A new caregiver questioned me today about my faith in the Bible as God’s word. He wanted to know why some books were left out and why those were included. He knew that the Bible contains the written record and experiences of many people and insinuated that there must be some human motives in choosing what was considered scripture and what wasn’t. It kind of reminded me of the objections from the King James only crowd about verses omitted from modern translations, which I have explained in detail in a previous post. I first made it clear to him that although I’m old, I was not a member of the councils who chose the books of the Bible. However, I do know, after 68 years of experiencing how God works in the lives of people, that God made those choices and not men.
I find it interesting that some people point to the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of the many authors in the Bible as a human influence on scripture. I see it as proof that God used many writers to record His eternal truth. There is no single human writer to take credit for God’s message to us. Paul reminded Timothy, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16) I don’t believe Paul ever dreamed that those words and his inspired letters to the early churches would become a large part of New Testament scripture even though they match his description perfectly.
Scripture is the basic truth God wants us to live by; However, it is not the only words He has inspired. As you know, the lyrics to many Christian songs touch my heart and lift my spirit as only His inspiration can do. There are other Christian books that have had the same effect on me. “A Man Called Peter” comes to mind. It was written about Peter Marshall, who was the chaplain of the U.S. Senate for many years and pastor of a church. It was written by his wife and I read it several times as a teenager. Since then I have encountered many sources of God’s inspiration, including nearly every sermon I have heard. l hope and pray that you have found my blog inspiring and encouraging. I know what I write is definitely inspired by God through His Holy Spirit. My writings are not to be placed on the level of scripture; that is why I quote scripture often to include God’s eternal message as well.
I hope this blog post encourages you to read and prayerfully study the Bible. It is a history of God’s relationship to mankind and your “manufacturer’s guide” to living a full and abundant Christian life.