The Reliability of Scripture

March 31, 2026

A common and serious threat to our faith is allowing ourselves to be moved away from confidence in the word of God.  There are many people out there—even people who seem like believers—who plant doubts in others about the reliability and authority of scripture. Statements are made such as, “The Bible is not entirely the word of God, but also the word of man.” Or “The Bible is a good book, but it’s just a collection of wise sayings of men.”  Or even, “The Bible is a nice guide, but it can’t be fully relied upon because it is full of contradictions.” When Christians begin to believe these things, they crack open the door to all kinds of damaging falsehoods that can lead them away from God.  These kinds of falsehoods about the word of God will lead to picking and choosing what parts of scripture we want to believe.  It will lead to reliance on our own very fallible thinking.  It will lead to an acceptance of the philosophies of man and a turning away from the truth of God. People’s faith is destroyed.  Sadly, I’ve seen it happen many times.

I want to remind you and encourage you with this.  The Bible is the word of God.  And as such, it is reliable and authoritative as a guide for our lives and for the practice of our faith.  There is much external evidence (evidence outside of the Bible itself) to convince us of this fact—evidence we can discuss at some other time. But there is also the internal evidence—the testimony of the writers of scripture themselves. What did they say about their own writings?

The apostle Paul claimed that the things he received, he received from the Spirit of God.  He tells the church in Corinth that the hidden wisdom of God was revealed to Him by the Holy Spirit, and that it is the words of the Spirit that he speaks and writes.  Speaking of himself and the other apostles, Paul says, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God… which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 2:11, 13 NASB95).  You see, the words Paul spoke were not of human origin, they were words taught by the Spirit!

The apostle Peter says something similar in the letter of 2 Peter.  “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

The words of scripture are the words of God.  They came from the mind of God.  They flowed from the mouth of God.  We can and should trust this. Let us take the God-breathed words of scripture and hold them fast. Don’t let the uninformed or unbelieving move you away from this vital truth! —Scott Colvin

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Saints with Struggles

March 17, 2026

When it is said that the church today should be more like the first century church, most people aren’t referring to the church at Corinth.  The church there had some very serious issues.  They were divided over their favorite preachers. There was jealousy and strife among them. Some were bringing lawsuits against their own brethren. Some arrogantly stood by while a man in the congregation had an ongoing incestuous relationship with his father’s wife. Some acted unlovingly toward one another. Some made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper with their unloving attitudes. Some of them even questioned the reality of a bodily resurrection. This is quite a list!

What would you say about a congregation with so many serious issues? Would you see them as brethren?  Would you associate with them?

What does the Lord say about them?

This may be a little bit shocking to our ears, but listen to the inspired words of Paul about the Corinthians: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NASB95)Listen to the words Paul uses to describe who these people are.  They have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Jesus.  They are saints (holy ones)!  They are a part of the universal church who call on the name of the Lord Jesus!

Paul goes on to describe not only who they are, but also what their future holds, reminding them that the Lord Jesus Christ “will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9) Jesus will confirm and establish them.  They will stand before the Lord blameless!

In these words, we have a beautiful reminder about why the Corinthians, or you or I, or anyone else, can be in right standing with God.  It is because of Jesus Christ!  It is because of what He did!  It is because God called us through the gospel into a relationship with Him!  The blood of Jesus is what has sanctified us, not our own goodness.  Not our knowledge.  Not our doctrinal purity. Not our morality. None of these is what brought us into right standing with God. Everything is because of Christ!

Are we saying that the Corinthian brethren didn’t need to repent?  Are we saying that they could defiantly go on in their sinful ways and still be right with God? Of course not! The promises are for those who are walking in faith. As one author put it, “We’re not talking about open decadents, but struggling penitents.”1 For such people—people like you and me—we can be assured that God will be faithful to His promises to sanctify us, establish us, and make us able to stand in His presence without blame.

—Scott Colvin

1. Jim McGuiggan, 1 Corinthians.

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