What Writing and the Gospel Have in Common

The written word is special for many reasons. It preserves history for future generations. It can be referred to in matters of law and religion in order to settle arguments. And we also get the feeling of traveling back in time when we read ancient documents.

God understands the written word's power. The Ten Commandments were written in two stone tablets, making those laws permanent. Anybody needing clarification could just read what the law said rather than depending on people and their faulty and selective memories.

The phrase, "it is written" occurs seventy-nine times in the Bible. Jesus himself quoted the Old Testament during his temptation in the wilderness. As he told Satan in Matthew 4:4 (BBE), "But he made answer and said, 'It is in the Writings, "Bread is not man's only need, but every word which comes out of the mouth of God.'"

We can also understand what power the written word has in reviving the followers of God. Israel was in one of its apostate eras when God's written law was rediscovered. As 2 Chronicles 34:14 (KJV) explains, "And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses." This resulted in nation-wide repentance.

The apostles also wrote to the churches in order to correct misunderstandings among them and to give the congregation correction. As 1 Corinthians 5:11 (BBE) reads, "But the sense of my letter was that if a brother had the name of being one who went after the desires of the flesh, or had the desire for other people's property, or was in the way of using violent language, or being the worse for drink, or took by force what was not his, you might not keep company with such a one, or take food with him."

By these examples alone, we can tell how God uses the written word to preserve his truth. I hope to include this valuable lesson in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Without the written word to refer to, people can make all sorts of bogus claims of what God said.

On Thursday, I'll post about who is considered a saint according to the Bible.