Articles
Warts And All
One of the more significant qualities of the bible is that it always tells the truth. It doesn’t only tell the truth when it is pleasant, but also the ugly truth when it is necessary. Part of telling the truth in a historical context is how the actions of people are recorded. The bible, at no time, shies away from exactly how the people acted in the events being recorded, “warts and all.” There are no people who are featured in the bible who always act perfectly, except Jesus alone. (Romans 8:3-4; Hebrews 4:14-16) There are no true “heroes” of the bible apart from God and His Son who acts according to His will.
When we look at how this quality separates the bible from many other religious documents, we are able to appreciate its value. There are many benefits to recording the good and wholesome actions of humans, as well as the mistakes and sin. We should take the time to identify these qualities and appreciate them as we study.
God can use imperfect people. Likely the greatest tribute to the faithful people in the bible is found in Hebrews 11. All of the entries have a similar format that catalogues the great things they accomplished, “by faith.” This invitation to inspect these “heroes” helps us see that God often uses people who do not live righteously in every respect. But with God’s help and their faithfulness, we can see that they all, “gained approval through their faith” so that we can act knowing that “God had provided something better for us.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)
Imperfect people need God’s power. If the people doing such amazing things was not due to their own perfection or power, then we can understand that we all need God’s power to do His will. This lesson was taught in Psalm 100, which reminds us, “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves / [We are] His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Even the great work of salvation is credited only to God’s power when Paul reminded the saints in Ephesus, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The imperfections of others can be a warning. When we see that imperfect people are helped by a perfect and powerful God, we can also learn to avoid the same mistakes that others have made. Paul uses this line of reasoning when instruction the Corinthians to remember the failures of Israel. “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” (I Corinthians 10:6) Later, he reminds the saints that the failures of God’s people “were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” because “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man...” (I Corinthians 10:12-13) Similarly, the Hebrew writer says that we can follow “the same example of disobedience” when we are not careful. (Hebrews 4:11)
The bible tells the truth, and it tells the truth to us. The question is whether we will have the faith to listen and make application.
