GOD AUTHORED THE BIBLE

We are commonly told that the Bible is simply a man-made collection of documents. No contention can undermine the faith of the Church as this can! Therefore, I will soon be teaching a free course via Zoom to address this. This paper will just address one reason that we should believe that the Bible is the Word of God—the Bible’s entirely consistent testimony that it is the Word of God:

•    Jesus answered [the Devil], "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus NEVER set Himself above Scripture as its judge:

•    "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18)

•    He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself… He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24: 25-27, 44-45)

•    Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)

•    Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

•    MOSES AUTHORED: "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" (John 5:45-47)
PAUL:
•    TRANSFORMS: And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

•    And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

PETER:
•    1 Peter 1:10–12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

•    2 Peter 1:20–21 (NLT) Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
 

JOHN:
•    Revelation 22:18–19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND THE SUPREMACY OF THE SCRIPTURES

How should we respond to present-day prophecy? For one thing, we shouldn’t live in expectation that prophetic utterance (and other miraculous signs) will be a regular part of our diet:

 For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV ; Romans 8:24; Hebrews 11:1)

However, prophecies were not to be rejected but tested:

• Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. (I Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 14:1, 31)
  

But how are we to “test all things?” The Scriptures must judge everything, even prophecies. They make us complete unto every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). How else could prophesies be judged? By other prophecies? This would simply result in a standoff. For example, what if five prophesied that Jesus would return in a week and one prophesied that He wouldn’t? Should the five carry more weight than the one? Certainly not! The five might have been influenced by political correctness or some other form of group-think.

 Instead, the Scriptures must be the supreme judge of all things (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). And nothing could be added to them (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32):

 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. (I Corinthians 4:6)

Everything has to conform to the Scriptures, even prophesies. This is why the Book of Acts praised the Bereans for weighing everything that Paul had been preaching by the light of the Hebrew Scriptures:

• These [Bereans] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore, many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. (Acts 17:11-12)
  

Paul consistently taught that the Word of God had to reign supreme over every other alleged revelation from God:

• If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions. (I Timothy 6:3-4)
  

No one was at liberty to present a revelation that contradicted or added to what the Apostles were teaching. The Word had to take precedence over all forms of supernatural revelation:

• And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:19-20)
  

The Bible was always to be the ultimate judge. Israel was required to test prophets and their prophecies according to the Word:

• “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)

This prohibition also pertained to new teachings, which contradicted the Hebrew Scriptures. Prophets had to prove themselves, not only by prophesying according to what had already been written, but also by being 100% correct:

• “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken.” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

These teachings put the kibosh on the practice-makes-perfect prophetic training of some churches. Instead, prophecy was either given by God or it wasn’t. Wrongly claiming to speak for God deserved death (Deuteronomy 13:5). By this threat, the Scriptures were protected.

 

THE BIBLE IS ACTUALLY THE WORDS OF GOD

Surrounded by many doubts, religions, and antagonistic worldviews, we need to be reassured that the Bible is the Word of God. And there are many reasons to believe this – the miracles, fulfilled prophecies, its wisdom, changed lives and societies, and internal and external correspondence with the evidences. There is another set of reasons that is less well-known but no less weighty – the nature of the Bible itself.

Let me give you one small example of this – the negative things that the Bible says about its people. Think of it like this – If you want to start a new religion, you have to promise your target audience successful outcomes or benefits. If your religion is not appealing, no one will come. However, the Word of God often promises failure. For example, God informed Israel through Moses:

·       “…this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them…And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods…For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. (Deuteronomy 31:16-18, 20 ESV)

Moses then reaffirmed this dismal verdict to God’s chosen people:

·       “For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death…For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.” (Deuteronomy 31:27-29)

God then gave Moses a prophetic song to teach to Israel, which detailed their future rebellions and the resulting suffering. However, these dismal prophecies should raise many questions:

·       Wouldn’t a man-made religion prophesy blessings rather than failures and the resulting curses? Why are these Scriptures so different from those of other religions?

·       Why are they so antagonistic to what we ordinarily want to hear?

·       Why would Israel continue to follow such a religion?

·       Why would they recognize such writings as God-given and canonize them?

It must have been undeniable to them that these came from God and had been validated by His many miracles, like the ten miraculous plagues against Egypt, Mount Sinai, and forty years of free meals in the form of manna from heaven. Moses had repeatedly reminded Israel of these miracles as proof that God was with them:

·       Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. (Deuteronomy 4:34-36)

There are other aspects of God’s Word that we normally find highly offensive. However, it is these very things that demonstrate that the Bible is not the Word of man but of God.

THE REJECTION OF SCRIPTURE

Scripture describes itself as the source of all spiritual blessings:

·       May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:2-3; ESV)

God is so pleased when we meditate on His Word that He blesses us in innumerable ways, as the Psalms proclaim:

·       Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

In light of the many blessings that our Lord gives us when we honor Him by mediating on Him through His Word, it is so disturbing to see His people turning away from Him into the dark alley ways of alternative spiritualities, ways that bring destruction. The prophetic Elihu instructed Job:

·       He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity. If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. (Job 36:10-12)

Rejecting the revelation of God, His Word, would bring natural consequences as would driving a car while blind-folded. God explained:

·       There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land…Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away…My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:1, 4, 6)

When we turn our back to God’s Word, we also turn our back on God, and He turns His back on us. Scripture is His love-language. When we reject Scripture, we also reject the way of pleasing Him.

It wasn’t that Israel didn’t know better or and they lacked the education. Instead, it was simply a matter of their rejecting His Word, the very thing that we now see all around us. The consequences might be slow in coming, but they are catastrophic:

·       They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD…My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore…I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin. (Hosea 4:10, 12, 14)

God need not proactively punish. Our rejection of the light of the Word in favor of the darkness of alternative ways and myths will kill us. Lacking the light of God, they will be destroyed by their own choices:

·       Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” (Proverbs 1:29-33)

Rebellion carries its own consequences. In light of all this, it is tragic to see large segments of the Church turn aside to eat junk food, food that will not satisfy in the long run. It is only Scripture that truly nourishes. Therefore, the Apostle Paul argued:

·       All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Scripture is our armor against all of our challenges. Therefore, Paul continued:

·       I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4)

Today, silly myths are heralded, even given the place of honor in our culture. We are being told that we are all God because everything is God. But if everything is God, so too is rape and murder. We also are told that the self is not real, but that the unreal self is reincarnated into another unreal body. It is tragic that we are more enamored by these silly and misleading myths than we are in the true God of Scripture.

Scripture is not just a matter of Words. It is life and a vital understanding of God, life, and how to live it. I would not have survived decades of depression and panic attacks had I not known the truths about God – that He has taken away my sins (1 John 1:9) and had convinced me that the feelings of condemnation that I had been experiencing were not from Him (Romans 8:1). Through His Word (and the Spirit applying it to my mind and heart), He convinced me that I was beloved eternally. Let me try to demonstrate. I had long felt that God could not love me. This sense seemed to emanate from the deepest parts of my being. However, Scripture repeatedly contradicted this pervasive sense:

·       …but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:8-10)

The logic is simple and unifies the entirety of Scripture together into one harmonious chorus. If God loved me when I hated Jesus and mocked anyone who professed such a faith, now that I have been drawn near to Him through the blood of Jesus, I have all the reasons in the world to believe that He will never stop loving me. I am His beloved investment, which He will protect at all costs.

I need this knowledge even more than food. Without the Word, I could not have certainty of this, despite the many psychologists who had encouraged me to love, accept, and to believe in myself.

This is why I am so grieved to see many stray from His Word into destructive myths. I, therefore, thank God for clothing me with His Word as a mighty tool of the Light to confront the darkness. As David had, I even thank Him for the hardships that have equipped this highly unworthy servant:

·       It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (Psalm 119:71-72)