How to Understand and Apply the Bible, Lesson 3
Welcome to 30 minute classes, a course of 15 Bible lessons, all about 30 minutes each. Our topic for this course is “How to Understand and Apply the Bible.” In this third lesson, we’ll talk about the Bible’s sufficiency and clarity, its completeness and effectiveness.
But first, let’s remind ourselves of where we’ve been. What’s been said so far. We’ve talked about the goal of this course being that we might have our confidence built up regarding our ability to feed God’s words to ourselves and others. We said that Jeremiah 15:16 would be our verse for this course. “Your words were found,” Jeremiah says, “and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.” I asked last time that you have that one memorized. Hopefully it’s now lodged there in your brains.
And I also, I’ve been challenging us on our motivation, understanding that Bible study is hard work. It’s laborious, and a lot of times we get lazy with it. But just like anything that’s labor-intensive, we just gotta build up our endurance. But you are back here for the third lesson, so you should congratulate yourself for sticking with it.
We said we’re gonna be like Paul who worked harder than any of them, but still relied on God’s grace. I love that passage. Paul first recognizes his unworthiness before God. 1 Corinthians 15:9 says, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.” and then the last part of verse 10, “On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
So, God gives us the grace to work hard, and if we don’t use that gift, then it was given in vain. So let’s not be ungrateful for God’s gift, let’s work hard for HIM. I love that. In fact, let’s make that passage our next verse to memorize—”his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Alright. Now last lesson we learned a lot about God—that he’s a God who speaks.
God is the supreme being of the universe. He doesn’t depend on anyone else. He doesn’t need anybody. He is self-existent. He is ultimate. But, he is also personal. God is a person. He’s not a human person, but he is a person. Actually, he’s tri-personal. He is Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So God is both ultimate and personal. And that’s important, because that sets Christianity apart from other world religions. The gods of the other religions are either ultimate, on the one hand, or they’re personal, on the other, BUT they’re never both. But, with the God of the Bible. The one, true God. He is both ultimate AND personal. There’s no other religion like Christianity. It’s totally unique. And because God is ultimate and personal, he speaks truth, and he speaks that truth to us.
So, God’s words are authoritative. They are OUR authority. Which seems fairly obvious to most Christians, but we learned last time that early on in the twentieth century there was a move away from the Bible’s authority. Enlightenment science and technology, over the centuries, had worked its way into our Christian seminaries, and then into our churches. Pastors became critical of the Bible’s authority and church members grew skeptical. But some faithful Christians fought back, and that early part of the twentieth century became known as “The Battle For The Bible.” I like to think that we won that battle, but I’m always surprised by how many Christians still don’t take the Bible seriously.
Regardless, the Bible is authoritative. These are GOD’S words. And when God speaks, his words have power. God’s words are not just words, but they actually make things happen. We talked about how God’s words are both creative AND destructive. He created the world with a word; he breathes new life into our hearts. But his words also break up lies and they bring down judgment on God’s enemies. God’s words are powerful.
God’s words also carry weight. They create obligations in us. Because they are authoritative, we ought to believe them and obey them. We are obligated to do what they say. For example, Adam and Eve were told what they could and could not do. He spoke his Words to them, and they were obligated to obey them.
But we know what happened, The serpent asked Eve, “Did God really say that?” “Was that really God’s word, are you really obligated to obey it?” So, it was a question of authority, whose words are you gonna believe and obey. Eve believed and obeyed her own authority, and then took down her husband, and the whole human race. So God’s word is authoritative. It is powerful and it creates obligations in us to believe and obey it.
Now, God spoke his words directly to Adam and Eve. They heard God’s voice. But, a little later God spoke through people. A little further into the biblical narrative, God chooses for himself a people, the Israelites, we remember the story, Moses leads them out of Egypt, and he again, early on, he speaks to them directly. In the beginning, the people heard his voice thundering from the mountain and the Israelites were terrified. Exodus 20:18-19 says, “Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
So Moses and all the prophets after him would speak for God. They would be God’s mouthpieces. Deuteronomy 18:18-19 says, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”
Notice, how Moses and the prophet speak God’s words, meaning what THEY say is also authoritative. We see it again in Jeremiah 1:9. God says to Jeremiah, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” They speak his words. And notice that just because they’re human, and they’re using a human voice, that in no way takes away from the divine words. They still have all the power and carry all the same obligations as if they came from God himself.
So that was the Old Testament prophets, but then we see it again in the New Testament, that the apostles are the successors to the prophets. In Matthew 10:19-20, Jesus tells his apostles “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
Again, we got God’s words in the mouths of humans. And like with the prophets, the apostles' words were not any less authoritative, just because they’re humans. We just read it. It said, “the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.” So, these people are speaking God’s words.
So we have these words, God’s words, that get written down as Scripture. The prophets wrote most of the Old Testament, and the apostles wrote most of the New Testament. And it's this book, the Bible, that is the foundation of the church. Those words that were written down, the Bible. That’s our foundation. It’s what the church is built upon.
Alright. So the Bible has authority, but it’s also INSPIRED. So, what does that mean? What do we mean by the inspiration of Scripture? Inspiration has to do with that relationship between God and the human writers. We said that God’s words weren’t any less authoritative just because they came out of the mouths of humans, but how can that be? Unless those humans just kinda dictated for God.
We saw that the word inspiration is not actually in the Bible, that some Bible translators used it early on, but the better translations now say, “breathed out.” The verse in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
So, in explaining this idea that the Bible is inspired by God. It’s not like the writers of Scripture were inspired in the way that maybe an artist might be inspired by a beautiful meadow, or a bowl of fruit. It’s not that God just gave them some inspiration, and then they came up with something creative to say.
We described the process as something that was both like AND unlike dictation. That the authors got God’s words down perfectly—exactly the way God wanted it, but their own personalities still came through in the writing.
And we explain that that’s only possible if God was there preparing those writers of Scripture from birth. He was there in the beginning tweaking their personalities for this one purpose, and as they were growing up, he was again tweaking their personalities, until it all converged perfectly in their writing the Scriptures. God’s words came out of the apostles and prophets' mouths, and in their writings, just the way God wanted it to, all the while, at the same time preserving the writer's unique personalities..
Alright. So the Bible has God’s authority, it’s breathed out by him. Which MEANS . . . that it’s without error, it’s inerrant, AND it’s INCAPABLE of erring. The Bible is both inerrant and infallible. It tells the truth; it doesn’t mislead us. It can’t lie, because God cannot lie. Hebrews 6:18 says it “is impossible for God to lie.”
So, there’s no errors, but we do get tripped up sometimes. Sometimes we confuse ‘truth’ with ‘precision.’ They are similar, but they’re not the same. We said that in science or math, there is a certain amount of precision that’s required. If a student says that 2 plus 2 equals 5, then he has not told the truth. But as soon as you get outside the realm of science or math, the truth is less concerned with that kind of precision. In fact, sometimes precision gets in the way of truth.
We used my birthday as an example. Remember this: If you ask me my age, you’d expect me to tell you how old I turned on my last birthday. That’s how we usually respond. So, I turned 49 on November 28 of last year. So, I’ve answered your question, BUT the answer was not precise. But you still got the truth. You got the answer you were after.
Now, I could’ve been much more precise. I could have said that I’m 49 years, 8 months, 9 days, 35 weeks, 6,024 hours and 361,440 minutes old. Now THAT’S precise. But, is that really what you were asking? Did you really want to hear all that? No. In fact, I’ve probably annoyed you. I’ve actually frustrated the process of communicating that truth.
So, God’s words are truth. They’re just not always as precise as we’d like. And obviously to have a book that’s for everybody, for all times, it could never meet all our demands for precision.
Ok, we’re almost done with our review from last time. We did admit that we do run into some problems with the Bible. They’re not errors, but difficulties. Some of them are theological; others are factual. And many of them have been resolved; while others of them are ultimately beyond our understanding. They can only be resolved in the mind of God. Which is fine with me. I don’t want to worship a God who’s so small that I can wrap my mind around him. I want a big God who’s beyond my ability to understand him exhaustively.
Alright. Let’s get into our Lesson for today. We’re talking about the Bible’s sufficiency and clarity; its completeness and its effectiveness.
First, the Bible’s sufficiency. What does that mean? It means that the Bible has all the words we need for salvation, faith and life. The Westminster Confession of Faith, which is a classic statement of faith from church history, it says it this way: “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.”
So, Scripture is sufficient for salvation. Second Timothy 3:15 says that we’re, “acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” So, the sacred writings make you wise for salvation. And then if we keep reading, verse 16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” So, they make you wise for salvation, but they’re also profitable for faith. That verse covers a lot of what’s required for a strong faith—reproof, correction, training in righteousness. It’s got all we need to be equipped to do good works.
And we usually don’t have a problem with the Bible being sufficient for salvation, or even for faith— that all seems obvious, but we may struggle with the idea that the Bible covers all of life—that it’s sufficient for meeting our daily needs. Now, of course, the Bible doesn’t address every single life issue directly, but what we are saying is that the Bible gives us all the divine words we need. The Bible is comprehensive. We don’t contrast sacred words with secular words. The Bible addresses all of life.
We’ve called Genesis 1:28, the cultural mandate. It says, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” It doesn't get any more comprehensive than that. We are mandated to get married and have families, to work the world over, drawing out the earth’s resources, including the animals. Everything we do is a response to that mandate, a response to God’s words. 1 Corinthians 10:31, we know the verse, “whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God.”
And then Jesus came and restated that same mandate, but made it redemptive. First he passed on to us his authority. Matthew 28:18, says “Jesus came [to his disciples] and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” And THEN he authorized the disciples, saying . . . verse 19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So, those divine words, those obligations, extend out to the whole world. Our mission, the great commission, is our applying God’s words to everything, to everybody.
Now, we did say that the Bible doesn’t address every situation directly. That would be impossible. But we do maintain that it’s sufficient for all of life. Back to the Westminster Confession of Faith, real quick. It says, “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.” So, all the divine words we need are there, either explicitly there in Scripture, or they’re there by good and necessary consequence having been deduced from Scripture.
So, regarding those specific situations in our lives, we deduce principles from Scripture. There are timeless truths in there that we can and should apply to our own lives. Now, when we deduce from the Bible, we are making logical calculations, and of course we can and sometimes do get those deductions wrong. So we have to be careful, and we’ll actually talk more about that process of applying principles in a future lesson. But, for now, what we need to know is that the Bible is sufficient, sufficient for salvation, sufficient for faith, and sufficient for life.
Alright. Let’s move on to the Bible’s clarity. The Bible is understandable, it’s clear. We’ve said the Bible is for everybody. Everyday people like you and me. It’s not just for the super-smart people. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” So, even simple people are made wise through the Scriptures.
Now, that is not to say that every part of the Bible is equally clear to everybody, all the time. Or that simple people have to know all there is to know in Scripture. The Bible is as clear as it needs to be—might be a good way to put it. Let’s not forget that these are God’s words, and God knows how to communicate. He knows how to make himself clear.
So, why is it that some people don’t understand it? Well, it could be because God didn’t want them to understand. Which seems strange. But, we’ve seen it in Scripture. Like with Isaiah, who God commissioned to go speak God’s words to Israel. Remember the passage? God says “whom shall I send?” And Isaiah jumps up, waving his arms, saying “here I am, send me!” But maybe he should’ve waited until he got God’s instructions first. Isaiah 6:9-10 says, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” So, God said, you're gonna go preach to my people, but they’re not gonna understand. So . . . good luck. Uh, thanks God. Not the greatest assignment. And we see it again in Matthew, where Jesus quotes that same passage when he explains to his disciples why Jesus teaches in parables—he says so that they won’t understand. I know, it’s strange. But that’s God’s prerogative—he’s got a plan.
But, what we do know from Scripture is that God WILL give the clarity required for obedience. We’ve learned that God’s words are authoritative, they create obligations, and we can be sure that God will make his expectations clear.
And we can also be sure that that understanding will be relative to that person's responsibilities. For example, a 2 year old can’t understand theology, but she can understand Ephesians 6:1— “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Now, as she grows up, the expectations change. But scripture, we know, will always be clear enough for us to carry out our present responsibilities.
Which means, for some of us who have been in the church for years, hearing sermon after sermon, going to Bible study after Bible study, just kinda showing up, but not really trying to understand the Bible, we may need to think about our present responsibilities. God may be asking us to go a little deeper into his Word. It’s time to grow up, mature in our faith. Which is awesome that you’re here, you’re showing your readiness, you’re willingness. That’s great.
So, the clarity of Scripture. The Bible is clear, clear to people like you and me. We can understand it.
Next is the Bible’s completeness. And, again, the reason why we’re working through these attributes of Scripture, both in lesson 2 and here in lesson 3 is that I want you to see the richness of God’s word. The Bible is not just a book; it’s so much more. And I said early on, I wanted to just kinda spread it out before you like a buffet. So, the Bible is sufficient, the Bible is clear, and the Bible is complete.
By complete I mean that the Bible is finished, there’s nothing left to add. It’s complete. And, like other ancient writings, it even contains a little warning about anyone trying to add anything else. Revelation, the last book of the Bible, ends with this, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.” That’s Revelation 22:18. So, it’s done, finished, complete. There’s nothing left to add.
And that also means that we are never to put anybody’s words on the same level as Scripture, because that would essentially be adding to it. Now, some Christians have to be careful here. There ARE churches who practice some of the more charismatic spiritual gifts, like prophecy, where pastors or church members will claim special revelation from God, and they'll share those words with others, in a way that seems like they’re speaking for God. And that’s extremely dangerous. I, personally, am not so sure that there ARE prophets today now that the foundation has already been laid. I’m personally convinced that the gift of prophecy has ceased, but I try not to be too dogmatic. But I would definitely be cautious of someone claiming new revelation, in a way that seems to be adding to God’s word. The Bible is done, it’s complete.
Lastly, is the Bible’s effectiveness. And we alluded to this earlier, that God knows how to communicate effectively. If he wants his words to reach his hearer's ears, they WILL get there. His words always get to where they’re going; they always do what they’re supposed to do. Isaiah 55:11 says, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” And I love this verse, 1 Samuel 3:19. Samuel was a prophet like Isaiah, and like Isaiah, God put his words into Samuel’s mouth . . . AND listen to this: 1 Samuel 3:19, “the Lord was with [Samuel] and let none of his words fall to the ground.” Isn’t that a great way to say it? The words shot out of his mouth and they always hit their target—none of them missed the mark. None of them fell to the ground. Very cool.
Alright. Let’s wrap this lesson up. So, we’ve spent these first few lessons on the attributes of Scripture. We’ve learned that the Bible is authoritative and inspired; it’s inerrant and infallible. The Bible is sufficient and clear; it’s complete and it’s effective. This should give us great confidence in it. But, if there are still doubts, in the next lesson we’re going to ask and answer, “how can we know the Bible’s true?”
Hope you’ll join us again, as we continue to learn ABOUT God AND how to live for him.
SOURCES:
Frame, John. The Doctrine of the Word of God. P&R, 2010.
MacArthur, John. How to Study the Bible. Moody, 2009.