Does the Bible Really Have All the Answers For My Life?

Yes and no.

The Bible does not explicitly tell you what college to attend, which car to buy, or how much to budget for groceries this month. So, in that sense, the Bible does not provide a specific answer for every detail of your life.

But then again, it does. Paul writes this encouragement to Pastor Timothy of Ephesus, “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 competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16). Though the Bible does not give explicit instructions on everyday mundane situations, it does give instruction on things that really matter in life.

All Scripture, not just some, but all, comes from God’s mouth. That is what Paul means by “breathed out by God.” All Scripture is also profitable for:

1. Teaching

2. Reproof (rebuke, admonish, criticize)

3. Correction

4. Training in righteousness

It is profitable in that all Scripture provides all that is needed in regards to these four means of spiritual growth.

There is a purpose, or a desired outcome of Scripture providing these means of growth in your life. That purpose is that the man of God may be two things:

1. Competent

2. Equipped for every good work

Meaning, the application of Scripture to your life may not give you specific answers about life, such as what to make for dinner tonight, but it does provide all that is needed for what matters most in life…your spiritual growth into godliness.

So, it really is a matter of perspective when we ask if the Bible really provides us with all the answers in life. When we ask it that way, we may be admitting that we don’t rank our spiritual health and development as high as we should. As if, the Bible’s lack of explicit direction on which football team you should cheer for somehow diminishes its power and effectiveness. Rather, we ought to praise God for giving us His Word so that we may prioritize our maturity into the image of his Son above trivialities in life.

But you may still be disappointed that there isn’t at least some direction on how to make decisions about things of lesser importance. The Bible does provide an answer for this.

In Romans 12:2, Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The command here is that we not behave as the world behaves, being conformed, or twisted into the ways of this sinful world. Rather, we are to be transformed into godliness. The means of this transformation is by the renewal of our minds that we received from Christ. When this renewal of mind is actively influencing our lives, we are transformed to know God’s desired will for our lives. We transform into doing his desired will by knowing what is good and acceptable and perfect. Until we know what is good and acceptable and perfect by the renewal of our minds, we cannot be transformed into them.

Now, this has more to do with having answers of morality and truth, what is right and wrong, what is considered holy and righteous to God, and therefore enabling us to obey and glorify God.

But there is something else that is sweet in this text, like getting to the candy in the middle of a tootsie pop, this text shows us that we have renewed minds! So, what does our renewed mind have to do with having every answer in life?

These renewed minds that we possess, are, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 2:16, “The mind of Christ.” Meaning, we have access to the way Jesus thinks through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are able to judge, make decisions, and discern all things through a righted mind that is the mind of Christ in us.

Where do I go to college? What fertilizer should I use on the lawn? Nike or Adidas? These are seemingly inconsequential things to consider. However, equipped with the mind of Christ, we are able to discern even the most mundane decisions so that we can make choices that are most honoring to God.

Does God really care what lawn fertilizer I use? Probably not, but then again…YES! HE DOES! He is sovereign over every fertilizer granule, and he dictates where they land and how they function, and he wants nothing more than for you to seek his will through the mind of Christ in every single mundane and menial task or decision.

After all, if we seek his will for lawn fertilizer, how much more will we be prepared to seek his will in situations that have much more serious implications?

So, to answer the question of does the Bible have all the answers for my life? Yes, it does, because the Bible has the knowledge that influences our minds in Christ, and therefore, we are able to make decisions from a renewed mind, even trivial decision, to honor God and obey Christ.