Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov/73

Contributor - John J. Opmeer

Title - Do we want the Bible to reform us?

Topic - Bible

I would like to emphasize the crucial role of the Bible as God's Word in all that we do and are as churches. Our churches in Canada will grow to the extent that we truly are Bible churches. We may use the latest gimmicks for church growth from south of the border, but nothing will last unless the living Word of God is at the heart of the life of the congregation.

In II Timothy 3 :15 we read, "And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

There is need for people to be acquainted with the Bible, but unless they are instructed for new life in Christ it will do them no good. As a matter of fact, there is a certain kind of acquaintance with the Bible that is downright dangerous. Some teenagers and many adults are afflicted with it: So, what is new - we've heard it all before." Yes, indeed, but never really heard it. Jesus already spoke of this. This is the know ledge of the Bible that is familiar with the stories, the contents, the books. But is a stranger to the Life that is spoken of and revealed. A stranger ta the Person of Jesus Christ, who is that Life. The kind of acquaintance with the Bible that has room for saying by heart: "The Lord's my shepherd", but no place for or knowledge of the Shepherd himself.

Satan is very powerful. He has deceived many church-going people into believing that they know the Bible. "They have a form of godliness, but lack the power thereof", the Bible warns. But God is more powerful. He loves to reveal Himself to us through the Bible. Whoever opens his heart and reads the Bible expecting to meet and hear God will be satisfied.

We read further, in II Timothy 3:16 that "all Scripture is in spired by God . . . ." Inspired means: "God-breathed." That's a lot more than inspiring. Many books are inspiring, and refresh the spirit of man. But the Bible is utterly unique: here God's Spirit is breathing upon the spirit of man. "Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke of God" (II Peter 1 : 21). The Bible is as unique among the books of mankind as Jesus Christ is unique among the sons of man.

Robert Ingersoll is reported to have said. "The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the one who reads it." But this opinion was based upon ignorance and feeling itself: the fact is that many of the world's wisest and learned men have believed the Bible to be the inspired Word of the living God. The intellectual criticism of the Bible - never very impressive in the first place - is only a smokescreen behind which hide the real culprits: man's pride and rebellion against His Maker. It is true that some parts of the Bible are hard to understand, but, as Mark Twain put it: "It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that give me trouble, but the parts that I do understand!"

If a person- doesn't want to believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, he is in the position of the man who has' made up his mind and doesn't want to be confused with the facts. You cannot know for sure that a lamp will go on until you have flicked the switch and tried it. So, too you cannot know whether the Bible is God's Word until you have tried it in your life, repentance and all. Christ is the central issue of salvation. Questions of science and history can wait; but the question of one's relationship with God cannot wait. And only if God's word does not accomplish what it says it will, may we conclude that it is not inspired. The demonstration of the inspiration of the Bible does not lie in human reasoning, but in the Bible's effectiveness, its power.

II Timothy 3 : 16 goes on to speak of the Bible as "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".

Our churches and personal lives would be revolutionized if we allowed the Word of God to teach, correct and train us in all things. The truth is very simple: are we willing to be obedient? If Jesus Christ is Lord, do we have any right not to obey? If His Holy Spirit truly fills us, would we not desire to do what He tells us? For instance: Jesus tells us: Go into the whole world and make disciples of all nations; and: make love your aim and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. This is what the Word of God teaches! Are we willing to let our lives, our church traditions be corrected by it? Are we willing to put ourselves under the discipline that, no matter what the consequences in our personal lives, at home, at work, in our churches, we will obey the Word of God?

I can hardly wait for the results of such a renewal of the churches of God. For the Bible says, again, in II Timothy 3 : 17, "so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work".

God wants us to be completely equipped for this business of life. He wants to fill us with all the fulness of Christ (Eph. 4 : 13). It will happen only when we feed on His word, not little tidbits on a Sunday morning, but whole meals, through personal Bible reading, sharing in small groups, and expression in daily life. Psalm 19 says that God's word brings new life, wisdom, joy and insight to those who live by it. Psalm 1 says that God's richest blessing rests on the man who delights in God's word and meditates on it day and night. Psalm 119 speaks of the Bible as a light on our path, which keeps us from stumbling in the darkness of man's confusion and sin. Romans 1 call the Gospel a power unto salvation. I could go on quoting, for the Bible is filled with promises of what the Holy Spirit will do in the lives of those who take God's Word seriously. We will lack in nothing, as individuals, as churches, if we allow the Bible to teach, correct, train and equip us for the new life in Christ.

Allow me to add something from my personal experience. My own faith has undergone a development with regard to the Bible. I have always accepted the Bible, as God's Word, but I have not always allowed it to say what it says. I used to spiritualize everything that did not seem to make sense to me if taken literally. As a result,, my faith could not grow: IT WAS LIMITED to what my human experience allowed it to teach me.

Now, I stand in awe at this book, knowing it to be the living Word of God. It dares me to follow it far beyond the disciplines of my mind and the evidence of my senses opening up to me a vast reality, another world, which is of God's making. I take the Bible literally now, wherever it does not indicate that it should be understood symbolically. This way I get into a lot more trouble. But I also find that now I have something MY faith can grow into. When I don't experience something the Bible promises me or the church I no longer adjust the meaning of what I read to what I call 'reality'. I let it stand and pray that God will lead me and the church, in faith, by the Holy Spirit, so that one day I know from experience the reality that is spoken of.

Wherever the Bible is allowed to say what it says, the Holy Spirit renews lives, and churches. It is quite a privilege -and a challenge to be part of a church that wants to be "reformed according to the Word of God". As we allow the Holy Spirit to apply that statement to our churches and lives, the presence of Jesus Christ, His grace, love, deliverance, healing and power will become increasingly real among us. This is God's program for the Reformed Church in America. It is the only identity worth having. It is the only future we have.

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