Taking the Bible Seriously

I am watching over My word to perform it.

–Jeremiah 1:12

The Bible is not only a reliable historical document; it is God’s message to us. It’s one thing to take the Bible literally, but we need to take it seriously as well. Let me share why the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture are important to us today.

First of all, the Bible frees us to live God-honoring lives. Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.” We often become bound up in wrong ways of thinking that lead to wrong behavior. We believe we’re responsible for our own well-being, so we’re bound up in anxiety. We believe money is the key to happiness, so we’re bound up in greed. We believe retaliation is the best response to wrongdoing, so we’re bound up in bitterness. But the Bible cuts through our wrong thinking and frees us to pursue the lives God wants for us.

Second, the Bible guides us. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” God’s Word illuminates the next step we need to take to follow Him.

Finally, the Bible inspires us, lifting us beyond our present circumstances to see God’s view of the world and our lives. When we read the Bible, sometimes we think, How do these people relate to me in the twenty-first century? Just as God was faithful in working out His will in the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago, He is working out His plan in our lives today. In Jeremiah 1:12, the Lord said, “I am watching over My word to perform it.” Friend, God is going to perform His Word in your life, and the Bible is a reminder to have faith in His plan.

1. L. Moody wrote, “If all the time that I have prayed for faith was put together, it would be months. . . . But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, ‘Now faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.’ I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since.”

Are you ready for your faith to grow? Then the best investment of your life is to search the riches of God’s Word and apply His timeless wisdom today.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Bible” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

D. L. Moody, Pleasure and Profit in Bible Study (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1895), 87–88.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.