THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD

(PART 1)

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

1.      This Bible that I am holding in my hand is the most valuable possession that I own.  If my house caught on fire and I had one thing to take with me, besides my family, I would take my Bible.  I simply love my Bible.  It is my most prized possession because the creator of the universe communicates to me through it.

 

2.      Abraham Lincoln once said, "I believe the Bible is the best gift that God has ever given to man.  All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.  I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."

 

STARTING TODAY, I AM GOING TEACH A SERIES OF LESSONS ON THE GREATEST BOOK OF ALL TIME -- THE BIBLE. 

 

THIS MORNING, I AM GOING TO PROVIDE SEVERAL REASONS WHY I BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD'S INSPIRED WORD.

 

I.                           FIRST, I BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD'S INSPIRED WORD BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT CLAIMS TO BE.

 

1.      (2 Tim. 3:16) says, "All Scripture is God-breathed."  In other words, all Scripture is from God.

 

a.      Unfortunately, some people think that the Bible is not from God but from man.  They say that the Bible is nothing more than man's philosophy about life.  However, (2 Pet. 1:20, 21) teaches that Scripture came from God's will and not man's will.

• "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:20, 21).

(1)    In a nutshell, these verses teach that God not man is the author of Scripture.  Inspiration did not come by act of human will, but by God's will.  God produced His word through men as the Holy Spirit carried them along.  The Bible is not from man, but from God. 

 

2.      Throughout the Bible, the biblical writers claimed that they were writing the words of God. 

 

• "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel" (Ex. 34:27).

 

• "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you" (Jer. 30:1, 2).

a.      Moses and Jeremiah, along with many other writers, claimed that what they wrote came from God.

• Someone discovered that in the OT alone, there are 2,600 claims of inspiration.  In other words, 2600 times the writers point out that their writings and words came from God.  At this time, we are going to examine all 2600 of these.  So please open your Bibles to…I am just kidding.

3.      Throughout the Bible, people believed that the Scriptures came from God.

 

a.      Jesus believed that the Old Testament Scripture was from God. 

• Jesus read the OT.  He quoted it.  He lived by its commandments.  He challenged others to study and believe it.  He never called a single passage of the OT into question or felt compelled to correct anything in it.
• (Mt. 22:30-32)  "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.  But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 
• Jesus quoted (Ex. 3:6) and referred to as God's words.
• (Mt. 5:17-18)  "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
• Jesus believed that the OT was God's Word that He came to fulfill it.

b.     In the New Testament, Peter in (2 Pet. 3:16) taught that Paul's writings came from God.

• "He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters.  His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
• Peter refers to Paul's letters as Scripture-- God's Word.

4.      The first reason why I believe that the Bible is God's inspired Word is because that is what it claims to be.

 

II.                         SECOND, I BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD'S INSPIRED WORD BECAUSE IT CONTAINS ACCURATE HISTORICAL TRUTH.

 

1.      Several years ago, Time Magazine featured the following question on its front cover: "How True Is the Bible?"  The magazine's cover story article offered its answer to the question by saying, "The Bible is often surprisingly accurate in historical particulars, more so than earlier generations of scholars ever suspected."

2.      The Bible was written within the arena of history, and its great doctrines are grounded in the historical facts to which it bears witness.  If the Bible makes mistakes in matters of history, how can we have confidence that the Bible is from God?  On the other hand, if the Bible contains accurate historical data, then we can have confidence that the Bible is from God.

3.      Does the Bible contain accurate historical date?  Absolutely!

4.      In the time of Abraham, we read of a nation of people known as the Hittites (Gen. 23:3)  Before 1906, there were no secular records of this group of people apart from the OT.  So, many critics claimed that the Bible is some sort of myth because history books did not recognize that the Hittite People even existed.   

• However, in 1906, a German archaeologist named Winckler unearthed the capital city of the Hittite empire and found huge archives of cuneiform (wedge-shaped writing) tablets.  Archaeology confirmed that the Hittite people did exist.

5.      In (Mt. 2:23), Matthew tells us that Jesus grew up in a city called Nazareth.  But once again, our history books had no such city called Nazareth.   

• But in 1962, an archaeologist discovered near Jerusalem two fragments that had the Nazareth inscription on it that dated back to the first century AD. 

6.      Time and time again, the Bible proves to be accurate in relating history.

 

7.      I believe that the Bible is God's inspired Word because it contains accurate historical truth.

 

III.                       THIRD, I BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD'S INSPIRED WORD BECAUSE OF THE FULFILLMENT OF IT'S PROPHECIES.

 

1.      Many times in the Scriptures, the Biblical writers made specific predictions of future events that came true.  Only God can predict the future with unfailing accuracy.

 

2.      Many people claim to posses the ability to predict future events.  But how accurate are they?

 

a.      Jeane Dixon, a famous twentieth century psychic & fortuneteller, made several predictions about future events.  But let's see how accurate she was… She claimed that:

 

(1)     World War III would begin in 1954.

 

(2)     Red China would be admitted to the United Nations in 1958.  This did not occur until 1971.

 

(3)     The Vietnam War would end in 1966.  It did not end until 1975.

 

(4)     On October 19, 1968, she predicted Jacqueline Kennedy was not thinking of marriage.  The next day Mrs. Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis!

 

(5)     In 1970, she predicted the following events which did not occur:

 

(a)    Castro would be overthrown from Cuba and would have to leave the island.

 

(b)    Attempts would be made on the life of President Nixon.

 

3.      Many people try to predict future events, however, only the Bible predicts and fulfills future events with 100% accuracy.

 

a.       Here is an example of a fulfilled prophecy:

 

In the eighth century B.C., Isaiah, a prophet of God, prophesied that "Babylon" would be totally destroyed.

 

• "See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with compassion on children.  Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there.  But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about.  Hyenas will howl in her strongholds, jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged" (Isa. 13:17-22). 

When Isaiah made this prophecy, Babylon was a wealthy and powerful city.  It was surrounded by a wall wide enough for three chariots to be driven through on its top.  Its hanging gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  It had paved streets, running water, and many of the conveniences we associate only with modern cities.

 

The people who initially heard or read this prediction must have thought Isaiah was lunatic.  How could the world's richest and most distinguished city become totally desolated?

 

In 539 BC, about two hundred years after the prophecy was announced, the Medes, under the leadership of Cyrus, conquered the city of Babylon.  They destroyed the city to such an extent, that when Alexander the Great later decided to repopulate and restore it, he gave up the task as a hopeless one.

 

Even to this day, Babylon, in present day Iraq, still lies in utter ruin, burned under mounds of dirt and sand.  Isaiah was right when he said that Babylon would never be inhabited or lived in again.

 

4.      I believe that the Bible is God's inspired Word because of the fulfillment of its prophecies.

 

IV.                      LASTLY, I BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD'S INSPIRED WORD BECAUSE IT CONTAINS PERFECT HARMONY AND UNITY.

 

1.      The Bible was written over a 1600 year span by about 40 different people.  These writers came from every walk of life.

 

a.       Moses, who wrote the first 5 books of the OT, was a political leader who was trained in the universities of Egypt.

 

b.      Solomon, who wrote Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, & much of Proverbs, was the 3rd King of Israel.

 

c.       Matthew, who wrote the gospel according to Matthew, was a tax collector.

 

d.      Paul, who wrote 13 NT Epistles, was a rabbi.

 

e.       Peter, who wrote 1 & 2 Peter, was a fisherman.

 

2.      The Bible was written on three continents: Asia, Africa, & Europe in 3 different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

 

3.      Yet, even though the Bible was written over a span of 1600 years, in different parts of the world, in 3 different languages, by 40 or more different writers, from every walk of life, it contains perfect harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation.

 

4.      Turn with me in your Bibles to (Gen. 3:23,24). 

 

a.       In the Garden of Eden, Adam & Eve were barred from any access to the tree of life because of their sin. 

 

b.      Now turn your Bibles to (Rev. 22:12-14).  This passage explains that God's people will once again be able to eat from the tree of life because their sins have been removed by Christ's death and resurrection. 

 

c.       The beginning of the Bible teaches that man because of sin was alienated from God and denied access to the tree of life.  The end of the Bible teaches that man through Christ has been reconciled to God and once again able to have access to the tree of life.

 

5.      Brethren, the Bible, although it was written over many years and by many people, contains perfect harmony and unity from the very beginning to the very end.  There is only one answer for this incredible masterpiece -- It is from God.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

1.      There are many reasons why I believe that the Bible is God's Inspired Word.

 

a.      I believe that the Bible is God's inspired Word because:

 

(1)     That's what is claims to be;

(2)     It contains accurate historical truth;

(3)     Of the fulfillment of it's prophecies; and

(4)     It contains perfect harmony and unity.

 

2.      I hope and pray that this lesson increased your faith and trust in the Bible.  It is the book of all books and it will lead you to the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.