“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13, ESV).
Biblical faithfulness is another one of the four core values of North Greenville University. What is so special about the Bible and why should we be faithful to its teachings? As the verses above state, “The word of God is living and active.” The biblical text refers to Jesus as the living Word of God (John 1:1-17) and to the Scriptures as the written Word of God (2 Tim 3:16). The written Word of God, the Bible, is the infallible, inerrant record through which God reveals himself to us. The Bible is not a word about God, but rather it is the very word of God. It is true without any mixture of error (see “The Baptist Faith and Message 2000”) because the biblical writers spoke directly from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. If mortals were the authors of the Scriptures alone, they could not be trusted. I am very much aware of most of my imperfections and my fallibility as you are of yours. But God moved the authors of the Scriptures by the power of the Holy Spirit to record exactly what God wanted to communicate without error (2 Pet 2:20-21).
All we know about God is what he has chosen to reveal to us. God is the source of the Bible; it is God-breathed or inspired. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 reveals that the Scriptures are able to teach salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains believers in righteousness, equipping them for every good work. To be biblically faithful is to place the Bible as the standard for all of life. It is the lens through which believers see and interpret the world. The Scriptures reveal the light of God that pierces through the darkness. Nothing can be hidden from him. He sees all and holds us accountable for our thoughts and actions. The Bible is the standard for all faith and practice.
A word of warning: the Bible, in its entirety, is God-breathed. Many people fall into error when they magnify one text of Scriptures above all others. They often make that text the lens through which the rest of the Bible is read. This practice is flawed and leads to error and improper interpretation. The Bible in its entirety is the lens through which we interpret God’s revelation. When properly understood, the Bible never contradicts itself. The most reliable interpretation of the Scriptures is through the Bible itself.
NGU represents these unchanging truths to the university family, local churches, and our culture. The university is unapologetically committed to biblical faithfulness. It is the standard through which our lives, churches, and cultures must be evaluated. If we are to build transformational leaders for church and society, we must be Biblically Faithful and Christ-Centered (see last week’s “Weekly Walk”).
Steps to Biblical Faithfulness
- Read the Bible. If the Bible is the standard for faith and practice, we must know what it says.
- Pray that the Lord would illuminate the truth of his Word to you.
- Determine to use the Bible as your compass for life. When culture and popular opinion flows against the truth of God’s Word, determine to follow the objective standard that God reveals to you and reject the subjective standards of the culture. Cultural winds are inconsistent in the way they blow, but God’s way is consistent and always better than your way.
- Apply God’s Word to your life. How will you put into practice what God has revealed to you from his Word?
- Pray for the leadership of NGU. May we be found biblically faithful to God’s eternal purposes.