importance of scripture, pt. 3

Here are some questions that were raised:

What would you say to someone who did not believe that the Bible is necessary for the Christian life?
I would want to know how it is that the Lord grows them and speaks to them. What is their foundation for truth? How do they discern what is right and wrong? Who is their ultimate authority? Scripture is necessary to determine truth. God is the ultimate authority and He has determined to speak through His word. If you deny that the whole of His word is authoritative you have set yourself up as the ultimate authority. The Christian life is about life in Christ. That life and experience cannot be had apart from a relationship with Christ. Christ is known through Scripture; thus, it is absolutely essential to the Christian life.


What would you say to someone who argued that rooting the Christian walk in Scripture is dry?
I would want to know what the alternative is. If Christ has stated that His word is life, and if we are told that it is through the Word that our joy is made complete (1 John 1:4), then how can someone rightly claim that to live one’s life rooted in Scripture is dry?


How would you answer the charge that this is Bible idolatry?
To affirm that the Bible is true and authoritative is not to elevate it to God-status. Rather, we affirm that it is true and authoritative because God Himself (whom we respect as the ultimate authority) has said it is so.
Those who charge us with making the Bible an idol do it because we state that the Bible is true. But is it not the case that everyone believes that at least some parts of the Bible are true? If someone affirms a part of Scripture (or even the phonebook) as true are they then equating that with God? No. It is a ridiculous charge, yet it is one that shows up from time to time.

There have also been a number of questions raised about inerrancy. Does Scripture have errors in it? This is a question that I plan to spend some more time on in later posts (maybe after covering the storyline of Scripture).