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"Book, Chapter, and Verse"
For generations the cry has gone forth among God’s people for “book,
chapter, and verse preaching.” We wholeheartedly agree with the
sentiment believed to be behind this plea, for the disciples of the Lord
Jesus seek to follow Him through the words of His “gospel” or “doctrine”
(1 Timothy 1:10-11; 2 John 9). In Scripture we have “all things that
pertain to life and godliness,” everything necessary to make the
“man of God...complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2
Timothy 3:16,17). Beyond the doctrine of Christ we dare not trespass (2
John 9), nor dare we add to or take away from its words (Revelation
22:18-19; Galatians 1:8-9). Thus the need has been stressed for the
Christian to be able to put his finger on the passage(s) that would
authorize his words and deeds (see Colossians 3:17). “Book, chapter, and
verse” is not some mere slogan. We believe it describes the mindset of a
true disciple.
Two warnings, though, are here offered to the child of God.
First, we all must take care lest this attitude toward scripture
deteriorate, through negligent laziness on our part, leading to
superficial study. Such will, consequently, make ourselves easy prey for
the blind acceptance of unbiblical doctrines. Simply because a preacher
or teacher can provide “scripture” for some doctrine he’s espousing,
doesn’t necessarily make his doctrine so. Let us not forget that the
devil quoted “book, chapter, and verse” in his attempt to convince Jesus
of a falsehood, and men today will try the same tactic on the Lord’s
disciples (Matthew 4:6). Does one come with a teaching, complete with
convincing scriptures? Well and good, but do his conclusions harmonize
with the rest of Scripture? “The entirety of [God’s] word is
truth...,” and one part cannot contradict another (Psalm 119:160).
Further, the child of God must be careful lest he himself
approach scripture with “something to prove.“ It is one thing for the
Christian to proclaim, “I must have New Testament authority for all that
I do and say,“ while another thing entirely to say, “I need to find
book, chapter, and verse for this doctrine I’ve adopted.“ One attitude
goes to the Bible seeking the Lord’s counsel, while the other approaches
scripture seeking for agreement. When the latter resides in an
individual, he looks for that “one passage” that will validate his
reasoning. With rare exception, he will be successful every time -- to
his own ruin! The Bible speaks of “those who are untaught and
unstable,” who “twist to their own destruction...the scriptures”
(2 Peter 3:16). We believe we are seeing as much of this today as ever
before, and the Christian must beware of the temptation to approach
God’s word in such a manner.
May we each determine now to be that “worker who
does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2
Timothy 2:15).
--Mike Noble
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