Is the Bad Stuff in the Bible Really God’s Word?

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9)

In God We Trust takes a deeper look at living a truly God-focused life. You’ll learn not only to defend your faith according to the authority of God’s Word, but also to live it out in every part of life.

Today’s big question: is the bad stuff in the Bible really God’s Word?

Remember those parts of your life you would rather forget about? I do. Yet whether we like it or not, those events happened. A wise man once told me, “You can never ‘should have.’” In other words, we don’t have any ability to redo what is already done. So after all is said and done, the truth is the truth, and there is nothing we can do to deny the truth.

God is a God of truth, and in His Word, we have a selected account of our history in this world. Sometimes, it’s not a very pretty history and we only have to read through a book like Judges to see that very quickly. While we acknowledge that the whole of Scripture is God’s Word, we must also recognize that not every statement is spoken by God; the Bible even quotes words that have been spoken by Satan. Satan does not get any credit for divine inspiration, but he is acknowledged in Scripture as a true player in history. The Bible also tells us that Satan will be a true player in the future when Christ will ultimately send him to eternal destruction (Revelation 20:10).

The Bible has accounts of Satan, sin, destruction, murder, etc. The Bible has lies as recorded in the account of Ananias and Sapphira when they lied about their giving (Acts 5:1–10). But these are all accurate records of what these people did and said. The Bible does not give us a sterilized history that has been changed for our listening ears, which is part of the testament of the Bible being trustworthy as the inspired Word of God. God has given us an account that can be trusted and makes sense in understanding the world we live in that has been ruined by sin. Yes, there really is bad stuff in God’s Word, but the bad stuff is an account of man’s actions in a fallen world—not a reflection of God’s perfect character. Despite any offence we may have with the full account of true history in the Bible, the Word of God remains good in that it is accurate, truthful, and reveals His awesome plan of salvation.

Today’s big idea: there is a true and somber reality to inspiration

What to pray: acknowledge to God your part in this sinful reality and seek His loving forgiveness.