THE WORD OF GOD TODAY.

"Our gracious Queen - we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is wisdom. This is the Royal Law: these are the lively Oracles of God...."

The word of God is priceless, its authority is supreme and final, its commandments are divine and its counsels are living, life-changing and eternal.

Yet the vast majority of people in our land today never hear it, never read it, never study it - and as far as they are concerned they treat it as though it were worthless.

The Bible has always been devalued. questioned, criticised and denounced by Atheists, Agnostics, Unbelievers, Freethinkers and those of other world religions. This was to be expected. But the Authorised Version during the past 30 years has in turn been neglected, abandoned, rejected and even denounced by those who were once its friends!

Have you ever wondered why the word of God. which has had such a God-blessed history is meeting such increasing antagonism as Christians favour and use one or more of the new Bible versions of today?

Here is a Book that reveals the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of those who believe. It has been doing so for more people in the world for the longest period of time. Christian Creeds have been fashioned upon it which have served us for centuries and of it one has said: 'It contains light to direct you, food to support you, truth to enlighten you.. Christ is its Grand Subject, our good its design and the glory of GOD its primary end.

There are still many Christians today who have come to regard and receive it, not as the word of men, but as the word of God. (See 1 Thessalonians 2:13). It is obviously very important that we come to it in order to learn of God and Christ in the right way. We must come to it with simple childlike hearts.

My wife and I were reminded of this very important attitude in our devotions one morning. Here is the hymn we read:

Lamp of our feet. whereby we trace, Our path when wont to stray:
Stream, from the fount of heavenly grace: Brook, by the traveller's way:

Bread of our souls, whereon we feed: True Manna front on high:
Our guide and chart, wherein we read, Of realms beyond the sky.

Pillar of fire, through watches dark, Or radiant cloud by day:
When waves would 'whelm our tossing bark, Our anchor and our stay:

WORD OF THE EVER LIVING GOD, Will of His glorious Son,
Without thee how could earth be trod, Or heaven itself be won!

Yet to unfold thy hidden worth, Thy mysteries to reveal,
That Spirit which first gave thee forth, Thy volume must unseal.

And we... if we aright would learn The wisdom it imparts,
Must to its heavenly teaching turn, WITH SIMPLE CHILDLIKE HEARTS..
 

(Psalm 119:18)

Very few would fail to see the high regard that Bernard Barton, the author of these lines, had for the Holy Bible. He lived between 1784 and 1849. There is little doubt as to which Bible he preferred.

He describes in these twenty lines what that Bible means to him. Is he making too much of it? Is this an example of that Bible idolatry of which some accuse us? No, I think not. It reflects that reverent, God-given appreciation of one who believes he has found in his Bible THE WORD OF GOD TODAY. More than this, he describes how we too can discover its hidden worth and heavenly teaching. Now, that is something worth knowing in a day of unbelief and ungodliness.

He is not alone. Thousands in every age have found these things for themselves. I speak from personal experience. I recall in my late teens having a thirst for knowledge. I spent a lot of time in the local library reading books on science, philosophy, poetry, yes, even the Bible, but never discovering its hidden worth. It was to me a book of antiquity, a book of wise sayings, but a book completely unrelated to my daily life.

It was only when, in the goodness of God, I became a Christian that I began to read it with the right attitude as described by Bernard Barton in the last two lines of his hymn. You see, half a century has given me time to reflect on the truth of such hymns as:
    "Lord, Thy word abideth, Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood........."

I feel very sad for those younger Christians who tell me they have tried this version, and that version, sometimes over many years - "wandered in the wilderness of modern versions" as one person put it. This is an aspect of versionism today that is not realised by many today - uncertainty!

It may sound strange, but it is true, that an increasing number of Christians during the past 30 years have been losing that high view of Holy Scripture as the word of God today - which was once so common. Indeed some statistics between 1982 and 1992 have shown us that the number of Christians in the U.K. who read the Bible several times a week fell from 8% to 5% in ten years. This is taken from a report by Kaare Melhus in page 8 of 'World Evangelization' No.67, June 1994. In the same issue we read: "The negative approach to the Bible in the theological colleges has reduced the value given to the Bible by the hierarchy and by many if not most of the ministers and pastors." (Tom Houston.)

Some will be surprised at these reports. It has been argued that with the Bible being made more readable, many more would read it. We have now many modern versions, some of which have been revised yet again in the past 30 years. We have politically correct versions, inclusive versions, editions for all ages and sections of society. In one popular version we even have a 'fun' edition.

Could it be that it is because we have so many different, changing and never final versions that the true word of God is not recognised? It is not so easy to find faith in one Bible among so many that the publishers are telling us are 'more accurate' or 'closer to the originals'. Could this be why even Christians are devaluing and reading less the traditional Bible today?

Following my father's death (being the only child) I began to sort out his belongings. In his work shed (my father was a great hoarder) I discovered some 19 hammers in all kinds of odd places. Relations being present on one occasion I laid them out and invited them to take what they wanted. Some eight were taken but this still left me with nearly a dozen. In some strange way, my regard for my once treasured hammer wilted and I had them all over the place. I tended to wander from hammer to hammer, some of which I found did not do the jobs nearly as well. I began to search for my former faithful hammer, but sad to say, partly through lack of use and devaluation in my sight, I could not find it - and have never found it since. Jeremiah 23:29 draws these ideas together..