The Value of the Bible

By Femi Aribisala

The bible tells us about people who had intimate relationships with God in the past, and it shows how they were mightily blessed by them.

Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6). He says to Pilate: “For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37). Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit he bequeaths to us as: “The Spirit of truth.” (John 14:17). However, many Christians are not committed to truth. Indeed, truth endangers the faith of most Christians.

Bible worshippers

Nowhere is this more evident than in the dogmatic Christian defence of the errors, contradictions and falsehoods in the bible; in spite of the fact that the bible is no less an invaluable book for these. The fear is that if anything in the bible is not true, then the Christian faith is diminished. But nothing could be further from the truth. As a matter of fact, what this fear shows is that the faith of most Christians has shaky foundations.

The Christian faith cannot be based on the infallibility of the bible. It is based on the infallibility of God. People in the bible did not base their faith on a book. Instead, they based their faith on what God told them personally. Jesus does not tell us to have faith in the bible. He says: “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22).

The evidence indicates that those who don’t have a personal relationship with God are those who insist everything in the bible must be true. Jesus says to his Jewish opponents: “You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40).

The bible only points to Jesus. However, we cannot know a place by merely reading the road-signs telling us how to get there. We know a place by going there. Therefore, Christians should not just read the bible. We must go to the Jesus of the bible in order to receive and live the life he gives.

Knowing God

True Christianity is not a religion: it is a relationship. We cannot have a relationship with an inanimate book. We must have a relationship with a living God. What the bible does is to tell us about people who had intimate relationships with God in the past, and it shows how they were mightily blessed by them. This shows it is also possible for us to have similar relationships with God today.

Indeed, Jesus invites us to this. He says: “This is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).

There is a limit to what we can know about God by reading about him in a book. To really know God, we have to interact with him on a personal one-on-one basis; the same way some people did in the bible. God expects us to draw near to him and to enter into fellowship with him. John says: “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3).

Living a lie

Therefore, beware of dogmatic Christians whose faith is based solely on the bible. There are many human errors and contradictions in the bible. But the God we serve never makes a mistake and he never contradicts himself. When these “sola scriptura” Christians discover errors and contradictions in the bible, their faith is shipwrecked. To avoid this, they end up living a lie; pretending an error is not an error, and a contradiction is not a contradiction.

When you insist on the truth, their Christian facade disappears to reveal the demons beneath. They will curse you in the name of their idol gods. They will call you all sorts of unprintable names. Some even tell you to: “Go to hell!” And then there is the classic. They will say you don’t have the Holy Spirit. They will tell you that: “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

But when did the precious Holy Spirit become a spirit of error? When did the Spirit of wisdom become the spirit of ignorance? Indeed, if the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit, then no man can receive it. All men start out as natural men before becoming spiritual. Paul himself acknowledges this: “The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 15:46).

Knowing God’s voice

Moreover, God’s works cannot be limited to what is in the bible. John says: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.” (John 20:30). God declares: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). We cannot perceive it if we limit God to what he did over 2000 years ago.

We must know what God is doing now. We must be able to ask him questions and receive answers. Jesus promises that: “everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8).

Reading the bible is like reading letters addressed to others. The fact that God said something to Abraham in the past does not mean he is saying the exact same thing to everybody else today. He can fulfil a scripture in our hearing, but we must also be able to receive the specific word that God is speaking to us personally and individually today; even if this will never contradict what he has said or revealed in the scriptures.

Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27). He does not say: “My sheep only read a bible.” As we fellowship with Jesus, we come to recognise his voice. Once we do so, we can no longer be misled or deceived by the voice of strangers. (John 10:5).

Therefore, we must not only read the scriptures; we must also experience the power of God. We must not only know the psalm about the Good Shepherd; we must know the Good Shepherd. However, most Christians only read the bible. They don’t walk with Jesus and cannot hear his voice.

Ask to receive

Ask for the Holy Spirit. Ask for him and keep on asking. Ask, and don’t give up until you definitely receive him. Ask, so that you can enter now into an intimate personal relationship with God that is real and tangible. “Today, if you will hear (God’s) voice: do not harden your heart.” (Psalm 95:7-8).

The errors in the bible have nothing to do with God. They have everything to do with men. No human error ever diminishes the truth of God. Therefore, Christians must know whom we believe. He is the one who leads and guides us. His name is Jesus. He died and rose from the dead 2000 years ago.

He is with us always, even to the end of the age. Amen!

Chibok Schoolgirls: Northern leaders back FG deal with Boko Haram

BY Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North
As the Federal Government explores ways of rescuing the girls seized by terrorists from their school in Chibok, Borno State, over a month ago, two northern groups have said that there is nothing wrong with the plan by the government to negotiate with the insurgents in order to free the captives.
A screengrab taken on May 12, 2014, from a video of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram obtained by AFP shows girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. Boko Haram released a new video on claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing.

A screengrab taken on May 12, 2014, from a video of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram obtained by AFP shows girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. Boko Haram released a new video on claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing.

Chairman of the Northern Elders Council, NEC, Alhaji Tanko Yakassi, and the National Coordinator of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, NPAPB, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, in separate interviews with Vanguard yesterday, threw their weight behind the plan by the Federal Government to dialogue with the sect in a bid to free the more than 200 girls in its custody.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has rejected the idea of a swap of Boko Haram prisoners for the schoolgirls, Britain’s Minister for Africa said after talks with him in Abuja, yesterday.
“He made it very clear that there would be no negotiations with Boko Haram that involved a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners,” Mark Simmonds told a news conference.

The northern leaders, who are delegates to the ongoing National Conference, said the Federal Government had no option than to negotiate in good faith with the sect to return the children to their parents and end their agony.
He said: “As far as we are concerned, discussion with the group is a step in the right direction. There is no substitute to dialogue. What we want in this country is peace.”

The leader of NPAPB, Mohammed, said that despite the provocation by Boko Haram, the Federal Government should seize the offer made by the sect and dialogue in utmost good faith to free the children.
According to Mohammed, the attention of the Federal Government and men of goodwill should be focussed on securing the release of the children unharmed and returning them to their parents.

The Second Republic politician, who described Boko Haram as a repugnant group that does not represent the interest of anyone, asked the government to learn lessons from what the sect had done in recent years and bring it to an end.

While welcoming the assistance of the United States of America, USA, to help find the missing school children, Mohammed said that all other conditions should be subordinated to saving the children.

Top fat-burning foods

It’s true: Certain foods have a very high thermogenic effect, so you literally scorch calories as you chew. Others contain nutrients and compounds that stoke your metabolic fire, such as these foods…

Whole grains: Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole foods (especially those rich in fibre such as oatmeal and brown rice) than processed foods.

Lean meats: Protein has a high thermogenic effect: You burn about 30 per cent of the calories the food contains during digestion.

Low-fat dairy products: Rich in calcium and vitamin D, these help preserve and build muscle mass — essential for maintaining a robust metabolism.

Green tea: Drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people shed more than six pounds in eight weeks, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports. Credit EGCG, a compound in the brew, that temporarily speeds metabolism after sipping it. To up your intake, keep a jug of iced tea in the fridge.

Lentils: One cup packs 35 per cent of your daily iron needs — good news, since up to 20 per cent of us are iron-deficient. When you lack a nutrient, your metabolism slows because the body is not getting what it needs to work efficiently.

Hot peppers: Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their kick, heats up your body, which makes you melt additional calories. You can get it by eating raw, cooked, dried, or powdered peppers.