Some people look at the Bible and see two halves: New and Old. Relevant and obsolete. True and flexibly true, but only if you have context and understand the culture and know all the nuances of the language and translation and you can't take it too literally . . .
It distresses me in a very real way: the thought that people can possibly doubt the TRUTH of the entire Word. Truth is not just the Gospels, not just the New Testament, but the entire Word of God from beginning to end, and contrary to what too many believe, the thread of truth is consistent, unbroken, from cover to infallible cover.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ~2 Timothy 3:16
First of all, God does not change. Quote: For I am the Lord, I change not. ~Mal. 3:6
The same God who created the world, led Israel from Egypt, and preserved his Holy People was the God who came to earth in the form of a carpenter's son to shed his blood for all humanity. It's not Good Cop and Bad Cop, Punisher and Redeemer; it's one, perfect Creator, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen. ~Heb 13:8
God is:
Just: He rewards everyone according to their deeds. People worthy of punishment received their punishment in the Old Testament, and people worthy of condemnation will receive their condemnation at the end of all time, but in the same way, the faithful have been and always will be rewarded for their faithfulness. God's justice is perfect.
Merciful: God gives everyone a chance. Always. Sometimes way more than one. All you have to do is read the Old Testament to know that He is a God of second/third/fourth/and so on chances, so anyone who calls Him a cruel, unloving God has no idea who He is at all.
A Redeemer: God rescued His people from too many dangers, enemies, trials, and enslavements to list, not to mention the salvation He offered all those who would follow Him—not just the Jews. Today, He is the same. Still offering free salvation to anyone and everyone who follows Him, obeys Him and accepts, still calling His people to repent and return to the God who loves them and made them.
True: When God speaks, it is absolute truth, yesterday, today, and forever. When He spoke the world into existence, it is TRUE. When he gave the Ten Commandments, they are TRUE. When He promised to sustain and be faithful to His people, it is TRUE then, now, always! What He says through his servants the Apostles is TRUE—those words are His, their writers merely pens. Every word in His Word is eternally TRUE, and that is what the faithful Christian has to stand on, stronger than an ever-shifting culture, stronger than a society where everything goes, stronger than the test of millennia or the lie that is relative truth. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done in truth. ~Psalm 33:4
That's the Unbroken Thread that holds the entire Scripture together: the thread of Absolute Truth on which we stand who follow Christ. To question this Truth is to question Christ himself, for Christ is the Word, and the Word is Christ, and he himself shows us in John 17:17 that, "Thy word"—the Lord's word—"is truth". Amen.
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