THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE

The Bible was written down by different human authors of varying backgrounds. Some were fishermen, others, shepherds. One was a tax collector! Yet behind each one of them was God the Holy Spirit who inspired what they wrote. "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21). "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

Jesus taught that the Scripture is the Word of God. Talking about the Old Testament, Jesus said "Have you not read what was SPOKEN to you BY GOD". (Matthew 22.31). And again, in John 10:34,35, Jesus equates the Old Testament or Scripture with "the Word of God". He says that "the Scripture cannot be broken." Anyone who disobeys God's Word breaks himself, but not God's Word or its integrity.

Jesus claimed that his teachings were the teachings of God. He said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me." (John 7:16). Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, speaking with the full authority and inspiration of God (John 7:18). He said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away." (Matthew 24:35). He is promising that God will not allow the record of the true words and teachings of Jesus to cease to exist. If you believe that Jesus is God's Son, you must go on to believe everything else Jesus taught. If you don't believe what He taught, you don't really believe in Him fully. And Jesus taught us that God speaks through the Old Testament, through His Words and through the words of his apostles. Read John 14:26 and Matthew 28:20. The writings of Peter and Paul recorded in the New Testament are also the Word of God. Peter, speaking of the letters of the apostle Paul, writes: "in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." (2 Peter 3:16). The apostle Peter calls Paul's letters Scripture. We see then that according to its own claims, the New Testament as we have it is the Word of God. Both experience and reason have shown that it can be trusted. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. It is inspired by God.

REASONS TO BELIEVE IN THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE

Large books have been written presenting in detail powerful evidences which give strong reasons for believing in the divine inspiration of the Bible. Here are some in very short form:

1. No other religious book has specific fulfilled prophecies as the Bible has. We have today manuscripts dating well before the time of Jesus, containing Biblical prophecies which directly point to Him. In fact, Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies in his lifetime. Some of the strongest are found in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. These passages are so strong that in Jewish synogogues today they are skipped over in the reading of the law.

The emergence of the Persian, Greek and Roman empires was prophecied by Daniel at a time when the Babylonian empire covered the world.

The re-creation of the state of Israel in 1948 is a fulfilment of both Old and New Testament prophecy. Present world conditions were prophecied by Jesus almost 2000 years ago in Matthew 24. Large books have been written showing the detailed fulfilment of hundreds of Bible prophecies. No other religious or occultic book comes even close to the Bible when it comes to prophecy.

2. Events and places described in the Bible are confirmed more and more by archaeology and other historical writings as discoveries are made. In this century, men have found Noah's ark mentioned in Genesis 7 and 8 on Mt. Ararat in modern Turkey. It can be seen on by satellite photo! Archaeologists have discovered ancient tablets and city sites which confirm time after time the historical accuracy of the Bible. Those who have speculated otherwise have been proved wrong again and again.

3. The internal consistency of doctrine right across the 66 books of the Bible, despite widely different authors in different periods of time, points to the common source of inspiration of the Bible. If we asked 20 people in this country to each write a separate book about God we would certainly have conflicting opinions and doctrines. Yet because the Holy Spirit inspired the many human authors, this didn't happen in the writing of the different books of the Bible, even though the books were written at different times. They all reveal God as a God of mercy and justice.

4. One of the most important reasons for believing in the Bible is the fact that it works today. Hundreds of millions of people around the world today testify that Jesus Christ has changed their lives, and that the promises of God work when believed and applied. People have been healed physically and emotionally while reading the Bible or acting on its teaching. Thousands have been miraculously delivered from the effects of drug abuse or other harmful practises. The character of the man believing the Bible from the heart is changed from selfishness to love. All kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds in all countries of the world will testify to the reality of all this. While not all have heard these testimonies, more and more are hearing and believing every day - going on to experience the same things for themselves.

5. Then there is the historical evidence for the physical resurrection of Christ. The apostles preached this message right from the start, and most of them died for this faith. They knew what they saw. They would not all die for something they knew to be a lie of their own making. And the plain fact was, after many saw Jesus die and be buried, three days later, Jesus' grave was empty. Hundreds testified to seeing Jesus alive from the dead. Hundreds of thousands today, a number of them formerly muslims, testify to having seen him in a vision or a dream speaking to them in a way that changed their lives altogether. Miracles happen in Jesus' name today. All this shows that Jesus is alive. And if Jesus is alive, His book, the Bible, can be trusted.

If Christ rose, we should listen to him, believe his claims, share his attitude to the Scriptures, trust his ability to preserve his written Word to us.