Guest columnist questioned
I kindly ask that James Sloan and his readers reconsider what is or is not written by God.
In a recent guest column, Mr. Sloan wrote, “The Ten Commandments, cut into stone by God’s own hand, are the only written words of God. Everything else you read in the Bible was written by man.”
It seems that he was not referring to how the Bible was physically penned down but that he meant that “everything else” came only from a man’s mind and was not inspired by God. That may not have been Mr. Sloan’s intention. In any case, I address this to those who believe the Bible or parts of it are man’s invention.
I must ask, “How do you prove that God did not give His own words to the men who wrote down the whole Bible?” You may not realize it, but you are claiming that you are the ultimate authority who can positively refute this Bible statement: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (I Timothy 3:16) You are contradicting the phrase found many times in the book of Jeremiah: “Then the word of the Lord came unto me.” Jesus, who clearly said that He is God Himself, confirmed the authority of the Scriptures beyond the Ten Commandments when He said, “…all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.” (Luke 24:44)
Saying that you know that these are untrue man-made statements, you are claiming to have omnipresence (being present at the time and place of each writing) and omniscience (being all-knowing as to whether God was truly inspiring each writer).
Neither you nor I can be the ultimate authority of truth. God himself in the Bible makes that claim and does not appeal to anything else as necessary proof. Anyone claiming to be the ultimate authority should do just that. God, who truly is omnipresent, omniscient, and perfectly truthful, is the only one who could logically make the claim of ultimate authority. No human being will ever have those qualities.
God has graciously shown us that his word is trustworthy. One of the ways God did that was by giving us hundreds of detailed prophecies which were fulfilled, many of them concerning Jesus, as He stated in the verse previously given.
When Mr. Sloan stated that “God loves all mankind and wants all mankind to come to Him for redemption,” he was correct, agreeing with what our truthful God says in the familiar words of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The fact that we must believe in the Son (Jesus) or else perish is related to the Ten Commandments. God tells us “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20) The Ten Commandments show us our sinfulness because we all break those commands. But about redemption, God says we can be “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…through faith in his blood…” (Romans 3:24,25) We admit our sinfulness and trust the risen Christ and his payment in our place.
I appeal to all readers not to make themselves the ultimate authority over God and his word but to submit themselves to him and his wonderful truth in every word of the scripture.
Andrea Tressler is a resident of South Connellsville.