In the work of the writing of his inspired Word God
used men who were men of their time, just as all men they were limited in
knowledge and so on, in themselves they were fallible men. Does that mean that
the Bible is a limited, time-bound and fallible record about God? That is
argued quite often, but such an opinion contradicts the witness of Scripture
itself. The Scripture does not present itself as a time- and culture-bound,
fallible document, but as the record of God's revealed will for all times and
places.
It is true: in themselves the biblical writers were
fallible sinful men, but moved by the Holy Spirit they wrote the infallible
Word of God. The biblical writers were men of their time. They lived and wrote
within a certain culture. That does not mean however that what they wrote under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was bound to their time and culture. God
governs the whole world. He works all things according to his eternal pleasure.
It pleased him to reveal his will within a certain cultural and historical
context. The cultural and historical contexts are not factors that stand outside
the counsel of God.
The Bible was written within a certain cultural and
historical context, but its message is not bound to that context. From its very
beginning, it was intended to be a revelation of God and his will for the
world. When we read the Bible, we are confronted with commands and customs.
Are all commands meant for us? Are we to follow all customs described in the
Bible?
In the first place we must distinguish between the Old
Testament and the New Testament dispensation. In the New Testament it is
explicitly indicated that many commands were only meant for the Old Testament
dispensation. In the next place we must not forget that not all things that are
described in the Bible are prescribed for all coming generations. But when a
custom is in the Bible itself explicitly prescribed and it does not belong to
the mosaic dispensation, we do not have the right to say that we are free to
obey or disobey.