Jesus Apart From the Bible
I recently read an article by Andy Stanley outlining a few of the main reasons people leave the church. I agree with some of them, but I take a major issue with the first one.
In his article, he writes, "Apparently, she grew up believing the foundation of our faith is a non-contradicting book. It’s not. Jesus is."
I wish I was surprised. Unfortunately, this has become an all too common secular line of reasoning. "I love Jesus - but not the Bible." "I believe in Jesus, but the Bible is just a story book."
But who is Jesus apart from His Word? Can you have Jesus without the Bible? Can you have the Bible without Jesus? How does that work? Now you can argue that if all the Bibles on Earth were destroyed, Jesus would still remain, and I agree. But just because print versions of the Bible were destroyed, doesn't mean the Word of God has been terminated. When God speaks, His Word goes forth. It does not return to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11)
Recently, I've been teaching about the history of the English Bible in Sunday School class. It really is awesome how God has preserved His Word in print over thousands of years. It is amazing that when the Roman Catholic church tried to keep the Bible out of the hands of the common people, that Wycliffe, Hus, and Tyndale pushed back against the establishment and even gave their lives so that people like me could read God's Word.
The Bible is not a stumbling block to our faith. The English version might not perfectly represent the original text which was written in Hebrew and Greek, but it is close enough for us to understand clearly the Word of God. Do some people worship the Bible instead of God? I suppose there are some, but then they misunderstand the Bible and have not studied it enough.
The Bible always points to Christ - ALWAYS. People will misquote it. People will mistranslate it from time to time. People will attempt to take it out of context and use certain phrases for their personal gain. But just because people mess up, does not mean the Word of God is messed up. Just because people burn Bibles, does not mean they are obliterating the Word of God.
It is perfectly good for a Christian's faith to be rooted in the Bible. It should be. Because you cannot know Jesus apart from His Word. No one can have a Jesus of their own making. He doesn't exist. The only Jesus that exists is the one the Bible points to.
John 20:30-31 reads, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
In his article, he writes, "Apparently, she grew up believing the foundation of our faith is a non-contradicting book. It’s not. Jesus is."
I wish I was surprised. Unfortunately, this has become an all too common secular line of reasoning. "I love Jesus - but not the Bible." "I believe in Jesus, but the Bible is just a story book."
But who is Jesus apart from His Word? Can you have Jesus without the Bible? Can you have the Bible without Jesus? How does that work? Now you can argue that if all the Bibles on Earth were destroyed, Jesus would still remain, and I agree. But just because print versions of the Bible were destroyed, doesn't mean the Word of God has been terminated. When God speaks, His Word goes forth. It does not return to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11)
Recently, I've been teaching about the history of the English Bible in Sunday School class. It really is awesome how God has preserved His Word in print over thousands of years. It is amazing that when the Roman Catholic church tried to keep the Bible out of the hands of the common people, that Wycliffe, Hus, and Tyndale pushed back against the establishment and even gave their lives so that people like me could read God's Word.
The Bible is not a stumbling block to our faith. The English version might not perfectly represent the original text which was written in Hebrew and Greek, but it is close enough for us to understand clearly the Word of God. Do some people worship the Bible instead of God? I suppose there are some, but then they misunderstand the Bible and have not studied it enough.
It is perfectly good for a Christian's faith to be rooted in the Bible. It should be. Because you cannot know Jesus apart from His Word. No one can have a Jesus of their own making. He doesn't exist. The only Jesus that exists is the one the Bible points to.
John 20:30-31 reads, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
Comments
Post a Comment