Jim Brenneman
The Scriptures are “God-breathed,” providing complete directions for equipping the people of God. We are to lead fruitful lives of obedience to the Scriptures, as we follow the example of obedience seen in the lives of those who have nurtured us in the writing of Scriptures.
What would you think if you saw a person pushing a brand new luxury automobile along the street? Perhaps the fellow failed to read the owner’s manual that came with the vehicle. He doesn’t know the proper way to start the engine and use the car, so he pushes it. Too often people live their Christian lives this way, never availing themselves of the rich resources and enablings God has revealed in the owner’s manual of Scripture.
If the poor uninformed person pushing his car down the street sees someone drive past, he may realize that there is a better way. The driver sitting comfortably behind the wheel demonstrates the intended use of an automobile and its many features. A life transformed by God’s power in accordance with His Word will demonstrate the great potential and provision of new life in Christ.
How then should we live as Christians? We are redeemed by faith in the blood of Jesus and His death on the cross. So now what? What does this redeemed life look like?
The Scriptures tell us how to live. The Word of God is given not only to tell us what God is like, but also to equip us and show us how to live. The Bible is not merely a book of rules which must be obeyed – or else! Rather, it is more of an owner’s manual that shows how to operate in the new life that God has given us with all its privileges and provisions. Those who look at the Bible as a mere book of rules fail to benefit from the resources God has given us. God gives us what we need to experience life as He intended.
Beyond this, the Scriptures do more than show us how to live; they actually connect us, through the Holy Spirit, with God’s transforming power. Thus, the Scriptures are more than a manual. When we interact with them, the Spirit is present to impart the life of God to us. It is as if the life and mind of the Designer are imparted so that the driver of the vehicle is able to make use of all the features and special equipment that are the Christian life. The Word of God is Spirit and Life, not just words of instruction (John 6:63; 20:31; Heb. 4:12).
Just as the Scriptures are given by inspiration of God, our lives are to be inspired by God. The Word of God breathed out through the lives of faithful believers will be an expression of what is breathed out in Scripture.