What Does the Bible Say?

People wearing masks and blue gloves pushed carts piled with bottled water, canned tuna, and whatever kind of soap they could find. The aisles for paper products were filled with empty pallets. The panic was nothing like I encountered before. My cart was piled with Scotch tape, cheese sticks, etc., on a normal Sam’s Club run. Standing in line amid a people afraid of coronavirus, my heart began to tremble.

Fast-forward through the weekend: Events were cancelled. Schools closed. Churches closed. Stores closed.

Monday morning, I woke up sick with a sore throat and fever. That evening, our county libraries closed—indefinitely. What next? Anxiety woke me in the night. Tired of tossing and turning, I decided to take stock of our pantry and freezer, but counting bags of frozen corn didn’t calm my mind. Finally I stopped and asked myself:

“What does the Bible say?”

About what? About anything. That was my parents’ other quick draw challenge for me as a teenager. For attitude and moods, they had, “Give me a verse.” For science theories, economics, movies, books, politics, wars, current issues, disasters, magazine articles, world religions, sexuality, education, etc., my parents’ guiding question was, “What does the Bible say?” What does the Bible have to say regarding the issue that is in front of you? How do the statements being made hold up according to the truth in Scripture?

Does Scripture really address every issue we come upon? “Texting” doesn’t show up in the concordance, but consider how much the Bible teaches about our speech and the impact of our words (Ephesians 4:29). Perhaps “abortion” does not appear, but the teaching of God’s creation of the child in the womb speaks of personhood from conception (Psalm 139:13-16). Cohabiting and cocaine? You won’t find them, but you will find teachings about purity (Hebrews 13:4) and about treating your body as God’s temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The exact terms of our times aren’t always explicitly named in the Bible, yet every principle to guide us through the maze of life is found there. If you dig into the text, the Bible really does have something to say about almost anything. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God did not mean for us to be confused and afraid. He means for us to be complete—equipped for every good work. However, the clarifying truth we need in order to be equipped for life here comes through His Word. God gave us Scripture to communicate who He is, what He is doing, and what is going on in the world. When we put on the lenses of Scripture, we begin to see the spiritual forces at work in the world; to discern the impact of sin and its curse on our daily lives; and to behold the daily mercy and grace God bestows on an undeserving world. God does not mean for us to go through life bleary-eyed, but such perspective isn’t downloaded overnight. We must open the Bible and search it out.

If we choose to leave our Bibles unused, what are we left with? John Calvin writes,

For just as eyes, when dimmed with age or weakness or by some other defect, unless aided by spectacles, discern nothing distinctly; so, such is our feebleness, unless Scripture guides us in seeking God, we are immediately confused. (John Calvin, Institutes, I.xiv.1)

“Immediately confused.” There I was—feverish, in my pajamas, counting peas at 4am. What I needed, what countless other people needed, more than anything, was to put on spectacles of clarity, to open the Book and answer the question, “What does the Bible say?”

Tired of worry, I grabbed my Bible and started flipping through the familiar pages. What does the Bible say about all our fear of this disease, of death, of our daily needs for food?

First, we do have reason to fear because we are all sinners. “[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The consequence of this sin? “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). In short, we are all going to die. While we will not all die of coronavirus, this disease is a revelation of God’s right anger toward sin (Romans 1:18). This virus is not outside of His sovereign command. “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?” (Amos 3:6). We are living under a curse, and we and all creation groan because of it (Romans 8:20-23).

Second, God Himself has provided and offered us salvation. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God has worked out salvation for us. All we need do is come to Him. He will save us. Eternal life with God in a heaven free of sickness, pain, and death is available in Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:3-4).

Third, God’s salvation doesn’t exempt God’s people from suffering and death. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). History is full of saints who endured hardship and died. The difference is they lived and died trusting the Lord to sustain their faith all the way to heaven. They persevered by holding fast to the words of the Word.

Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:31-34:

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Or again, Jesus speaking in Luke 12:4-7:

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Or recall King David’s testimony in Psalm 37:25-28a:

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.

Or again, the psalmist in Psalm 91:1-6

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Finally, God is the sovereign power of the universe. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). “For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth” (Psalm 47:2). “[F]or I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” (Isaiah 46:9b-10). In other words, coronavirus is not king. God is. If He commanded it to stop, coronavirus would fall dead—in a millisecond. God has sent plagues before (see Exodus 7-12), and He has also stopped them (see 2 Samuel 24:16).  Should He choose to let coronavirus continue, He will be with us through it: “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Friends, in days when the internet can hardly keep up with the changing crisis, may we rest in knowing “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). When panic comes, may we put on our spectacles, open His Word, and ask, “What does the Bible say?” May we find faith and courage there. After all, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). May His Word help us not to hoard, but to share; not to panic, but to serve; not to fear, but to trust. When bleary-eyed people ask why we are calm, why we have hope, why we can give away our extra toilet paper, let’s tell them what the Bible says.

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Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis. Battles. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1960. 160-1. Print.