God’s Word – Our Only Sure Guide
by Dean Gardner
Last year I was saddened and dismayed when I heard of a well known Christian publicly disputing what the Bible said about a particular issue that she had struggled with secretly for many years. Instead of looking for God’s help in her struggle, she embraced the message of the world, and, sadly, some parts of the Church, that she should just accept and express herself as ‘she really is’.
The media were quick to report her statements, and she became a prize for those who had long denied and opposed biblical teaching about the issue she’d battled with for so long.
One morning, during that time, my wife and I were reading a daily devotional by Charles Spurgeon and the text for that day was ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Psalm 119:105). With his usual childlike faith Charles Spurgeon affirmed God’s Word as wholly reliable – a true guide for our steps through life.
As we prayed after reading I felt the Lord spoke to me, reminding me that I’d read this blog by the young woman above where she’d declared that the Bible isn’t infallible or inerrant. I realised that she held such an opinion in common with others who’d gone astray from clear Christian teaching.
It’s a symptom of our human pride that we can set ourselves up as a judge of God’s Word, when, actually, it’s that very Word, sharper than any two-edged sword, that judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
The Lord spoke quite simply into my heart saying that, when someone declares that something the Bible clearly says isn’t true, or declares it’s no longer relevant to us today, then that part of Scripture ceases to be a light for them, and their feet begin to stray into dark and dangerous paths. In the book of James we read: ‘For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it’ (James 2:11).
If I boasted that I obeyed every road sign, except those warning me of roads that only allowed one-way traffic, I would still experience the possible disastrous consequences. In the same way we can’t pick and choose parts of God’s Word to obey.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your inspired Word, the Bible. Help me to allow all that You’ve written to be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, and to hold out Your truth, in love, to Christians who’ve stumbled and fallen, and to those who’ve never known You. Amen.
Dean Gardner worked part time in the Ellel Grange Ministry Office for four and a half years until October 2018 and is now part of the Associate teaching and ministry team. He now lives in Norfolk with his wife Gemma. In 1988 he experienced God`s amazing grace at a carol service and began a journey of restoration and healing with Jesus. He longs to continue that journey allowing God`s truth to change his own life but also to share that truth with others that they too might know Jesus for themselves.
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