No, We Don't Have to Put Bible Verses Everywhere
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
There is a Christian cultural pressure to ensure that everything we do or make must, in the most obvious fashion, be pointing directly to Scripture. Now, all Scripture is good, and right, and profitable for teaching (2 Timothy 3:16). This article is not going to argue against that at all. We love Scripture here and encourage its use everywhere! However, we don’t have to work it into the margins of every piece of artwork we paint or have it directly quoted in every story we right.
Note: If you feel called by the Holy Spirit to put Bible verses on and in everything that you create, by all means do so!
But putting Bible verses or drawing little crosses into the things we create is not a requirement or a commandment, especially when it comes from glorified peer pressure. Indeed, God’s Word says nothing about needing to put Scriptural references into our work and it says a lot about the kind of work we are called to do. Work that:
Glorifies God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
We have done without complaining or grumbling (Philippians 2:14).
Loves our neighbor (Galatians 6:10).
Sets us apart from the rest of the world (Romans 12:2).
We have been diligent in (Proverbs 10:4).
Every single one of these requirements can be met without stamping ‘John 3:16’ on everything we create.
If you are only putting Bible verses in your stories and drawing crosses in your artwork because you feel a societal, cultural pressure to do so, that is likely a form of legalism. An “I must do this thing to be a good Christian” type of mentality.
No!!
You get two exclamation points for that; this is how emphatic I am (and the Gospels are) about it. We are saved by grace alone and by the gift that God has freely given us! No amount of obligated Bible verses or tiny crosses are going to help with our salvation or make us any better of a Christian.
If you love God and He has called you to draw tiny crosses on every piece of artwork you create, then do so! The key is to do it out of loving obedience to the One who created you, not out of some requirement by the great Christian culture. If you do not feel called to write full-length sermons in your latest novel, but are writing it diligently, earnestly seeking to please God with it, then you do not have to put a sermon in it.
Understand your salvation, be diligent in seeking after Christ, do not glorify sin in your work, and let God direct you as He sees fit!
Putting it into Action: take a moment and assess any pressure you might be feeling as a Christian creative. Does any of it align with the “I must do this thing to be a Good Christian Creative” mentality? Do you feel a pressure to conform to a certain style of media, simply because it is what is “expected” of you as a Christian by other Christians? If so, practice taking that pressure off of yourself and your creativity. Your salvation is not dependent on how many Bible verses you can cram into one piece of media!
