I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. It is the authority for faith and practice in the Christian life. Now you might say—“Okay Richard, I agree that the Bible has been important to Christians, but why should I believe it is more divinely inspired than any other book?” Good question!
Here are some reasons I believe the Bible is the very word of God:
- The Bible claims to be inspired by God. “All scripture is inspired by God (God breathed)” 2 Timothy 3:16. The men who wrote the Bible “spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21.
- The fulfillment of prophecy. The words, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets . . .” resounds throughout the Gospel accounts. Hundreds of years before Christ the prophets predicted the manner and place of Jesus’ birth, the content of his ministry, his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. No amount of mere human insight or perception can explain this—it is explained only by the fact that the Bible is inspired by God.
- The Unity of the Bible. “The Bible was written over a period of about 1500 years in places stretching all the way from Babylon to Africa to Rome. It was recorded by a variety of at least 40 different men—kings, peasants, poets, herdsmen, fishermen, scientists, farmers, priests, prophets, pastors, tentmakers, and governors.” (Hershal Hobbs).
W.A. Criswell said, “Just think of this: There was never any order given to any man to plan the Bible. Little by little, part by part, century after century it came out in disconnected fragments and unrelated portions written by various men without any intention of a concerted arrangement. The Bible was written in three different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. In the Bible we find all kinds of poetry, prose, letters, proverbs, parables, allegories and orations.”
What would you expect to find from such a mismatch of people, places and personalities? We would expect to find whole areas of discord and all of it utterly lacking in unity. Yet we find the exact opposite. There is the most heavenly and marvelous unity of any book on earth. Every part of the Bible adds to and supports every other part. There is an ever-increasing, ever-growing, ever-developing theme in the Bible. It contains one system of doctrine, one system of ethics, one plan of salvation and one rule of faith.
- The Message of the Bible. The message of the Bible is like no other book. You can exhaust the meaning and content of other books, but not the Bible. It is life changing. It feeds my soul every day. It reveals the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of all. It’s words have literally transformed my life.
What do you believe about the Bible? Why?
To learn more about reading your Bible read Sword Training.
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Hey Richard,
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your points here. Good stuff.
I also chose to write about this topic today, but went from a different angle. I think people can actually suffer in their growth as a disciple when they make the Bible an idol.
http://captainestes.blogspot.com/2010/05/value-and-limits-of-letter.html
I enjoyed your story. And I get the point. There are those who "idolize" the Bible. But I think there are far more who simply neglect it, treat it like a magic 8 ball, or keep it around as a good luck charm. The whole purpose of God's word is for us to come to know Him and follow Him. --Richard
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the Bible is the inspired word of God. It isn't a question I had ever really considered before because I've always taken it for granted. I especially agree with number 4 on your points. Even those areas which are designated as counter testimony still enforce the overall theme and message of the bible.
ReplyDeleteOk, first of all, I don't think that any Christian would believe any different than we all do on the Bible being what it is.
ReplyDeleteI have a question though....
Have you run into Christians that believe otherwise? If so, can you call on Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior without believing in the validity of what you wrote about?
I guess that's more than one question so I'll keep going with one more that probably summarizes them.
Can you believe in Jesus and not the Bible or vice versa?
Kevin, here's some thoughts off the top of my head:
ReplyDelete1. Jesus believed the Bible. At least the part that had already been written (the OT). He quoted it often and appealed to it as authoritative.
2. I think you have to believe at least the gospel message, which the Bible states clearly, in order to believe in Jesus. Otherwise the Jesus you are believing in may or may not be the real Jesus, the Son of God, Savior of the world. You may get that gospel message from a person, a tract, a Bible, a sermon, a testimony, or some other means--but the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is one truth.
3. If you claim to believe in Jesus why wouldn't you believe what He said that was recorded by reliable eyewitnesses?
Thanks for playing along Kevin. --Richard
Seiji, I have run into quite a few who claim to believe in Jesus, yet really don't hold the Bible to be authoritative for their life. Usually what i have seen is that this person has a particular thing they are into, or a sin they want to hold onto, which the Bible speaks against. So in order to keep living they way they want to, they discount the reliability of scripture. --Richard
ReplyDeleteGood post. I agree with your last comment here. I don't think that is that many don't believe the bible. I agree that most don't "don't hold the Bible to be authoritative for their life". Unfortunately, this can be true with church leadership as well, leading a whole body of people astray.
ReplyDeleteRonnie, I am afraid that many preachers and Bible teachers have a "canon within a canon" that is they only major on certain parts of scripture and ignore the rest. I hope that in my ministry I can, like Paul, "declare to you the whole counsel of God." If we really believe it, we will live it. --Richard
ReplyDeleteI think that the problem is two-fold:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, there are few issues that the Bible doesn't cover. Most of the time, when people find the biblical answer is contrary to what they believe, they try to dismiss it.
Secondly, many preachers and teachers try to force feed huge bites of steak to someone that can only handle milk. Referring of course to new believers or even the lost.
Thanks for dropping by my site today...I am sorry you miss your sign. lol
Richard, this is good stuff. I guess an opinion post was good for you today.
ReplyDeleteAny who... I guess I will add my two cents. I struggle with many of the contemporary churches that have fallen into the "I love Jesus but not the church mentality." I mention that in order to say, I don't believe that you can have a growing relationship with Christ if you do not love his Church or the Scriptures.
I don't think it is a fair question to ask whether or not someone can be a Christian and not believe the Bible or vice versa because our salvation isn't the end product of our relationship with Christ. It is only the beginning. After we are saved we are to become salt and light to the world and in my opinion that is impossible to do without the Church and without a right understanding of God's word.
Also, the Gospel of John tells us that "the Word became flesh." I just don't think that you can take one without the other.
None of this is to say that I disagree with Kevin's observations. I think he makes a couple of really great points in his last comment. I just thought I would respond to the question that was asked. Plus I think he is way cool!
Kevin, Sure glad you asked the questions here today. It has made for a good discussion. You are right in that people learn to walk the Christian life and learn the word of God at different paces. We need to be sensitive to that. We also need to give them good reasons to believe it and to grow in their understanding. One good reason we can give them is the example of our transformed life as Jesus lives through us. Then we can show how the Bible makes a practical difference in our lives daily. Oh, And I need a sign! --Richard
ReplyDeleteLarry, I'm right there with you, brother. Even with all its problems, I still love the church because we are the body of Christ and the family of God. And I love God's word. I have been spending a lot of my devotional time in Psalm 119. You can't live in that chapter without coming to love God's word.
ReplyDeleteI agree about your observation that "being a Christian and not believing the Bible" is not a good argument. A Christian is one who believes in Jesus with the result that his life is changed and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in him. I understand the changing part takes time, but the Spirit is there to lead us into all truth.
You are so right when you say Kevin is way cool. I jcouldn't agree more. I love his writing and his spirit. Others can check it out at: http://campfirecowboyministries.com./
--Richard
That was a lot of fun. I love it when there is an actual discussion taking place.
ReplyDeleteBut I hate it when I read the next day some of my comments and how I should have worded them differently. But oh well, you can't put the bull back in the chute once you've nodded your head.
Thanks guys.
Thank you, Kevin. --Richard
ReplyDelete