What a great benefit it is to have God’s Word.  When we consider, not only the advantage we have due to God’s Word (Romans 3:1-2), but also the huge sacrifice that so many made through the years so that we might have access to it, we should be very protective of it.   Paul was.

Philippians 1:15–16 (ESV)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.”

There is a sense in which we have all been put here for the defense of the gospel.  All Christians should stand up for the Word of God.  From whom must we defend the Word of God?  There are several groups.

• Those who deny the Bible is the Word of God.

There are more and more people in the world who fall into this category.  It used to be that it was primarily those who were atheists who denied the divined nature of the Bible.  Now mainstream denominations teach partial inspiration, which, whether they realize it or not, is a denial that the Bible is God’s Word.

Since the Bible claims for itself complete inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16), if it is not so inspired, it cannot be the Word of God.  Our job as Christians is to defend the complete inspiration of the scriptures.

People will mock us, especially when it concerns miraculous portions of the Bible such as the Flood, Noah’s ark, the true story of Jonah and the great fish, the crossing of the Red Sea, etc.  It is not uncommon for religious professors, and even so-called pastors, to claim that those Biblical truths are just fables.   If such were the case, then not all scripture would be inspired, and the Bible would be proven false.  We must defend the veracity of every book, chapter, and verse found in God’s Word.

• Those who teach false doctrine.

From the beginning, the Bible has been corrupted by man.  Paul said, “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word…”  The word “peddlers” means to engage in retail trade.  It carries with it the suggestion of trickery and avarice (TDNT).  For example, the peddler of wine would add a foreign substance in order to make an illegitimate gain.  In this way, he would corrupt the wine.  In Paul’s day, false teachers were doing this with the Word of God, corrupting it with their own opinions and philosophies.  This is still going on today.  Every false doctrine from Calvinism to Premillennialism falls into this category.  We must defend the Word of God against such assaults.

• Those who claim man’s teachings are equal to the Word of God.

This would include Catholicism, Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witness Cult, and others.  These are groups that have produced their own Bibles or religious works that they claim are on par with the Bible.  We must staunchly defend the Bible as being, not only one authority to govern God’s people, but the only authority.  The Bible alone is God’s Word.

These are just a few of the groups against which we must defend the Bible.  Anytime the authenticity of the Bible is challenged in any way, purposely or not, we must stand ready to defend it, regardless of the consequences.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.