Thoughts for Reflection:
Over the last two weeks we have been talking about the characteristics of Scripture; its Authority, Necessity, Clarity, and Sufficiency. We have spent a lot of time in the first unit talking about the foundational nature of God’s Word, what it tells us about God, and what it says about itself as well. In doing so, we have laid out an argument for the priority of God’s Word, the Bible, in the lives of Christ-followers and thus how it is to be the lens through which we view and interpret our culture and the world around us.

Last week we talked about what makes up Scripture, namely the books of the Old and New Testament. We continue that discussion about the “sufficiency of Scripture” this week by talking about how we are not to change Scripture. While saying that we are “not to change God’s Word” may seem somewhat self-evident, we find ourselves in a constant barrage of suggested alterations. Whether it comes from within the church, labeling something sinful as being “ok” or it comes from Christian political commentators referencing a party or election outcome, we must always be on alert, ready to test what we hear against the timeless Word of God.

Questions to take home:
Have you ever heard someone say, “God told me ________”? How did that statement make you feel? Why do you think you reacted the way you did? How did their statement line up with what you know of Scripture?
Who are some of the obvious false teachers out there that you can think of? What makes their message false? How does the world see them and respond to them? What does that tell you about their message?
Is there anyone in your sphere of influence/influencers (friends, family, news, podcasters, etc.) that has made a false prediction? Have any of them done that with God’s name attached to it? What have you done with those individuals as far as the influence they have on your life and faith? What does our Scripture today have to say about that? Where/what/who does Scripture say is the source of such false prophecies & predictions?