The Bible

• God has spoken.
  • the whole universe speaks of God. Psalm 19 vs 1-3.
  • man, before the Fall could see the meaning of it all. Gen. 2 vs 19-20.
  • even today every man and woman knows the truth about God. Rom 1 vs 18-32, 2 vs 14-15.
  • but it is a truth he suppresses. Rom 1 vs 18, 21-25, 28
  • but all this does not tell a man how to get right with God, or how once more to become His willing subject.
  • God has been pleased to reveal this by words, in a gradual process, with the result that His saving Word is now deposited in the Bible.

Lesson 1 :-
You do not need to argue for the existence of God. Declare the Truth! Every man's conscience knows it to be so

• In a Book.
  • We may know for certain that the Bible is God's word :-
    • the Old Testament claims to be God's Word, and this is expressly affirmed by Christ and the New Testament writers. e.g. 2 Sam 23 vs 2, John 10 vs 35, Acts 4 vs 25, 2 Tim 3 vs 16-17, 2 Peter 1 vs 21.
    • Inspiration was promised to the apostles, and claimed by them. e.g. John 14 vs 26, 15 vs 26-27, 1 Cor 2 vs 13, 2 Peter 3 vs 16.
  • The Bible teaches truths beyond our comprehension, and beyond our powers to devise.
    • - Its prophecies come true.
    • - Although 66 books, it speaks as one book.
    • - It has been wonderfully preserved.
    • - It has withstood all attacks.
    • - It has been wonderfully proved right - again and again.
  • The Bible is God's Word in its own right, and not because the Church, or 'proofs' say so. (The art gallery).
  • Not everyone can see this, because not everyone has the 'requisite perceptive faculty'. 1 Cor 2 vs 14, Eph 4 vs 18.
  • But it IS what it IS, whether I see it or not.

Lesson 2 :- Do not apologies for the Bible. Let it loose!!

• But not in all books.
  • The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are to be accepted as the Word of God, and no others.
  • There is no dispute about the 27 books of the New Testament. The Christian Church has come to unanimity in recognising which books have the marks of inspiration, and which do not.
  • But the books of the Apocrypha, accepted by the Roman Catholic Church, form no part of the sacred canon, and are to be treated as having no more authority than any other human writings, because :-
    • - the scriptures of our Lord's day were a known collection, comprised of our 39 books - and our Lord and His apostles approved these as the Word of God. Mark 14 vs 49, Luke 24 vs 44, John 5 vs 39. Christ often rebuked the Jews for disobeying the Scriptures, but never forging or corrupting them. Matt 22 vs 29.
    • - The Lord and His apostles never quoted from the Apocrypha, nor were its books ever accepted by the early church, or even finally by the Roman Catholic Church until the sixteenth century.
    • - None of the books of the Apocrypha claims inspiration, and several disclaim it. Some of them consist of childish fables, and encourage bad morals.

Lesson 3 :- The reverence and submission which must be given to God's Word must not be given to any other book.

Yes - the Bible is the Word of God!

Therefore :-

Become a careful student of the Scriptures. Give your life to understanding exactly what God has said.

Submit your whole life in loving obedience to the Scriptures - your own life; family life; church life ......