Key Verse: Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (NIV).

Why do so many people have strong opinions about “the Word of God?” Is it because they’re not sure they can trust a book that has undergone several translation in history? Is it because they’re not sure they can trust those who have interpreted that word (a good old-fashioned distrust of preachers)? Or is it simply that they cannot believe that God (if He exists) has the interest or capability to communicate His will to this little terrestrial speck of dust on the outer fringes of the Milky Way?

Maybe it’s none of the above. Maybe it’s because the Bible has a way of getting under one’s skin–it makes the realities of Heaven and Hell, Body and Soul, God and Man, all too crystal clear. It has a way of making us feel morally naked. As much as it has a capacity to bless us, it has equal capacity to damn us. It forces us to confront our selfishness. It demands decisions.

What makes the Bible so powerful? The answer is given in the context–look at verse 13: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (NIV). This verse speaks of God’s “omniscience”, His “all-knowingness”.

Because He is omniscient, God sees everything. Everything. Not just in our present, but in our past and future as well. Notice the possessive pronoun “our”–I didn’t say “His”. For God there is no past and no future. As I said in my book, “Theology for Non-Theologians”, God lives in the eternal now.” There are no secrets from Him and no surprises for Him. In His presence no lie can stand.

There’s something powerfully implicit in the word of God–there’s coming a day when we will all stand before God and give account. We’ll be spiritually naked. Only those covered with the blood of the Lamb of God will survive. That’s what the Bible says. And that’s why it polarizes people to this day.