The Importance of the Bible
Missions fail when they are solely done in hopes of providing for felt needs. While felt needs is a major issue, it is not the primary issue missions should be concerned with. The primary issue missions should be concerned with is sharing the Gospel with all people in all places. However, this endeavor also fails when those who received the Gospel are left to figure out Christianity all alone. This is why it is of utmost importance to plug Gospel converts into strong, Bible believing local churches and is the key to missionary success.
In addition, something that holds a similar weight is actually giving the new Christians the scriptures in their own languages! In fact, we want to see Bibles in the hands of all believers! There are some believers in the world who do not have access to their own personal Bible and we want to change that! You might be thinking, why is getting a Bible in the hand of every believer so important? Do they not have the local church that is teaching biblical principles?
I would say to that- the Bible is God’s infallible and inerrant word. The Bible is something that the North American church often takes for granted. At any moment you can walk into a bookstore and purchase at least five, if not more, different translations. However, this is not the case for individuals where the Bible has not been translated into their language or there is limited access. Often times, believers in developing countries must choose between feeding their families or purchasing a $10 bible.
To deny scripture to believers is to deny the actual word of God. When Jesus was being tempted He responded to Satan, “But He answered, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 ESV) Jesus responded to satan’s temptations by quoting scripture. Jesus also quotes Deuteronomy 8:3. Paul in his second letter to Timothy writes “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV) Paul is saying that scripture is the word of God, literally breathed out by God alone.
So, if there are two things that cannot be done when it comes to missions, the first would be divorcing the gospel from any act of Christian charity. The gospel must be primary when it comes to missions. The second would be to the force fulfilling the need for scripture. Because Jesus who is God himself saw the great need for scripture, and the inspired author Paul in his letter to Timothy informed the Christian that all scripture is from the mouth of God.
This is why we must seek to get the Scriptures in every language of the people we serve. We want a Bible in the hands of every believer in every place, but we can’t do it alone…
Daniel Beal
Evangelism Coordinator & Swahili Bible Program Director
*To give to our Bible outreach program and help us achieve our goal of distributing 100 Swahili bibles this year, please click this link.