“The Bible says it – I believe it – that settles it!”

I’m sure you have heard it. Perhaps you have even made the assertion yourself. It may sound pretty good when we first hear it, and we might repeat it with the desire to show our settled belief in the Word of God. But when we look at it a little more closely, we might see that it is a not a solid statement of belief after all.

The statement places the emphasis on my belief in what the Bible says, not in the Bible itself. It sounds as if the authority of the Bible is based upon my acceptance of and belief in any passage under consideration. A much better statement would be: “The Bible says it – that settles it – whether I believe it or not.” The veracity of the truth presented in Scripture is not based upon my belief in it, it is based on the Author of it: God. God inspired the writers of Scripture to pen His message and oversaw the inspiration of the message and the transmission of the message.

This is such a crucial matter for us to consider. The message of the Bible is not open to debate. I realize that there are certain passages that are difficult to understand, and in our limited understanding and our faulty ability to translate and interpret those difficult passages, we sometimes debate the precise meaning of those passages. But the message itself is inspired by God and carries the full weight of His authority.

The reason I draw this to our attention is simply because it seems to me that we are witnessing a movement away from taking the Bible at face value. Instead of the Bible being objective truth, it now appears that it is subjective suggestion. It reminds me of an observation one of my professors made concerning the matter of proper Biblical application. Dr. Gary Galeotti said that most professing believers today seem to live by the Burger King hermeneutic: have it your way. Read the Bible, take what you like and leave the rest.

If I read in the Bible that it is sin to lie, steal, cheat, kill, commit fornication, bow down to other “gods”, etc. etc. etc., and yet decide to engage in such behavior, then I have embraced the mentality to take what I like and leave the rest. If the Bible’s teachings fit into my personal preferences, then I will abide by them, but if they in some way hinder my personal self-gratification, then I can just as easily discard them. The Bible becomes subjected to my desires instead of me subjecting myself to the BIble.

Believers are commanded to be doers of the Word of God, and not merely hearers of that Word. The Bible’s instructions are to be followed, not ignored. There are so many cultural and societal practices that run contrary to the teachings of the Bible. We are to stand against the tide of the shifting sands of culture and society by standing firmly on the teachings of the Bible.

To do so will most certainly result in being in an ever-decreasing minority. The number of Christians who stand for Biblical truth grows smaller and smaller. Far too many seem to have embraced culture over Biblical truth, and societal shifts over clear Scriptural instruction. To do so means that we cease to be the salt and light Jesus demanded that we be. We are to be a light on a hill, beckoning those who abide in the spiritual darkness of this world to come out of that darkness into the light of God’s love and grace.

When our lives are so compromised with the ways of the world, the light becomes nothing more than a mere shadow. It is time we stand up, speak up, and show up as representatives of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Remember: the Bible says it and that settles it. Whether or not I believe it has no bearing at all on the veracity and authority of the Bible. May God grant each of us the boldness to be His representatives in a world that desperately needs to see His light shining through us.