Heaven Bound

“My people perish for lack of knowledge” Hosea 4:6

We live in a day and time when Bibles are more readily available than they have ever been at any other time in history.  From the heavy black book that many of us remember from our childhoods – you know, the one with the gold lettering that our grandparents so carefully penned our family histories into – to the electronic pocket size version that many carry with them today; now more than ever the Bible is readily available in one form or another for anyone interested in reading it. Yet in spite of the veritable explosion of Bibles in every conceivable form, there is (in my opinion) an obvious lack of knowledge and a good deal of confusion when it comes to understanding it.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

Good question!

In today’s world (at least in this country) most people would categorize themselves as either Christian, Spiritual, but not “religious”, Agnostic, Atheist or of another religious persuasion altogether. By many the Bible is viewed as archaic, narrow or hopelessly out of touch with the times. But is it?

Before we can address that question, we must look at what the Bible says about itself for it makes some very tall claims. First of all, it claims to be the very  word of God. Did you get that? The very word of God – not the word of the President, the words of a great Philosopher or the words of some other highly esteemed individual, but of God!  And, secondly, it claims that there is one way and only one in which to reach God, which is through his son,  Jesus Christ. So, no matter what your religious persuasion, spiritual or not, the claims of the Bible are so big, so profound that they cannot be ignored

SEPARATING TRUTH FROM FICTION

Everyone has an opinion …. which is natural but when it comes to spiritual things most people seem to have a patchwork of beliefs.  A little of this and a little of that. Something they learned in school, heard on a talk show, read in a book or was taught by one religious organization or another. A hodge-podge of ideas that for one reason or another have resonated with that particular individual over time. But, belief (even sincere belief) in something (whatever it is) does not make it necessarily so. And that is what we want to examine today (and through this series which I have titled “What Does the Bible Say?”).  Here I want to examine some of the questions people may have regarding the Bible (and the Christian faith) in order that they might begin to sort truth from fiction. But in order to do that we must first establish the reliability and authority of the Bible itself by asking this question – can the Bible be trusted?

CAN THE BIBLE BE TRUSTED?

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  2 Peter 1:20-21

This verse establishes the important point that the scriptures though penned by men were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. No individual bias was interjected in to the script. The words of the Bible are therefore God breathed.

It would stand to reason then that if the Bible is as it claims to be” God breathed” it would be the most important document ever created. A document so special, so unique, so profound that it could never be equaled by anything else.  A document as eternal and unchangeable as God himself;  a point which is missed by those who claim the Bible to be altered, mistranslated or suspect for errors.  For the Bible, by its own admission (in order to be the word of God) must therefore be as perfect and inerrant as God  – and as perfect, as Jesus, who lived a sinless life was perfect – for the Bible tells us that Jesus was the word made flesh.  Therefore any attempt to discredit the word of God is an attack on Jesus himself – for they are one and the same.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

The Bible is 66 books compiled in to one volume (the Old and New Testaments) written by 40 different authors that ranged from Kings to shepherds and everyday fisherman and covered a period of 1500 years. Yet the theme of the whole (regardless of who was writing or the time period in which it was written) remains remarkably consistent. In fact, the most ancient manuscripts in possession today show little to no variation from the copy you will find sitting at home by your bedside or on the shelf at your own local Christian bookstore. For the manner in which scripture was copied in those days was extremely laborious and intricate in detail requiring the whole thing be started over from scratch should even one letter be copied in error.

ARCHAELOGICALLY SPEAKING

The Bible is provable by archaeological evidence. And new evidence is being discovered all the time.  Unlike fables, myths or fantastical stories that have their roots in legends, the Bible is meticulous in its accounts of people, tribes, cities, monetary units, genealogical histories and so forth in order that they might identifiable – unlike legends, which are more fiction than they are truth and have no basis in fact.

PROPHETICALLY SPEAKING

The Bible is the only book that is able to determine what the future holds  with 100% accuracy.  Try applying this standard to any fortune teller, sooth sayer or so-called “prophet” we have today (past or present)  and you can see why the Bible, by its own high standards ( 100% accuracy) stands alone in its ability to meet this requirement.

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I know that I have only began to touch on this subject. Obviously there is much more that could be written. And, I know for many of you reading that this is not new information. I hope though that you will bear with me as I seek to establish through this series just exactly what it is the Bible says for those who may not know or may have questions regarding a particular subject.

Therefore, I have in mind to pose a number of questions which I will try to answer to the best of my ability. I plan to start out with very foundational things but, if you have a particular question you would like to see me address, please leave it in the comments section for future consideration. I cannot say at this time how long this series may or may not be as I may interrupt it from time to time for commentary on current events.

Until then,

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6

Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy