Questions About the Bible

Can we still believe in the authority of the Bible for our modern world?

There are clear reasons why we can believe in the authority of the Bible. A study of the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible alone would undeniably confirm the fact that it was divinely inspired and that only God could have brought about the fulfillment of so many prophecies in the proper time to the proper person and in the proper sequence. Jesus Himself used the Scriptures as the authoritative Word of God (Matthew 4:4-10) and declared that their authority could not be broken (John 10:35).

The more one studies the Scriptures, the more one becomes aware of the fact that the Bible passes every test that can be applied to it in order to evaluate its divine inspiration, authority, and inerrancy. We also know that the Bible is God's Word because of the transformation we have seen it make in the lives of those who read, believe, and live by its teaching. It is God's own Word, His saving truth that He has spoken to mankind. It is inspired from beginning to end, and it is the only infallible guide of faith and practice; read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:19-21.

Why does the Bible refer to God in masculine terms?

The answer to the question about why God is referred to with masculine terms in the Bible really has only one answer: This is the way God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. God is never described with sexual characteristics in the Scriptures, but He does consistently describe Himself in the masculine gender. While He contains all the qualities of both male and female genders, He has chosen to present Himself with an emphasis on masculine qualities of fatherhood, protection, direction, strength, etc. Metaphors used to describe Him in the Bible include: King, Father, Judge, Husband, Master, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are those who would like to blur this emphasis in some of the newer Bible translations, but it is very dangerous to tamper with the way God has chosen to reveal Himself. He most certainly does not intend to minimize women, since men and women are revealed as made in His image and of equal value to Him. But it remains that He is Father, not Mother, and even in the Incarnation chose to come to us as a man, Jesus Christ. One famous Christian scholar, C. S. Lewis, has suggested that gender is far deeper than our human distinctions reveal. He suggests that God is so masculine that we all are feminine in relation to Him. If this is true, it might explain why the church is referred to as the bride of Christ, though it is composed of both men and women.

Is it true that women are not valued very highly in the Bible?

On the contrary, women are valued very highly in the Bible's teaching. In the very beginning, God created both man and woman in His own image with the responsibilities of populating the earth and ruling over it (Genesis 1: 27-28).

The Gospel narratives present many insights into Christ's valuation of women, emphasizing His high regard for them as essential members of God's kingdom. He understood their concerns (John 2:1-9), met their deepest needs (John, chapter 4; Mark 7:24-30), healed them (Luke 4:38-39, Matthew 9:20-22), raised their dead (Luke 7:11-15; John, chapter 11), forgave and restored them to meaningful existence (Luke 7:36-50, John 8:3-11), defended and affirmed their acts of service (Matthew 26:6-13), and instructed them (Luke 10:39). On the road to His crucifixion, Christ addressed the women of Jerusalem in His final word to the crowds, and on the cross, undergoing deep agony, He entrusted His mother Mary into the care of His beloved disciple John. Following His resurrection from the dead, the first person to whom Jesus revealed Himself was Mary Magdalene, a woman He had freed from severe satanic bondage (John 20:10-18).

The New Testament church was enriched by the influence of godly women such as Dorcas, Priscilla, and Lydia, to name a few. The apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek [nationality, race], slave nor free [status], male nor female [gender], for you are all one in Christ Jesus." It is true that Bible interpreters and churches vary in their understanding of the proper role of women in the church and home regarding leadership. However, the issue is not about men's and women's equal worth to God and the church. All agree that in matters of salvation and value men and women are equal.

The devaluation of women in so many ways throughout history is a result of sin in the world. Wherever the gospel has gone the status of women has been elevated. Through Christ, women have experienced the opportunity to live creative, productive, and satisfying lives. This transformation has led to far-reaching contributions by women in areas such as social and political reform, medicine, literature, the arts and sciences, and Christian service and missions.

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