This well-known text addresses a critical problem today, the authority of God's word. We easily identify the rejection of Biblical authority by the world and the godless. They reject it completely. They scoff at the truth of the Bible's divine inspiration and rule over them. In contrast, the Church of Jesus Christ and professing Christians proudly and loudly proclaim the authority of the Bible in their lives.

The rejection of Biblical authority has invaded the Church of Jesus Christ today, too. This denial has developed into a false doctrine about the Scriptures. This condition has not happened suddenly, but has developed very subtly over a long period of time. In fact, most believers fail to recognize its existence. However, many clues confirm this sinful condition.

Clues
First, the Church practices a postmodern attitude toward Biblical truth. In its desire to include everyone, the Church promotes a Bible study format that encourages every one to participate by sharing their thoughts on a passage of Scripture. Seldom does the leader correct any false viewpoints presented for fear of antagonizing or hurting the one(s) who gave it. In addition, few leaders themselves know the distinctions between truth and error.

Thus, no true, objective standard of Biblical truth exists. Everyone's viewpoint on Scripture carries the same value. "After all," we say, "it's a matter of interpretation," with no correct or true interpretation provided.

It boils down to this: truth does not matter. What matters is what the Scriptures seem to say to me, without consideration for the truth. How I feel about a given passage from the Bible determines its meaning. A text, then, could conceivably carry a whole variety of meanings, depending upon the person.

By default, then, the Church tolerates error. By its actions, the Church says that the Bible contains the word of God, truth, instead of it being the word of God, the truth that mankind can know and understand. It individualizes truth. It depends only upon what is "truth" to the individual or group opinion.

Second, the Church of Jesus Christ rejects the necessity of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures and its truths. Several present day attacks undermine this essential doctrine of God's word.

The postmodern approach to Biblical truth fails to believe in the concept of absolute truth. Since everything depends upon one's interpretation, then no absolute truth exists. This practice questions fundamental truth, misrepresents it, and distorts it.

The Church waffles on the authority of the Bible under attack from science, history, and various other branches of human thought. We yield authority and validity to them and assign error to the Biblical passage under scrutiny. We add to our sin by discounting, even doubting the supernatural elements recorded there. This path leads ultimately to a denial of God's intervention into life.

By default the Church, then, doubts the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. It has passed from divine revelation to merely an ordinary book of fine but obsolete literature. It has become a book among books of human origin, but certainly not divine, because it contains errors. In effect, the Church rejects the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture by God through the Holy Spirit.

Further, the Church of Jesus Christ presents the Bible as a handbook to guide humankind in its search for God, instead of providing God's self-revelation of Himself. Therefore, we make God in our own image, turn the truth of God into a lie, and defy God Who has revealed Himself in His word. This concept denies God's intervention into human life and ultimately questions whether anyone can ever know that God exists or if anyone can know Him if He does exist.