Bible Study

I remember the first time my wife said we were having her mother’s roast beef for dinner. I remember because my normally very even keeled, Stoic wife, was animated, and excited.

Ya’ll. I didn’t know. I didn’t *know*

I went outside, the birds were chirping, colors were just more vibrant, the WORLD was a more beautiful place. I turned around, my mind being absolutely blown….my whole WORLD was changing under my feet, and I looked at Hope, who was just there smiling, and she was like, “Right?!”

And then my next thought was, “How did I not KNOW about this?!”

It wasn’t the first time that happened. I grew up in church, going to Sunday morning, and Sunday night

Wednesday nights too. And whatever the church had going on throughout the year. I can’t tell you how many sermons I sat through, going, uh huh. Yea. Sure thing - hey, how much longer until we’re out of here?

And it wasn’t until I started reading the Bible for myself that I began to realize just how GOOD it was. And I started asking, How did I not know about this. And then I started wondering……who else doesn’t know about this……

I truly believe that if you get into this Word….and if it gets into you…..it will change you. I believe you will know more about life. You will enjoy more about life. I truly believe that a brand new may of living will be unlocked when you get into God’s Word, and when it begins changing your life. That’s why the first value that we’re upholding in this series is Bible Study. And this true for personal study, as well as when you come here, and when we’re together.

Studying God’s Word is the most beneficial use of your time that you could ever engage in.

Okay, but….WHY? What makes this so important? What separates this over, say, any other books of wisdom, books that inform us, books that help us cultivate good habits? What’s so important about this?

As believers, we hold to the conviction that the Bible is God’s Word to mankind.

We believe that the Bible is inerrant.

Inerrancy asserts that the Bible contains no errors of any kind, whether historical, scientific, or theological. 

Inerrancy speaks to The Bible’s accuracy as God’s Word.

Throughout all of time, God has preserved His Word, in the Bible, so that we could know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that what we have here, is an accurate transmission of His words to us. We can trust that God’s Word has been taken care of, and watched over, and safeguarded.

There is no error, in the original, or in transmission.

Num 23:19

Psalm 119:89

We believe that the Bible is infallible

Infallibility emphasizes that the Bible is trustworthy and will not fail in its purpose, particularly in guiding believers in matters of faith and practice

Infallibility speaks to the Bible’s reliability as God’s Word.

Everything that the Bible says will come to pass, and it can be trusted.

Matt 24:35

Proverbs 30:5

We believe that the Bible is inspired

Inspiration emphasizes that God guided the human authors in writing the scriptures so that what they wrote was what God intended to communicate.

God DID NOT take over someone’s mind and body, and simply write the words with their hand

God also did not whisper into their ears the words, and have them transcribe what He said.

God inspired them, breathed His Words upon them, and so superintended the details of their lives, so that they would be influenced to think a certain way, communicate a certain way, use certain figures of speech, emphasize certain details, so that when the time came for them to WRITE…..they wrote the exact words that God was revealing to them, in the exact way that He wanted it written.

Inspiration speaks to the Bible’s status as God’s Word.

This isn’t some self help book, written by men. God was the co-author of the very words. That every word is equally as inspired as any. That the whole of the Bible is inspired by God…..

And please, please understand. God’s attention to detail, in the lives of the people who wrote His Word…..He attends your life with that same detail, with that same care.

2 Tim 3:16

2 Pet 1:20-21

Because of those three beliefs, we hold to this one as well:

We believe that the Bible is authoritative

We believe that the Bible speaks, definitively, about every issue it addresses. There is no debate to be had when Scripture says what it says.

I heard two…..well. I’m not going to call them pastors. I don’t think they are. I think they’re people who preach.

One said that Jesus sinned as He was speaking to the Syro-phoenecian woman

One said that Paul really didn’t understand gender, the patriarchy, and that his words, which were “I guess fine for his day, really don’t pertain to us now.” We have. No other authority than this. The Bible is the final arbiter, and where it speaks, no other voice is higher.