Today, in our third message in the GodQuest series, we are going to be looking at the question “Is the Bible True?” The Bible is still a hot topic of interest. This week, I went to Google News and simply typed in Bible. Here are some of the news article titles that came up.
- Five Ways Your Bible Translation Distorts the Original Meaning of the Text
- Bible’s authors decoded by computer
- ‘How to Write a New Book for the Bible’
Each of these articles, in their own way attacked the validity and truthfulness of the Bible. As believers, how can we respond to those who question or attack the Bible? How can we be assured that what we read in the Bible is something to base our lives on?
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
The Bible describes itself as “the word of truth.” This verse also commands every believer to be a workman who correctly handles the Bible. In order to defend the Bible, we need to know and understand it.
Before, we go into more detail in answering the question, Is the Bible True?, let’s take broad overview of the Bible. The Bible is an amazing and completely unique book. It contains 66 books written by 40 different authors about thousands of topics. The Bible was written on 3 continents over the span of 1500 years in 3 languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Knowing those facts, you might think that the Bible would be hodge-podge of contradictory ideas and facts. Yet, when you carefully study the Bible, you find that it has one theme and message throughout, written in perfect harmony.
What is the Bible all about? In it’s essence, the Bible is a story, a love story between God and man in four acts.
- In Act 1, God creates everything, including humanity and declares that it is very good.
- In Act 2, an evil intruder, Satan, persuades man to disobey God and thereby brings sin and death into God’s perfect creation.
- In Act 3, God shows his love by sending His Son Jesus to defeat Satan and so rescue man from his sin.
- In Act 4, all who have accepted God’s rescue plan through Jesus will live forever in a recreated heaven and earth.
The Bible is God’s story and it is our story. When you understand the essence of the biblical story, you understand the essence of life and eternity. The Bible is an incredible and amazing book. Most who critique it and dismiss it have never studied or even read it.
Today, I want to look at three answers to the question, Is the Bible True?
Listen to or watch my October 16, 2011 message Is The Bible True?