The document we are striving to live our lives by individually and as a church is the Bible. Why should we follow the Bible? Why should you? Why does the Bible have an authority which no other book has? In this article we will lay out why we believe the Bible is God's Word, and, as such, has authority over all of us.
I. The Bible is Supernatural in Its Own Testimony
As we place the divinity of the Bible on trial, our first witness is the Bible itself. Why should we heed the Bible more than any other book? The Bible answer scores of times is, "This is the Word of God". II Timothy 3:16 states, All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. The word, "inspired" means "God-breathed". In other words, according to this verse whatever the Bible says, God says! Another key text of Scripture which presents the divinity of Scripture is II Peter 1:20-21. It says, But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. The phrase "one's own interpretation" in vs.20 indicates that none of the Bible was a product of any human writer's own thinking. Rather, vs. 21 says that the human authors of the Bible were "moved by the Holy Spirit" with the result being that what they wrote was what God wanted them to write. The word "moved" is a term which means "carried". Just like a sailboat is carried by the wind in a certain direction, so the human authors of Scripture were "carried" in the direction God intended. The human writers conveyed God's thoughts in their own learned vocabulary. In his classic, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, B.B. Warfield puts it this way, "The Scriptures are a Divine product produced through the instrumentality of man".
Is the Bible lying about its origin? If it is not to be depended upon when it speaks of itself, how do we know that it is to be trusted when it speaks about anything else? Jesus believed the Bible to be the very Word of God. He is quoted in Matthew 4:4 saying, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
The Bible's own testimony is that it is the Word of God. So, it is not to be regarded as something like a fortune cookie, or The Reader's Digest, or a really great novel. Instead, it is to be read, believed, and lived by as the written revelation of God.
II. The Bible is Supernatural in Its Continuity
The Bible agrees with itself. It is internally consistent, and all its diverse parts fit together perfectly, presenting one coherent message. Initially, that may not seem very supernatural, but consider these facts:
- The Bible contains 66 individual books
- There were 40 different human authors of these books
- The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years
- The human authors ranged from kings to farmers
- The Bible contains several different genres of literature (e.g. narrative, poetry, prophecy, letters)
Yet, in spite of this most unusual composition, the message of the Bible is connected and unified throughout. Do you know of any other book like this?!
III. The Bible is Supernatural in Its Accuracy
Jesus said in John 10:35, the Scripture cannot be broken. The word, "broken", has the idea of "undone", or "deprived of authority". Jesus was stating here that the Bible is trustworthy. On whatever it speaks, it is reliable and definitive. Later in the gospel of John, Jesus says in His prayer to God, Your word is truth (17:17).
The Bible is a verifiable book. It contains numerous historically-detailed eyewitness accounts. The accuracy of the Bible is evidenced by both fulfilled prophecy and archaeology. The Old Testament contains hundreds of prophecies concerning Israel and Jesus, the Messiah. These prophecies were made 500 - 1,000 years before the actual events took place. To see this for yourself, just read the gospel of Matthew and note how many of the events in the life of Jesus were fulfillments of prophecy. So far, every single event prophesied in the Bible has taken place exactly as predicted. How do you explain this phenomenon?! There can be only one answer: The Bible is the Word of God.
The relatively young science of archaeology has validated the historical reliability of the Bible account over and over again. The Bible's explicit forecast of the destruction of the capital of the ancient Assyrian empire, Nineveh, its prediction of the reign of Cyrus, king of the ancient Persian empire, its detailed prophecy of the total ruin of the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre, and scores of others have been substantiated by archaeology. There are teams excavating in the Bible lands every single day, and there has been no discovery to date which has disproved a single historical record in the Bible. Unlike many other religious texts which speak of towns and names which cannot be verified, the Bible speaks of times, places, and people known by the world.
IV. The Bible is Supernatural in Its Ability
The Bible says, The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
The Bible is the most read and published book in the history of the world. It is the testimony of millions and millions of people that the message of the Bible has literally changed their lives. The benefits to nations which follow Bible principles is quite apparent, especially here in the United States. What other book on earth can claim this testimony?!
Because of Its continuity, accuracy, and ability, we are convinced that the Bible's personal testimony is true. It is, in fact, the Word of God.