Christianity is the religion of Bible authority.
Although its followers are moved emotionally by their faith (1 John 4:19), they were first convinced intellectually of the truth of that faith or body of beliefs (John 8:32; 17:17), especially the trustworthiness of its source, the Bible, as God’s inspired word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Indeed, early Christians were moved emotionally when our Lord expounded the Old Testament scriptures correctly to them (Luke 24:32): “Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Of course, the interpretation of scriptures leads to mental assent and active obedience before there is rejoicing, as we find in the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39).
Members of the churches of Christ were at one time known by their detractors as “people of the book, chapter and verse” for their habit of referencing Bible content with precision in discussions and debates. Almost every point we made was backed up with “book, chapter and verse” of scripture. This complies with Isaiah 8:20 which warns against resorting to mythical channels of Divine revelation: “To the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them!” In the Christian Age, correctly handling the scriptures was a duty (2 Timothy 2:15) that covered the epistles (i.e. letters) of Jesus’ apostles which were received as God’s word (2 Peter 3:15-16; 1 Corinthians 14:37-38).
According to 1 Corinthians 13:13, three things remain after the age of miracles and before the coming again of Jesus to precede the world’s end: faith, hope and love. All three have their foundation in the word of God. Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), hope is based on the scriptures “written for our learning” (Romans 15:4) and love, of course, is a chief commandment of scripture (Matthew 22:35-40). Since the source of all our beliefs and conduct as Christians is God’s word contained in written form, it must be studied, understood, lived and defended as well as passed on unadulterated by all disciples of Christ (2 Timothy 2:2; Jude 3).
Of course it takes time and effort ,- “work”,- to be an efficient and effective “handler” of scripture, hence the command of 2 Timothy 2:15 so that we are not accused of “handling the word of God deceitfully” (2 Corinthians 4:2). In practical terms, we should make every effort to memorise scripture content (as quotations from one Bible version, for consistency), as well as scripture reference, for matters we assert. Care must be taken to systematically collect scripture-references on major points of doctrine (e.g. the gospel plan of salvation or the identifying characteristics of the church) in an easily-accessible format, such as by marking a chain of references in a wide-margin Bible. Electronic Bibles enable the marking and indexing of such references for convenient storage in the cloud.
More importantly, brethren should habitually cite many scripture-references when delivering a pulpit sermon or a podium Bible study. Well-chosen, pertinent scriptures should also appear in our text communication to similarly “… (bring) every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This practice should be second-nature to us so that we may learn “not to think beyond what is written.” (1 Corinthians 4:6).
The Bible is no mere ornament, decorative rather than useful. As the foundation of our faith, it should be mastered through regular reading and study throughout our lives. We should search out occasions to share the Bible’s content,- properly interpreted,- and when such occasions avail themselves, we ought to declare God’s thoughts and the “wisdom from above” (James 3:17). The people of the “book, chapter and verse” must convince and persuade a skeptical world that God’s revelation is of more value than “persuasive words of human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). Quoting Bible or providing a scripture-reference when we preach God’s word at any time and place (2 Timothy 4:2) will go a long way towards persuading our hearers that we are not declaring human wisdom
2 Timothy 4:2 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.