The Bible: More than Just a Book Written by Men

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20–21

You would do well to commit these two verses to heart, because they offer a powerful antidote to one of the most prevalent false teachings of our day. That false teaching is often presented to us like this:

The men who wrote the Bible didn’t know all that we know, because science and culture hadn’t yet discovered all that we now know to be true. They had a biased and limited understanding of science, of gender roles, of LGBTQ+ issues, and of morality in general. Their perspective (and thus what they wrote in Scripture) was limited by the cultures and ages in which they lived. They didn't know any better, but now we do. This is why parts of God's Word need to be discounted or rewritten entirely to align with God's ongoing revelation of truth to His church. As our understanding of the universe and morality increases, we need to update our understanding of God's Word as well. 

This is a lie from the pit of Hell! And the two verses above make very clear where the flaw in their logic is. It's in the fact that they believe the Bible to be nothing more than a book written by men. If the Bible were in fact nothing more than a book written by imperfect men, then they would be right to point out that those men could hardly be expected to take into account knowledge and discoveries that had not yet come about. Imperfect men, writing completely on their own, would naturally be limited by the knowledge and opinions of their own age. But that is not what the Bible is!!!!

The Bible wasn’t written by men as they were carried along by their own personal opinions or whims. No! All Scripture finds its origin in God, not in man. The God who knows all things and lives outside of human culture and time inspired every word of the Bible. That's why it can be trusted.

False teachers will try to get you to believe the lie that the Bible is nothing more than a book written by men because they know that if they can convince you to believe that, then they can rewrite the whole Bible in their own image! But 2 Peter 1:20–21 reminds us that, "no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

So, don’t listen to anyone who slanders, criticizes, or attacks the authors of Scripture. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to get you to rewrite God’s Word or deconstruct the Christian faith. Because what they are really rebelling against isn’t ignorance, or the power structures of organized religion... it’s the God who wrote the Bible. They are rebelling against the Lord, and they are trying to recruit you to join in that rebellion. Don’t fall for their trap.

Your Church Needs You

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

There's an awful lot of confusion nowadays about how the church is supposed to function. Many people think that paid church staff are supposed to do the work of the ministry. I mean that’s what you pay us for isn’t it? Paid staff are supposed to do the work and church members are like customers or consumers who receive the benefit. In my church that would mean that five people are supposed to meet the needs of about two hundred people. The end result of this model? You end up with five very tired church staff, two hundred unsatisfied church members, and a community that isn’t ministered to at all.

That is how a lot of Christians think the church ought to run! But that isn't what this passage tells us. According to verse twelve it isn’t the pastor or church staff who do the works of service, it’s the members. It’s God’s people! According to the passage, it isn’t about paid and unpaid staff. It's about pastors and teachers equipping God’s people to serve. But what does that look like?

My church has about thirty people who teach weekly. Those thirty people are called to teach and equip the other hundred and seventy people in the church. Then those hundred and seventy serve on various committees and teams to do the work of the ministry. And the five paid church staff help coordinate it all. That’s a better model, isn’t it? And the end result is thirty people ministering to a hundred and seventy. And now, because you have a hundred and seventy servants, you can not only meet the needs of the church but you can also reach out to and meet the needs of the community. 

That’s the model for church that we are given in this passage. And for it to work, Christians have to serve. If you are a Christian, then you need to understand that your church isn't a business you frequent. You aren’t a customer! You are one of the ministers who does the work of the Lord. So, if you aren’t serving in the local church, then there’s a problem. The church needs you! It can't grow and become all it needs to be if you every believer doesn't do their part. Are you doing your part to help build God’s kingdom and advance His church? If not, then it’s time for you to get to work. Find a church, and find a place to serve. We need you.

Contend for the Faith

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

Jude 3

That word ‘contend’ that Jude uses in verse 3 was sometimes used to refer to the struggle between two wrestlers in ancient times.* It comes from a root word that means to enter a contest, fight or struggle.**

I don’t know if you realize it or not, but there is a struggle going on right now for the hearts and minds of believers. We are locked in battle with an Enemy who wants to turn Christians away from the truth of the gospel. And Jude reminds us that we have to fight. We have to contend and struggle to keep the content of what we believe and what we teach faithful to the Bible.

You see, Jude saw that Satan was trying to disarm God’s people. He was trying to wrestle the greatest weapon the Church has out its hands. And that weapon is the truth of the gospel, the sword of the Spirit. If Satan could take the sword of the Spirit out of our hands and replace it with the lies of this world… well, that would be like taking a soldier’s broadsword and replacing it a kid’s plastic sword! The church cannot fight Satan or his minions with lies. We can't beat back the hordes of Hell if all we are armed with is a cheap knockoff… a distortion of the gospel.

Sadly, that is exactly what many churches today are trying to do. These churches have believed the lie that they have to go along with popular opinion to reach people. They’ve believed the lie that we need to stop talking about sin in church and start talking about self-help and self-esteem. They’ve believed the lie that “if we will just give a little ground here and there to conform to popular opinion; then Christianity will be less objectionable to lost people and we’ll see more people get saved!” But that simply isn’t true. 

When you look at churches in America today, almost without exception, those churches who have thrown gospel truth out the window are not growing... they’re shrinking. And the reason why is simple. When the church thinks and believes just like the world does, then (ironically) it no longer has anything to offer the world and people no longer have any reason to come to church.

It’s our distinctness our differentness that makes the church matter in this world. It’s the fact that we are a light shining in the darkness that gives us worth. If we turn the light off and embrace the darkness, then we lose everything. If we lose our uniqueness, if we lose the message of the gospel, then we have nothing to offer a lost and dying world.

If we are to save the souls of men, then we must keep a firm grip on the truth. That is critical. That is key. And Satan knows this which is why in every age he works so hard to wrench the truth from our hands. And that is why we must always "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people."

*Evangelical Commentary on the Bible: II Reason for Writing on Jude 2-3 in Logos Software

**Faithlife Study Bible on Jude 3

What a Blessing it is to be Saved!

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 1-2

Jude begins his letter by reminding us of three truths about the believer... and these three truths relate to our past, our present and our future. 

First, Jude reminds the Christian something about our past. He tells us that we are those who have been called to salvation. Jesus makes the same point strongly in John 6:44 when He says “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them...” If you are saved, you’re saved because at some point in the past God called you to salvation. Your salvation didn’t begin and end with you. It began in the heart of God.

The second thing Jude tells us about ourselves relates to our standing before God in the present. If you are a Christian, then you “are loved in God the Father.” You do not stand before God any longer as an enemy who is under His wrath, but as a beloved son or daughter whom He has clothed in the righteousness of Christ. While it is true that God loves all people, He loves believers in a special way. There's a special love that the Father has for His children. God loves you!

The third thing Jude reminds us of has to do with our future. He tells us that we are “kept for Jesus Christ.” That word ‘kept’ means ‘to preserve’ or even ‘to guard.’ And in the context of there being false teachers who are trying to distort the gospel and lead us away from Christ, this is especially encouraging. Sometimes the idea of persevering in the Christian faith and of not giving in to doubt when we live in a world of doubt… can seem like an impossible goal. So, it’s encouraging to be reminded that we do not have to keep ourselves in the faith by our own power. You are kept for Jesus Christ. God Himself is guarding, keeping and preserving you from the strategies of the enemy.

And because of these three truths, you also have mercy, peace and love in abundance. You have abundant mercy, in that God has withheld the punishment your sins deserve. You have abundant peace as a result of your being put back in a right relationship with God. And it was His abundant love toward you that accomplished all of this on your behalf and that keeps you for the day of His coming.

Have you ever stopped to consider how great a blessing it is just to be saved? If you didn’t have a dollar to your name, no food, no possessions, no family, no nothing… if all you had in the entire world was your salvation; you would still be immensely blessed solely because you could say you were called, you are loved and and you are being kept for the day of salvation. If you had nothing else, you would still have mercy, peace and love in abundance. So, praise the Lord for the great and gracious gift of your salvation today.