TXT - Day Five Bible Reading

Necessity of Scripture

Some who like the idea of a god or “higher power” resist the message of Bible. They claim that it is outdated, narrow-minded, and not applicable to today. But many of these folks are quick to profess allegiance in God. They claim a deep relationship with him and try to live lives that align with his holy character. The Bible, they feel, may be helpful in some circumstances, but it is certainly not necessary to know God deeply.

In our third post we explored the role of the Holy Spirit in understanding the Scripture, and we discovered that the selfish lives we led before (and while) following Christ have made it difficult for us to understand the Bible. Scripture sometimes simply does not make sense to us unless God helps us understand.

Today we are going to explore a similar idea, but this time we are talking about more that the Bible. We are talking about God himself. Can we really know God without using the message he sent us? Read Romans 10:11-17 and answer the following questions:

1. What does Paul say must happen first before we can believe in Christ?

2. In light of what we have learned about ourselves in these posts, why do you think Paul says this?

3. What does Paul say must be preached for salvation?

4. The Scriptures are absolutely necessary for salvation because they give us both Jesus’ words and the accounts of those that followed him during his earthly ministry. How would you respond to someone that claimed they don’t need to Bible to know God? In other words, why is it important to take God the way he presents himself instead of the way our minds want him to be?