VIII Questions and Answers About the Inside Story of the Bible—–Question 1
VIII Questions and Answers About the Inside Story of the Bible
Question 1: I’ve studied the Bible for more than twenty years. I’m sure that outside the Bible there is no God’s word. All God’s word is in the Bible. Any belief against or beyond the Bible is a heresy and is a fallacy.
Answer: Does the saying “outside the Bible there is no God’s word and any belief beyond the Bible is a heresy,” accord with the fact or not? All those who are familiar with the Bible know that in the compilation of the Bible, because of the compilers’ disagreement and omission, some of God’s words conveyed through the prophets were not included in the Old Testament. This is a generally acknowledged fact.
How can we say that outside the Bible there are no God’s work and word? Aren’t those omitted prophecies of the prophets God’s words? The Lord Jesus said more words than those in the New Testament. In fact, most of His words are not recorded in the Bible. The Lord Jesus had worked for three and a half years, and He said countless words and gave many sermons. However, all of the Lord’s words recorded in the Four Gospels in the New Testament merely amount to His words in several hours. Compared with the Lord Jesus’ work and preaching in the three and a half years, that’s only a drop in the ocean. As John said, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” (John 21:25). This proves that not all of the Lord Jesus’ work and word are recorded in the New Testament. Thus, the saying “outside the Bible there are no God’s work and word” doesn’t accord with the fact. We should also know that whether the Old Testament or the New Testament, it came into being from man’s record after God finished one stage of His work. The Bible at the very beginning was only the Old Testament. All of the Lord Jesus’ work and word went beyond the Old Testament. If according to “any belief beyond the Bible is a heresy,” won’t we condemn the Lord Jesus? Brothers and sisters, from these facts we can see the saying “outside the Bible there are no God’s work and word and any belief beyond the Bible is a heresy” is groundless.