Second, the Bible bears the super wisdom concerning man’s relationship with God and his relationship with his fellow man, his thought, his intention, his behavior, and his daily living. At the time of the Old Testament, most of the cultures on earth believed in polytheism, the belief in more than one God. The majority of the so-called gods were depicted as cruel, fierce, or at times even licentious. But the Bible reveals one unique God who is infinite and personal, who cares for human beings as a Father and a Husband, and who personifies love, respect, justice, and mercy. This is in contrast to other gods of the ancient world who were to be obeyed and served out of fear rather than from loving respect.
The Bible also covers all kinds of knowledge, such as theology, the humanities, astronomy, geology, science, philosophy, sociology, government, education, culture, and eschatology. All science textbooks must be revised to a new edition after a certain number of years. But the Bible never changes; it always remains the same. The laws in the Old Testament take care of the proper relationship between man and his environment; for example, in besieging a city, the attackers were not to destroy the trees and thus devastate the environment (Deut. 20:19). These laws also take care of the proper balance of social wealth, through the institution of a year of jubilee every fifty years, in which all debts were forgiven and all lands returned to their original owners (Lev. 25:8-17). The Ten Commandments (Exo. 20:3-17) form the basis of the western legal system in its humane and fair treatment of fellow human beings. The Lord’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) forms the basis for a benevolent and just society. These and many other examples reveal the profound wisdom of the Bible in all aspects of the human life.
No other book contains as high a standard of ethics and morality as the Bible. It describes proper love as a human virtue, which suffers long, is kind, is not jealous, does not brag, and is not puffed up (1 Cor. 13:4). It defines love in the extending of forgiveness even to one’s enemy (Matt. 5:44). It exemplifies love in God’s own act of giving up His only Son for man (John 3:16). Christians are those who walk in love (Eph. 5:2), and the church is a community built up in love (Eph. 4:16).
The Bible also speaks of righteousness in its highest form. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen. 9:6), and all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword (Matt. 26:52). God Himself renders to those who by endurance in good work seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, life eternal, and He renders to those who are disobedient, wrath and fury (Rom. 2:6-8).
Throughout its pages the Bible describes to us a God who is holy and who separates Himself from all forms of unholiness. In the Old Testament He commanded that His people be separated from the sinful and idolatrous practices of the heathen nations (Deut. 18:9). In the New Testament He exhorts the believers to be separated from all fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, divisions, sects, envyings, bouts of drunkenness, carousings, and things like these (Gal. 5:19-21).
The Bible also speaks much about faithfulness. It exhorts men to be faithful to their spouse (1 Cor. 7:2), parents to be faithful to their children and children to their parents (Eph. 6:1-4), and each person to be faithful to his words (Matt. 5:37) and to his work (Luke 16:12); above all, one should be faithful to God, as God is faithful to him (1 Cor. 10:13; Rev. 2:10). The Bible speaks of sincerity and of humility, saying that one should not be double-tongued (1 Tim. 3:8) or use deceit (Rom. 3:13) and that one should count others more excellent than himself (Phil. 2:3) and should not be wise in himself (Rom. 12:16).
The Bible has much to say about the family, and the Christian standard differs greatly from modern philosophies and human ideologies. It advocates filial piety in honoring one’s parents (Eph. 6:2), respecting the elderly (Lev. 19:32), and being subject to the elders (1 Pet. 5:5). History has proven that where the Bible is honored, the family is preserved and society is adjusted and uplifted.
The marital relationship is defined clearly in the Bible. Fornication and adultery are strictly prohibited, and divorce is not allowed on any ground of incompatibility. The husband is to love the wife, and the wife is to submit to the husband (Eph. 5:22-33). Furthermore, the husbands and wives are to honor each other (1 Pet. 3:6-7) and to take care of each other’s relatives (1 Tim. 5:8). They should honor their marriage (Heb. 13:4) and should not take advantage of each other’s weaknesses (1 Pet. 3:1, 7). Parents should raise their children to be in subjection with all gravity (1 Tim. 3:4) and should nurture them in the discipline and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Proper discipline is necessary for the edification of children (Prov. 19:18), but such discipline must be carried out in tenderness and sensibility (Col. 3:21).
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