Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6, ESV)
Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. (Psalm 119:142, ESV)
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (Psalm 119:160, ESV)
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. (Psalm 119:114, ESV)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17, ESV)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, ESV)
I loved those two verses in Proverbs. The word of God is true. It has always been true; it will always be true. There will never come a time when it loses its truth. In a world that questions "truth" or "absolute truth" at least it is important to remember that EVERY WORD OF GOD PROVES TRUE. That one can't pick and choose from the Bible what is true and what is not true or no longer true. I also love the second verse, which reminds us all that it is unwise to ADD or subtract from the Word of God. We shouldn't feel the need to add OR subtract from the Bible. It can be dangerous--spiritually--to try to do either. It may be tempting, but it's unwise. I love this quote from J.C. Ryle:
Let us remember, that we live in a world where Pharisaism and Sadduceeism are continually striving for mastery in the Church of Christ. Some want to ADD to the Gospel, and some want to TAKE AWAY from it. Some would bury it, and some would pare it down to nothing. Some would stifle it by heaping on additions, and some would bleed it to death by subtraction from its truths. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew
I also loved this verse: THE SUM OF YOUR WORD IS TRUTH. The whole truth is better than here and there doses of little truths. I feel it's important to know the Bible, to learn from the whole Bible. Not just picking a handful of feel-good verses now and then. Not ignoring the parts we're unfamiliar with or bored with, but seeking treasure from the entirety of the Word. That is why I feel it's important that preachers preach the Bible--from the whole Bible, not just touching here and there in more comfortable places. But trying to teach or preach the hard stuff too. Ignoring "hard doctrines" like sin and hell may seem like an easy choice, but it isn't necessarily the best choice.
I have often heard of "narrow-minded views," and "old-fashioned notions," and "fire-and-brimstone theology," and the like. I have often been told that "broad" views are needed in the present day. I wish to be as broad as the Bible — neither less nor more. I say that he is the narrow-minded theologian who pares down such parts of the Bible as the natural heart dislikes, and rejects any portion of the counsel of God. ~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness
But God forbid that I should ever keep back from mortal man that Scripture reveals a Hell as well as Heaven, and that the gospel teaches that men may be lost as well as saved. ~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness
If you would ever be a healthy Scriptural Christian, I entreat you to give Hell a place in your theology. Establish it in your mind as a fixed principle, that God is a God of justice — as well as of mercy; and that the same everlasting counsels which laid the foundation of the bliss of Heaven — have also laid the foundation of the misery of Hell. Keep in full view of your mind, that all who die unpardoned and unrenewed are utterly unfit for the presence of God and must be lost forever. They are not capable of enjoying Heaven; they could not be happy there. They must go to their own place — and that place is Hell. Oh, it is a great thing in these days of unbelief, to believe the whole Bible! ~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness
Do you believe that the Word of God is true? Do you take hope in the Word of God? It can be trusted for it is true. It contains promises and treasures for all who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
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