Not all words or messages we read today are created equal. There are so many messages out there today vying for our attention--the messages we hear are far from equal.
Some words can stir a person, others can soothe a person, but only one book was breathed out and can do far more positive—God literally breathed out His Word flawlessly using some flawed writers—yes, with life and absolute authority. He did that as the Almighty God.
Have faith in God and worship only Him (I'm no book worshiper).
Factoid: There are no inspired Bible writers or inspired verse references; only the written scriptures are.
The Apostle Paul in Timothy 3:16 states this, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," (esv)
This isn’t poetic exaggeration or my mere opinion to you; it’s theological reality. The inspiration belongs NOT to the writers themselves, but to those words they penned down under the sovereign, supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit.
This is true, and the Bible writers DID NOT continue to receive divine inspiration after writing the Bible books that are now in the canon. Again, the inspiration was tied to the specific act of writing down God's words. The scriptures are the very oracles of God, not of man. Only the written scriptures are inspired.
In other words the inspiration only applies to the resulting text itself, meaning that what these writers wrote down as the Scriptures were divinely inspired and that's what represents God's very thoughts and words for every era.
Let me clarify if I may what I'm saying: the individuals like Moses, Isaiah, David, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul (as well as the other Bible writers) were not at all inspired in and of themselves, but rather they became the tools God used, the vehicles through whom God breathed out His Word.. when they were writing down Scripture. They weren't written to us, but they were written for us as well. Ask who was the original audience?
I like the CIA method of Bible study: I want to look at the CONTEXT in the Bible, then comes the proper INTERPRETATION of the text, and then comes wise APPLICATION of the word. The Holy Spirit in the believer can give them His proper Comprehension of the Word, and Interpretation, and Application. This CIA Bible study is valuable. It's a widely recognized Christian approach to studying the scriptures.
- Context (C): This involves understanding the setting in which the passage was written. This includes:
- Literal Meaning: What the passage is literally saying.
- Historical Setting: The events, timeframe, and audience of the text.
- Grammar: Examining the surrounding sentences and paragraphs for a clear understanding.
- Synthesis: Comparing the passage with other parts of Scripture to gain a fuller meaning.
- It is crucial to understand the surrounding context in the Bible to avoid misinterpretations and to avoid taking verses out of their original meaning. Too many people use proof-texts and twist it all.
- Interpretation (I): This involves determining the author's intended meaning for the original audience.
- With the context in mind, the goal is to uncover what the passage truly means.
- There is only one correct interpretation of any given text, which is the author's intended meaning to his original audience.
- Interpretation serves as a bridge between observing the text and applying its principles to your life.
- Application (A): This involves determining how the passage and its eternal truths are relevant and applicable to your life today.
- After interpreting the text, the final step is to ask how God wants to change you through what you've learned.
- This includes identifying any commands, warnings, promises, or encouragement that God is communicating through the passage.
- It also involves prayerfully asking for God's wisdom and guidance in implementing the truths into your life.
- The CIA method of Bible study emphasizes a prayerful deep and accurate engagement with Scripture. Let Jesus inside of you help you, believer.
- Context is crucial for avoiding misinterpretation and understanding the author's true intent.
- Interpretation focuses on discovering the single, intended meaning of the text.
- Application is about allowing the truths of God's Word to transform your life.. right were you live.
Someone once asked me about telling Bible stories, but I personally don't tell "Bible stories." Why not? Well, it's because children today around the world know of stories as being fairy-tales and fictional, but the whole Bible is accurate history.
So I say preach the Bible (the Word of God) because it's real history, and do so for decisions, for souls, for edification--yes, for God's glory cuz it really did happen. All His unchanging promises are sure because He is unchanging and sure.
The Bible is not just a collection of some of God's words, but rather, the entirety of the Bible is the Word of God. All of it is, not the words and messages of flawed men.
Scriptures are the product of God's breath (2 Tim 3:16 absolutely authoritative) and without error. God supernaturally guided the biblical writers with every word to record His exact message, making the written text His inspired, inerrant Word. The divine inspiration of Scripture is much different than any claim from some flawed Christian (or other) person's decent sermons, books, and teachings today. You know how people call their works "inspired by God" (even if their message is Christian and biblical) but that's NOT in the same way the Bible is inspired.
The Bible is not the result of enlightened men writing down their impressions of God. It is God Himself, using men as His pens. As the old Puritan Thomas Watson put it, “The Scriptures are the library of the Holy Ghost.” Or in the words of the Baptist preacher Adrian Rogers, “The Bible is not the book of the month. It is the Book of the Ages.” It does not contain God's Word; it is God's Word—living, infallible, and final.
The Writers Were Messengers, Not Divine Muses
We must resist the modern temptation to elevate people rather than the pages. Moses was a man, David was a sinner, Paul called himself the chief of sinners. These men were not superhumans—they were sanctified scribes. As the hymn “Ancient Words” reminds us:
“Words of life, words of hope,
Give us strength, help us cope…”
When they wrote Scripture, they were borne along by the Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). But once the pen was lifted, the inspiration ceased. We do not say Moses or Paul were inspired people every moment of their lives. They were instruments. The music belongs to God.
Why Inspiration Is Reserved for Scripture Alone
To say a sermon, book, or song today is “inspired” in the same sense as Scripture is inspired is untrue, unwise and unbiblical. We may be led by the Spirit, empowered Christians, even blessed, but inspiration—I'm thinking of that term theopneustos, God-breathed (breath out of the nostrils of God so to speak)—is reserved for the sacred writings of Scripture alone.
C.S. Lewis insightfully wrote: “The moment you try to explain away inspiration, you have explained away Christianity.” The canon is closed, this ink of heaven as they call it (even though the ink was from the earth) is sealed.
As Vance Havner said, “God wrote not a book to be argued about, but a book to be believed.”
Barna Research tells us only 9% of self-identified Christians read the Bible daily. This is not just a discipline issue—it’s a theology issue. If people no longer view and believe the Bible is uniquely inspired, they won’t treat it as authoritative to live by it. They won't see it as relevant or essential for today.
These Are Not Fairy Tales—These Writings Are Sacred History
I never want to tell “Bible stories” ever—not in the sense like Scriptures contain stories among other equal stories that get told. It's not because the Bible content has changed any, but because the word story has new meaning today. It's often been corrupted to children like with movies. In today’s culture, stories are fictional myths, total make-believe. But the Bible is not filled with tales from fairies at all; it's filled with truth. These words have never been bedtime fables. These words tell about blood-soaked, grace-filled, real-time, eternity-shaping events involving real people who were bold and yet had sinnned. Jesus is NOT and was not a myth. The cross was not symbolic. The empty tomb was not metaphorical. Do I feel it's always wrong to use the word story? Nope, but we'd do well to explain and define the words we use.
As the old hymn “Tell Me the Old, Old Story” pleads:
“Tell me the story softly,
With earnest tones and grave;
Remember I’m the sinner
Whom Jesus came to save.”
Preach The Word It for Decisions, for Souls, for His Glory!
The Bible should not merely be studied and analyzed—it should be boldly and clearly proclaimed. Our purpose in that is not just to inform, but to see God transform people from the inside out. Regeneration is His work--He alone saves. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let it out of its cage.” Continue to preach it—straight, bold, and without apology. Not because we are clever, but because it is truth. Not watered down, not in some twisted sort of way. Be straightforward because God and His Scriptures are.
And because it really happened.
God parted seas, God shut lion's mouths, God raised the decaying dead. He forgives sins, He changes hearts, He heals memories etc, He breaks addictions. We don’t preach about the Bible—we preach the Word. Yes, verse by verse from it expositionally and through all of it, for in its pages are found the terms put together into sentences and passages of life! The Bible says,
"Simon Peter answered, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope].'" John 6:68 amp
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.”
Secular Voices Have Said Much About The Bible
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Voltaire falsely predicted the Bible would be obsolete within a hundred years. Ironically, after his death, his own house was used by the Geneva Bible Society to print and distribute the inspired Scriptures -- Bibles.
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (though not a Christian), acknowledged: “Let the Bible be to thee the Book of books. The influence of the Bible is so great that no man can avoid it.”
You And I Can Choose To Be Different From The Worldly Folk
You and I don't need any "New Revelation" so-called prophesied at us by some Charismaniac.
I'm not putting any sound Christians down here if your stream is said to have Charisma.
The Apocrypha Catholic books are not inspired scripture at all, or part of the real Old Testament canon. These books are Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Baruch, and Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus).
Come to Christ by faith even today. Repent and believe in Him. Approach prayerfully.. in your own words, He'll understand you. Yes, just as you are now but willing to be changed into someone better.. by Him. He will make you more you than you ever were before. He's not interested in making you religious or like some robot. Come now boldly, unashamed. Come to Him and then go get a Bible. Read all, believe all of it, and wisely apply it (I even like the maps).
"To say that a mere song (even if it's really good) is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore should not be dissected or tampered with, is to make the song equal to Scripture. Are we to say, then, that a songwriter who writes a song is inspired in the same way that Luke was inspired when he wrote the gospel of Luke? Or Paul was inspired when he wrote the book of Romans? Or Isaiah was inspired when he wrote the prophecy that is called Isaiah? What do we mean when we say the Bible is inspired? Do we mean it’s an inspiring book because it inspires in us faith, and religious feeling, and understanding? And are people today still inspired when they write songs, in the same way that writers of the Bible were inspired? Are books today inspired? How about sermons? Are they inspired?
The term “inspire” comes from the Latin, to breathe in - to breathe in. And it’s a bit misleading, actually. In 2 Timothy 3:16, it says, “All Scripture is inspired by God.” Really, I think we’ve created a problem here because of that English word “inspire.” The actual Greek term is God-breathed, theopneustos, from which we get pneumatic, pneumonia, those kinds of things related to breath. But the actual word translated inspired in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God, given by inspiration of God,” is “All Scripture is God-breathed.” It is not us in-breathing, it is God out-breathing. It is God breathing out His words, not breathing into us in some inspiring fashion.
We believe that the Bible came right out of the mouth of God. God breathed it out. He gave it, He said it. Is it right to claim the same thing for a song? Is it right to claim the same thing for a book, for a sermon, for an idea, for a thought, for a ministry plan? Are we really experiencing direct revelation right out of the mouth of God? Well, we know we’re not, don’t we? I have never preached a God-breathed sermon. In that sense, I’ve never been the recipient of divine revelation through the means of divine inspiration, so that God breathed into me a sermon which I then preached to you. What about speaking in tongues? What about people who get prophecies, and words of wisdom, and words of knowledge? Is that God-breathed revelation coming right out of the mouth of God? And is it equal, then, to any book of the Bible?
Well, some are going to say, 'You’re pushing the point a little bit here.' There are degrees of inspiration. Certain preachers can be inspired, and certain songwriters can be inspired, and certain people who receive revelations and words of wisdom and knowledge from God, they’re inspired - and I’ve had this discussion with many people through the years - they are inspired, but they’re not as inspired as the Bible writers. It’s inspiration to a lesser degree. Some things are inspired to the maximum degree, and that would be the books of the Bible, and others are inspired to a lesser degree. But inspired means God-breathed. It means that God said it, and there are no degrees to that. He either said it, or He didn’t say it, which is one reason why you want to be very careful when you say, 'The Lord told me this,' or 'The Lord told me that.'” ~ John MaCarthur
I say go through the whole Book again and again.. prayerfully. I keep learning new insights each time. I say invite the Author inside today. He can help you and illuminate the Scriptures to you.
Jesus didn't go to the Cross embarrassed about you at all. Be not ashamed of Him or His Gospel message.
So let us hold up the Bible without any embarrassment—it's not at all like mere literature among other literature, but it is living words from the living God. The whole Bible points people to Jesus Christ, our Savior--the ultimate solution for us sinners.
Let us not dilute and mix the Bible message for any no matter the pressure from the world. No twisting the divine with the merely human, nor lower God's Holy heavens or standards here. He is holy and His heaven allows no sin to enter. God speaks still—not by new revelation, but by His old Message, by His already revealed Word.
We hear a lot about spiritual growth and "new revelation" today. I say if it's new it ain't true, and if it's true it ain't new. There is not spiritual growth apart from the word of God.
When men's fickle feelings and opinions change and fluctuate, and their books crack and gather dust, one truth will remain:
“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8
When all your circumstances around you change as they will, the living Word of God (Jesus) who loves you won't -- He'll be there for you.
