Futile Bible

There is a way to trust the Bible that will lead only to your death.  This startling word comes from Christ Himself, as recorded by the Apostle John in chapter 5 of his gospel.  Jesus, in that passage, scolded the Pharisees for holding to the Scriptures as their hope of eternal life.

The irony, of course, is that the Scriptures were given so that others might have life.  However, no life shall come from the Scriptures if they are read with a closed heart.  Even as the Spirit of Christ opened Lydia’s heart and opened the heart of the two on the Emmaus road, so, too, must the Spirit attend our reading of God’s Word in order that we might hear the word, receive it, and obey it.

Specifically, what Jesus Chides the Pharisees for is their unwillingness [and consequent inability] to see Jesus in the writings of Moses.  Even so, many today will speak kindly about the Bible and even use it in their religious practices; yet, will not from it come away determined to obey Jesus Christ.

If our Bible reverence does not cause us to obey Jesus Christ, then it is defective, insufficient, and deadly.  The Bible points to a righteous, crucified, buried, and risen Savior who alone is able to atone for sins.  If we rely on the Bible or our religious use of it apart from obedience to Jesus Christ, then we are as foolishly out of step with God’s demands as were the Pharisees of old.