Exhorter
Consider the Bible
Consider the Bible By Mark Dunagan
After examining the amazing order and design of the Universe (Psa. 19:1; Rom. 1:2), our carefully constructed bodies (Psa. 139:14) and our very nature, the most reasonable explanation for all of this is: God exists and He created man. This being true, the next logical question is: What has God said? It is unreasonable that God would put all this planning and effort into creating man and then leave him without any instructions or guidance. The One who created man, having a purpose and plan in mind for mankind, has left instructions so that man can reach his full potential (2 Pet. 1:3; Psa. 119:97-105).
The Necessity of Such a Revelation Although “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psa. 19:1-4), it is impossible to know His character, His purposes or His plans without being given more information. Man has always seen what has been created, understands to some degree its magnitude and design and innately longs to worship something (Acts 17:23). Left to his own judgments or wisdom man most often ends up worshipping the creature, not the Creator (Rom. 1:25, Jer. 10:1-5). Without revelation from God, man by his own wisdom and resources can never know God and His will. The Bible claims to be that instruction manual; God’s revelation to man (2 Tim. 3:16). Jesus’ View of Scripture: What did Jesus believe and teach about the Bible? Jesus viewed the smallest details in the Old Testament translation. He possessed as being part of the genuine text of Scripture. When Jesus looked at the copy of the Old Testament in existence in His day, He did not see a corrupted text: “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished” (Matt. 5:18). Jesus considered the copy of the Law that was in existence in His day to be the Word of God (John 17:17) right down to the smallest detail, and therefore in force and binding upon the Jewish people right up until the time that He would die upon the cross. Clearly, Jesus had absolute confidence in the Scriptures. He argued from them, quoted them often, used them to answer complicated questions, and constantly appealed to them. Over and over Jesus will say, “It is written”. Jesus viewed Scripture to be of Divine Origin: He spoke of Scripture as being the commandment of God (Mark 7:8, 9, 13). Thus Jesus made a clear distinction between God’s word and man’s word. Scripture was also stated as being the product of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 22:43). Jesus viewed Scripture as being Eternal: In at least three passages Jesus speaks of the eternal character of Scripture (Matt. 5:17-18; 24:35; Luke 16:16-17). “This comparison of Scripture with the continuance of the physical creation elevates the Scriptures to such an extent that they cannot be accounted for apart from a supernatural origin” (Lightner p. 15). Jesus viewed all Commands Essential: “But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Matt. 23:23). He does not argue that some commands are unnecessary, or that certain laws in Scripture take precedence or even conflict with others, but rather, both things ought to have been done because they are both in Consider the Bible By Mark Dunagan
After examining the amazing order and design of the Universe (Psa. 19:1; Rom. 1:2), our carefully constructed bodies (Psa. 139:14) and our very nature, the most reasonable explanation for all of this is: God exists and He created man. This being true, the next logical question is: What has God said? It is unreasonable that God would put all this planning and effort into creating man and then leave him without any instructions or guidance. The One who created man, having a purpose and plan in mind for mankind, has left instructions so that man can reach his full potential (2 Pet. 1:3; Psa. 119:97-105).
The Necessity of Such a Revelation Although “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psa. 19:1-4), it is impossible to know His character, His purposes or His plans without being given more information. Man has always seen what has been created, understands to some degree its magnitude and design and innately longs to worship something (Acts 17:23). Left to his own judgments or wisdom man most often ends up worshipping the creature, not the Creator (Rom. 1:25, Jer. 10:1-5). Without revelation from God, man by his own wisdom and resources can never know God and His will. The Bible claims to be that instruction manual; God’s revelation to man (2 Tim. 3:16). Jesus’ View of Scripture: What did Jesus believe and teach about the Bible? Jesus viewed the smallest details in the Old Testament translation. He possessed as being part of the genuine text of Scripture. When Jesus looked at the copy of the Old Testament in existence in His day, He did not see a corrupted text: “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished” (Matt. 5:18). Jesus considered the copy of the Law that was in existence in His day to be the Word of God (John 17:17) right down to the smallest detail, and therefore in force and binding upon the Jewish people right up until the time that He would die upon the cross. Clearly, Jesus had absolute confidence in the Scriptures. He argued from them, quoted them often, used them to answer complicated questions, and constantly appealed to them. Over and over Jesus will say, “It is written”. Jesus viewed Scripture to be of Divine Origin: He spoke of Scripture as being the commandment of God (Mark 7:8, 9, 13). Thus Jesus made a clear distinction between God’s word and man’s word. Scripture was also stated as being the product of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 22:43). Jesus viewed Scripture as being Eternal: In at least three passages Jesus speaks of the eternal character of Scripture (Matt. 5:17-18; 24:35; Luke 16:16-17). “This comparison of Scripture with the continuance of the physical creation elevates the Scriptures to such an extent that they cannot be accounted for apart from a supernatural origin” (Lightner p. 15). Jesus viewed all Commands Essential: “But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Matt. 23:23). He does not argue that some commands are unnecessary, or that certain laws in Scripture take precedence or even conflict with others, but rather, both things ought to have been done because they are both in Scripture.
He viewed Scripture as the Final Authority: Jesus Himself submitted to the authority of Scripture, even in extenuating circumstances (Matt. 4:4; Matt. 16:21-23). If the Son of God, who is Himself God in the flesh, obeyed Scripture even under the most difficult circumstances, then disobedience to the word of God is never justified under any circumstance (Heb. 5:8, 9).
Verbal Inspiration The Bible is inspired of God. The term translated “inspired of God” in 2 Tim. 3:16-17 is the Greek word THEOPNUESTOS which means “God-breathed”. The Old Testament claims inspiration 2600 times. Inspiration is claimed over and over again, especially in books like Haggai, where the author repeatedly says, “Thus says the Lord” (1:2). If God breathes something, then obviously the product is not man’s word but God’s word. On this point consider the following passages: 1 Cor. 2:6-13: God’s truth is revealed in “words” because man could not discover it by his own intuition or limited wisdom (Jer. 10:23). 2 Pet. 1:16-21: The word is confirmed by the seeing and hearing of the apostles. In addition, the prophets never preached their own opinions, but rather Scripture is the result when men are moved, not by their own impulses, but by the Spirit of God. Matt. 22:29-33: Jesus made an argument from a single Scripture and even based His argument on the precise tense of the phrase, “I am the God of...”, not, “I was the God of...”. This reveals that Jesus knew that every word of Scripture was inspired right down to the grammatical details, such as the tense of a word in a particular verse.
You Just Have to Read It The only way to honesty test whether or not the Bible is the word of God is to pick it up and read it for yourself. The best way to defend the Bible is to let it defend itself, which requires that you examine it (Rom. 10:17). As you are reading consider the following points: (1) The Bible claims to be from God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). While the claim does not settle the issue, the claim is something one should consider. Would God send His revelation anonymously? (2) The Bible is rooted in history and not the subjective experience of one individual. That means it can be tested and when tested the Bible is historically accurate. It speaks of real historical places, events and individuals. (3) It is accurate in every way: historically, geographically, and scientifically. It contains medical and scientific knowledge ahead of its time, yet it does not include the medical and scientific ignorance found in the time period when it was written. (4) The Bible has the best textual sources of any ancient book. That is, we can trace its history back to its beginnings more accurately, and with greater corroboration, than any major writing of the ancient world. (5) The Bible addresses every fundamental need of man and it answers every fundamental question we have, such as, “Where did we come from?” “Why are we the way we are?” “Why does suffering exist?” “What happens after death?” “How did the universe begin?” “How will it end?” The teaching it offers fulfills our spiritual, social, psychological, and emotional needs.
I encourage you to discover for yourself all the life-changing blessings to be enjoyed by applying the word of God and living life God’s way!
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