One of the first songs that I learned when I was a child was about the Bible. It was aptly called, I Like the Bible. The chorus of the song goes like this…
I like the Bible. I like the Bible.
Cuz I read it and I do it. I read it and I do it.
I like the Bible. I like the Bible.
Cuz I read it…and I do it.
By God’s grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit, my parents were instrumental in instilling in me a genuine and healthy fear of God and a sincere reverence for His Word. In a mighty way, God used the faithfulness of my mom and my dad to expose me to the truths of His Word and, praise the Lord, to this day…I STILL like the Bible.
I like the Bible because I have witnessed its powerful, ongoing effect in my life and in the lives of others. The Bible is not only true (Psalm 19:9), it is authoritative (2 Peter 1:20-21), and all sufficient (2 Peter 1:3).
As a pastor, I am humbled by the privilege to study the Bible and preach it to others. It is an awesome responsibility that I cherish and do not take lightly (2 Timothy 2:15, 4:2-5).
As John MacArthur reminds us in his book “Why Believe the Bible”, there remains an urgency to cling to God’s Word. He says, “We are living in such a time, and the only way to resist the downward pull of a declining society is by anchoring our lives in the Word of God. That means our minds must be renewed by God’s truth in the Bible (Romans 12:1-2). Our thoughts, our affections, and our actions must be brought into conformity with the Word of God.”
With that in mind, we are encouraged that the Bible is up to the task. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the total adequacy of God’s Word in 2 Timothy 3:14-17. In this passage, we are reminded of THREE THINGS that the Bible proclaims about itself:
FIRST, it is holy or sacred (v. 15)
The Bible is unique and unlike any other book. It is incomparable and set apart for its intended purpose of leading people to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
SECOND, it is inspired by God Himself (v. 16a)
The Greek word translated “inspired” is theopneustos and it means “God-breathed.” So Paul is telling us that the Bible is unique and able because its truths have their origin in God; they are not merely some man’s opinions, insights or ramblings. As Peter said in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “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.”
THIRD, it is highly profitable to equip man for every good work (v. 16b-17)
As Jay Adams has written, “The [Bible] is the Holy Spirit’s tool for working in the minds and hearts of men and women to make them like Christ. Being peculiarly associated with the Spirit both in its composition and in its use, the Bible is powerful, able to transform lives.”
As such, Paul says that the Bible is profitable or useful “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Through the Bible, the Holy Spirit thoroughly equips the people of God to impact the kind of society he describes in 2 Timothy 3:1-13.
As John Murray, the Scottish-born theologian who once taught at Princeton Seminary said, “There is no situation in which we (as men of God) are placed, no demand that arises for which Scripture as the deposit of the manifold wisdom of God is not adequate and sufficient.”
This is why I Like the Bible!