Is it ‘biblical’ or ‘in the Bible’?

I have listened to many Christians who refer to issues in the Bible as ‘biblical.’ Though it sounds right, it is not completely right. The fact is, there is difference between ‘biblical’ and ‘in the Bible.’ In other words, not everything in the Bible is biblical. Something ‘biblical’ refers to what is prescribed by the Bible, or what the Bible seems to suggest, or what the Bible teaches; whereas, something ‘in the Bible’ refers to what is mentioned in the Bible – narratives or Bible stories constitute the bulk of this part.

The relationship between the ‘biblical’ and the ‘in the Bible’ can be likened to the relationship between prescription and description respectively.  Something prescribed is to be followed or implemented. Conversely, something described serves as an information or knowledge with no necessity of implementation. The following examples highlight my points on the two concepts posed above:

Examples of ‘biblical’

• To love one another – we are mandated to do so (1 John 4:7).
• To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
• To live a holy life – it is a mandate for us to be holy (1 Peter 1:16).

Examples of ‘in the Bible’

• A woman caught in adultery (John 4).
• Peter’s denial of Jesus Christ (Matt. 26: 69-75).
• Saul’s persecution of the church (Acts 9: 1, 2).

A good reader of the Bible would understand that the three points under the first example are what we are to implement or apply in our lives if we profess to be Christians. The points under the second examples, however, are informatory. We can learn from them, but we do not have to do what they say – we do not need to be adulterers, to deny Christ or to persecute the church. In fact, doing what the points in the second example are about is to act against what the Bible prescribes.

From the discussions above, one should now not confuse one concept for another. If any statement made is meant to suggest an action prescribed by the Bible, then, one may know it is ‘biblical’. However, if it is information provided without any direct suggestion for the readers, it is what referred to as ‘in the Bible.’ I should not be mistaken that the narratives do not teach us. No! They do teach us, and we learn from them too.

Caveat

The points discussed above can be misleading if one does not pay close attention. If the terms ‘biblical’ and ‘in the Bible’ are confusing, one should think of them as the ‘prescribed’ and ‘described’ respectively. There are other issues in the Bible that could hardly be placed under either term/concept. For instance, the death of Christ; is it biblical or in the Bible? My answer simply is that it is in the Bible. However, if I am answering someone who has some feeling of doubt whether Christ died, I might say it is biblical – for the sake of stressing my point. Here, I would mean, the Bible teaches about the death of Christ.