Replies

"The Bible is full of contradictions. That doesn't mean it wasn't inspired by God.It does mean that it is not a statute book that you can read according to you own lights and be certain of.

One thing I find fascinating is how believers are so eager to discredit the Word of God.

Duet 8:3ff - that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live

Psalms 33:4 - For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

Psalms 33:6 - By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Psalms 119:103 - How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalms 119:105 - Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalms 119:140 - Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it

Psalms 119:160 - Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Psalms 130:5 - I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 13:13 - Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

Proverbs 30:5 - Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Are works necessary to faith? Paul says no. James says yes. Which is it? Is God confused?

God is not confused. James says works are the product of faith, not vice versa.

He left a Church, not a Bible.

He left a Body not a Head. Christ is Head.

because the Devil can quote Scripture to serve his purposes.

Yes, and one of the things he does with it is cause doubt. Back in the garden he said to Eve "hath God said?". His plan of attack was to get Eve to doubt God's Word. Something that is all too common on these threads.

JM

JohnnyM, you provided me a great list of things that talk about the Word of the Lord.

Now, please, close the loop and provide me the text that says that the BIBLE is "The Word of the Lord".

THAT assertion is not in the Bible.
It is our tradition. We say that. The Bible does not say that. It says that the Word of the Lord is the Truth.
Who can dispute that?
It does NOT say that the Bible is the Word of the Lord.

It says, actually, the the Word is God, and the Word became flesh. And Jesus says that his spirit will be with the Church he made.

Jesus says nothing about the Bible.
That is RATHER important, since he is God.
He makes reference to some scriptures and some stories which are found in the Septuagint version, the Greek Old Testament.
He does not define what "scripture" is.
Nor does anywhere else in the Bible.

Nor can we use cross references in the Bible to prove scripture. The Bible refers to the Book of the Wars of the Lord, which we do not have (did God permit that part of His word to be destroyed). The Letter of Jude refers to Enoch, which is not in the Bible either.

There is nothing wrong with using the Bible for faith and instruction. There is a problem, the problem of idolatry, of holding up the Bible and saying that this is the be all and end all, THE Word of the Lord, superseding all other things. God never says that in the Bible. Jesus never said that walking on Earth.

And the assertion ends up dividing Christians one from another and causing tremendous fights among them, because no two people read the same set of words identically. God knows this, which is probably why when he walked the Earth he did NOT leave a Bible, nor a Bible Dispensary, but a Church of men, and those men made a hierarchy to pass down the traditions.

If the Bible was so important to God that it supersedes everything else, you would have think that God would have thought to mention that in the Bible. But He didn't.

You say He did. Which brings us back to the beginning: cite for me the place where the Bible says that the Bible is The Word of the Lord. Indeed, cite for me the place where the Bible refers to the Bible. Cite for me the place where the Bible says that the Bible is to be used to overrule the Church that God made.
Cite for me the place that the Bible says that the Bible is the supreme authority.
Cite for me the place where the Bible defines what the Bible is, or what books are to be in it.