Almost forty years ago, I was told that I might have a tumor on my parathyroid gland. A woman overheard me talking to a friend about my situation and asked how I could be so calm while waiting to find out if I had cancer or not. This gave me an opportunity to give her the gospel and tell her that Jesus Christ was my confidence. However, I was regrettably not prepared for her next question. She asked how did I know that the Bible was true?
I must confess this question took me by surprise. Yes, the Bible declares that it is the truth and Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).
I knew through bible study that all suffering on earth is only for a short while but that the salvation of my soul was assured forever through my faith in Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:3-9).
I had no doubt that the Bible was true, but how could I “prove” that to her? The fact that she was prompted to ask me, revealed that she truly wanted to know what gave me such comfort. Sadly, however, I was unprepared to utilize 1 Peter 3:15 and give her a definitive answer. I pray that she eventually met someone who answered her question.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).
Even before salvation, by merely looking at our spectacular creation I knew that there must be a Creator. The beauty and complexity of the earth and the universe in which it had been placed produced a consciousness of God in me.
Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:19-20).
However, it wasn’t until I happened to attend some classes in Old Testament prophecy that I understood the God of creation gave mankind His divine truth in the Bible. The fact that so many things about Christ were prophesized thousands of years before their fulfillment, built a strong belief in me that the Bible was true. The book of Isaiah tells about the sin-bearing Messiah in verses 53:1-12. It is one of my favorite passages that foretells the coming Christ.
Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for transgressors (Isaiah 53:12b).
How Should Accepting the Bible as God’s Word, Affect Your Life?
Once a believer accepts the truth that the Bible is the Word of God, it only seems natural to me that he or she would search it first for information about any issue in their life. However, once arriving at this decision, why do some Christian women still reject God’s design for womanhood as He presents it in the Bible? I believe the answer is that they do not truly accept that the entire Bible is God-breathed and is indisputable truth. These women may attend church and bible studies, but then they pick and choose which verses in the Bible they will follow. The reason they do this may be that they believe some of the Bible was authored by mere men and not wholly inspired by God. Scripture emphatically denies this viewpoint in several verses such as (emphasis added),
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Women who choose some passages because they like them and reject or attempt to explain away those that do not fit with their human pattern of thinking, become deceived. Examples of picking only the Bible verses they choose to accept is that they believe a husband should unquestionably obey Ephesians 5:25 and Colossians 3:19.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. And,
Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
On the other hand, Scriptures that may make these women feel uncomfortable and ignored, or at least not strictly obeyed, are:
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:23-24).
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord (Colossians 3:18).
Other women rationalize that a wife should govern her life according to these Scriptures only IF AND WHEN their husbands live first by those verses addressed to them. They say that their husbands should earn their respect before they are required to submit to them. Rest assured, God will deal with husbands who are disobedient, especially if they are believers. Ones obeying God is never dependent on what others do or don’t do.
I pray that anyone who reads this message will reflect on whether they truly believe that all of God’s word is worthy of total belief and obedience. Is what it says absolutely true for all areas of our lives including what it says about biblical womanhood? They might consider the following passages as they meditate on the following verses (emphasis added).
In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began (Titus 1:2).
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us (Hebrews 6:13-18).
God’s Word states that He never lies and therefore will ALWAYS keep His promises. Do you believe the above passages? If so, you can believe that what He has authored in the Bible concerning biblical womanhood is absolute truth. Subsequently, a bible-believing woman should desire to live her life in accordance with all that God has written in His Word for her benefit.
May all who read this praise and glorify God for His Word of Truth!
Virginia Ruth Fugate
September 8, 2016