5 Things You Must Believe About God's Word As followers of Jesus, it’s crucial that we believe these things. By Lesli White

 

5 Things You Must Believe About God's Word

As followers of Jesus, it’s crucial that we believe these things.

By Lesli White

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What do you believe about God’s Word? As Christians, we are surrounded by claims of religious authority – sacred books and spiritual leaders among other things. Yet, in the midst of that, the Bible is separate and distinctive from any other religious authorities. If you have questions about the reliability, you are not alone. The Scriptures, like the world around us, are marked by elements of mystery. Yet, if you trust in God’s Word, you don’t have to try to sort out the evidence on your own. Jesus promised divine help to those who want to know the truth about Him and His teaching. He said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own” (John 7:17). God speaks and we can trust His Word. Here are five things you must believe about God’s Word.

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We Must Trust God’s Word to Be True

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As believers, it’s imperative that we trust God’s Word to be true. We must trust that Scripture is God’s written word. We should believe that the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments is the infallible Word of God, verbally inspired by God, and without error in the original manuscripts. We should also believe that God’s intentions, revealed in the Bible, are the supreme and final authority in testing all claims about what is true and what is right. Limited abilities, traditional biases, personal sin and cultural assumptions often obscure Biblical texts. Therefore, the work of the Holy Spirit is essential for right understanding of the Bible, and prayer for His assistance belongs to a proper effort to understand and apply God’s Word.

We Must Believe That The Word is Bread and Life

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Resting in the sufficiency of the Word can be found in one’s appetite. Instead of finding deepest satisfaction in other things, even good things, one who lives in the sufficiency of Scripture hungers for the Word as his or her bread and life. You grow in your understanding of what Jesus declared to the adversary, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Word should be more desirable than fine gold and sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10).

We Must Trust God’s Word to Affect Our Lives

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Are you allowing God’s Word to impact your life and subsequently impact the lives of others? Nothing can change the lives of people like the Bible. Alcoholics and addicts have gotten their lives sober and clean because they started reading the Bible. God’s Word has changed self-centered, narcissistic men who abuse and misuse women into godly husbands, wonderful dads and upstanding citizens in the community. These are just a few examples of the power the Bible has to transform lives. Jesus said it like this in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in my Word, then you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

We Must Trust God’s Word to Prepare Us for Mission

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As followers of Christ, perhaps our greatest “good work” for which God equips us is to obey the command of Christ to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20). This command encompasses everything from growing in our walk with Christ, to proclaiming the message of Christ within our own community and to the ends of the earth. We seek to live as growing disciples ourselves as we make disciples of others, including sharing the Gospel and, for those who trust Christ, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded. Because we trust God and believe that His Word is true, we not only allow His Word to work in our lives, we also take that Word to the ends of the earth, calling others to faith in Christ.

We Must Experience Revelation of It

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It’s one thing to believe the Bible. It’s an entirely different thing to have a supernatural revelation of it. We all must live and walk and pray in Spirit, night and day, so we can have a never-ending supply of revelation. The moment you invited Christ into your life as Savior and Lord, you experienced a spiritual birth. You became a child of God and you were filled with the Holy Spirit. God forgave your sins – past, present and future – making you righteous and holy and acceptable in His sight because of Jesus’ sacrifice for you on the cross. You were given the power to live a holy life and to be a fruitful witness for God. This is where so few believers will go. If we aren’t living in the Spirit, we can’t resume fully understanding or believing the Word of God.

As we submit our lives to Christ in repentance and faith for salvation, we also submit to the authority of God’s Word. We show our trust in God and His Word as we acknowledge that it is from Him, allow God to transform our lives by it and serve in His mission as He equips us to live our lives.

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Lesli White is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and a concentration in print and online journalism. In college, she took a number of religious studies courses and harnessed her talent for storytelling. White has a rich faith background. Her father, a Lutheran pastor and life coach was a big influence in her faith life, helping her to see the value of sharing the message of Christ with others. She has served in the church from an early age. Some of these roles include assisting ministry, mutual ministry, worship and music ministry and church council.