The Bible is the only valid source for faith in God as Savior. ⁽⁰⁶⁹⁾ What we mean by that is, the Bible is the only Word of God. He does not speak with sufficient clarity to bring a person to salvation and eternal life in any other way.

But I can hear objections arising all around that call for tradition and some kind of apostolic inspired interpreter as corollary sources for truth. However, these claims seem to always do one of two things:

1. they either exist as claims that depend upon the gullibility of the hearers for their substance (in which case, they are false and the gullibility of the foolish will kill them), or
2. they exist as claims that are supposed to be founded upon the teaching of the Bible.

Now, let us consider these possibilities. The first one is totally untrustworthy. Anyone can make truth-claims. Satan makes them, false teachers make them, car-salesmen make them, preachers make them, lawyers make them, and God makes them. The difference is that God substantiates His and the rest depend upon the gullibility of the hearers for their ability to have an impact. The problem with gullibility is that God has said eternity rests upon our believing the truth. Being gullible can get you fleeced of your life savings, led down the primrose path, set up for scoundrels and politicians, and, worst of all, it can get you an eternal habitation in the Lake of Fire.

The second possibility is that the Bible actually teaches the validity of tradition and inspired interpretation as guides in our relationship with God. This claim is, itself, shot through with inconsistent reason. If the Bible actually teaches such things, it is the Bible that is the final authority, not the traditions or inspired interpretations. Logic denies that the Bible teaches that some other source of truth-claims is equal in authority with the Bible. If we have to appeal to the Bible to establish that authority, we have unwittingly established the Bible as the final authority.

Therefore, only the gullible accept a truth-claim that is not found in the Bible, and only the illogical use the Bible to ignore the Bible.

So, where do you get your belief system? Some think they are safe because they were raised in a certain type of church or religion. But, the Bible says that salvation is in a personal relationship with Christ as defined by the Scriptures, not in a church, or in a religious system. Where does your belief system come from?

If your answer is the Bible, let me ask you another question: are you sure? Or did someone just tell you that the Bible said what you now believe? Can you show me from the Scriptures why what you believe is true? If you can't show me, how do you think you will impress God in the day of judgment? There is, after all, a right answer to the question of whether you have eternal salvation or not. And, there is also a wrong answer.

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This is article #070.
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