t always disgusts me when I see the History Channel air its specials on the Apocrypha and how it makes false assertions that the Bible was somehow just tossed together carelessly by self righteous men with agendas, who supposedly decided to leave out some books which are just as valid and true as the ones that were canonized. In reality the books found in the Bible (not the Catholic "Bible" or Jehovah Witness "Bible") are the very mind and words of God, spoken through Jesus and elect men for the purpose of being recorded and given to us in order that we may have a true knowledge of God and His counsel.

2 Peter 1:20-21
"But know this first of all, that 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."

Peter is pointing out something that is so important, so imperative, so vital that he says we ought to know this before anything else. The importance of this is shown in the Greek which carries a meaning of something being chief...holding much honor, and being the first in a procession of many things. This essential thing is that all Scripture is absolute, direct revelation from God Himself, it is supremely divine in origin, and not at all derived by an act of human will. Paul echos this same sentiment in 2 Timothy 3:16 when he says that "all Scripture is God breathed." To really soak this in and meditate on this is utterly mind blowing. Many Christians will call the Bible the Word of God, but they do not at all live as if they truly believe that statement. Take Genesis 1 for example. How many Christians actually believe in a literal 6 day Creation? Instead of taking God at His word, they try to harmonize the theories of man with the Word of God, consequently, claiming that Scripture doesn't really mean what it says. 'How can we argue with science' is the cry of modern man?! "Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar" (Rom 3:4). 'That's archaic!' some may say...while at the same time it is written, "For, 'ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER' And this is the word which was preached to you" (1 Pet 1:24-25)

So it really comes down to a question you have to ask yourself in your heart of hearts, which is, do you really believe what Peter is saying here? It is so monumentally crucial that we do believe Scripture, if we profess to be a Christian, because our faith completely hinges on it. When I say believe, I mean that we believe every single jot and tittle because, either the Bible is the Word of God or it is not. If it is not, then why even bother with it at all? It is foolish to look at the Bible as merely a loose guide of morality, because that is not what Scripture claims to be. It claims to be the very Word of God, the revelation about Christ, who alone brings Salvation. Scripture claims to be living and active, able to awaken the sinner from death and bring him into the light and life of God. Do not make the mistake of trivializing the Bible into some glorified, Confucius type book. It claims to be so much more than that. Now, since it does, we have to make the decision to believe it, or we must discard it. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).

Jesus was clear when He said that we can not be a slave to two Masters, (Luke 16:13) and since God's name is Jealous (Ex 34:14) He will not tolerate us splitting our allegiance, but demands that if we are truly His, that we must bow the knee of submission (Psalm 95:6) before Him alone. Who are we to pick and choose what certain doctrines we like or what we want to believe from God's Word? If we attempt such things, we have fallen into the same trap as Eve, thinking we are like God and able to discern between good from evil. How can a professing believer think only some parts of the Bible are trustworthy? Is Almighty God only partially powerful, partially knowledgeable and partially faithful? Do you then think you are only partially saved? Scripture affirms its sufficiency, and God can not lie, so then, professing Christians ought to obey the direct command "to pay attention {to the Word of God} as to a lamp shining in a dark place" that is why Peter is telling us how important it is that we realize the divine origin of the Scriptures, so that we can completely and totally rely on it in our lives to guide us through this dark world. This is why Jesus said"do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher", it's not that a child in school can't call his teacher a teacher, but we are not to set anyone up, or honor anyone in our lives as having the authority to teach us on life issues besides Christ and His Word.

It is written that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Pet 1:3) so a Christian ought not to trust God in some issues of life, only to turn around and look to man's wisdom in cults, self help books, 12 step programs, psychology or any other "lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God" (2 Cor 10:5). We either follow Christ with a whole heart or we are rebellious, there can be no duality. Either God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness or this infinite omnipotent, omniscient God did not foresee that we would end up needing further teaching in a certain area of life, thus lying to us when He said that EVERYTHING has been given to us that we need in this life.

Do we honestly think that we as humans have come upon something that is profitable through the accumulation of our knowledge that God did not know or had overlooked or did not include in His Word? If that is the case, what are you then saying about God? Is that not implying that He is not omniscient? We as Christians must be completely and totally devoted to God (Mark 12:30) and we can not truly know Him apart from His Word. A split heart is as lifeless (and useless) before God as the small child would have been who was taken before Solomon had he been cut in two. This is why throughout the entire book of 2 Peter, while Peter is warning of false teachers, he continual points to growing in a "true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" and in the midst of telling us that over and over, then points to the total importance of knowing that Scripture is God breathed.

So, looking back at our original verse, Peter says that Scripture is not up for debate when it comes to interpretation, because ultimately there is only One Author, so there are no contradictions found in Scripture. If it is read historically, literally, and grammatically it harmonizes together perfectly...error only comes into play when the reader is not looking to see what Scripture truly says, but looking to fit Scripture around their beliefs, alagorizing or spiritualizing the text. For times sake I won't go to far into this, I will save that for a later blog, but I would recommend reading some books by some very solid teachers on proper hermeneutics. Not only does Peter point out that there is One Author in saying that Scripture is not a matter of one's interpretation, but he really solidifies that fact by stating that Scripture never came about by an act of human will. He is really saying the same thing twice in two different ways to make sure that no one misses the truth that Scripture is divine in origin. The Holy Spirit caused men to write what was written. That is how Paul can say "all Scripture is God breathed", and also why Paul says, "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe." Paul not only affirms that the Word of God is the very mind and words of God, but also that it had absolutely nothing to do with an act of human will.

Now, when you take into account that 2 Peter is written as a warning against false teachers, and look at it knowing that, you see certain patterns. Peter reestablishes foundational truths to the Christian faith that false teachers continually attack. Peter points to the truth of the trinity, election, the divinity of Jesus, that true faith produces good works, and the sufficiency and divine nature of Scripture. This is so important to know, because it is under attack today. Those in the emergent Church deny absolute truth, and the divine nature of Scripture. Others not so blatantly turn their congregations away from the Word of God and onto various best selling books. Today is judgment day, judge your own heart and judge it rightly (1 Cor 11:31). Are you a follower of Christ? Do you believe Scripture to be the Word of God? If you are and you do put aside everything else and be like Job who said "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12) and learn the lesson that God has repeatedly tried to teach us, that "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD." (Duet 8:3; Matt 4:4) The Creator has written a book, and we claim to be His followers, shouldn't we be intimately familiar with everything our Creator and our Redeemer has to say?