A CREDIBLE BIBLE

All scripture is inspired by God . . . (2 Timothy 3:16).

Faith requires credibility.  Those who believe the incredible have a faith that will not save them--it is faith in the truth that makes the difference.  True scripture bears the marks of being God-breathed.  One of the characteristics of God-breathed scripture is that it is true.  First, it is true in its relationship to the events of  history.  Though the Bible is not intended to be a history book, it has been used as that because it has proven itself to be a trustworthy representation of the time periods of which it speaks.

Second, the Bible is true in its representation of geography.  The names and places of which it speaks are accurate according to time period.  Those writing much later, or writing a fiction, would not have expressed the such accuracy.

Third, the Bible is true in its representation of the culture in the time periods of which it speaks.  The Bible speaks of many cultures, but when it speaks it truly represents the culture from which it is written.  Some of the apparent contradictions of the gospels are solved when one understands this.

Another characteristic of God-breathed scripture is that it is dynamic.  Scripture is the primary means by which God confronts mankind with himself.  One is forced to wrestle with the message of scripture and make a decision about it--what will I do with what the Bible tells me?  Because the Bible speaks with such authority, there are many who seek to discredit the Bible, contending that the authors of many books of the Bible are not the actual authors because miracles do not happen, because of differences of style, because of a great time gap between the events of scripture and actual authorship and because of the Hegelian process that must have occurred before Petrine and Pauline teaching could coalesce.  However, none of these charges can with stand objective history and archeology--they simply hold no water.

The Bible is the most studied book of all time, without question, the most scrutinized book of all time by both friend and foe alike.  There are many foes who would like nothing more than to discredit the Bible.  They do not want to be accountable to a holy God.  Of course, there are many friends of God who study the Bible because they want to serve Him and worship Him. 

The Bible is a dynamic book.  It will change your life, for better or for worse.  How will you allow it to change your life?

Our Father's Love,
Tom