The Words in Red

One thing I really liked from the King James and New King James Translations that I used as a child was the red text used whenever Christ was quoted directly. (Some other translations do this as well, but many publishers in the modern world find it easer to just print in black and white) I remember having particular awe for the pages in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that were covered in red ink. I treated them with greater respect. I thought that they were the Holy of Holy quotes.

But now in most modern Bibles you will find that they use the same typeset throughout the Bible. There are also never any color designations in these Bibles either. Honestly, I am disappointed that so many have given up on the “Words of Christ in Red” format. I suppose I’m just nostalgic. 

However, this leads me to a new question. Do the “Words in Red” (Christ’s Words) hold more value than the rest of the Bible? Are they “more inspired”? I think before we tackle that question we should talk about the inspiration of the Bible as a whole.

God’s Word, the Bible, is a divinely inspired writing. The first Chapter of John goes into this in greater detail. There are other places we find that the Bible is Divinely inspired from Genesis to Revelation. (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20 and others) So all the writings of the Bible were inspired by God and written by man who was moved by His Spirit. This is a far greater inspiration that outweighs other writers who may also be ‘inspired’. In fact the modern world has many good Christian writers whom I do believe to be inspired writers. But their writings do not supersede God’s Holy Word.

So then, do we take every verse in the Bible as God’s direct command to us? What do we do then with some places like this one? “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” Job 2:9b Is this a command from God to us? NEVER. God inspired the writing of the story of Job, but that does not mean that we are to do what the villains in the stories say or do. A large portion of the Old Testament is full of history that serve as examples and illustrations of things that we should not follow. We believe that the stories are God’s Truth, but we do not imitate the sins that the people committed.

So to review, the Old Testament is full of examples in history. These are divinely inspired writings, but that does not mean we are to copy all of them in our lives.  But what about the New Testament? How do we take the specific commands of the New Testament?

Again, some parts of the New Testament are recorded history, specifically the book of Acts. The Gospels also contain history, but are focused more with Jesus teachings. The Epistles were commands and admonishments to early churches. The book of Revelation is New Testament prophecy.

So how do we rightly divide the Word of Truth? Well, first of all we need to understand the difference between inspiration on commands. God’s moral law never changes. He is not less or more Holy to suit modern or historical culture. That being said, we do have to realize that not everything in our lives is primarily a moral choice. Some churches have pastors who wear a suit and tie, some do not. Which is the morally correct version? 

Here we need to back up and be very careful. God is unchanging, but people are not. What is culturally acceptable is not always right, but we must also remember that choices, not items, have the moral significance. The heart of rebellion can be seen wearing a tie or a t-shirt, a skirt or jeans. The issue is not with the items but with the heart of the person.

What does that have to do with the New Testament’s inspiration? Quite a lot, actually. Paul, Peter, James, and John were writing to people of a certain time and place. In those settings there were things that were concerns based on what the culture around them was doing. That is why Paul writes about food that was sacrificed to idols. This is why James writes about slaves and masters. They were showing what the moral significance was in the situations and times of their writings.

Now we do not see food that has been sacrificed to an idol in our grocery store. Nor do we have slaves. But the moral points of these writings; the inspiration that drove them, still applies. Paul wrote about these foods because it was an important issue of the day. Christians did not want to be seen as supportive of idolatry so they would not eat such meats. But some thought that since the idols were merely man’s foolish creation they held no actual weight. Both parties were convicted by their conscience. Paul tells them that what is important is to not ignore your conscience in this type of matter, regardless which side you fall on. But he also warns that those who do not feel convicted when eating such things should not force their beliefs upon the weaker brothers, nor flaunt them. He tells them that they are to avoid causing each other to stumble. This is the timeless truth that we can apply from this inspired text.

In the words of Christ, however, we run into a different setting. Jesus taught people pure timeless truth. His teachings have little to do with the culture of that day, but rather with the condition of the human soul. As such, His writings are more direct, piercing Truth. The Son of God, perfect and Holy, came to lead His people into Salvation. His preaching and words apply directly to us all, and are the Words of God spoken by God Himself in His Holy Word. They are Divine to the fullest. They do not contradict any other Scripture, nor do they annul any of the Law or Prophets. He, and His Words, fulfilled them instead. Unlike the Epistles, which were written to specific people, Jesus words were to all who followed Him.

Conclusion

So back to the question. Are the “Words in Red” more inspired? Well, no. All of the Bible is equally inspired by God. However, Jesus teachings are more directly applicable than the Old Testament stories, and even the specific epistles that we find in the New Testament. All Scripture is God breathed; but in the same breath, we need to remember that many of the letters of the Bible were indeed to specific people for their specific times. The truths are still there, but in some cases, the specific problems they were dealing with have indeed passed. So remember, Paul was as inspired as Moses, so were Mark and John. But Paul and the New Testament writers did have more information to work with, (since they had Christ’s commands and perfect revelation which the Old Testament writers could not know) so their works are more detailed. But Christ preached as only God could. His words are just as much Scripture, but are also some of God’s direct commands. All inspired equally, but not all Scripture is direct command. The moral truth of God’s Word is unchanging. So read, study, and listen to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. God will lead those who earnestly seek Him.