Just how does the Bible function in the life of a believer? Clearly the Bible is, to the Christian, not merely a book, but is the very word of God. So, it has a different role than other books.
First, the Bible is how God want’s believers to make sense of human experience. The Bible is God’s interpretation, his take on things, his view. The assumption the Christian makes is that God’s view should be our view, so it is the responsibility of the Christian to read experience through the lens of scripture, to think about things in the way God wants us to think about them.
Third, the Bible is the script for the life of a believer. We take up our scripture and speak and act according to it. This means that the Bible is something we accord with ethically. An action is morally right or wrong according to the framework of the Bible’s ethical teaching.
Fourth, the Bible is the support upon which a life is built. It is the foundation upon which one should rest. If you stand on it you are like the wise man who builds his house on the rock. And because the Bible is as sure as its author it does not move under-feet when the waves come crashing in.
Finally, the Bible has supremacy over the life of the believer It is the authority or rule of life. What the Bible says is true and binding upon us. The wise man who builds his house on the rick is not merely one who listens but one who obeys.
Remember – sense, story, script, support and supremacy.
