A Constant Temptation

Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13

It is for us a constant temptation to think of the Bible, God's Holy Word, as a work of man. It is the same temptation the Serpent offered up to Eve. Since that time we have desired to go our own way in the flesh, and one way to accomplish that is to dismiss the Word as a mere work of human imagination. Without the Word, so the temptation says to us, we have no consequences for the worst of sins, or for any sin at all. Without the Word we have no Christ.

For some this may seem an advantage, but to those of us who believe it is the very tragedy of life on this earth. No Christ? Without our Lord Jesus we have punishment for sin without mercy, life without grace, and no salvation. Oh, I see, the believer in the goodness of humanity sees that without the Law there is no sin and therefore he can do whatever he wants without consequence. Hmm, if I recall a story of a man named Job, to take away the God-inspired Word of the Bible is like taking away the four messengers from Job's home. Poor Job would still have the consequences of the Devil's assault, but he would be in ignorance.

The Word of God tells us that our sin is not the only sin. Job was righteous, but he still suffered the consequences of the Adversary's sin. Without the Word of God, the soldier may have armor and a shield, but no weapon to fight the enemy. Without the Word we have no comfort when the consequences of sin land upon us. How could a man such as Paul come up with the concept of a saving grace earned by Christ the Lord on the cross...without the grace of God to inspire this idea in his writing?

In Christ the Lord,
Bucky