The Bible As Our Ultimate Authority

Are you confused with all the different "methods" or beliefs that are out there? Do you have a book by some Christian author that gives you their explanation on how to be nearer to God, or experience some sort of comfort by thinking a certain way? You're not alone. I can say with honesty that I felt distant from God no matter how much I pleaded with Him to show me some sign that He was interested in me personally. It was a real dry time in my life, it basically spanned the better part of twenty years. I thank the Lord He did not leave me nor forsake me, He was faithful as His word says in Deuteronomy 31:6; "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

How can the above verse actually give you comfort? After all it was written something like 3,400 years ago, how can something that Moses said be attributed to God for one, and two, haven't we all heard that those old Bible stories didn't really happen, they are just stories to somehow help us through the hard times? What you believe about the historicity of the Scriptures and who is the true author of Scripture will affect your faith. We cannot pick and choose what we will accept to put in the actual events column and what we will put in the allegory column. Do not be deceived in this matter, actually we can go to a very reliable source for the right answer to the question. Seeing as the first five books of the Bible are the ones most debated by scholars as to their being actual historical accounts of real people, and contain the subject that not only the critics most want to discredit, creation, we should look to see what Jesus Christ had to say about those first books.

The Lord Jesus Christ while here on earth quoted from all five of the books of Moses. He placed His endorsement upon the authority and the historicity of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We need to look into this important fact. In Matthew 19:3 the Pharisees asked Jesus this question, intending to test Him; "The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?'" And Jesus answered them saying in verses 4-9; "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female.' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So then, then they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.' They said to Him, 'Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?' He said to them, 'Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.'"

Not only did the Lord Jesus believe this to be fact and a historical event, He also referred to "He who created", He being a someone, not a gradual chance event, something worth noting. Another reason some would be critical of the account is they do not want to be subject to what Jesus said concerning divorce, so the best way to get around the issue is to discredit it. When we question the Scripture as to it's historical and literal meaning, we are in effect bringing into question the character of the person of Christ, if you believe on Him for salvation and don't quite believe in creation, or all the Scriptures say, you might want to re-think things.

Summary Statements

There are so many opinions out there that it would take someone a lifetime to first of all find them, let alone catagorize them. So "many ways" that it can be very confusing for a person. If this helps just one person come to know the truth and be saved from deception it will be well worth all the time I spend in this project.

I cannot help but notice that there are a lot of people who put little or no importance on spiritual matters. I also think they have ideas about God, eternity, and heaven that are so far from reality that when they hear truth it is in such contrast to how they think they dismiss it without any thought. When you look to learn anything about anything, it is obvious to me that creation vs evolution has very much to do with it. It has been such a slow and methodical transition that not very many people saw it coming. To understand truth....you've got to want it bad. If you are content to accept the powerless and confusing religeons of today and want to find your connection to God on the easy, or the emotional paths, this approach I am going to explain will not be what you want to hear.

I grew up in a prodestant church, which I thought was pretty conservative. It once was, but as most denominations today, it has really gone astray. I can say I know this because my life as a Christian was lacking a lot. I professed Jesus Christ as my Savior, yet my life was loaded with sin. I had a case of easy believism. I had "accepted" Jesus as my Lord and Savior in my early teens, yet I lived like hell. Was I truly saved? I read my Bible all the time, went to church pretty regularly, prayed a lot, and I could act like a good Christian around other Christians, but there was so much missing and I knew it. I just couldn't put a finger on it. I knew my life wasn't right, and I also knew that God knew it. Now I cannot blame it on the church or denomination, yet how to live with conviction, power, and joy, it escaped me. I know there are churches out there that may have a good foundational teaching class, but I think they are rare. All one must do is look around at what passes for "church" or look at the lives of "christians" today to know there is something wrong out there.

My intentions are not primarily to point a finger at the different churches or religions, yet in a sense that is what I will be doing, for there is one way, and one way only. That is the heart of the matter. We think we can believe and approach God in a way that makes us in control. Truth matters, knowing about God is knowing God, and He has chosen to reveal Himself in detail in the Bible. It is there we should look for Him, not in our or other's writings or opinions.

Bible Beginings

As my friend and mentor John says, "We live in an age of pervasive unbelief", an age in which we think we can "discover" anything if we simply look and try hard enough, or are genuinely sincere. We have convinced ourselves that if what I think, say, or do is right, no one can impose their judgements on me. Well I suppose we can do as we want, but it really makes no difference what we think, say, or do for it is God and God alone who will do His good pleasure despite how hard we try or how sincere we are. It then leaves us with a question to ask ourselves; What is God's will and His good pleasure? Knowing the answers to this question will enable us to have understanding. I want to put out truth from God's Word in a plain and simple way for someone who has never been taught how we are to approach God, not with my ways but what He has plainly revealed in His Word. This is primarily directed at believers, we simply must have certain convictions, without them we will simply be drifting and easily deceived and confused. Basically ineffective in our witness, and we won't experience joy in the Lord!