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| WHY SHOULD I
INVESTIGATE THE BIBLE? |
#601
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The Bible is an amazing book. It deserves our attention
because it claims to be a message from God. As we read the
Bible, from one end to the other we find statements like these:
“God spoke all these words,” “These are true words of God,” and
“All Scripture is inspired by God” (Exodus 20:1; Revelation
19:9; II Timothy 3:16). And that is just a few of many such
statements. The Bible boldly makes the claim that the Scriptures
are the product of people who were “moved by the Holy Spirit”
(II Peter 1:20-21). Those who wrote it claimed that their words
were not “taught by human wisdom,” but were “taught by the
Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” (I
Corinthians 2:13). Of course, just because these claims were
made does not make them true. But still, a lot of people do
believe them. Let’s look at a few reasons why.
First of all, the Bible claims to be indestructible. Jesus
said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not
pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Peter said the word of God was
“living and abiding,” he called it “imperishable” and said that
it “abides forever” (I Peter 1:23-25). We must admit that the
Bible has taken some pretty hard shots by some real experts
through the years. The Roman emperors, Decius (249-251) and
Diocletian (284-305), made it a capitol offense to be in
possession of Christian Scriptures. Yet, the Scriptures survived
that age. People chose to die rather than jeopardize their
sacred manuscripts. In the Medieval Age, the scriptures were
kept from the common people. But even the scourge of death did
not stop men like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale from
translating the scriptures into the common language of the
masses. About 250 years ago, a French atheist named Voltaire
boasted he would expose the Bible and that it would be buried in
obscurity. Some time after his death, Voltaire’s house was
purchased by the International Bible Society and used as a
warehouse.
Indeed, the Bible’s amazing history of survival is
impressive. But then, there is also the matter of prophetic
accuracy. Time and time again, the prophecies of Bible writers
proved to be true. Predictions of the rise and fall of empires
came to pass hundreds of years after their utterance, as in
Isaiah 13:19-22 and Ezekiel 29:9-15. Minute details of the fate
of cities came to pass exactly as predicted, as in Ezekiel
26:1-14. The name of Cyrus, a future ruler of Persia, and his
decree to free Israel were predicted 200 years before that
empire ever rose to power (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1). During the days
of the Babylonian Empire, Daniel foretold the rise of the next
three world powers and accurately predicted that the kingdom of
God would begin in the days of that last empire (Daniel
2:31-45). Add to these the accurate fulfillment of the
prophecies about Jesus and you have another bit of evidence that
the Scriptures really were inspired by God.
Not only that, but the Bible has been proven true by
archaeology. Unlike other books which claim to be inspired by
God, the names and places of the Bible are real and have been
proven to be historically correct. The Bible presents a story of
historical accuracy. It is about real people and real places
which have been discovered and can be visited today.
Also, Bible characters were privy to scientific knowledge
unavailable to others for many centuries. Moses was commanded by
God to control disease by the use of quarantine, as in Leviticus
13:1-6, a practice which was not known elsewhere until the 17th
century. This is just one of many such examples which help us
see the hand of God in Biblical inspiration.
The Bible claims to be inspired, it has an impressive
history of survival, its prophecies have been amazingly
accurate, and details of the Bible story have been proved to be
historically correct. All of these bits of evidence cause us to
take a second look at the Bible. Its message is timeless and its
subject is never out of date, for the nature of sin and the
nature of human beings never changes. The words of the Bible
have brought comfort and strength to countless readers for
centuries. The morals, ethics, and relationships of those who
live by its precepts have always been improved. In other words,
Bible teaching makes life better for those who put it into
practice. Why not give the Bible a chance. Find out what the
Bible is really about.
| Bible
Probe |
WHY SHOULD I
INVESTIGATE THE BIBLE? |
601
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1. Exodus 20:1, Revelation 19:9, and II Timothy 3:16 represent a
host of other passages which make what extraordinary claim about
the Scriptures?
2. What does II Peter 1:20-21 and I Corinthians 2:13 reveal
about the authors of the Bible?
3. List the four characteristics about the Bible mentioned in
this “Bible Talk” which make us take a second look at the
Bible’s claim to inspiration:
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4. What attempts were made to abolish the Bible in each of the
following historical settings: During the Roman Empire During
the Medieval Age During the lifetime of Voltaire 5. What is
impressive about each of the following passages of Biblical
prophecy? Isaiah 13:19-22 Ezekiel 29:9-15 Ezekiel 26:1-14 Isaiah
44:28; 45:1 Daniel 2:31-45 6. How has Archaeology contributed to
the credibility of Biblical accuracy? 7. How did Moses know that
quarantine would prevent the spread of diseases? (Lev 13:1-6) 8.
Give three reasons why the Bible is still a relative book for
this generation:
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Your Bible questions answered here.