Have you ever run across a very thorny question that you just could not find an answer to? Most of us have numerous questions that puzzle us. How would you answer questions like:
- Is there a God?
- Did God really create the universe?
- Why did God allow Satan to sin?
- Why did God create Satan if he knew he was going to rebel?
- Is the Trinity in the Bible?
- Why don’t Christians Worship on the Sabbath?
- If Jesus is God, why did he say, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
- Why is it so hard to accept myself?
- Will God save me from my sin?
- Are women inferior to men?
- Does the Bible support Slavery?
We humans demand answers. That’s why we send our children to school. School is supposed to teach us the answers to life’s elementary problems. But that is never enough, so we send them to college or University. There they are exposed to some very smart people who claim to have the answers. But do they really?
It seems like the answers are never enough. So we turn to talk radio, magazines, books, television, news reports, and pastors and churches.
Life has questions, we need answers. The truth of the matter is that you will never know the answer to every question! Some answers we will never know. But there are some really important questions you should really ponder, study out, and find the answer to. And it’s not just answers we need. Every person needs to figure out where to go to get their questions answered. Every one of us needs a framework that guides our life that we can depend upon for answers when life doesn’t make sense.
So my question is this: Where do you go when you need answers. I guess it depends on the question. If you have a math question, don’t come to me… go to your math teacher. If you have a car repair question, I can break them, but I don’t know how to fix them; go to a mechanic. If you want a few facts and opinions, it seems like a lot of our questions can be answered by Google.
But I want to suggest to you that neither your professors, talk show hosts, nor Google is able to adequately answer the big questions of life in a consistent and satisfying manner. For the big questions of life; The Bible has the answer.
The Bible Has the Answer
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
I believe that. I’ve lived my life following one simple rule: The Bible has the answer! God knows everything, and He has revealed the important things in THE Book!
I want to break down this verse into three thoughts, to help you understand what the Bible says about itself. The first one is this:
1. The Bible came from God.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” We Christians believe that God knows everything. He is all knowing. We also believe that God is unerring. God is all wise and has never made a mistake. So when God reveals something in His Word I always treat it as truth. Whenever the Bible gives an answer it is the correct answer. So far in my life, this has never steered me wrong. I have found that no matter what I study, no matter what history or archaeology unearths, no matter what new discoveries are out there, the Bible has always been able to stand the test of time, and it comes out the winner! I have learned to trust it because it has always proven trustworthy! If you are a Christian, your framework for looking at life is through the grid of the Bible. Since God’s Word is true, I live my life by it.
2. The Bible answers life’s questions.
According to 2 Timothy 3:16, The Bible has four areas of application. #1 Doctrine. Doctrine is simply a collection of information or truth that the Bible teaches. For example there is the doctrine of heaven, the doctrine of sin, the doctrine of the trinity, and so on. #2 Reproof. God gave the Bible in such a way that it examines and critiques my behavior and my beliefs. When my thoughts differ from the Bible, guess which one is right? #3 Correction. The bible tells me when I’m wrong, but it also tells me how to get it right. That’s good news! Reproof keeps us from falling into error and correction leads us on the right path. #4 Instruction in righteousness. This goes beyond fixing errors and setting me on the right path. The Bible is filled with wisdom and truth. Follow it to be wise! We can live best possible life if we follow its instructions.
3. The Bible’s answers are sufficient for a successful life.
Verse 17 tells us that the Bible is adequate to make us into the kind of people we should be! “That the man of God may be complete!” God’s Word is what we need to make us into stable men and women! Ignore it at your own risk! It is also able to equip us to help others!
We go to the Bible because the Bible has the answers that we need!
The Bible gives us everything we need
It is at this point, that I want to interject an important point. The Bible does not tell us everything! While it accurately addresses many scientific realities, it is not a Science textbook. While it contains many principles about health and medicine, it is not a medical reference book. It has pages upon pages of recorded history, but is not primarily a history book.
The Bible does not tell us everything about every subject, but The Bible is unerringly true in every subject it covers. When the Bible speaks it is authoritative.
God’s Word never promises to answer every human question, but it does promise to be the basis of truth for understanding all things. We can be thankful that God has all the answers. But we have to remember that God doesn’t always reveal all the answers. The Bible does not address every area of life; rather, its revealed words serve as our authoritative source in every aspect it does address, and its principles apply to everything!
To help us understand this, I’ve created a handy little chart to illustrate the kinds of answers the Bible Gives:
On the left side I’m calling this the “personal judgment” side. This asks the question, “How much does God expect us to use our own judgment and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let’s remember that God did create us in His image, and he created us to be able to make decisions. He also gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us at times when we don’t know what to do. It is up to us to use personal judgment in some things.
On the right side, is the biblical revelation side. There are some issues in the Bible that are cut and dried, black and white. There is so much information is revealed in God’s word about some subjects that we leave 100% of it up to the Bible. God has revealed a lot about some things and little or nothing about others.
Trivial things. Let’s say you get up in the morning and want to know what color of socks to wear. What chapter and verse has that information? Or let’s say that you wake up, but don’t want to take a step outside God’s will. Where in the Bible will you find the information about the exact placement of your foot on your bedroom floor, and the next one, and the next one? You won’t find that anywhere in the Bible! There is nothing specific revealed, so God expects you to use your own judgment.
So should you leave God out of those little decisions? Not at all. We make these decisions with the understanding that God made us in His image, and that we were made to make decisions. In fact the Bible has something to say about that! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your steps!” (Proverbs 3:5-6) So the Bible even has something to say about this. In trivial things TRUST him!
Personal Guidance. Let’s say you want to get married. On what page of the Bible does it reference that Dennis is supposed to marry Susan? It’s not in there! And where does it tell you which career path to take, or whether or not to go to college or into the military? It doesn’t. So what should we do? In cases of personal guidance we should Seek God’s will in prayer. “Ask and it shall be given you…” (Matthew 7:7) Seek the principles that are revealed in God’s word. You can always find a principle that relates to marriage like this one; “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” (1 Corinthians 7:39)
Historical – Scientific Issues. The Bible doesn’t pretend to be a history book of every civilization, but we have discovered that when it does give a historical reference, it is unerringly accurate. The Bible is not a science textbook, but where God’s Word does speak it is definitive. It is not mistaken. We will eventually come to understand that history and science clearly back up God’s revealed word.
Ethical Concerns. There are a number of ethical questions that are not discussed in the Bible, and some which are not discussed in the New Testament: Should we clone people? Should we edit the genes of our baby? Should we vaccinate our children? Should we trust AI? Is Abortion ever OK? While some of these may not have a precise scriptural command, there is much biblical information we can apply to our situation. Some of these principles are clearer than others, like the command that says, “Thou Shalt Not Murder.” (Exodus 20:13). If that doesn’t relate to the taking of life in the womb, I don’t know what does!
Revealed Truth. When God gives clear revelation, our responsibility is to live in obedience. God has spoken, and clearly told us how to live. The Apostle Peter put it this way:
“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
The Bible is all we need to equip us for life. In the Bible alone, God has given humankind all things that are necessary for the proper understanding of who God is, who we are, how God has acted in the past, what’s going to happen in the future, and what God expects from us. The Bible gives us everything we need to live well and to be godly.
The Bible does have the answer, but it may not be the answer you were hoping for. And some answers are not as easy to find as you were hoping for. It takes work to find the truth, but God’s Word always makes us wiser than without it!
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11)
If you’ve got a question, God’s got the answer, even if I can’t answer that!
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