Importance of the Bible
By L. L. CAVINESS
The importance of the Bible has been recognized by many all through the ages, and the great Protestant Reformation was based on the idea of the Bible as the only authority in matters of religion. Christ himself said:— “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt. 4:4. The apostle Paul (about A. D. 3-67) bore testimony concerning the Word of God:— “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12. The Fathers of the early centuries clearly stated the sufficiency of the Scriptures in all matters of faith. St. Basil (A. D. 329-379) said:— “Without doubt it is a most manifest fall from faith and a most certain sign of pride, to introduce anything that is not written in the Scriptures, our blessed Saviour having said, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and the voice of strangers they will not hear;’ and to detract from Scripture, or to add anything to the faith that is not there, is most manifestly forbidden by the apostle, saying, ‘If it be but a man’s testament, no man addeth thereto.’”—St. Basil, “De Fide,” (Garnier’s ed.), ii, 313, quoted in George Salmon’s “The Infallibility of the Church,” London, John Murray, 1890, page 143. Likewise St. Jerome (A. D. 340-420) said:— “As we accept those things that are written, so we reject those things that are not written.”—St. Jerome, “Adv. Helvid.,” quoted in George Salmon’s “The Infallibility of the Church,” London, John Murray, 1890, page 147. The Reformers, at the Diet of Spires, 1529, stated their position clearly:— “Now, seeing that there is great diversity of opinion in this respect; that there is no sure doctrine but such as is conformable to the Word of God; that the Lord forbids the teaching of any other doctrine; that each text of the Holy Scriptures ought to be explained by other and clearer texts; that this Holy Book is, in all things, necessary for the Christian, easy of understanding, and calculated to scatter the darkness,—we are resolved, with the grace of God, to maintain the pure and exclusive preaching5of his only Word, such as it is contained in the Biblical books of the Old and New Testaments, without adding anything thereto that may be contrary to it. This Word is the only truth; it is the sure rule of all doctrine and of all life, and can never fail or deceive us.”—J. H. M. D’Aubigne’s “History of the Great Reformation” (ed. by M. L. Simons), Philadelphia, Porter & Coates, 1870, pages 447, 448 (book 13, sec. 5). Even Roman Catholic popes have recognized the importance of the reading and study of the Bible. Pope Pius VI (1778) wrote:— “You judge exceedingly well that the faithful should be excited to the reading of the Bible; for this is the most abundant source which ought to be left open to every one to draw from it purity of morals and of doctrine.”—Quoted in “The Catholic Church and the Bible” (pamphlet), International Catholic Truth Society, Brooklyn, N. Y., page 1. Also Pius VII (1820) wrote to the English bishops:— “Nothing can be more useful, more consolatory, more animating; because the Holy Scriptures serve to confirm the faith, to support the hope, and to inflame the charity of the true Christian.”—Ib. One pope even went so far as to offer an indulgence to those who would regularly and systematically read the Bible, as the following extract shows:— “His Holiness Leo XIII, at an audience on Dec. 13, 1898, with the undersigned prefect of the Congregation of Indulgences and Relics, made known that he grants to all the faithful who shall have devoutly read the Scriptures for at least a quarter of an hour, an indulgence of three hundred days, to be gained once a day, provided that the edition of the Gospel has been approved by legitimate authority. Furthermore, the sovereign pontiff grants monthly a plenary indulgence to all those who shall have read in this way every day of the month. It can be gained on the day of the month when, after confession and communion, those who have fulfilled the conditions shall have offered up the customary prayers for the intentions of the Holy See.”—Id., page 2. In Robert Pinkerton’s “Russia” is a very interesting document on the “Comparison of the Differences in Doctrines of Faith Betwixt the Eastern and Western Churches.” This document was prepared by Philaret, the metropolitan of Moscow, and given to Robert Pinkerton, an agent of the Bible Society, who translated it and published it in the above-mentioned book. The third, fifth, and sixth articles read:— “Everything necessary to salvation is stated in the Holy Scriptures with such clearness that every one reading it with a sincere desire to be enlightened, can understand it.” “Every one has not only a right, but it is his bounden duty, to read the Holy Scriptures in a language which he understands, and edify himself thereby.” “Holy Scripture, being the word of God himself, is the only supreme judge of controversies, and the decider of misunderstandings in matters of faith.”—Robert Pinkerton, “Russia,” London, Seeley and Sons, 1833, pages 42, 43, arts. 3, 5, 6, of Philaret’s “Comparison of the Differences in Doctrines of Faith Betwixt the Eastern and Western Churches.” The sixth article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England, states the position of that church in this matter:— “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture, we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testaments of whose authority was never any doubt in the church.”—“Sermons or Homilies,” London, the Prayer Book and Homily Society, 1817, page 572. Alexander Campbell, the leading pioneer of the Christian Church, expresses the position of that denomination:— “We take the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, as the foundation of all Christian union and communion. . . . The Bible, or the Old and New Testaments in Hebrew and Greek, contains a full and perfect revelation of God and his will, adapted to man as he now is.”—Alexander Campbell, “The Christian System,” Forrester & Campbell, Pittsburgh, 1830, preface, pages 12-15. We can hardly close this article without a quotation from Mrs. Ellen G. White, a pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church:— “A book has been given us to guide our feet through the perils of this dark world to heaven. It tells us how we can escape the wrath of God, and also tells of the sufferings of Christ for us, the great sacrifice that has been made that we might be saved and enjoy the presence of God forever. And if any come short at last, having heard the truth as they have in this land of light, it will be their own fault; they will be without excuse. The Word of God tells us how we may become perfect Christians.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. I, pages 125, 126.