Friends have suggested that I post this devotional as a sermon rather than just an illustration. It is not a full sermon but it conveys the truth that the Bible is more than inerrant, more than infallible, more than inspired. The Bible is the Living Word of God.
My Little Red Bible - The Living Word of God
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful..."
When I was 6 years old my parents gave me a little red Bible. Today, if you saw it, you would say that it has surely seen better days. Every time I pick it up it loses a little more of its cover. But I remember, as a child, being so proud that I had my own Bible to take to church every Sunday.
When I was 10 years old, I noticed something about my little red Bible that I had not seen before. On the spine was this phrase, “The Living Word of God.” I remember asking my mother what that meant. She explained that the Bible is unlike any other book. The Bible is alive. It speaks to us. Mother was right. Other books may include truths that inspire us. But only the Bible speaks the Word and the words of God.
Soon the Bible spoke to me about my need to accept Christ as my Savior and I did. A few years later, God used the Bible to speak to me about His plan for my life.
Following that call to ministry, I went to a Christian college and majored in religion. In several of my biblical studies classes we discussed whether the Bible was the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God. I thought again about my little red Bible. I concluded that the Bible is inspired, infallible, and inerrant, but it is even more. It is the living Word of God.
When I went to seminary, I took classes where we had those same discussions about the Bible. I studied textual criticism, literary criticism, and more. Again, I went back to that phrase on my little red Bible. The Living Word of God.
Soon I moved to my first pastorate. One day a member asked if she could speak with me after the worship service. She was a delightful woman, a high school English teacher. I agreed to meet with her. She began our conversation with “Brother Perry, I would like to help you with something.” I wasn’t sure that I was going to enjoy the conversation, but I told her that I welcomed any help she could provide.
She continued. “Often in your sermons you say, ‘The Bible says’." I agreed with her. Then she said, “Actually, technically, in the English language, you should say, ‘The Bible reads’." The first thing that came to my mind was those words on my little red Bible. “The Living Word of God.” I thanked her for her help, but I continued Sunday after Sunday saying, “The Bible says.”
It was then that I considered the difference between those two phrases, “The Bible reads” and “The Bible says.” When we say, “The Bible reads.” we refer only to the actual words on the page. When we say, “The Bible says.” we refer to what the Bible does. It speaks to our hearts.
After several years serving as a pastor, I became a seminary professor. I remember one day when a student asked me if I believed that the Bible was truth without any mixture of error. I affirmed my belief in that statement, but I challenged my student with the thought that I had considered earlier in my ministry. I said, “The Bible is more than truth without any mixture of error." I waited for the student’s response. He, of course, had no idea what I meant so I continued, “Those terms describe what the Bible is, not what the Bible does. The Bible speaks to us because it is the living Word of God.”
Beyond the truth that the Bible speaks is the fact that the Bible speaks in new ways every time we read it. I can read a passage that I read twenty years ago and today it has new meaning for my life. Isn’t that incredible?
By now, you may think that I worship the Bible. No. I worship the God of the Bible. But I know who God is, what He is like, and what he wants me to do with my life because He speaks to me from His living Word.
I don’t know what you think about the Bible. Most of us would agree that we need something outside ourselves that serves as a guide for living, something that doesn’t change, something that provides us with knowledge and wisdom. The Bible does all of that and more. It tells us the truth about ourselves. We have a hard time living our lives with integrity. We fail. We falter. We sin. We’re selfish. We want to be the captains of our own souls. The Bible itself tells us how that choice ends. “There is a way that seems right to man but the end is destruction.” The Bible also gives us the remedy for our predicament. Jesus.
So let me challenge you to read the Bible. Let God speak to you through His Word. Begin by reading the Gospel of John. Let me help you with that first verse. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Continue reading and I assure you that the Bible will change your life.
My little red Bible sits on a shelf in my home. I see it every day. It reminds me of how it has shaped and directed my life all these years. And when I read it and let it speak to me, I make the right choices. I spend my days serving God and serving others. I find strength and comfort and hope for one reason and one reason only, because the Bible speaks. It is the Living Word of God.
