“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13
The story is told of a European trader who traveled to Africa and happened to pass by a cannibal who had been converted to Christianity. He asked the converted cannibal what he was doing and the man replied, “Oh, I am reading the Bible.” The trader scoffed, “That book is out of date in my country.” The African convert replied, “If it had been out of date here, you would have been eaten long ago!”
I had the privilege of traveling to Nagaland back in 2010. The South Hill congregation in Fayetteville, Arkansas became involved in helping to have a dramatized version of the New Testament recorded in the Naga Language. I became acquainted with a Brother Kikon who runs an orphanage in Nagaland. He was telling me a little about the history of Nagaland. He said that the people in the mountains of Nagaland used to be headhunters and collected skulls; however, he delighted in telling me that when they were converted to Christianity that they became “headhunters” for Jesus and now collected souls. I learned in some of my research for this trip that there are more Baptist churches in Nagaland than there are in the state of Alabama.
There may be many who believe that the Bible is out of date. They believe that the Bible is out of touch with what the modern world needs. The Bible itself contends that it is a book for all people and for all times. The passage quoted above from Hebrews declares that the Bible lays bare the soul of man to his creator. The Word of God penetrates into the very motivations behind the actions of men. The reason many may want to cast the Bible aside is the fact that the Bible condemns their actions and their very motives for those actions. Men have always resisted the constraints of God’s Word. The word of God declares, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” That is strong medicine for a sick world. It is a prescription that the man of the world rejects and refuses to take. However, it is the only cure for the disease of worldliness.
The Apostle Paul admonished the young evangelist Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). If we want to be approved by God our Creator, we must be diligent students of God’s Word. It is not out of date, it is timeless.
“…and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17
-Scott Gage