Day 41: Preservation of Scripture, The Word Kept Pure

Scripture
"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Isaiah 40:8 ESV

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Matthew 24:35 ESV

Confessional Summary
The historic confessions teach us that the Bible’s survival is no accident of history. Because God spoke these words, He has watched over them with a singular providence to ensure they remain a sure foundation for the Church.

The Westminster Confession of Faith explains that because the Scriptures were "immediately inspired by God," they have been "by His singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages, and are therefore authentical; so as, in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal unto them" (WCF 1.8). God did not merely speak; He sovereignly decreed the survival of what He spoke.

The Belgic Confession emphasizes the supreme and lasting authority of this preserved Word. "We believe also that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it." Because this Word is divine, the confession forbids comparing human writings to it: "Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures... for the truth is above all" (Article 7).

Finally, the Second Helvetic Confession reminds us that this preservation serves a specific purpose: "In this Holy Scripture, the universal Church of Christ has the most complete exposition of all things for a saving faith" (Chapter 1).

To the Reformers, the preservation of Scripture is the proof that God intended His Word to remain the living rule of the Church until the end of time.

Reflection
The endurance of the Bible is a miracle that defies the natural order of things. Isaiah 40 gives us a sobering contrast. It sets the fragile, fleeting beauty of a flower against the ironclad endurance of God’s Word. In our world, everything is decaying. Nations fall, languages change until they are unrecognizable, and the greatest human libraries crumble back to dust. Yet, the Word of God stands outside this decline.

When we talk about preservation, we are really talking about God’s faithfulness to His own character. As Jesus says in Matthew 24, His words are more permanent than the physical universe. The heavens and the earth, as vast as they are, will eventually pass away, but the Word is rooted in the eternal nature of God Himself. The purity of the text across thousands of years is not won by human diligence. It is the result of God’s active supervision over every scribe and every era of the Church.

We do not have a fragmented or diluted record of what God once said. We have exactly what He intended us to have. God guards what He reveals because He loves those to whom He has revealed it. He has kept His Word certain so that we are never left without an authentic witness to His grace.

Application
Trusting in the preservation of Scripture gives us a fixed point in a world that never stops shifting. We treat the Bible as fragile antiquity or dated relic. Something that we must struggle to make relevant. The doctrine of preservation turns this on its head. The Bible is not the one on trial. It is the judge of the world.

When you face seasons of doubt, you have to decide where your final appeal lies. Will you lean on the opinions of men, which wither like grass, or will you stand on the Word that God has kept through fire and fury? The same providence that guarded the text through the centuries is the providence that watches over your life today.

Practice resting in this permanence. Your feelings will fluctuate and your circumstances will fade, but the promises of God remain untouched by time. Build your life on the only foundation promised to outlast the stars.

Prayer
Sovereign Lord, I praise You that Your voice has not been lost to history. Thank You for the care by which You have kept Your Word pure and available to me today. Forgive me for treating Your Word as if it needed my defense, when You have already proven Yourself its perfect Keeper. Let Your Word be the final authority for my life. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, Amen.