When you think of the Bible, what do you think it is? Be careful here. I’d ask that you not give me an answer that is a stock response, which is true, but which may not match your actual beliefs. If you say the Bible is the word of God, does your thinking in relation to biblical issues match that statement?
1 Thessalonians 2:13 – And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
When Paul preached to the people in Thessalonica, he spoke to them as an apostle. That means that Paul brought the message of God with the authority of God to those people. And Paul was thrilled to see that, when they heard this message of God with the authority of God, they welcomed it as such.
Paul saw that the Thessalonians received the word of God as the word of God. They heard the message, and they understood that they were hearing the word, the communication, the heart expression of God. As a contrast, to make his point clear, Paul said that they did not receive this message as the word of men. This was not a message that they could debate. This was not a message they could receive part of and leave the rest. It is an all-or-nothing proposition.
Dear friends, what Paul said of the Thessalonians needs to be true of us. The Lord as inspired and preserved his holy word. God has spoken. And we need to receive the Scriptures, not as the words of men, but as they truly are, the word of God. We cannot take part and leave the rest. We cannot debate with the Bible. WE cannot adopt what we like or what is popular while letting the rest fly away. We need to read the Bible and realize that, in doing so, we are hearing the voice of God.
Pastor Travis Peterson 