The evangelical position on the Bible, that it is inspired, inerrant, and infallible, true in all that it teaches is true, from top to bottom. Our orthodoxy (right doctrine) on the Bible is orthodox. It is our orthopraxy (right practice) where we fail. Here then are several ways we in this camp tend to practice wrongly what we rightly confess.
First, we tend to believe the whole Bible is not for us. The great bulk of evangelicals are haunted by the spirit of Marcion. Marcion was an ancient heretic who wanted to excise from the Bible the mean and nasty God of the Old Testament. We, thankfully, do not go that far. We simply ignore the Old Testament, seeing it as a helpful collection of religious stories that, when it embarrasses us, can be safely swept away.
Second, we tend to see the Bible as a religious book from which we should glean our religious convictions. We miss that the Bible gives us true history. We might stand firm on Adam and Eve, on the flood (or we might not) but we miss that Adam and Eve were real human beings, just like you and me. That Abraham woke up grumpy some mornings, and might have had bad breath. We look at the people in the Bible as characters in a story that matters to us, rather than our ancestors, our actual family.
Third, we tend to see the law of God as simply sage counsel on how to be more nice to people. “Be nice” is the cardinal law to the evangelical. Our sermons thus reduce down to- “Here’s a story from the Bible. Here’s a story I found in a sermon illustration book. Here’s your application- don’t be the mean person, be the nice person.” Now I’m all in favor of being nice, when we’re supposed to be nice. But God’s law is so much broader, richer, even so much more nuanced than “Be nice.”
Fourth, we tend to see the Bible as a map to heaven. The Bible most assuredly tells us how to have peace with God. We are to repent of our sins and trust in the finished work of Christ on our behalf. It’s a good thing, a vital thing to grasp that He died for us, our sins imputed to Him on Calvary, and that He lived for us, His righteousness imputed to us. But we are not the center of the story. He is. The Bible is the story of Jesus Christ, the second Adam, bringing all things under subjection, and must be understood that way. The Bible is not just a mine from which we pull out proof texts for our systematic theologies. It is the true story of the victory of our King.
Finally, we tend to see the Bible as an aid to our piety. It is that, to be certain. But it is not a devotional. It is that by which we, His bride, are washed and purified. It is the message from the Maker of heaven and earth. It is not just to be affirmed but cherished, fed upon, breathed in, and lived out. May He give us the grace to do so.