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Almost 40 years ago, a co-worker, a member of an aggressive religious organization, approached me one evening with an interesting query. "What if you were in a burning house, and I stood at the door holding it open and told you this was the only way out. Would you listen to me, or stay in the burning house?"

I don't recall my reply, but something didn't sound right. Several years later, while reflecting on what he had asked, it hit me why his analogy didn't work. What if there were more than one door?

What if there were 100 doors, or even 1000, each manned by someone declaring, "This way out!" What would make his claim any different from all the others? Then a simple solution occurred to me.

Suppose I searched that building, and in a dusty corner of an old bookshelf, I discovered the blueprints for the house. Those plans showed clearly and unmistakably the one door leading outside. Every other door led to a room filled with mazes and darkness. Is there any doubt which door I would take?

The Bible is that blueprint. It comes in two parts, one old and one new. The old one tells us how God built this house, and how the original tenants started the fire that now smolders, unquenchable. That flame can, at any time, erupt and instantly consume the whole house with all its occupants. The old section of the blueprints, unfortunately, doesn't tell us how to get out, how to be saved from the coming holocaust. It contains hints, but no clear picture. The new one, however, does.

The new part holds detailed information about the door, where to exit, and how. It even explains how to traverse the pathway we find outside. It warns us of pitfalls, snares, and false detours that will hamper our efforts to reach the Builder, and settle forever in the kingdom ruled by His Son. It even promises our eventual success, because the Son paid the full price needed to ensure it. But there's a catch.

We must step out in faith and exit through that door, and no other. The blueprint isn't a nanny. It can't grab us by the scruff of the neck and drag us through. It makes no difference even if we memorize the blueprint, and spend our lives doing good deeds while still in the house. Those can't push us through the door, either. We must act on the faith we have been given to receive the promises that lie beyond the door. Indeed, the Son Himself is the door, and unless we trust Him and believe, we can't escape.

Now , we face the question whether Christianity could survive without its blueprint, without the Bible. The answer is no, because the Bible is part of God's plan for His church. Excluding it would leave only partial truth - and a small part at that - with no means to determine truth.The Bible is essential because God made it so, and to reject it is to reject Him. We cannot know His truth and will without it, any more than a car can run properly with no tires on its wheels.

Even with the Bible available, men distort and twist God's word to suit their own purposes. Consider how much worse it would be with no written record of what Jesus and His apostles taught. In His providence, however, God left us His word in a form so plain the average person can read and understand it if he so wishes.

Reject the Bible, and we fatally alter God's plan. We eliminate the only unchanging standard He gave us by which to judge truth. Instead, we add our own touch to it. That has actually happened in the past, and the result has always been gross error. God's plan becomes man's plan, and that can't lead to salvation. It never has, and it never will.

Learn more about this author, F.J. Foster.
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