Do you believe the Bible is true?

Several years ago I read a book that was entertaining as well as provocative. The Year of Living Biblically  is the story of a man, A. J. Jacobs, Jewish by birth but not religious, who attempted to observe every commandment in the Bible in the most literal fashion possible. His experiences are hilarious but not disrespectful of the text.  He sums up his year with a discovery he never thought possible; that there is a world of the holy, the ‘other,’ that can enrich life even if it flies in the face of what the majority would call ‘rational.’ In his words - “I'm still agnostic. But in the words of Elton Richards, I'm now a reverent agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe that whether or not there's a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred. The Sabbath can be a sacred day. Prayer can be a sacred ritual. There is something transcendent, beyond the everyday. It's possible that humans created this sacredness ourselves, but that doesn't take away from its power or importance.”

I am a Biblical man. The holy text shapes my worldview, forms my ethics, and defines the Divine for me. Paul’s words to Timothy are written for me. "You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." (2 Timothy 3:15-17, NLT)  The holy Word commands me, rules me, challenges me, and comforts me. And, sometimes, I am confounded by what I read, too! 

There is a movement, largely reactionary and based in a kind of fear, that has retreated to a kind of Biblical literalism that requires the ‘true believer’ to abandon his mind to the ‘truth’ of the Word.  Every word is to be understood as literal; well, until it isn’t! Even fundamentalists acknowledge that passages like this one - "You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!" (Isaiah 55:12, NLT) – are metaphorical.  I am not aware of any Christians who are prepared to invoke Leviticus when their son is rebellious and hand him over to the elders to be stoned to death. "If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head." (Leviticus 20:9, NIV)  And there would be a lot of dead fundamentalist preachers if they held to the next verse - "If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death." (Leviticus 20:10, NIV)   I am not making light of the Scripture.  I am trying to make the point that using simple proof texts or reading words without context, study, and the help of the Spirit can lead to some strange conclusions.

So how do we read the Bible for all it’s worth?

First, we need a deep reverence.  God gave us the Scripture and we receive it as His work.

Second, we need real humility. I don’t stand in judgment of the Bible, it judges me. To say, “I don’t agree with that passage” and to discard it as irrelevant to life or as untrue, is the height of arrogance. A Christian does not stand in judgment of the Bible. The Bible judges him!  To say, “I am trying to find the meaning and application of this passage,” is completely different from saying, “I don’t accept it.”

Third, we need to be careful students. "Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:14-15, NIV)  Our study is not about learning how to debate the arcane points of eschatology. (If you don’t understand that line, don’t worry about it. Those who do will know what I mean!) Study is about learning the whole of the Bible so that the Spirit makes the revelation our guide in life.

Fourth, we must be aware of how we are dragging our cultural ideals to the text.  I was amused by the re-interpretation of Genesis in the recent film, Noah.  In that movie, the great sin of humanity was not rebellion of against God but rather their failure to respect the Creation. They lived in cities and ate meat. The ‘righteous’ ones were humble earth dwellers and vegetarians. Current ideals about environmentalism and respect for animals got read back into the text.  That is not to say that the Bible is silent about caring for the earth. It isn’t! But, that was not the point of the Noah account.

Fifth, we approach the text with faith and prayerfully.  To read the Bible as literature is an adventure in missing the point. The holy text comes from the mind of God and we need the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to receive the Word in its fullness.

Biblical Christians will live counter-culturally. The calls to serve God, to deny Self, to live for eternity and not for the present, to love and forgive even our enemies are in direct conflict with accepted wisdom.  Sometimes what we learn from the Bible will create convictions that will shape our lives in ways that bring hatred our way. Let’s respond as Christ would – quietly accepting the rejection for His glory.  And let’s not become noisy, confrontational, fundamentalists who largely miss the point of the beauty of the Word.

"How can a young person live a clean life?
By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.

I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
train me in your ways of wise living.

I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel

that comes from your mouth;

I delight far more in what you tell me about living

than in gathering a pile of riches.

I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,

I attentively watch how you’ve done it.

I relish everything you’ve told me of life,

I won’t forget a word of it. "

(Psalm 119:9-16, The Message)