THE BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THE Christian Union of April 4 contains the following question and answer:— "Will you please tell me what authority there is for believing the Gospels to be anything more than the honest narratives of men who had lived with Christ; also the Epistles to be anything more than the counsels of wise and good men, not inspired—that is, not having the words put into their mouths by the Holy Ghost?" "The Gospels themselves do not profess to be anything more. In the Epistles it is asserted that 'we speak in words which the Spirit teacheth.' 1 Cor. 2:13. 'Words' here means 'discourse' rather than the grammatical parts of speech—that is, the ideal rather than the material element of language. To be inspired is not identical with having the words put into the mouth by the Spirit. That the Gospels and Epistles are inspired is plain from the fact that they are inspiring. Their inspiration is seen in the moral and spiritual power which they exert upon the conscience, and attests the illumination of their own consciences by the Spirit of Truth. But that this illumination was such as to exclude all error in whatever they wrote, although it is a tenet of local and provincial belief, is no part of the faith of the church catholic." We do not propose to give a dissertation on inspiration, but we do want to protest against the passing of such theories as the above under the name of "Christian." To say that the Scriptures are to be considered as inspired if they are inspiring, but that the illumination of the writers was not such as to exclude all error in what they wrote, is simply to place them on a level with the writings of Shakespeare, Scott, Milton, and Macaulay. Some people are never moved by the reading of the Scriptures; then, according to the theory of the Christian Union, the Scriptures are not inspired to such ones. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." So then the Christian Union would have us believe that the Scriptures are not inspired to worldlings. Its theory, by denying that they are indeed "the Scriptures of truth," makes it useless to preach to sinners, for there is nothing to reach them with. If only the Christian Union were concerned in this matter, we should not say anything; but there are God-fearing men who rest all their hope on the truthfulness of the Bible, who have been caught by this theory, which virtually undermines their hope. We say that the theory that men are to judge of the inspiration of the Bible by the impression which it makes upon them, is the foundation of heathenism. Thus, it makes man a judge of God. To be able to decide upon the kind and degree of inspiration in any given passage, is to be able to know the mind of the Spirit of God. And the man who measures the inspiration of the Bible by his own understanding of it, makes himself equal with God; indeed, he makes himself a god; for he virtually declares that his own mind is the rule for himself. When he pursues a certain course, he does so, not because the Bible says so, but because he wants to. He has no higher standard of right and wrong than himself. There are men who have held these loose views of inspiration who have yet been good Bible Christians, but only because they have not followed out their theories; but the effect of their teaching on others is often most disastrous. To us it seems a terrible thing to sit in judgment upon God. The man who accepts as inspired only what commends itself to his judgment and understanding, either lifts himself up to the level of God, or else brings God down to his own level, which is the same thing. He says in effect that God cannot know any more than he does, and he really makes his own Bible. As we said before, men may hold such a theory as a theory which they have never, even in thought, followed to its end, and may remain earnest, God-fearing Christians; but what must be the effect of such a theory upon those whose Christian character is wholly unformed? We earnestly exhort every reader of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES to accept the following theory of the Bible as the only safe one, even if they do not comprehend to the full the mind of the Spirit of God:— "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. "Every word of God is pure; he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Prov. 30:5, 6. "Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar." Rom. 3:4.