Heath Lambert: “Does the Bible Really Address My Problem?” is one kind of way to get at the topic of the podcast this week. Another way to address that issue is by using the theological language of the sufficiency of Scripture. Are the Scriptures sufficient to address the problems that we face in a fallen human world? This is an important question that we want to address at our ACBC annual conference this year on October 3rd, 4th, and 5th. We are inviting everybody to our 40th-anniversary celebration, where we want to re-examine the key theological themes that have been the undergirding of ACBC for 40 years. And one of the most important issues that we can address theological concerns is whether the Bible really is about the problems that we’re facing. And so, we’re talking about that question and the sufficiency of Scripture on the podcast this week.
Amy Evensen: Yeah. So, there are so many different problems that people are facing. They range from physical problems to relational problems and just everything in between that. And today, we’re asking, can the Bible really help me with whatever it is I’m dealing with? And with this, does the Bible stand alone, or is there something else I need to know to help me?
Heath Lambert: What this really gets down to is what the purpose of the Bible is. What is the function of the Bible? In terms of texts, there are a million texts of Scripture that we could go to to try to piece together an answer to the question, what is the Bible about? What’s the principal purpose of the Bible? But I want to say that when you boil it all down, when you read the Bible from cover to cover, you are left with this strong impression that God gave us the Bible because He wants to help us with our problems.
If the Bible is not about God helping us with our problems, then I don’t know what the Bible’s about. I have no idea what the Bible is about if it’s not about addressing our problems. And so then the question becomes, well, which problems is God trying to address? The issue that every person who loves Jesus is going to admit is God wants to solve the problem of our salvation. We are dead in our trespasses and sins, and we need a Savior to save us from those sins. We find out in Scripture that His name is Jesus, and we come to Him by faith. Everybody admits that. The question is, how specifically relevant is that general solution to every single problem we could encounter in our life? And there’s a lot we could say about that. I would want to answer it by looking at just one text in the context of this podcast, Psalm 119:105. And it says, “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Now, there are a couple of realities in here that are really important for us in answering the question.
First is the fallen, sinful world that is visible right underneath the language of that text. The psalmist here is existing in a dark world devoid of light. The psalmist walked in a world where every step he made was dangerous and potentially fatal. Now a lot has changed in the millennia between the psalmist’s day and our own, but the darkness that he lived in is the same darkness that we live in. We live in a dark and sinister world full of afflictions. Our sins and the sins of others and the difficulty of life in a fallen world gather around our feet, and they threaten to make us stumble and fall at every turn. So we are people who harbor bitterness and anger. We are abused by those who are close to us. We grieve the death of loved ones we’ve lost. We get diagnosed with cancer and Parkinson’s disease. We get enslaved to alcohol, to porn, and to candy bars. We get overwhelmed with sorrow, and we get trapped by anxiety. We get hounded by difficulties from one end of the spectrum to the other. We just live in a dark world that is bustling with issues that make us stumble and fall. And so, that is the reality that’s framing the question. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path.” There’s darkness in the world. And what the obvious language of the psalmist points to is how we are to see our way along this dark path that’s full of difficulties. And the answer for the psalmist is the bright hope of the Word of God, which shines in and illuminates the dark and fallen world. He gives us the Bible, and God does. It is his Word written in the Scriptures that lights up the darkness and helps us make sense of the trouble in the fallen world that we are facing. So Psalm 119 is a precious promise to you, to me, and to anybody who trusts God’s Word that He has given us His Word to illuminate all that is wrong.
Now, if Psalm 119:105 is a promise—and I think it is a precious promise, that God’s word illuminates the problems we face—if it is a promise to illuminate small problems, then we have a significant issue. Because we don’t really need help when we have small problems. When we really need help is when the problems are big and overwhelming. And so, the promise that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path only matters if the problems are great big. And so Christians have believed—and this is just one verse, we could talk about hundreds and thousands more that have led Christians to believe for millennia that the Bible is about the problems we face. It’s about our anxieties; it’s about our troubles, it’s about our anger, it’s about our relational conflict. It’s about all these things and more. Really, it is a new problem in the history of the modern world to have people who love Jesus and love the Bible but question whether the Bible is really relevant for the problems that we face. That has only happened with the advent of the modern world, and that has only happened really in the western world as a secular religion of therapy has begun to replace a biblical worldview of the Bible and its solutions to our problems. And so when it comes to problems and living, when it comes to the issues of daily life that people struggle with, the Bible really is about those problems, and we really don’t need to add anything to it. Now, what the Bible says about all of those individual problems is another matter. That’s the subject of hundreds of podcasts and hundreds of books, and we’re trying to chip away at some of those problems on the Truth and Love podcast.
Another issue is whether Christians have any facility with using the Scriptures to address those problems that the Bible has answers for problems, doesn’t mean that each and every Christian necessarily has the wisdom about how to use the Bible to address those problems. But it is a matter of God’s faithfulness that we confess that He loves us, that He has given us a light and a lamp to our feet that really matters, that’s really useful, and that’s really sufficient. And so we would say, yes, the Bible is about our problems, and we can say that because we believe and trust God’s Word, we believe that He understands what’s wrong with us, and we believe that He has the wisdom to communicate how to help. This is a huge, exciting, and fascinating topic. And the format of one podcast is not nearly enough to address this. And that is why at ACBC, we are hosting an entire conference about theological issues like this that are relevant for living the Christian life. I want to invite you to attend that annual conference in Indianapolis on October 3rd, 4th, and 5th. We expect thousands to come and study the Scriptures and learn how to use the truth of God’s word to help people who are struggling with the problems of daily living. Registration for this conference is open but is about to increase. The last opportunity for you to get the cheapest rate on this conference is August 1st. So I want to encourage you to register by then. I hope to see you there.
