Did ANY Church give the Bible to the World?

At least one denomination claims that it gave the Bible to the world. It and many others claim that no one can or has the right to read and understand the Bible privately (i.e.) without their teachers. They place the authority of their churches between the Bible and the individual.

Is the Bible a product of any church OR is the "church" a product of the Bible? Since the Old Testament was in general use long before the church was established, the church could not possibly have given the Old Testament to the world. What about the New Testament, which records the history of the fulfillment of the Old Testament, gives the life of Christ and His disciples and relates the establishment of and the doctrines of the church? The church, that is, the body of Christ [EPH 1:22, 23], or household of faith [GAL 6:10], is the product of the Word of God–the Bible [ROM 10:17]. If the church did not give the Bible to the world, then who did give us the Bible? The Bible, itself, answers this question when it says: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit [2PE 1:21] and further that, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God [2TI 3:16]. We see, therefore, that God, Himself, gave the Bible to the world.

According to Hebrews 1:1, 2 God in the Old Testament days spoke to the fathers by the prophets, but in the New Testament days He has spoken to us by His Son. In our day God speaks to us only through His Word–the Bible.

The gospel message, when preached by the disciples, was received as the Word of God by those who heard and obeyed it [ACT 2:37-42]. The same message, when written in books and letters (which make up our New Testament) was received as the inspired Word of God by the churches to whom they were addressed [JUD 1:3, 17; 2PE 3:2, 3, 15, 16]. The church or churches did not make the Bible, THEY RECEIVED IT. The Bible contains its own claim to and bears its own evidence of being God-breathed.

The authority of the Bible is not a result of, or based on, the authority of any man, church, or church council. The authority of the Bible is due totally to the fact that it has God as its author. It is His revelation of Himself and His will, written for the benefit of every man. Every man is responsible to God for what he does with God’s message to him. In the day of judgment no pastor, priest, or pope is going to stand by you to plead your case. You will stand there to answer for yourself unless you are a Christian and then the Lord Jesus Christ will be your advocate and plead your case. Your excuse, "But the church told me so and so" will avail you nothing in that day. JESUS SAID: They have Moses and the prophets (the Bible) let them hear them [LUK 16:29].

The Bible, with its gracious offer of pardon to all who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, originated not with ANY "church" but with God. God has made His Word availible through the centuries because He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [2PE 3:9].

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This Page Last Updated: 12/05/98 A. Allison Lewis aalewis@christianbeliefs.org