Test yourself in your regard for the Word of God

This post piggy backs off of a previous post titled submission. I am concerned on how we view and approach the Word of God. Here I have given a few verses and questions to test ourselves in.

Joshua 1:7-8: "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Questions: Are you careful to obey the Word? Do you believe that the Bible has the best and wisest things to say about the most important topics of human existence? Do you believe that aligning yourself to the teachings of Scripture bring life, peace, a life that flourishes, and success (not success in a worldly sense but success in God's eyes: being conformed to his image, growing in faith, and growing to love Him and others more)?

Psalm 19:7-11:

The law of the LORD is perfect,
   refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
   making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
   giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
   giving light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
   enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
   and all of them are righteous.  ¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
   than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
   than honey from the honeycomb.
¹¹ By them your servant is warned;
   in keeping them there is great reward.

Questions: Do you regard the Word of God as highly as this psalmist did? As more precious than gold, food for your soul that is sweeter than anything else?

2 Timothy 3:16-17: "ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is USEFUL for TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING and TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 

Questions: Do I believe that all of Scripture is 1. God breathed and 2. useful? How is this passage useful for teaching me, rebuking me, or training me IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (or to conform me to the image of Christ in my mind and heart to be seen in my life--my actions, attitudes, responses, relationships, etc)?

A few more questions to ask yourself in order to test yourself in your regard for the Word of God:

• Do I come to the Word with my opinions already formed on a certain subject? Where, by whom, and how were these opinions shaped (self, teachers, parents, authors, friends, popular ideas and values of the culture, etc)? What makes you think that these sources are more reliable than the Bible?
• Do I subtly reject certain commands because they do not fit into my cultural or personal preferences? ie do I read something challenging, cringe a little bit, and just say, "hmmm, I don't totally understand or like that, so it either a. must not apply today, or b. there must be some clever explanation for how I could interpret that to align with my desires, or c. I will just kind of pass over that and forget about it.
• How do I deal with challenging or counter-cultural passages? Do I ask questions, exploring to find out what it means in order to obey/align myself with it whatever the cost? Or do I only seek answers/sources that will tell me what I want to hear? There is a verse in 2 Timothy 4:3 that says: "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." Does this verse convict you? It sure convicts me!
• If you are looking for advice in an area that is near and dear to your actual life (like a relationship, dating/marriage, parenting, decision making, career, dealing with finances,  etc) do you seek out human counsel before searching the Word as thoroughly as you can to find what might apply to that topic? 2 Peter 1:3 says: "God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." I believe he has given that to us by his Word and the Spirit inside of us.

1 Corinthians 2: 10-16: "For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For,
   “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
      Who knows enough to teach him?”
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ."

WOW. We have access to the mind and heart of God because of the Spirit that dwells inside of us. Do you believe this? Do you expect to hear from God and for him to reveal himself, his ways, and his directives to you? Do you trust the moral and spiritual knowledge that dwells within you because of the Spirit inside of you and that is found in the Word of God? Do you trust that the Bible is the authority on reality and what is supremely true about God, about the world, about you, and about everything? Do you trust that the Bible has the most important things to say about the most important topics in life? Do you believe that God is the most brilliant mind there is and the ultimate standard of wisdom and knowledge, and therefore the things he has chosen to reveal to us in His word are true north and the trump card of all "wisdom and knowledge" out there? Do you submit your "wisdom" and opinions to the wisdom of the Word, especially given that our wisdom is not only limited but fractured and fallen?

I have been floored recently by the fact that we have the very words of God in our possession. Imagine if you got a letter in the mail from God...literally a letter to you from God. Wouldn't you read it over and over again, hanging on every word? Wouldn't you be filled with total confidence and hope that whatever was written was most certainly true? Wouldn't this letter change your life? So why don't we approach the Word of God this way, viewing it as God's very words to us personally, reading it over and over again, hanging on every word, and believing that every word is most certainly true, to be trusted, obeyed, and stood upon as a firm rock of true north and reality? Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I believe that those black and white (or red) words on the physical pages of the Bible become the real time, living, spoken words of God to you personally when the Holy Spirit (who is present in our reading) takes those words and literally imprints them on your mind and heart. Have you ever noticed that some words seem to jump off the page at you when you are reading? It is important to pay attention to those things that jump off the page because it very well might be the Holy Spirit speaking those words to you, shining his light and revelation of Himself and His ways into your heart. This revelation can reveal your true motives, thoughts, and attitudes, reveal and glorify (make sweeter and more beautiful) the person of Jesus, reveal God's heart for us, exhort, correct, comfort, direct, and transform us. The physical act of reading black and white letters on a page can become a holy communion with the God of the Universe speaking real time holy words to our heart and mind as if these words were written as a love letter to you alone. Do you approach the Word with this eagerness, anticipation, and weightiness? Do you soak up the Words as ultimate truth and reality that will bring life, peace, wholeness, and rest when obeyed and aligned with?

As I read through Proverbs (the great wisdom book), the heart of a wise person is constantly illuminated: he fears God and is open to receiving correction, wisdom, and teaching. This heart reflects a humility that says, "my wisdom, understanding, and opinions are limited and fallen. I need help from above for guidance and higher wisdom and understanding to help me live well (ie an eternally significant life that is pleasing to God) and to avoid unnecessary pain and regret." This heart is constantly contrasted with the fool, who arrogantly goes about his way with an unteachable heart, a false sense of self sufficiency, and a lack of the fear of God. The fool scorns advice and thinks he has what it takes to navigate life for himself. What pain and sorrow awaits the fool.

If you need a healthy dose of humility before God and His Word, just read Job 38-42 where God questions Job: Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!..." and he goes on and on and on and on about how much greater and wiser God is than Job (and you and me). Anyone who remotely fears God will read these chapters and fall prostrate before Him declaring as Job did, “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more," (Job 40:4-5). AND "I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes,” (Job 42:1-6).

The last question to test yourself in is this: The Bible claims of itself many times over that it is the inspired Word of God. Do you believe God is big enough to ensure that the Bible actually is a reliable source of His Words to us? If so, are you going to submit to it as your authority? If not, where else will you turn to find authoritative words of life and what will be your authority?

A few brief notes/thoughts on the Bible being the inspired Word of God:

• We are all leaning on someone or something's authority, whether we think we are or not, and if not the Bible, then what else? Do you really think that you or someone else has more credibility to discern and proclaim truth than this book that was put together by many different people over the span of thousands of years, including the apostles who lived with Jesus and were eye witnesses of his life, death, and resurrection?
• Obeying the Word leads to life, peace, and freedom--it works! Try following this owner's manual to life and you will find that it does in fact lead to "life" and "freedom." John 8:31-33 says: "Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” If we obey this book, we will enter into an experiential knowledge of the truth which will set us free. 
• The New Testament meets the gold standard of historical reliability because it was written down by eyewitnesses within one generation of Jesus' life. The New Testament was written only by apostles, for they alone had the authority to write "Scripture." The books of the New Testament were accepted as the Word of God immediately after they were written, so even though they were "canonized" years later (in response to heresy), the books in the canon had already been accepted by the church for many years and had been circulated widely amongst the churches.  
• Jesus himself verifies the "historical accuracy" of many characters and events in the Old Testament. He taught, spoke about, verified, and accepted the Old Testament as the Word of God. If Jesus himself took the Old Testament to be the Word of God, that is the best evidence to me that it is in fact the inspired Word of God, along with the New Testament.  
• The Bible has an authority and power that stands apart from any other text in the world.