That’s right. You heard me. Not everything in the Bible is true.
I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I believe that it faithfully reports the events it reports. It also faithfully reports the words of uninspired men. Because of that, just because it’s in the Bible, doesn’t mean it’s true.
Ex.—The devil tells Eve that she won’t die if she eats the forbidden fruit. That statement isn’t true.
We understand that about Genesis 3, but we can forget that when it comes to other books. For example, the vast majority of the statements in the book of Job are the statements of uninspired men, especially Job and his friends. God later says that the friends had spoken falsely, and Job repents of the things he has said. Yet I hear people say, “God says in Job 12…” No, he doesn’t. God reports for us what men said.
I see the book of Ecclesiastes in this way. Much of the book is the record of a man’s faith journey. All of what is said in the book has to be evaluated based on what is said in the last chapter. Many of the Psalms do the same thing. They are a faithful record of men’s emotions and men’s reactions to what God is doing.
An example from the New Testament is the statement of the man healed of blindness when he says, “We know that God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners.” God doesn’t say that. John doesn’t even say it. He quotes what this uninspired man said.
Gamaliel, in Acts 5, says that if a movement is not of God, it will soon disappear on its own. Fact is, that’s not true. Look at the false religions of this world that have been around for years. But we shouldn’t be troubled by the fact that it’s not true. God didn’t say it. Luke didn’t say it. Luke reported what Gamaliel said.
Be careful when you say, “The Bible says…” or “God says…” There are parts of the book that aren’t true. They are faithful representations of uninspired, false statements. Keep your eyes open!