Jeff Simmons
Many aphorisms and idioms in use today trace their origin to Biblical writ, such as:
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A drop in the bucket (Isa. 40:15)
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Treat others as you want to be treated (Luke 6:31)
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Find a ram in the thicket (Gen. 22:13)
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By the skin of your teeth (Job 19:20)
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A wolf in sheep’s clothing (Mat. 7:15)
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The apple of my eye (Deu. 32:10; Zec. 2:8)
And there are others. Just as the Bible has unequivocally shaped and influenced Western morality, so too has it shaped and influenced our diction. Many in the world, unbeknownst to them, utter Biblically inspired phrases every day. For another example, consider the word goodbye. Most people, Christians included, have no idea that it is etymologically derived from the old farewell phrase, “God be with you.” Though subtle to Christians and unbelievers alike, those with an attentive heart may obtain some intimation of the vast, millennia-spanning influence of Scripture.
Consider also the ubiquitousness of literacy in the present age. That certainly wasn’t the case even 200 years ago. Those called by God have been and still are principal in proliferating the art of reading and writing. The Israelites, for example, were singular among the nations of their day because of the inordinate rate of literacy they possessed. Moreover, Israelite women were taught to read and write, a thing unheard of in that time, even to this day being prohibited by some cultures and religions. Why were the Israelites so different in this manner compared to all the other nations of the world? It was because they were called by God to be so, rather directly:
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deu. 6:6-9).
The spread of literacy (and, as a result, general education) coincided with the spread of the Bible. Once it began to be translated into European vernacular, “laymen” could for the first time study God’s Word themselves, much to the chagrin of Catholic clergy. After centuries of suppression, the Bible was now accessible to the common man, just as the Law and the Prophets were to the 1st century church. Those who would seek first the kingdom of God now had the tools to do so, as was originally intended. This intent for Christians to read and study Scripture for themselves is extolled by Luke when he wrote of the Berean Jews: “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so (Acts 17:11).”
God, therefore, desires a studious people, one that will diligently read and apply His Word. The Bible is not, as some contend, only capable of being understood by a select few men ordained by a mere worldly authority. Though he was mistaken regarding some very essential parts of Biblical doctrine, Martin Luther was very much justified in his criticism of Catholicism. Their binding of the traditions of men had been hampering the one true Way for centuries. Translation and rapid copying of Scripture via the new-fangled printing press, though still very limited in that time, gave rise to the unprecedented spread of literacy in the West, as well as globally. Missionaries, whether of the church or denominational, were principal in not only spreading the Gospel, but teaching the world to read and write. When they arrived in foreign nations that knew not God, they went through the painstaking (an understatement, if ever there was) process of learning the local language and translating Scripture into that language. After that, they would also teach the local population how to read and write, so that they could study these things for themselves—a mammoth task to be sure.
It is very difficult to articulate just how instrumental Biblical translation and widespread study of it was in both allowing the restoration of Christ’s church and the general development of this modern age. This restoration, mass education, brilliant technological innovations, democracy, and modern science would not have occurred on the colossal scale that they have were it not for the Gospel. It’s no coincidence that these happened when the Bible was made publicly available.
People these days need to be made aware of just how foundational Biblical teaching is to their lives, and how attempting to dispense with it is akin to a tree attempting to live apart from its roots. The influence of God’s Word upon the world we live in is boundless and unfathomable.
