Bibliolatry

Have you ever heard someone say, "don't make the Bible your idol?"  Where exactly does this idea of bibliolatry come from?

I wouldn't say that the accusation of bibliolatry comes from having a high view of scripture or even "sola scriptura"; I'd say bibliolatry occurs when people hold reading the Bible and doing what it says over coming to Jesus Christ. 

That's what Jesus accuses the Pharisees of doing in John 5:39 (You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

John 17:3 says, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

There are going to be a lot of people who know their Bible really well and even followed it really well, except for the coming to Jesus part, who don't make it in the end; I mean even Satan knows the scriptures. And vice versa, there will be many who make it who never picked up the book like the thief on the cross or those who come to Jesus on their death bed, not to mention all the patriarchs that predate Moses who had no scriptures whatsoever. The key is knowing God not necessarily the Bible.

I do believe the Bible is 100% authoritative for instruction and correction but only because of who the Author is, but in order to know the Author's intent, we need to know the Author, otherwise we end up with all kinds of wild interpretations. "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 1 Peter 1:20-21

And it's the Holy Spirit that teaches us what the scriptures mean: "when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. (John 16:13-14)

Private interpretations without the Holy Spirit's input lead to bibliolatry because they lead people to serve a god of their own invention rather than the one true God, which we can label as whatever -olatry we want, but ultimately it is what all idolatry is. 

Whether it's done with the Bible, a translation, a theology, some other religion's scriptures, or a block of wood, I don't see any difference. No one comes to the Father except through Christ Jesus. And if studying the Bible doesn't bring us to Him, and through Him the Father, daily in repentance and worship because of the Spirit's instruction, then we've elevated the Bible beyond it's intention.

This article was written in discussion with Aaron Armstrong's article My Bible . . . My Idol?  He has some great insight and questions that he raises on this issue, and I encourage you to read it as well.

Passages

Brian Hadin is the founder of the Audio Bible, a daily podcast where he reads through the Bible every year.  There are somewhere around 40 million listeners across the globe that tune into his broadcast.

His new book Passages is part chronicle of how he started and who benefitted from his podcast, and part lesson on why reading the Bible is important.

And while I think what he’s doing is a great thing, I don’t agree with his reasoning about why reading the Bible is important.  I really wanted to like this book because I think this is a great ministry, but without a correct view of the Bible and its purpose, I think scripture becomes dangerously misleading.

Why is reading the Bible important? 

Perhaps the most famous scriptures used to emphasize reading the Bible are 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training,” 2 Peter 1:20-21: “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,” and 1 Corinthians 2:13 “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” 

I want to say first off that I think these scriptures are absolutely true.  The scriptures are inspired by God and completely true.  I’m going to add a big “BUT” here that some people aren’t going to like.   But the scriptures are not God; they’re not even a good substitute for God.

Jesus tells exactly what the purpose of the scriptures are when He says, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)

And this is where Passages falls short.  I don’t think it’s purposely.  I would even say Hardin would completely agree with what I’m saying, but he never says so in the book, and that paints a disastrous picture of the Bible.  For example he says things like “Wouldn’t it be comforting to have just one friend who actually knew what was going on, who would always tell the truth and not be afraid to tell it like it is? . . . We do have such a comrade—the Bible”, “hope is one of the great blessings that the scriptures give us”, and even goes so far as using scripture and Jesus interchangeably in his lesson on the vine and the branches when he says “this is our fate [spiritual death] if we remain disconnected from the lifeblood of Scripture.”

Listen, God is our friend who is always true, and it’s His Holy Spirit that leads us into all Truth.  Sometimes He uses the Bible, sometimes it’s a fellow Christian, sometimes it’s just the Holy Spirit speaking to our heart, and sometimes He splits the sky and speaks in thunder, but it’s always, always God.  God is the one who not only gives us hope; He is our hope.  Jesus is the only vine you have to worry about being separated from.  Some day you may find yourself in a distant country, in prison, never to see a Bible again.  If the Bile is where you think life resides, you’re not going to make it.  Get it?

Understand I’m not undermining scripture’s authority or denying Sola Scriptura here.  Scripture is important in leading us to Christ, helping us to test the spirits and our hearts, rebuking false doctrines, teaching, training and all that, but without the Holy Spirit interpreting, it’s just a book, and a dangerous book at that if anyone but the Holy Spirit is doing the interpreting, which is exactly what Peter is talking about in 2 Peter 1:20.

Ultimately it comes down to this. One day we all will stand face to face with God.  If you’re claim to relationship with Him is that you read the scriptures daily, don’t be surprised when He says, “Then why didn’t you come to Me? I never knew you.”

Obviously Hardin’s book stirred me up a bit.  And I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt in saying I don’t think he intended the book to come across the way it does, but at the same time, coming to Jesus is what the Bible is all about, and I don’t see how anyone can read it in its entirety, year after year, and not get the major theme of the book.

So while there is some great stuff in Passages about community and plans for Bible study, overall I can’t recommend the book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.  All opinions are my own. 

Wycliffe's "In Other Words"

Hey all,

I know I've been kind of lax in my blogging lately.  Life gets busy sometimes, and writing takes time.  However, I did want to write a quick post promoting Wycliffe Bible Translations new contest they're running right now called In Other Words.

The premise is pretty simple: there's a scripture in a foreign language that needs translating.  When you answer the trivia questions, you get hints.  The prizes in the contest are an iPad and a trip for four to Orlando.

While I'd love to see any one of those who read this blog win the trip or the iPad, what I'd really love to see is you all support the translation and delivery of the Bible to those in need around the world.  So, yes go play the game and try to win the prize, but also consider making a donation and keep in mind that we're striving to win another prize, one not of this world.

Let's press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)