Use and Value of the Bible:
The Manual for Today's Church
The Word of God is inerrant and infallible - It is without error, incapable of error, and true for all times. It is vitally important that believers believe this pivotal doctrine about the truthfulness of Scripture. However, this belief, by itself, is not enough; it must be combined with belief in the applicability and sufficiency of Scripture. To believe in the infallibility of Scripture without applying it to each and every situation and choice is to discredit it as useless in the realities of everyday life. To believe in the infallibility of Scripture and try to mix it with other ideas is to say that Scripture is not adequate for all of life.
Along with inerrancy and infallibility, we must also believe the Bible is applicable and sufficient. We must realize God has given His people specific and sufficient directions for how to live. He has not left us 'in the dark' concerning anything pertaining to our life in Him. His instructions cover not only individual believers but the body of believers as well. In His Word, God has given us His prescriptions for everything that pertains to His body, the church. We do not have to shop around in the world's market of men's ideas, popularity, convenience, tradition, or pragmatism. Instead, we are to search the Scriptures to see the directions they give. They reveal a wealth of perfectly-designed plans for the church.
These prescriptions are effective for defining and describing the church, designing the church, developing the church, and directing the church. Not following God's directions for the church creates unhealthy conditions for the birth and growth of Christian disciples. Following God's directions produces a healthy church - a group of people committed to serving God in obedience with love. (See John 14:21.)
Sometimes, the biggest barrier to implementing Biblical directions for the church is religious tradition - "We have done it this way for as long as I can remember." It is important to realize tradition of a church may actually be relatively young compared to twenty centuries of church practice and belief.
If this is the case and tradition is different than Scripture - contrary to, an addition to, or less than Scriptural instructions - it must be replaced with principles from God's Word. Since Christ is the head of the church, the church must submit to His Word.
Certainly, Christ has given believers freedom in some areas, but these freedoms must operate within the parameters of revealed truths about Christ's church. God's revealed will is the only prescription that will remedy the ills of the church.
A church can ascertain its state of spiritual health by comparing itself with Biblical teachings about the church. The "Checklist of the Health of a Church" contains some items the Bible prescribes for the church and describes about the church.
"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything." Colossians 1:16-18
