<p><em>Scripture, the Authority</em></p><p><em>The </em>Bible’s authority and function are clearly declared within its pages. Read and copy out <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%203:15-17&version=KJV&src=tools" target="_self">2 Timothy 3:15-17</a>. Take note of what these verses tell you about the function of the Bible.</p><p>When it comes to personal Bible study, we must be careful not to expect the Bible to serve our purposes or perspectives, which are not always the same as God’s. For example, we shouldn’t use the “close my eyes and point to a text” method, because this isn’t how God wants to communicate with us through His Word. God is not a puppet on a string, waiting to serve our needs and will. His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa%2055:9&version=KJV&src=tools" target="_self">Isa. 55:9</a>), and so we should never try to control His words to us. Neither should we pick and choose only the parts of the Bible that feel comfortable to us. Instead, we should see the Bible as a whole package rather than reading the easy, familiar passages and leaving out the confronting or challenging ones. If we truly want God to speak into our lives, we must take the Bible as a whole and use sound methods when we engage in careful Bible study, trusting that God will reveal what we need to hear when we need to hear it.</p><p>Also, Jesus Himself tells us: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt%2022:37&version=KJV&src=tools" target="_self">Matt. 22:37</a>, NKJV). That is, God doesn’t want us to ignore our minds; rather, He wants to inform our minds with His vast reaches of knowledge and understanding, which are revealed, in part, through His Word. We can read many biblical narratives in which God had discussions with such people as Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and Job, in addition to many conversations that Jesus had with people. God doesn’t bypass human reason but invites us to submit it to His Word and wisdom when “working out” our salvation.</p><p>Human reason, however, is still <em>human</em>--capable of error and deception. It’s <em>never</em> infallible. It&#39;s possible for human reason to push God aside to try to work things out on our own, which places self as equal to, or above, God when it comes to thinking. People can approach Scripture with an arrogant and critical spirit, thinking they’ve heard it all before and that there is nothing new. It’s when we feel important, confident, self-sufficient, and in need of nothing that we neglect our relationship with God and rely on our own limited knowledge and faulty reasoning.</p><p></p>