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Fred Craddock tells the story of a young lady standing before a mirror and she doesn't like what she sees. She looks in the medicine cabinet and reaches for a prescription. She empties the bottle into her hand and is ready to take all of the pills and end the life that she feels is not worth living. As she raises the pills to her mouth, a thought comes to her mind, from where she knows not. That thought is, "He cares for you."

Days later in the counselor's office she details that experience and says again, "The words came to me as if from nothing. 'He cares for you.' "

The counselor asks, "Do you know where that came from?"

She answers, "No, I do not."

The counselor says, "It came from the Bible."

"From the Bible? Are you sure?"

"Yes, it came from the Bible."

"I'm not a religious person; growing up we never went to church. I don't know where I heard it."

The counselor says, "No, you don't know, but it was there hidden in the recesses of your mind. Somewhere, sometime, someone planted a word, and when it was needed, it was there." It was sufficient. A word from the Word was implanted, was recalled, and was sufficient when needed.

Paul knew that in time young Timothy, if the time were not already present, would need a word from the Word. Paul forecasts this time in his second letter to Timothy. "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (vv. 3-4 NIV). Paul's solution for this upcoming peril was for his protégé to accept the charge to be firm in the Word. "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage -- with great patience and careful instruction" (vv. 1-2 NIV). But the wise mentor knew that before his young student could accept the charge about the Word, he must be changed by the Word. We are continually changed by the very Word we are charged to keep.

So, Paul instructs Timothy to remember. "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (vv. 14-15 NIV). Paul's first word is an encouragement for Timothy to remember his teachers, the ones who faithfully taught him the Word in word and deed. Do you remember your teachers? I am sure that as I say this, you are recalling those persons: parents, grandparents, other loved ones, and Sunday school teachers who spent cherished time with you teaching you the word. I remember parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles who read to me bedtime stories about a little man who climbed up a tree, about a wayward son, about a young woman chosen to birth a special baby, and about a teenager who killed a giant. I remember Sigurd Bryan, my mentor at Samford University, who taught me to love the passion and conviction of the Old Testament prophets. I remember Howard Russell who taught me as a teenager and allowed me to teach the class of my peers. I remember Fred Craddock who taught me to seek my story within the great stories of scripture. No doubt, some of you are recalling significant teachers who influenced your life, some within this very church. We remember our teachers with gratitude. Their contribution to our lives is beyond measure.

Paul continued to exhort his young protégé not only to remember his teachers, but their teaching as well "which are able to make you wise unto salvation by faith in Jesus Christ" (v. 15). Salvation here carries the connotation of "wholeness." Salvation through Jesus is a gift of God that gives to our lives wholeness, unity, coherence, and togetherness as opposed to a life that is fragmented, disjointed, or falling apart. The word gives to us wholeness. This is especially pertinent because there are those "evil men and imposters who will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (v. 13). These false teachers will teach what they think people will want to hear and actually use the scriptures themselves to manipulate and control (v. 3).

Soon after I went to serve as a pastor of a previous church, I was invited to attend a group meeting. They wanted to show me a particular Bible. They asked, "Have you seen this Bible? This fellow has an interesting concept about a second flood. It occurred between verses 3 and 4 of Genesis 1. It's really not in the scripture, but it occurred."

I said, "Wait a minute. Where did you get all of that?"

"Oh, this fellow has this theory and he has the Bible to back it up."

"He doesn't have the Bible to back that up," I said. "Not that! If God had wanted a second flood between verses 3 and 4 of Genesis 1, God would have put a flood between verses 3 and 4. We are not to add or take away. We're to read, interpret, and apply."

I saw a man interviewed on television. He was trying to sell a book he had written containing theories about the book of Revelation. According to him, there is a creature in the book of Revelation that had symbolic significance attached to each of its toes. "One toe stands for this, another for that," he said, "but if you want to find out what the big toe represents you have to buy the book."

I thought, "Come on, the big toe?"

I do not have to tell you that would-be theologians are not the only ones who have sought to use the Bible for their own self-serving purposes. We ministers just may be the most obvious. Paul's emphasis is that we must not own or use the Bible, but we must allow the scriptures to be the "inspired" Word that it is. "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness" (v. 16 NIV).

Paul professed that the scriptures of his day, the Old Testament, and we believe the New Testament as well, are "inspired of God." First of all the Bible is inspired because it works! It changes lives! And it changes lives because God will not leave it alone. He has been and will be in every aspect of its existence. The word inspiration in the original language means "God-breathed." It is God's book from beginning to end.

God is in the Bible. God is responsible for the Bible. It is God who is seen in the Bible and it is God who speaks through the Bible. The Bible is the written Word of God. In the Bible, God is seen, and in the Bible, God speaks. God has revealed himself, and the record of that revelation is the Bible. Revelation means to "unveil or uncover." God took the initiative to reveal himself to man and inspires men and women to record it, preserve it, translate it, interpret it, and apply it. The word is inspired -- "Godbreathed!"

As I pondered this concept, I wondered, "How does God inspire?" Did he isolate the biblical writers in a cave, put them in a trance, and dictate every word, jot and tittle? Then I asked, "How did he inspire Jesus? Could there be a connection?" In my humble opinion, I believe that the Father inspired the Son through the everyday events of life as he lived it! If Jesus was a mechanical spiritual superman, then why did he have to pray so much? Why did he struggle with the kind of ministry he was to have as seen in the temptation experience? Why did he struggle with God's will for his life, as seen in the Garden of Gethsemane? It was during the everyday occurrences of living that Jesus nurtured his relationship to the Father, exercised faith, and received the word from God. Is that not true for us today? Is not the Holy Spirit just as alive today, operative in our lives to reveal the truth of God and to enable us to recognize God's truth when we see it? The Holy Spirit shows us truth, but not just the truth of God. The Bible through the Holy Spirit shows us God.

God has revealed his personality and his nature in and through the Bible. The most perfect revelation of God, the ultimate revelation of God, is seen in Jesus Christ. The Bible is the written record of God's revelation, which we see most completely in Jesus Christ. If you want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus. If anyone has an idea about God that is different from the revelation of God we see in Jesus Christ, it is untrue. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God and it is Jesus who is the eyes through which we interpret the scriptures.

Everything in the Old Testament is looking forward to some extent to Jesus. The Gospels tell us the story of Jesus, and everything after the Gospels is in some sense looking back to Jesus. This book witnesses uniquely to God's son, Jesus Christ. Any interpretation of the Bible about God that differs with what we see in Jesus Christ is wrong. Jesus is the criterion by which all of scripture is interpreted.

That sounds like a struggle, doesn't it? Well, it is. I do not think that we can properly read, interpret, and apply the Bible without a certain struggle. Let me say this: All scripture, and hear me well, is inspired of God, but not all scripture is equally important. Let me explain what I mean. In Jesus Christ we see the ultimate revelation of God. We know more about God by looking at Jesus than they knew 3,000 years ago. Jesus himself said that some scripture was more significant than others. He said the most important passage of scripture is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:29-31). So, we believe that scripture is progressive in its knowledge about God.

For example, I do not equate "the begats" in the Old Testament with John 3:16. I think John 3:16 is more important. I do not equate the Song of Solomon with the parable of the prodigal son. If I were marooned on a desert island and could have only one book of the Bible, I would choose the Gospel of Matthew over Jude. Get the picture? I am saying that I believe that some scripture is more important than others. If it is of equal importance, one could pull out a proof-text here and there and "prove" just about anything with the Bible. I, also, am saying that the Bible must be interpreted through the words and spirit of Jesus.

Now that means that we sometimes struggle with scripture. How do we solve that struggle? How do we interpret scripture? If some scripture is more important than others, how do we determine which is more important and how do we determine what it means? We can only understand scripture as we understand it through the eyes of faith in Jesus Christ. Only a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit and word of this book can understand this book. We see the book through the spirit of Jesus.

In 1903, a young man in Ukraine became very interested in religion. Every Saturday he went to the priest's home and learned the catechism. He memorized word for word the four Gospels. Think of that. Word for word, he memorized them and recited them non-stop in church. Who was this young man? Nikita Khrushchev!1

It is not enough to know about the Bible. The key to unlocking the meaning of the Bible is the spirit and love of the Lord Jesus Christ as he lives in our hearts and as we live for him by faith. Without that, we cannot properly interpret the scripture. When we come to the scripture, we must look at it afresh and anew, as we become sensitive to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the interpreter of the scripture. The Bible interprets itself as we listen to the Spirit within us, alive and guiding us.

Then I think we must be ready, anticipate, expect, and be willing to struggle with these words. God's word is alive. It's dynamic. It's moving. It breathes life. It breathes the presence of the living God. This book is more than just a rule book. This book is more than a collection of texts, where we try to support what we believe. This is God's book, the God who is alive and who is working in and through our lives each and every day. I believe that same God gives to us the freedom to investigate and challenge our own (and others') ideas about what it means and how it applies.

So, how does the Bible apply to life? How do we interpret the Bible? Try this plan:

1. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God wants you to understand the Bible.

2. Choose a definite place and time for reading and studying. Consistency builds your relationship with God.

3. Begin in the middle! Start with Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Writings of Paul.

4. Then and now. What did this passage mean to the people who first heard it? What does it mean to us?

There are three audiences for each scripture passage:

A. The original audience -- the people who are in the story of the text.

B. The written audience -- the people who read it the first time.

C. The modern audience -- people who have read it since its writing.

5. Interpreting a passage. Consider these questions.

A. Who? Who wrote the passage?

B. When? When was it written?

C. Where? From where and to where was it written?

D. To Whom? Who was the audience? Where are we in the audience?

E. Why? The purpose of the passage, then and now?

F. What? The content of this passage?

G. Type? Is this prose, poetry, a narrative, a parable, history, or something else?

Above all, seek God! Experience the living God who is the source and substance of this living word.

Beyond the sacred page
I seek thee Lord
My Spirit pants for Thee
O living word.

As we seek God through our study and through our day, it is helpful to record in one's journal at the end of the day and answer the question, "How have I experienced God today?" Knowing that we are accountable at the end of the day to answer that question may cause us to be more sensitive to God's movement throughout the day.

Another suggestion is to remember that the Christian journey is a lifelong struggle with scripture. Never do we have all or the final answer. It was true with Jesus. Jesus struggled with scripture. Read Matthew 4. The temptation experience was not so much a struggle of Jesus with Satan or with temptation, as it was a struggle with scripture. Read it again. Every time, Satan tried to tempt Jesus with scripture. In Jesus' day there were two ideas of what the Messiah ought to be. Both were found in scripture. One was the idea of a strong militaristic, nationalistic Messiah who would come in with the sword and destroy all the enemies of Israel. Also, in scripture was the concept of the suffering servant, one who would come and be despised and rejected and would lay down his life as a sacrifice for the nation as found in Isaiah.

Jesus' greatest struggle was not with sin; it was not with Satan. It was not with the scribes and Pharisees and the Roman army, but with scripture -- trying to discern where God was leading him in the kind of ministry he was to have. If Jesus struggled with the scripture, how can we escape it?

"All scripture is inspired," Paul said, "and will make you wise unto wholeness." It is useful for teaching. I talked recently with an individual who is very interested in becoming a member of our church. One of her first concerns was what place scripture has in the teaching of this church. The Bible is the core around which we instruct, lead, and guide. The scripture is for "rebuking" which is to show us where we are wrong. The scripture is able to "correct" us, to show us how to do right. The scripture is able to instruct us in righteousness, to put us in a right stance with God and in a right relationship with man, in order that the man of God and the woman of God might be completely equipped for everything God has called us to do.

Annie Dillard wrote about the Eskimos in Canada, in the great tundra west of Hudson Bay. As the Eskimos travel across that tundra they will get some rocks and make a tower, about the height of a man. They will walk almost until they can no longer see that tower, then gather more rocks and make another tower. That is the way they make their way across that white desert. They do this so that if they should ever get lost in their journey, they will be able to find their way home.

That is the purpose of a tradition. Scripture is there to prevent us from getting lost. "So remember what you have learned and where you learned it" (v. 14).

We remember and struggle with the Book! William Benton states: "L. D. Johnson was one of the heroes of my college years. He was chaplain at Furman University. Dr. Johnson developed cancer at about the time he retired and fought a valiant struggle for several years. After he died, the assistant chaplain told me that near the end, Johnson had asked for a book. 'Which book?' his friend inquired. Johnson replied, 'At this point in a man's life, there is only one book.' "2

But there is a danger. It was 2,600 years ago. A young man eight years of age came to the throne of one of the most powerful nations of the world at that time. For seventeen years this young king ruled his country as best he could. His reign was not successful. The country was in turmoil, the theological foundation of the country was eroded, morality was non-existent, idols were worshiped everywhere, the Temple was neglected, and the once-powerful country was sharply in decline.

Then something happened. A wonderful event happened that turned the reign of this young king around and made him one of the most revered individuals in the history of his nation. The country turned around economically, politically, and spiritually. Everything began to mushroom for the good of the country. What was the simple act that turned the nation around? The king's name was Josiah, and we find his story chronicled in the book we call 2 Kings. It seems that one day a priest walked by a lonely, neglected corner of the Temple. He was housecleaning, if you will. There he found a book, the Book of the Law, the Book of Life, the book we now call Deuteronomy, the Word of God. And it was the rediscovery of the Word of God that turned an entire nation around. But there is a word of warning: it was found in the church! It was in the church that the Word of God had been neglected. It was in the church that the Word of God had been ignored and left on a dusty table. It can happen to us today.

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1. Mark Trotter, "When To Hold On," an unpublished sermon preached at the First United Methodist Church, San Diego, California, October 18, 1998.

2. William Benton, Where The Water Hits the Wheel (Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 1993), p. 24.