The Character Of The Bible
THE CHARACTER OF THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD: Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1:9). The Bible is more than a book detailing men's thoughts about what God is like. It is God's communication to men. His words are transmitted to us through its pages. It is one thing to read theology books that tell about God; it is quite another to read God's love letters to you.
It is noteworthy to see the process by which this took place in the case of the book of Jeremiah.
God gave His message to Jeremiah|c|Jeremiah dictated to Baruch|c|Baruch wrote the message|c|Baruch read the message in the temple| In spite of this process, it is the Word of God that is said to be both the original message as well as the end of the process. This same process is seen in the New Testament in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 where Paul says, “When you received from us the word of God”s message [literally, “the word of hearing of God”], you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” THE BIBLE IS A LIVING BOOK: For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12). In what way is the Bible alive? It is alive in that it is the word of the Living God. It is alive in that it is active in its ministry to your heart. Like a surgeon's scalpel, it cuts through the facade to speak to the inner you. It gets down to the real heart of issues. THE BIBLE AS A PRESERVED BOOK: The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).
Voltaire was the French philosopher-scientist who, before he died in 1778, predicted that within a hundred years, Christianity would be swept away from existence and pass into the obscurity of history. Today the Bible continues to be one of the most popular books printed and Volatire's prediction has utterly failed. THE BIBLE AS A BOOK OF REALITY: For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty (2 Peter 1:16). This Bible stands in complete distinction to the mythology of the era in which it was composed. You have only to read a little of the Greek or Roman or Egyptian or Babylonian mythologies to understand that there exists the greatest gulf between these and the Bible. In contrast to such myths and fairy tales, Peter says, “The things about which we wrote to you are not theological speculation, but rather an eye witness account.” John says the same thing when he speaks of “what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life” (1 John 1:1).
I love the testimony of Thomas regarding the resurrection. Here was a man who heard of the event and who then said, “I will not believe such news unless I am able to verify it through both visual and tactile means. I want to see and I want to touch and then I will believe.”
Moses is seen as the real author of the first five books: Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope (John 5:45).
I think it fairly obvious that Moses did not write the very last chapter of Deuteronomy. This is the chapter that records his death. In such a case, it seems evident that the work of writing fell to the one who came after him; in this case it was likely Joshua who completed the work.
Isaiah is a Unified Book: That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “LORD, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. (John 12:38-41). Note that these quotes are taken from two separate sides of Isaiah that some modern critics wish to maintain are written by two separate authors. THE BIBLE IS AN INERRANT BOOK: If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came; and the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).
What does Jesus mean when He says that the Scripture cannot be broken? It is a reference to its continuing truth. There will never come a time when we say, “Ooops, the Bible really said the wrong thing when it came to that passage.” Notice that He says this with reference to what could have been considered a problem passage to the Jews (Psalms 82:6). The point is that even such problem passages show no cracks in the trustworthiness of the Bible, but rather are only indicative of our own lack of understanding.
I've been studying and teaching the occasional class in Biblical Archaeology for over 30 years. One thing I've learned is that archaeologists change their theories about as often as I change my socks. That isn't to say that the study of archaeology is a bad thing. It is often helpful to us in our understanding of the Bible. But in all that time, the Bible has not been forced to change. THE BIBLE IS A PROPOSITIONAL BOOK: “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18).
God does not call us to abandon all sense of reason or thought when we come to Him. We are not to check in our brains at the door to the church and then pick them up again when we leave. He calls us to reason and to judge and to weigh out the facts of our salvation. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John 2:1-25 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:1-3).
Notice the propositional nature of this revelation. God says, “Here are the things that I am going to do. You read these things and hear them and heed them and you will be blessed.” THE BIBLE IS A NEEDFUL BOOK. To Direct my Life: Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path (Psalms 119:105).
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy word (Psalms 119:67).
Anyone who says that “all roads lead to Rome” has never done much traveling. I am by nature a map person. If I am traveling to an unfamiliar place, I get out a map to trace out what will be my path. The Bible is our roadmap for living. It is the light to my path.
I can still recall when one of the fire fighters from my department made the mistake of going up onto a barge without a flashlight. He couldn't see that a part of the deckplate had been removed and suffered a major injury when he stepped onto a floor that wasn't there. To Lift my Spirits: I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O LORD, according to Thy word (Psalms 119:107). While Hebrews 4:12 tells me that the Word of God is alive and powerful, here we read that this same word is able to enliven me. To Nourish my Soul: And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:3-4). To Announce His Plan of Redemption: Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). God always speaks when He institutes redemptive activity. And by the same token, when He does not institute new redemptive activity, there is no need for God to give new revelation. This idea of the cessation of revelation ought not to surprise us. The revelatory process never came in an unbroken stream. It was always here a little and there a little (Isaiah 28:13). The fact that the Old Testament canon closed and that revelation ceased for a time sets up a paradigm for the closing of revelation in the New Testament. Does that mean there will never be any new revelation? Not at all. I believe the Bible teaches that there will be such. It will take place at the return of Christ. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).