Must Read! Quotes And The Bible By Pastor Wise Lumbu

Should Christians shun completely away from other people’s quotes simply because they are not in the Bible? Are such quotes “inspired” or “inspiring”?

Dear editor!

I have been asked by many of my friends to reflect on the issue of quotes and the Bible. This is my humble contribution on the issue.

I have heard so many times people saying: “that was an inspired sermon!” Or “your performance was inspiring!” Or sometime “John Hus or Mahatma Gandhi is my inspiration!” or titles like “these are inspirational quotes! “These statements may be right depending on what people mean by the word inspiration. It may mean something or someone that stimulate or influence people’s thoughts and actions or sometimes something appealing and motivating. If this is what people mean then those statements may have some sense in them.

Frankly speaking according to my understanding of what inspiration means, it can only apply to the words of scripture. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for belief and behaviour (2 Tim 3:16). Every bit of scripture is God-breathed. All the words of the Bible are the very words of God. Hence they have no error and they are authoritative! Inspiration in a Biblical context means God-breathed.

However this does not mean that we can’t get any insightful thought from other people’s words or quotes just because they are not written in the Bible. As long as what people say does not contradict the truth of the Bible, is insightful and helpful. Whatever people say should be measured against the inspired word of God. Truth is truth does not matter who says it! Hence we may have good quotes from people like Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe, Mahatma Gandhi, Jan Wycliffe, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama, Levi Mwanawasa; Mwata Kazembe etc. Take for instance these two quotes from Desmond Tutu and one from William Arthur ward and see if there is anything wrong.

“A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons.”
Desmond Tutu
“Be nice to the whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.”
Desmond Tutu
“Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.”
William Arthur ward

People may say something which in syntax might not be in the Bible but may semantically be in line with the truth of the Bible. So what matters in this context, is meaning and not merely words and their arrangements in a sentence. But when it comes to scriptures I truly believe that both thoughts and words are God- breathed.

Whenever we come across any quote, I think the right question is not “where is it written in the Bible?” But “what does the Bible say about it?” or “is that true in light of the Bible?” When I say avoid smocking for it is harmful to one’s health. It is a wrong question to ask “where is it written in the Bible?” But it is helpful to ask what does the Bible say about health and the issue of taking care of one’s body? The exact words might not be found in scripture but that does not mean the statement is wrong. It may not be in the Bible but its concept and meaning may be biblical.

Pastor Paul Wise Lumbu
Ulendo Building Stand Number 9816, Mumbwa Road
P.O. Box: 33253, Lusaka
Mobile: +260 955 780 461
Mobile: +27 820 830 245
Mobile: +27 731 798 139
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]
Lusaka / Zambia

Posted by Editor on July 27, 2012. Filed under LIFE & STYLE, STYLE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry