The principle of the Necessity of Scripture states that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel. The Scripture is a necessity for maintaining Spiritual life and for knowing God’s will.
Highlights:
- The Bible is not necessary for knowing that God exists.
- Faith comes from hearing the message.
- Our Heavenly Father has revealed everything we need to know about His will on our life.
Most people would ask, do we need to have a Bible or to have someone tell us what the Bible says to know God’s will in our life? Don’t we have a conscience? Isn’t it the job of my conscience to see the will of God in my life? Is it not necessary to have a Bible to understand that there is God and to know something about His character and moral laws? You will be surprised by the answer to this.
THE BIBLE IS NOT NECESSARY FOR KNOWING THAT GOD EXISTS OR FOR KNOWING SOMETHING ABOUT GOD’S CHARACTER AND MORAL LAWS.
If you believe that you don’t need a Bible to prove that there is God, you are correct. And if you think that you don’t need the Bible to know something about God’s character and moral laws, again, you are right. Both the Old and New Testament will prove this.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1
David talks about a fantastic truth: to see the sky is to see evidence of the infinite power, wisdom, and even beauty of God; it is to observe a majestic witness to God’s glory. Similarly, the New Testament narrative will also prove this.
Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. Acts 14:17
Sometimes God is silent, but His testimony is always present. Rains and fruitful seasons, food produced from the earth, and even the gladness in people’s hearts all bear witness to the fact that Creator exists. His creations confirm about Him as a Creator. The complexity of DNA or the diversity of plants and animals affirms that there is God.
Do we need the Bible to confirm that? No. Even the Scripture declares that we don’t need the Bible to tell us that there is God. It is evident in everything that we see and feel and hear and touch.
THE BIBLE IS NOT NECESSARY FOR KNOWING THAT GOD EXISTS OR FOR KNOWING SOMETHING ABOUT GOD’S CHARACTER AND MORAL LAWS.
since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. Romans 2:15
The consciences of unbelievers bear witness to God’s moral standards, but this evidence of God’s law on the hearts of unbelievers is distorted or suppressed. Sometimes their thoughts “accuse” them and sometimes their thoughts “excuse” them, Paul says. The distortion and suppression are the reason why we will never fully understand the will of God despite the presence of conscience. The knowledge of God’s laws derived from such sources is never perfect. But it is enough to be aware of God’s moral demands to all humankind.
Which leads us to the other side of the coin, in which specific aspect of our life is the Bible necessary?
BIBLE IS NECESSARY FOR KNOWING THE GOSPEL, FOR MAINTAINING SPIRITUAL LIFE AND FOR KNOWING GOD’S WILL.
If you want to understand the gospel or the good news, you need the Bible. You need a Bible to maintain a healthy spiritual life. While nature itself can reveal God’s existence, it cannot explain the gift that God has for those who will trust Him. While conscience can show some of God’s moral laws, our conscience will not be able to reveal the ways in maintaining spiritual life and the entirety of His will. And there are verses in the Bible that will also prove this.
BIBLE IS NECESSARY FOR KNOWING THE GOSPEL
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13
Salvation comes from calling on the name of the Lord. In Pauline’s usage generally as well as in this specific context, “the Lord” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:14
People cannot believe in Christ unless they have heard of him. They cannot hear of Christ unless there is someone to tell them about Him.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:15
The conclusion is that saving faith comes by hearing. Without hearing the message, no one can develop the trust required by salvation.
THE INFALLIBLE SOURCE OF THE WORD OF CHRIST IS THE BIBLE.
Without the Bible, we would not know that no matter what we do will not be sufficient to meet the standard of God. No amount of good works will be able to match the rule of God. Terrible news, right? Yes. Without the written word of God, we will try to work and work only to find out that, in the end, it is useless unless we accept first the gift of God because of His grace.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
And this is the gospel. Concerning salvation, we cannot add or subtract from it. Salvation is a blessing of God given to us a gift through our faith.
BIBLE IS ALSO NECESSARY FOR MAINTAINING SPIRITUAL LIFE
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
In the same manner that natural food sustains our physical body, Jesus indicates that the Word of God maintains our spiritual life. To neglect the regular reading of God’s Word is as detrimental to the health of our souls as the neglect of natural food is detrimental to the health of our bodies.
BIBLE IS NECESSARY FOR KNOWING THE GOSPEL, FOR MAINTAINING SPIRITUAL LIFE, AND FOR KNOWING GOD’S WILL.
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29
God did not reveal everything to us. One possible reason is that our limited mind will not be able to handle it. But the things revealed belong to our children and us forever. For what reason? So we may follow it. So that there will be clarity on His will for our life. As we have discussed earlier, our conscience, if not tied up on the word of God, will reveal that there is God but will not give the revelation of His will towards our life.
HOW CAN YOU APPLY THIS MESSAGE?
By keep turning the pages of the Bible. Allow it to nourish your spiritual life. Allow the words to increase your knowledge about the gospel and direct your life towards God’s will.
CONCLUSION
The word of God is a necessity for everyone who will claim that he is a follower of God. It is a mandatory requirement for gaining wisdom in how we can handle every facet of our life. It gives clarity and insight into the everyday task. The law of the Lord allows us to clearly understand God’s will and follow it, with the greater assurance that it is right, relevant to us and our situation.
When we read, meditate, and apply God’s Word, we learn and understand God’s heart and will for us. By seeing and understanding more of His will for us, we gain clarity and direction for our lives.
CREDITS/NOTES:
- Credit to Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
- Taken from the preaching of the series entitled Wordview – Necessity.
- All verses are based on the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise stated.
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