Jamin Bradley

A while back, I had a couple visit our church as they were looking for a new place to plug into. I was excited that they were testing us out, but they kept mentioning a church down the road that they were especially interested in.

“It just feels like a really solid Bible church,” they kept repeating.

I nodded in agreement, all the while thinking to myself, Did I not just preach the Bible?

That’s when I realized that “Bible church” does not mean “biblical” or “theological” to the average congregant. What many mean by “Bible church” is that the pastor preaches what they think the Bible says.

This is the same vibe I get when I advertise our church at local events. There will always be another church somewhere that advertises itself as a “Bible Church.”

Are there churches that don’t consider themselves Bible churches? I often think to myself. Aren’t we all Bible churches? Isn’t that a given?

The implication, of course, is that their church actually follows the Bible and does what it says, while the rest of us don’t take it seriously. The rest of us are either hindered by tradition and doctrine or we’ve twisted Scripture to appease the beliefs of modernity.

It can be hard to love the Bible, because solid Bible study sometimes force us not to settle for the simple answers we see on the page. Sure, at first glance it looks like Paul says women can’t be in ministry, but then Paul does ministry with lots of women who happen to be evangelists, prophets, and apostles. Sure, it looks like the Bible says a woman should be silent in church, but have you ever tried evangelizing or prophesying in silence? Sure, it looks like Paul says they can’t be pastors, but then why are they allowed to be higher church authorities like prophets and apostles? It is not unbiblical to recognize that something is off here and come to a different conclusion than the conservative view.

If you really love the Bible, you must wrestle with all of the Bible. This ancient omnibus spans various cultures, times, and languages and demands you to struggle with it. It is cheap to settle for theology that doesn’t acknowledge the many variations all throughout Scripture.

You must also wrestle with the Holy Spirit who inspired it. As Christians, we have access to the author whose name is on the front page. Why do we try to study it on our own?

All churches are Bible churches. All Christians are expected to grapple with the Bible. I know it feels like it’s faithfulness to stick our foot down on one verse, but that’s not how proper Bible study works. There is less of a chance that we will have a full meltdown into deconstruction if we have gotten used to wrestling with the various views the Bible can present us with.

Yes, know the safeguards so you don’t venture off into heresy, but certainly wrestle with the Bible, for that is a mark of every good theologian.