The Bible Says ...

The ancient Hebrew prophets would begin their messages with the declaration "Thus saith the LORD!" Today, Christians often support their belief or position by saying, "The Bible says ...." In my mind, these two assertions are far from the same thing.

"The Bible says" appeals to the Bible as the ultimate authority regarding Christian belief and practice. (We live in an era that emphasizes belief as the identifying mark of a Christian. But that's another blog, for another time.) I am uncomfortable with this common practice of appealing to the Bible as the ultimate authority ... first, because this practice ignores the nature of scripture and, second, because it misuses scripture. Stay with me as I explain what I mean.

Generally, those who appeal to scripture as the ultimate authority view scripture as totally trustworthy. They use words like infallible and inerrant. They view scripture as the eternal Word of God. In other words, they view scripture as exclusively a divine book. This view of scripture is often portrayed as faith. In my mind, it is not so much faith as a desire for certainty - the opposite of faith. Faith, by nature, involves an element of uncertainty. And this view of scripture is a misplaced faith. My faith is in a person, not a book. My faith is in who Jesus revealed God to be.

Please hear what I am saying. I have a very high regard for scripture. I would argue that I have a higher regard for scripture than those who hold to its infallible nature. Scripture is foundational to my understanding of who God is. It is central to my spiritual life and spiritual formation. I have built my professional life around the study and proclamation of scripture. My preaching style is called expository - the explanation and application of the biblical text. Week in, week out, it is what I do.

But I recognize and honor the dual nature of scripture. It is indeed a divine book - God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).The Spirit inspired those who wrote, those who compiled, and those who arranged the various books.  Scripture is a gift from God. But the Bible is also a human book - the product of human authors (Hebrews 1:1, 2 Peter 1:21). God spoke through them. The Spirit guided them. But, in doing so, God did not obliterate their humanness. Their human touch is evident in every text: in their historical setting, in their culture, in the languages they used, in the various types of literature in which they wrote, in their Near Eastern worldviews.

Both natures - the divine and the human - must be considered in the interpretation of scripture. What God says to us (the divine truth) comes wrapped in a human wrapper. It must be unwrapped to be fully understood. Failure to recognize and honor both natures will cause us to mistake cultural practices and understandings for eternal truth. Divine truth transcends historical times and human cultures.

In addition, proclaiming "the Bible says" often misuses scripture. It uses scripture to defend my belief or validate my position. It declares "God is on my side in this issue." This appeal to the Bible is a not-so-subtle way of shutting down dialogue and the pursuit of truth. It declares "the Bible says it. That's the way it is. Just accept it." (You've heard the platitude: "God - i.e., the Bible - said it. I believe it. That settles it.") This proclamation masks an arrogance that attacks the other's position, treating it as invalid and "not biblical."

In my opinion, the Spirit uses scripture to grow us into the likeness of Christ. The nature of God, the ways of God (the Kingdom), our human nature are all revealed in scripture. The Spirit uses those revelations to guide us into deeper spiritual understanding which, in turn, shapes who we are and how we live. Thus, the proper use of scripture is to reveal God and the ways of God, allowing that revelation to shape us into the likeness of Christ.

My position about the nature of scripture and the use of scripture raises the question: if scripture is not the ultimate authority regarding Christian belief and practice, what is?

For me, the ultimate authority to which I appeal is the nature/character of God as revealed in scripture. The character of God was revealed to Moses in the Hebrew scriptures: the compassionate and gracious God - slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, forgiving all expressions of sin (Exodus 34:6-7). Jesus was the fullest revelation of the character of God (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15, 19; Hebrews 1:1-3). In him, we see the self-giving, servant nature of God (Mark 10:41-45; Philippians 2:5-11) who relates to us out of grace and forgiveness. Because of Jesus, we declare "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

The character of God - the love of God - the servant nature of God - the life and ministry of Jesus are the ultimate authority for the followers of Jesus today. What we believe and how we live are shaped by who God is as revealed in Jesus the Christ.

Using the nature of God as the ultimate authority is an act of faith. We stake our lives on who Jesus revealed God to be. We build our lives around the teachings of Jesus. This way of living does not rely upon a book of rules or beliefs to which we appeal. Rather, it calls us to rely upon the Spirit as we think and discern what is in keeping with who God is and with Jesus' teachings about the ways of God (the Kingdom). It's the kind of thing the ancient Hebrew prophets did when they declared "Thus saith the LORD!"

As we engage in conversation regarding A Way Forward, may we explore "thus saith the LORD" rather than declare "the Bible says."