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The Battle for the Bible!

Several years ago, this was a war cry within the Christian Church. As in any war, there were (and still are to some degree) two major sides who aimed their artillery toward each other and fired repeatedly. In most wars, someone wins. In this war, neither did. Quite the opposite may be true. Both sides may have lost. It is an old trick of the enemy to get followers of Jesus to go to war over anything. It is the sad truth that we do so all too often.

Here are three ideas to think about as you proceed in your reading of the text of Scripture. They are simple statements that are open to a wide range of conversation. I invite you to make comments about these little vignettes as well as about the text your are reading.

Scripture is authoritative
Scripture, as the Story of God, is the primary source for learning how to live our lives during this Present Evil Age
Our beliefs and practice should come from this Story and not another story.

A Working Definition
Dr. George Ladd defines Scripture as the word of God written in the words of men. This means that Scripture is written in the words of men and is at the same time the word of God, which is primarily seen in the acts of God which he performed on behalf of his children. Scripture is the story of God’s faithfulness to the Salvation History of his chosen people. Thus, when we become familiar with how God has acted in faithfulness, we will have a firm foundation in God and his faithfulness.

One might think of the Bible as a book that demonstrates how God has acted in relationship with his people. According to Dr. George Ladd, the late Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Theology at Fuller Seminary, “Scripture is the word of God written in the words of men.”(2) For him acts and words are an inseparable unity.(3) God has delivered these acts and words in a variety of literary forms, among them narrative. According to Fee and Stuart, narrative or story comprises about forty percent of the Old Testament.(4) Narrative is the primary genre of the Gospels,(5) and an underlying substructure of the writings of Paul according to Richard Hays(6) [God's EPIC Adventure. 12].

      2. George E. Ladd, New Testament and Criticism (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), 12. The biblical mode of revelation is the revealing acts of God in history, accompanied by the interpreting prophetic word that explains the divine source and character of the divine acts. Acts and words; God acts and God speaks; and the words explain the deeds. The deeds cannot be understood unless they are accompanied by the divine word. The word would be powerless unless accompanied by the mighty acts of God. Scripture is words-works revelation.
      3. Ibid., 27. God both acts and interprets the meaning of his acts. Scripture is the works and words of God. This is a key concept for understanding Scripture. For us to understand the faithfulness of God, we need to become familiar with how God has acted in faithfulness to his children and what he says those acts mean. Christ’s death is the act of God. Christ died for us while we were sinners is his word of explanation for us.
      4. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Third Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2003), 89.
      5. Ibid., 127.
      6. Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1989), xxiv-xxv.