“God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!” I grew up hearing this chorus repeatedly sung in honour of God’s Word. Perhaps you did too.
Whilst the chorus’ message is one to be endorsed, the phrases could do with a bit of reordering, mentally at least. Something along these lines: “God said it, that settles it, and so I believe it!”.
Effecting that change is probably a lost cause, I admit, but maybe not when it comes to our individual approach to the Bible. How do we respond to the claims the Bible makes, the promises it offers, or even the rebukes it lovingly gives? Do we accept them as sufficient and authoritative for the mere fact that God is the ultimate author? Or do we require that additional step taken to believe it before ‘it’ is settled? In order words, what ‘settles it’ for us?
The measure of trustworthiness
Questions such as ‘Is The Bible really the Word of God because it claims to be?’ have been around and will continue to be, so it’s important to consider it, if only for our personal good. The answer is Yes, which undoubtedly involves circular reasoning, i.e., making a point by beginning with an assumption you’re trying to prove.
Kevin DeYoung in his book ‘Taking God at His Word’ offers a viable response to the circularity argument:
“Yes, the logic is circular, but no more so than the secularist defending reason by reason or the scientist touting the authority of science based on science. This doesn’t mean Christians can be irrational and unreasonable in their views, but it does mean our first principle is neither rationality nor reason. We go to the Bible to learn about the Bible because to judge the Bible by any other standard would be to make the Bible less than what it claims to be.”
The real measure of the Bible’s trustworthiness is nothing other than the credibility of its primary author – God. As such, the starting point isn’t so much our response, i.e., faith (or the lack of it), as it is the object of our faith.
What settles it?
The Lord assures us that His word will accomplish the purpose for which it is sent, just like rain that does not return to where it falls from, but waters the earth and makes seeds grow. So yes, we can and should ‘take-it-to-the-bank’.
As we may already know, The Word doesn’t always rub us the right way. Sometimes it troubles our comfort zones, and we futilely hope it wouldn’t ask so much of us, yet it does!
Beyond the order of a melodious chorus, our attitude towards The Word is what really tells what settles it for us. Do you trust The God of The Word enough to consciously take Him at His word?
Thanks for reading!
Sike Osinuga