A new Christian asked if she had
to accept the verses, which offend her. Since they were written by fallible
men, there didn’t seem to be a reason to accept them all as from God. I
answered:
Thanks for sharing your struggle with us. There are many
things that can be said in response to what you have written: “I see it [the
Bible] as a collection of books that have captured the accounts of followers of
God, people who had real relationships with God, real revelations, but who were
definitely fallible.”
The writers of the Bible were fallible just as we are. But was God able to work through them to create an infallible collection of books? If we go by what the Bible and even Jesus had to say, the answer is “Yes.” There is not a single verse by any of the many writers of the Bible that casts any doubt that God is the primary Author of all of it.
The writers of the Bible were fallible just as we are. But was God able to work through them to create an infallible collection of books? If we go by what the Bible and even Jesus had to say, the answer is “Yes.” There is not a single verse by any of the many writers of the Bible that casts any doubt that God is the primary Author of all of it.
To be a follower of Jesus, we are required to believe even
in the “weird stuff in the Bible.” I think all of us have struggled to make
sense out of the Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus, where we encounter a
lot of “weird stuff.” However, this was because He taught in parables, much of
which cannot be taken literally. This means that interpretation is not easy. Therefore
God has provided teachers and commentaries (Ephesians 4:11-14).
However, you must not dismiss any of the teachings of the
Bible. Jesus didn’t. He submitted to everything in the Bible as the Words of
the Father. When He was being tempted by the devil, He quoted the Scriptures:
· Matthew
4:4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every
word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
This means that we cannot dismiss what might seem weird
or unacceptable to us. To do this is to make ourselves the judge over the
Scriptures, instead of allowing the Scriptures to judge us. In a sense, it is
claiming, “I have enough wisdom to sit in judgement over the Scriptures.” But
if we have enough wisdom to do that, then we do not even need the Scriptures. Ultimately,
by elevating ourselves as judge, we are telling God that we really don’t need
Him that much.
God is looking for those who will trust Him enough to
accept His Words even when they don’t sit right with us. This doesn’t mean that
you have to understand or like every verse. I’d simply recommend that you don’t
pass judgment on the Word of God. Perhaps just set those verses aside until you
grow to the point that you truly accept them.
The Holy Spirit has blessed me so much by illuminating verses that I had been unable to understand. I hope I am not scaring you away. God knows that this is a process. On the other hand, beware of those who will change or dismiss certain verses to make them more palatable to the tastes of this generation. Please do not hesitate to ask more questions.
The Holy Spirit has blessed me so much by illuminating verses that I had been unable to understand. I hope I am not scaring you away. God knows that this is a process. On the other hand, beware of those who will change or dismiss certain verses to make them more palatable to the tastes of this generation. Please do not hesitate to ask more questions.
Later, I added:
Please do not worry that if you do not have all of your
"i" (plural) dotted just right, you are not a child of God. I didn't
believe in the Trinity for my first several years as a believer. It just seemed
too "weird" to me. I also chafed at obeying the civil authorities. I
had been a radical, and asking me to obey the police just seemed like too much.
However, I cannot remember denying the full inspiration of the Scriptures
because of these impediments. Only later did I begin to see the profound wisdom
and truth of these teachings.
Please know that our Lord wants to save all He can:
· Romans
10:12–13 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord
is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
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