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Hello friends, something to ponder... why do Christians believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God - and what's the point of it all?
Firstly, the Bible is the only source of wisdom that reveals the true dilemma of the human condition - the fallen nature of mankind and it's doom. Sounds like a bummer, but any good Physician provides an accurate diagnosis before providing the cure:
Romans 3:10-12 NIV
"As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:23 NIV
"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
James 2:10 NIV
"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
Being better than the next guy doesn't cut it. Building a career, a nice house, high-achieving children, a legacy and ultimately only loving those who love us - it all doesn't impress God. He knows our heart, that it is in fact desperately wicked and self-seeking. We can hide it from others and ourselves, but not from Him.
The Bible is moreover approximately 6 thousand years of written history whose profound revelation of the human condition has not changed one iota - in regards to civilization and to the individual - despite our pride in technological and other advancements. We are still warring with each other, essentially living for #1, and weighing each other down with our subjective notions of right and wrong - which we know in our hearts we can't even keep ourselves. Truly Solomon - who had it ALL - said:
Ecclessiates 1:8-9 NIV
"All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun."
So for the first proof of its inspiration, spend time studying it, in prayer, and one will find that through all of the experiences of its characters of ancient times - with God and each other, one will see OURSELVES.
The next proof is the revelation of just Who God is. The worldly notion, when not foolishly denying His existence, conjures up all kinds of ideas - that we are basically good and all He expects us to do is more good than bad to earn our way into Heaven, or that He is some cosmic Santa Claus that just winks at sin if we are "doing our best", or the really crazy notion that we are all evolving into some kind of "god-consciousness" through which we can save ourselves, or a thousand other religions and philosophies that desperately tries to escape the diagnosis and therefore keep us distracted from the Cure Himself - Jesus Christ.
And there is the answer for Who God really is, and how to know Him and be reconciled to Him - through His Son...
John 3:16 ESV
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Matthew 11:27 NIV
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
John 14:6-7 NIV
"Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”
So there it is - God is a God of justice, but is also the Redeemer Himself - through the sacrifice of His own Son.
Further proof of the Bible's inspiration: prophecies fulfilled - some made hundreds or thousands of years in advance. If the Bible were the fanciful product of mere men, explain why a plethora of prophecies about nations, kingdoms, cities, ethnic groups, ect. have all come true? Skeptics scoff at the notion of certain nations, cities, historical figures - and archeologists just keep digging them up.
Most poignantly, over 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the mere 33 years He walked the earth.
As to what was to come after His life, death and resurrection, consider just a few prophecies that have been fulfilled from the words of One who should have been been a mere footnote in the annals of history, a humble carpenter's son, made 2 thousand years ago. We all have seen these with our own eyes:
John 12:32 ESV
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Ever met anyone who doesn't have an opinion about Jesus, if they are bold enough to discuss Him at all?
Matthew 16:15-18 ESV
"He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Saul, later Paul, tried to destroy the church. So did Nero of the Roman nation. As have numerous dictators and kings throughout history. Yet millions of believers have been martyred or lived out their lives in great suffering proclaiming Jesus as their Savior and Lord to the very end. All for a lie?
The persecution continues today, around the world. One of the worst is in Nigeria. Christians who merely live out their faith are being slaughtered wholesale by muslim extremists - whole communities and villages. Or imprisoned. Or displaced to refuge nations, losing their livelihoods and ancestral homes. Yet they keep standing. And forgiving their enemies. The gates of hell shall not prevail, indeed.
North Korea is another example. If you are caught owning a Bible, you are executed. Simple as that. If you are caught holding an underground worship service, you AND all of your relatives are thrown into prison.
And we in free countries let our Bibles gather dust on the shelf...
Matthew 24:14
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
The internet is the culmination of this prophecy. Just one example is China - where Bibles and preaching are banned. Yet technological geniuses keep circumventing the government's efforts to squash the underground internet and provide both Scripture and the testimonies and prayers of saints from around the world.
To what end?
Revelation 7:9-10 NIV
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
And another prophecy of Jesus's fulfilled:
Matthew 24:35 NIV
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
They haven't yet, friends, they never will. To appreciate the magnitude of this statement, consider just Who it is that is making it:
John 1:1-14 NIV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
"There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light."
"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Jesus IS God! And Jesus IS Lord. His Word has not failed throughout all history.
What to do? If you haven't already, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. If you live out your life rejecting His offer to pay the price for you, you will get what you want - eternal separation from God. He is Love - and Love won't force you to love Him back.
How to receive and know for certain that you are saved? Actually, profoundly simple. Pray, ask, and believe this with the faith of a child:
Romans 10:5-13 NIV
"Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Further confirmation is that He will then indwell you and have a permanent relationship with you, not just from His written Word but by speaking to you through prayer, Spirit to spirit:
Romans 8:14-17 NIV
"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
One last word. Why is it important to tell others?
Luke 9:23-26 NIV
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
Praying this will bless you, and available to discuss what God has done in my life and others with anyone who is interested and seeking. Hope that those who already know Him will reply and share their experiences too. God bless you all!
Firstly, the Bible is the only source of wisdom that reveals the true dilemma of the human condition - the fallen nature of mankind and it's doom. Sounds like a bummer, but any good Physician provides an accurate diagnosis before providing the cure:
Romans 3:10-12 NIV
"As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:23 NIV
"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
James 2:10 NIV
"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
Being better than the next guy doesn't cut it. Building a career, a nice house, high-achieving children, a legacy and ultimately only loving those who love us - it all doesn't impress God. He knows our heart, that it is in fact desperately wicked and self-seeking. We can hide it from others and ourselves, but not from Him.
The Bible is moreover approximately 6 thousand years of written history whose profound revelation of the human condition has not changed one iota - in regards to civilization and to the individual - despite our pride in technological and other advancements. We are still warring with each other, essentially living for #1, and weighing each other down with our subjective notions of right and wrong - which we know in our hearts we can't even keep ourselves. Truly Solomon - who had it ALL - said:
Ecclessiates 1:8-9 NIV
"All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun."
So for the first proof of its inspiration, spend time studying it, in prayer, and one will find that through all of the experiences of its characters of ancient times - with God and each other, one will see OURSELVES.
The next proof is the revelation of just Who God is. The worldly notion, when not foolishly denying His existence, conjures up all kinds of ideas - that we are basically good and all He expects us to do is more good than bad to earn our way into Heaven, or that He is some cosmic Santa Claus that just winks at sin if we are "doing our best", or the really crazy notion that we are all evolving into some kind of "god-consciousness" through which we can save ourselves, or a thousand other religions and philosophies that desperately tries to escape the diagnosis and therefore keep us distracted from the Cure Himself - Jesus Christ.
And there is the answer for Who God really is, and how to know Him and be reconciled to Him - through His Son...
John 3:16 ESV
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Matthew 11:27 NIV
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
John 14:6-7 NIV
"Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”
So there it is - God is a God of justice, but is also the Redeemer Himself - through the sacrifice of His own Son.
Further proof of the Bible's inspiration: prophecies fulfilled - some made hundreds or thousands of years in advance. If the Bible were the fanciful product of mere men, explain why a plethora of prophecies about nations, kingdoms, cities, ethnic groups, ect. have all come true? Skeptics scoff at the notion of certain nations, cities, historical figures - and archeologists just keep digging them up.
Most poignantly, over 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the mere 33 years He walked the earth.
As to what was to come after His life, death and resurrection, consider just a few prophecies that have been fulfilled from the words of One who should have been been a mere footnote in the annals of history, a humble carpenter's son, made 2 thousand years ago. We all have seen these with our own eyes:
John 12:32 ESV
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Ever met anyone who doesn't have an opinion about Jesus, if they are bold enough to discuss Him at all?
Matthew 16:15-18 ESV
"He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Saul, later Paul, tried to destroy the church. So did Nero of the Roman nation. As have numerous dictators and kings throughout history. Yet millions of believers have been martyred or lived out their lives in great suffering proclaiming Jesus as their Savior and Lord to the very end. All for a lie?
The persecution continues today, around the world. One of the worst is in Nigeria. Christians who merely live out their faith are being slaughtered wholesale by muslim extremists - whole communities and villages. Or imprisoned. Or displaced to refuge nations, losing their livelihoods and ancestral homes. Yet they keep standing. And forgiving their enemies. The gates of hell shall not prevail, indeed.
North Korea is another example. If you are caught owning a Bible, you are executed. Simple as that. If you are caught holding an underground worship service, you AND all of your relatives are thrown into prison.
And we in free countries let our Bibles gather dust on the shelf...
Matthew 24:14
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
The internet is the culmination of this prophecy. Just one example is China - where Bibles and preaching are banned. Yet technological geniuses keep circumventing the government's efforts to squash the underground internet and provide both Scripture and the testimonies and prayers of saints from around the world.
To what end?
Revelation 7:9-10 NIV
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
And another prophecy of Jesus's fulfilled:
Matthew 24:35 NIV
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
They haven't yet, friends, they never will. To appreciate the magnitude of this statement, consider just Who it is that is making it:
John 1:1-14 NIV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
"There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light."
"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Jesus IS God! And Jesus IS Lord. His Word has not failed throughout all history.
What to do? If you haven't already, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. If you live out your life rejecting His offer to pay the price for you, you will get what you want - eternal separation from God. He is Love - and Love won't force you to love Him back.
How to receive and know for certain that you are saved? Actually, profoundly simple. Pray, ask, and believe this with the faith of a child:
Romans 10:5-13 NIV
"Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Further confirmation is that He will then indwell you and have a permanent relationship with you, not just from His written Word but by speaking to you through prayer, Spirit to spirit:
Romans 8:14-17 NIV
"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
One last word. Why is it important to tell others?
Luke 9:23-26 NIV
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
Praying this will bless you, and available to discuss what God has done in my life and others with anyone who is interested and seeking. Hope that those who already know Him will reply and share their experiences too. God bless you all!
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