Clem
Thurman (via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 28, No. 24)
[Reprinted
with permission]
“Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day …Thy word is
a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:97,105). The great books of history, language,
mathematics, arts, philosophy, sciences, etc., are the source of man’s
education. Through reading, we are able
to improve the quality of life and also the quality of living. Not only schools and libraries, but homes,
need good books that will cause us to think, plan and improve.
But there is another book, far more vital
to our welfare than any of those. It is
unique, it has stood the test of centuries, it deals with matters that are
eternal. It is the Bible. We read of it in 2 Tim. 3:16, “All
Scripture is inspired of God.” And
of that message, Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 2:13, “When ye received the word of
the message, even the word of God, ye received it not as the word of men, but
as it is in truth, the word of God.”
The Bible, composed of sixty-six books, is really only one book, for God
is the author. It is His word. And while other books may be optional, the
Bible is a demanding book. Let us look
at its demands.
The Bible Demands That It Be Read
We may get by without reading some books,
but the Bible demands we read it. “As
I wrote afore in few words; whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my
knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4). As the Jews listened to “the voices of the prophets which are
read every Sabbath day” (Acts 13:27), so must we read the inspired word
today. The letters written by the
apostle Paul were to be read to the churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27). It is the only way that people could benefit
from the Scriptures.
Jesus pointed out the only access to the
Father in John 6:44-45, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath
sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they
shall all be taught of God. Every man
therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me”
(John 6:44-45). That is the reason why
we should “search the Scriptures daily” and “study to show thyself
approved unto God” (Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 2:15). For any who would find the purpose of life, and eternity, the
Bible demands that it be read.
The Bible Demands
That It Be Believed
With most books, it doesn’t really matter
whether or not you believe them. But
the Bible demands we believe it! “Faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God …Without faith it is
impossible to please him …If you don’t believe that I am he, ye shall die in
your sins” (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:6; John 8:24). Only through the word is faith possible, and the word is written
to produce faith in us: “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ” (John 20:31).
The apostle showed the importance of the
Scriptures in Rom. 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” The power of God is channeled to us through
the gospel, and we can receive that power only when we believe that
gospel. That is why Paul wrote that the
word “worketh in you that believe” (1 Thess. 2:13) and we are chosen to
salvation through “belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). In Heb. 4:2 we read of Israel, “The word
of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them
that heard.” And the same principle
is true today: the Bible will profit no one until that person believes it.
The Bible Demands
That It Be Obeyed
If a student does not do what the book
tells him, he may flunk the course. But
the Bible is the book by which we all shall be judged (John 12:48), and it
demands that we obey. Peter writes in 1
Peter 1:22, “Ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth.” Christ is said to be “the author of
eternal salvation to all them that obey him” (Heb. 5:9). And Jesus said in Matt. 7:21, “Not
everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” The Bible points out, from Genesis (2:17) to
Revelation (22:14), the necessity of obeying the commandments contained in it.
The Bible principle is very simple: “hear
and do.” God says, “Be ye doers
of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves” (Jas.
1:22). When people trust and love the
Lord, it is so simple: “If ye love my, ye will keep my commandments …He that
hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me …If a man love
me, he will keep my word” (John 14:15,21,23). But what if one refuses to do what the Bible demands? “And to you that are afflicted rest with
us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his
power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to
them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:7-8).
The Bible
Demands That It Be Lived
Many men have written books that advise
people how to live, some promise peace and some happiness. But the Bible doesn’t offer advice, it
demands that we mold our lives by its teaching: for peace, happiness and eternal
salvation. In Rom. 1:16-17, “I am
not ashamed of the gospel …therein is revealed a righteousness of God from
faith to faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.” That book not only tells us how to live but
why!
Some books of man advise, “Do what brings
you pleasure.” But the Bible makes
strong demands: “Instructing us, to the intent that denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present
world” (Titus 2:12). Jesus Christ lived
a perfect life, without sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). When we apply ourselves to the study of the Bible, with the will
to do what we learn, we “are transformed into the same image, from glory to
glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Only by
meeting the demands the Bible makes can we become like Jesus Christ.
The Bible Demands That It Be Defended
Some argue that the truth needs no
defense. But that has never been
true. Truth is truth, whether or not it
is defended, but its effect can be nullified without defense. Someone has said, “Tell a lie often enough
and it will be believed.” Paul wrote of
gospel truth, “I am set for the defense of the gospel” (Phil.
1:16). If ever there was a book worthy
of defense, it is the Bible. The
apostle wrote, “The gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye
received, wherein also ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast
the word which I preached unto you” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). And when some questioned Paul’s credentials
as an apostle, he said, “My defense to them that examine me is this …” (1
Cor. 9:3). He never hesitated to defend
the gospel, nor his right to deliver the gospel to others.
The Lord knew there would be false teachers
who would try to destroy the saving power of the gospel. Thus did He worn: “Beware of false
prophets …Believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of
God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (Matt. 7:15;
1 John 4:1). The only standard by which
to test them is the Bible (Acts 17:11).
As Paul wrote, “Though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach
unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be
accursed” (Gal. 1:8). Error
believed brings condemnation, just as truth believed will bring salvation. So the admonition is given, “Contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints”
(Jude 3).
The Bible Demands
That It Be the Sole Authority
With scientific questions, there are often
widely differing authorities quoted.
This results in several “theories of evolution,” all different; and
differing theories in nearly every field of science. But in the realm of religion, the Bible demands that it be the
sole authority. Not me, not you – the
Bible! The warning is given in 2 John
9, “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath
not God.” The warning again in Gal.
1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any
gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be accursed.” When people in Corinth were following after
men, instead of seeking Christ first, they were censured severely for it. Then the apostle said, “These things,
brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes;
that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written” (1
Cor. 4:6).
The sufficiency of the Bible is clearly
shown in 2 Tim. 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
all good works.” If the Scriptures
do that, what would be the need for some other book to guide us in our
spiritual lives? If we are interested
in life, and things that pertain to God, then we must go to the Bible: “His
divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain to life and to
godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and
virtue” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Everything
that we need to know, everything God wants us to know, is in the Bible.
The Bible is truly a demanding book. And it will endure: “Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35), and “the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John
12:48), and “The word of the Lord abideth forever” (1 Peter 1:25). The Bible!
Give yourself to its study, mold your life by it, and it will be to you “the
power of God unto salvation.” Then
the demands the Bible makes of you will be worth it, as you live in faith and
hope of that eternity with the Saviour!