Can the Bible Be Trusted? Part 5

In this material, we will examine the last of seven principles proving Divine protection over Scripture - God's Prime Directive.

Remember, man cannot be trusted with the greatest message of all time. In order to be sure of God's message, always let the Bible interpret the Bible. Use it in your personal Bible study. Test every preacher, teacher, and church leader by it. Filter all doctrines through it. Let the Bible speak for itself!

Principles of the Divine Preservation of Scripture

#7 God's Prime Directive

Calvinists who mock the need for Scripture referencing often challenge me online and imply that I am obsessed with quoting the Bible. One Calvinist even posted the following equation "Human wisdom > God's word."

I have two emotions when I see their mockery:

1. Blessed by association - "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12, NIV)
   
   
2. Concerned for their soul - "ALL AUTHORITY" in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have COMMANDED you." (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV) Those who mock the use of Scripture, mock the commands of Christ!

The final principle from God's preservation of Scripture is the prime directive found in Matthew 28:18-20 (above), otherwise known as the Great Commission. 

Before leaving the planet, Jesus gave His followers an assignment to work on while He was away. He commissioned us to go into all the world and acknowledge that only He has "authority" as we train "disciples" in the principles that He "commanded." Without providential protection of that resource, all three of those assignments would be impossible.

1.  "all authority" - Today we have Catholic Popes who claim to speak in God's place (ex cathedra). We have Calvinists who exploit their supposed "election" and slant the message in order to validate Calvin. We have Muslims who dismiss the biblical record in favor of the words of Muhammad. And the list goes on. Without the heavenly assurance that "ALL authority" remains in the hands of Jesus, there is no basis for personal Bible study. 
   
   
2. "make disciples" - The only way to safeguard this process is for the Lord to remain the standard. The moment we begin to distrust the providential protection of Scripture, we begin to make disciples of ourselves. 
But how do we know for sure what is of the Lord and what is not? See the third part of this commission. 
   
   
3. "commanded" - Without God preserving these commands, the attempt to pass them on is futile. As in the second point ("make disciples"), the Lord's commands will quickly become man's commands unless there is some kind of Divine record to hold man accountable.

Conclusion

The prime directive of Matthew 28:18-20 demands that the message of Scripture is providentially preserved, otherwise, fulfillment of "The Great Commission" is impossible. In order to be sure of God's message, always let the Bible interpret the Bible.

Series Summary

In this study, we have looked at 7 important principles of the Divine preservation of Scripture.

1. God's Promise
2. God's Presentation
3. God's Parallels
4. God's Protection
5. God's Prophecy
6. God's Priming
7. God's Prime Directive

Yes, you can trust in the Divine preservation of the inspired Word. Trust in it for your personal Bible study. Use it to test every preacher, teacher, and church leader. Believe that it is capable of filtering out all false doctrines.

Man cannot be trusted with the greatest message of all time. In order to be sure of God's message, always let the Bible interpret the Bible.

Missed the first four parts of this study? Go to:
Can the Bible Be Trusted? "Part 1"
                                           "Part 2"
                                           "Part 3"
                                           "Part 4"

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