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Where In The Bible Will I Find... That The Bible Is An Inspired Book?
Gary Colley |
If the Bible is not inspired, it is not profitable, true, trustworthy, or beneficial to anyone in the world. If it isn't true, it's the most fantastic, lying farce ever palmed off on man! Paul told Timothy that, "All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). With some people, the word "inspiration" means different things today than what it meant in the original Greek. Some speak of men being inspired because of their environment, such as hard times and poverty which may cause thought to occur in the minds of poets or songwriters. Some today talk of being "illuminated" by a direct guidance of the Holy Spirit as they read the words of the Bible, and other contend that parts of the Bible are inspired and parts are not. None of these theories is true, and all border on blasphemy against God's word. The word, "inspiration," in 2 Timothy 3:16 comes from two Greek words — Theos, meaning "God" and pneustos, meaning "breathed." The words of the Bible were 'breathed out from God' through men He chose to write them and all who study God's Book may know and understand those words. Hence, the Bible is a written revelation of what God has spoken and it is inspired in every part (Cf, Heb. 1:1-3; Eph. 3:3-5). About 40 men, over a period of about 1,600 years, living in different times, in different places, and under different circumstances were the writers of the Bible as God gave them the words to write. The 66 books they wrote make up the one Book — The Bible — which stands today without any contradiction within its pages. How can this be? Only one explanation is sufficient to answer that question. One Spirit caused it all to be written into the perfect, complete Book that it is (Jas. 1:25; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). We therefore urge all men to read and study the Bible in order to be wise, and obey it in order to be safe. No other book in the world can make the claim of divine origin that the Bible makes and consistently sustain that claim with proof. |