Do You Really Believe the Bible is God's Word? Really?

Do you read the Bible as though it’s God’s very words? Do you really believe that the God of the universe has broken into space and time to speak to human beings? One of the ways to consider whether you do or not is to answer a second question: Do you read the Bible? Many self-identifying Christians do not even read the Bible. Chalk it up to busy-ness if you’d like. But we make time for what’s most important to us. Read that again. We make time for what’s most valuable to us. If God’s words are valuable to us, then we will make time to read them.

Perhaps you do read the Bible. That’s great! But that’s just a start. Let me ask the question again: Do you read the Bible as though it’s God’s very words? To get to the answer to this, it will be good to ask a third question: Do you spend time considering what it means for you? That is, do you move from the question: “What did it mean [to the original hearers]?” to the question: “What does it mean for me?” Many people who read the Bible are too easily content to answer the question of original context but never move to the issue that God’s Word applies to his creatures across time. Sure there are cultural characteristics that need to be considered (i.e., the issue of head coverings), but the principles contained therein transcend that cultural milieu and are beckoning us to apply the text.

So before you answer the first question, consider the question as to whether you linger over the text. Consider whether you sit under the text of Scripture. Consider whether you are being changed by God’s words of comfort and conviction.