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Bible Basics

By Bill Dillon

The Bible: The Word of God

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Introduction

Since its inspired and immortal truths were penned amid the quiet hills of Palestine hundreds of years ago, the Bible has challenged the attention of the noblest souls of earth and of the greatest thinkers of all time.

The word of God is the best of books. It is a book of law, showing right from wrong; it is a book of wisdom, condemning sinful folly; it is a book of life, showing the way from everlasting death. What crowns it all is that God is its author.

Good morning friends. It’s great to have you tuned in this morning as we come to you live over this radio station.

Our lesson today is “The Bible: The Word of God.” Before we proceed to talk about that, I take pleasure in inviting you to the worship services of the Mountain Home Church of Christ. Our church building is at the corner of College and North Streets. Our services times today are 9:30 and 10:20 AM and 6:00 PM. Each Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.

Come with:

A Bible in your hand

A friend by your side

A smile on your face

A song in your heat.

Discussion

A fundamental belief of the Christian religion is that God has spoken to us. In Hebrews 1:1,2, the writer said:

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

The fact that God has spoken to us is startling and significant. It presupposes that we can know what God wants us to believe and do. Furthermore, it presupposes that God has a right to command us. His wisdom is far greater than our own; He knows better than we how we ought to think and live in His world.

Today, we have the will of God expressed to us through the Bible. We understand as we read the Bible, that God is speaking to us. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul wrote:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

These verses give us the eternal declaration that the Bible is God’s Word. The Bible is divine authority for us today. That fact ought to weigh heavily upon our minds as we read it.

What are the reasons for accepting the Bible as the Word of God? We preachers may too often assume that everyone who attends a worship service has this question thoroughly thought out. We frequently assume that everyone knows and believes the authenticity of the Bible. But the truth is, everyone has not studied the matter through and it is not a settled question in the minds of many. Everyone’s faith regarding the truth of the Bible ought to be re-examined from time to time.

Reasons for Rejection

One reason for people not accepting the Bible as meaningful for their lives today is that the Bible is so old!

The Bible is an old book. It has been around a long, long time; but that does not mean it’s out-dated or obsolete. By no means!

Sunshine has been around a long time and we still need it.

Oxygen has been around a long time and we still need it.

Bread has been around a long time and we still eat it.

Water has been around a long time and we still need it.

Flowers and trees have been around a long time and we still need them.

Just because a book like the Bible has been around a long time does not mean it’s of no value or of no importance anymore.

The Bible is still needed today.

The Bible is still good today.

The Bible is still appropriate today.

The Bible is still marvelous today.

The Bible is still life changing today.

The Bible is still soul changing today.

It is still good for the soul.

It is still necessary for salvation.

It is still practical for life.

It is still worth our attention.

It is still needed by everybody.

It is still within reach of all.

It is still precious to those who believe.

The Bible is the book for all seasons and times. It is the book for the spring and summer; fall and winter. It is the book for a holiday or a work-day. It is the book for the here and now, as well as for the there and then. “Don’t leave home without it.”

It will help you to:

build on the right foundation

believe the right gospel

teach the right doctrine

worship the right God

live the right lifestyle

head in the right direction.

Your faith will be strengthened; your mind will be assured; your character will be molded; your burdens will be lifted; and your fears will be banished; your doubts will be dissolved; joy will be renewed; sorrows will be removed; morale be boosted; and your life will be changed.

Another reason why people reject the Bible is they believe it is not scientifically respectable. It was never the purpose of the Bible to be a scientific work. Nowhere does it pretend to be a textbook on geology, astronomy, or medicine. It is fundamentally a religious book, but when we search through the Bible, we find that it agrees with all that men have proven to be scientifically true in areas of geology, geography, etc.

Suppose I were to write a document in the field of agriculture.

Suppose, also, in doing that I have to make casual comments touching on the fields of economics and chemistry. But suppose these occasional remarks would reveal total inaccuracies on my part. Would it not reflect on me as the author? Would it not reflect, to some extent, on the book itself? That is the way we must look at the Bible.

Friends, here is the truth. People do not really reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, people reject the Bible because it contradicts them! — and the way they wish to live!!

Allow me to tell you the story of Sir William Ramsay. And I quote:

“The name of this man is unique among the skeptics of the world. He did not believe the Bible was the inspired word of God. He was confident that it was the product of some ambitious monks, that it was shot through with error and was totally unreliable. Yet, he did not content himself to sit upon some barstool or in some school of higher education and make his blasphemous assertions — he determined to head an expedition and scientifically prove that the Bible was wrong.

“The year was 1881. Ramsay was a young man of sterling integrity and unimpeachable character. His years of education had all been in an atmosphere of doubt. He regarded the weakest part of the New Testament the story of Paul’s travels. Because those journeys had never been carefully investigated, Ramsay announced that he was going to use the book of Acts as a guide, retrace those missionary journeys, and thus prove that they could not have occurred as the Bible described them.

“Equipped as no other man had been, Ramsay went to the Bible Lands and spent fifteen long years digging out the evidence. Skeptics confidently expected that all of their allegations and assertions would be substantiated. In 1896, Ramsay published a large volume entitled St. Paul, the Traveler and the Roman Citizen. Instead of attacking the Bible, however, the book expressed confidence in the accuracy of the Bible Account.

“The chagrin and confusion of the skeptics increased as Ramsay for the next twenty years wrote book after book with nothing but praise for the accuracy and truthfulness of the Bible. These books contain such statements as:

‘The narrative never makes a false step . . ‘

‘Every minute fact stated in Acts has its own significance’

‘. . .the New Testament is unique in the compactness and the vivid truthfulness of its expression.’

‘. . . Luke is a safe guide’

‘whenever the present writer followed Luke’s authority absolutely. . .he was right down to the last detail.’

“Thus, we have before us a unique story indeed. The story of a skeptic who was willing to do more than talk. Many unbelievers have never even seriously studied the Bible — Ramsay was willing to investigate every detail. Thus, a man who was determined to destroy the Bible is today recognized as one of its greatest friends. The man whom the skeptics trusted to be their strongest ally has strangely become their most formidable opponent. It is to be regretted that the world has not been blessed with more skeptics as honest as Sir William Ramsay.”

Reasons to Receive

Why do we believe the Bible as the verbally inspired word of the living God? In actuality, there are more reasons than there is time to discuss them, at least on this particular broadcast. One reason to mention is fulfilled prophecy.

Stretched throughout the Bible are hundreds of prophecies. Events that were to be unfolded at a later time were foretold long before they ever happened. Isaiah, for example, told of the annihilation of the city of Babylon four hundred years before the event actually happened (Isaiah 14). Babylon would also be so destroyed that not a sign would remain. And it was so! Fulfilled prophecy is the strongest element of proof to demonstrate the truthfulness of the Bible. Begin a study of these prophecies today and watch your faith grow!

When we realize that God told about events hundreds of years ahead of time, and we realize they all came to pass just as they were foretold, it is not hard for reasonable and rational minds to believe and accept the Bible to have its origination from God.