired, true, flawless Word of God. Those who follow Jesus need to look to our guidebook in this light and utilize it in a more worthy fashion.