425 Sermon Illustrations on Bible

A number of years ago an incident occurred which greatly endeared

the Bible to me, and caused me to feel safe without any carnal weapon.

All in a moment I found myself surrounded by six men demanding my

purse. I was where I could not defend myself or obtain help from man.

I confess to a strange palpitation in my heart. It seemed clear that

my purse or life must go. At that instant something seemed to say:

"Tell them who you are."

With much difficulty I said to them:

"I am a minister of Jesus Christ. My business is to preach Christ

wherever I go, and you know you are making a demand upon me that you

cannot meet at the judgment seat of Christ."

After a little I distinctly heard one of them say:

"Let him go."

Then I knew God's revolver had taken effect. I now became calm, and

pointed them to the Judgment-seat, where they must meet me and this

whole transaction. Strange to tell, they were silent for a little,

then one by one went away, and left me alone. This was plainly the

effect of preaching to them the great Day of Judgment, accompanied by

the Divine Spirit.

I can never forget my feelings as I walked away from the spot,

seeing "Jesus only" with me. I seemed to grasp the "Bible" with a new

love and confidence, and silently said:

"I shall never need any other revolver than this."

"For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any

two-edged sword." What an illustration of this was that moment before

me. The Bible is the Spirit's sword. "The excellency of the power is

of God, not of us." For fifty-seven years in which I have been

preaching "the Word," I have witnessed its power over hardened, as

well as moral, men, in bringing them to repentance, and causing them

to forsake their sins.

In view of this wonderful deliverance, I would recommend all

ministers to preach more simply "the Word," and all men to embrace and

obey it. Let us scatter it everywhere. Let us put this mighty weapon

into every man's hands, and let us all rest and trust more fully in

it. Martin Luther says:

"And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us."

-- A. B. Earle, From: "Incidents Used ... In His Meetings," published

in 1888

An African chief once was presented a mirror by a missionary. The

African looked into it and for the first time saw his face -- it was

an ugly face. He had sense enough to know that it was an ugly face. He

threw the mirror to the ground, smashing it to pieces. Smashing the

looking glass did not make the chief's face any more beautiful, but he

could not see it.

In a like manner some people treat the Bible, J. Campbell White

says: "They look into the Bible and see themselves, and because the

heart looks ugly in the heart of the Bible, they throw the Bible away.

Maybe they just put it on the shelf and leave it there unread. Some

smash the Bible for themselves by denying its divine authority; they

seem to think that thus they get rid of their moral ugliness." --

Selected

Jan. 1 -- Read before my owner retired -- several chapters.

Jan. 15 -- Been resting quietly for a week. I suppose my owner has

forgotten me.

Feb. 2 -- Clean up. I was dusted along with other things and put

back in place.

Feb. 8 -- Owner used me for a few minutes to look up a reference

before he went to Sunday school. Carried me.

March 7 -- Dusted and in my old place again. Have been down in the

lower hall since my trip to Sunday school.

April 20 -- Busy day. Owner led the N.Y.P.S. and had to look up

some references. Had an awful time finding one for it was in the book

of Jude, and he was looking in the Minor Prophets for it.

May 5 -- In Grandma's lap all afternoon. She was here on a visit.

She let a tear drop on \reference{Revelation 21:1-5}{Revelation

21:1-5}. I am not used to that, but

really enjoyed it.

May 6,7,8 -- In Grandma's lap these three days. Sometimes she reads

me and sometimes she talks to me. I surely enjoy this. She had a

pencil and marked several passages. She especially marked the 15th

chapter of First Corinthians. Seems that she was interested there. She

also marked Matthew, \reference{chapters 5}{Matthew 5},

\reference{6}{Matthew 6} and \reference{7}{Matthew 7}.

May 10 -- Grandma is gone. She kissed me when she left. Back into

my old place again.

June 3 -- Had a couple of four-leaf clovers stuck in me today.

Wonder why they did that?

June 25 -- They placed a large envelope in me today. Said it was

the deeds to the new place with the insurance papers. They wanted to

place them where they would never be bothered

July 1 -- One of the children found me and wanted to know what that

black back Book was.

July 3 -- Taken from the shelf and placed in the trunk. off for a

vacation I suppose.

July 7 -- Still in the trunk.

July 20 -- Still in the trunk -- unmolested. Nearly everything else

has been taken out.

July 25 -- Back home and in my old place. Quite a journey, but

really I don't see why I was taken.

August 1 -- Very hot. Have the Sunday paper, two magazines, three

novels, and some old clothes lying on me. Don't see why they don't

take them off.

Sept. 1 -- Dusted and back in place.

Sept. 3 -- Used by William a few minutes. He was writing a letter

to a friend, who had lost a loved one, and wanted a comforting verse.

Oct. 2 -- A neighbor dreamed a dream and having no Bible of her

own, she came in and looked through me a few moments to see if she

could find "And it came to pass."

Oct. 14 -- The pastor called, and wanted to read a chapter before

prayer, but some. way I was not in place and could not be found.

Oct. 30 -- Dusted and in my old place again.

(To be continued -- By You)

A skeptic in London said, in speaking of the Bible, that it was quite impossible in these days to believe in any book whose authorship is unknown. A Christian asked him if the compiler of the multiplication table was known. “No,” he answered. “Then, of course, you do not believe in it?” “Oh, yes, I believe in it, because it works well.” “So does the Bible,” was the rejoinder, and the skeptic had no answer to make.

However, the Author is known, for any Christian can prove that only God could give unfailing promises and prophecies; and the very majesty and power of the Bible also point out who wrote it.

________

William Moses Tidwell, “Pointed Illustrations.”

A little girl was lying sick, nigh unto death. Beside the bed her

father was watching and weeping. "How much do I cost you, Papa, every

year?" asked the dying child. Again and again she pressed the

question, until her father named a certain sum, and asked, "Why do you

ask this?" "Because," said the dear child, "I thought maybe you would

lay that amount out this year in Bibles for poor children to remember

me by." With heart swelling with deepest feeling, the father kissed

the cold brow and replied, "I will, my child. I will do it every year,

that you may draw others after you Heaven." -- Selected.

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

It is said that while Elizabeth Barrett Browning was in Italy for

fifteen years, she wrote her parents letter after letter. They were

very affectionate. She poured out her soul in tender affection to

them, but for all those long years she never received a word in answer

to her letters. At the end of fifteen years she received a large box

from her parents. When she opened it, she found every letter she had

written returned to her -- all unopened. Imagine the suffering of her

heart all those years, only to learn that not one letter had ever been

read.

But think of the wonderful letters our Father in heaven has written

us, and how many just leave them unopened! How shamefully wicked!

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

The first Protestant missionary to Japan was so effective that the emperor declared that, if what the missionary said could be proved true, he would make Christianity the state religion. The emperor sent five of his leading men on a tour of Europe and America. When their trip was nearly ended, the saintly Bishop Moule asked them, “Tell me, gentlemen, what report will you take back to your emperor?” They replied, “We will tell him much -- that the Book is all right, but that it does not work.”

William Moses Tidwell, “Pointed Illustrations.”

Unfortunately many American homes, yes even so-called Christian homes, are like the one in which the little girl pointed to the Bible on the mantle that was never opened, and said to her mother, "Whose book is that?" Her mother quite startled by her daughters question replied, "Why honey, don't you know? That is God's book!"

The child demonstrating that she had a very practical turn to her mind said, "Don't you think that we had better give it back to him? No one around here ever reads it."

- Fickeet

One day a lawyer told an attorney friend that he had become a Sunday School teacher at his church. His astonished friend replied, “I bet you don't even know the Lord's Prayer,” he fumed. “Why everybody knows that,” the other answered. “It's, Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

His friend was astonished! He said, “You win! I didn't know you knew so much about the Bible.”

*

"Why do you keep reading your Bible all day long?" a youngster

demanded of his aged grandfather. "Well," he explained, "you might say I was cramming for my final exaim."

The Bible is such a practical book that is should not be

kept in the LIBRARY, but in the LIVING ROOM!

Too many Christians never take biblical principles from their

HEAD (the library) and put them in their heart (the living room).

A man inherited an antique desk. One day by accident he touched a secret spring. A hitherto unopened drawer opened. In it lay a great sum on money! The antique desk was valuable, but

the treasure it contained was more valuable!

God's word is priceless and precious. Unknown spiritual riches await those who will search therein for them. "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalm 19:10)

- Pulpit Helps

When I am tired, the Bible is my bed;

Or in the dark, the Bible is my light;

When I am hungry, it is vital bread;

Or fearful, it is armour for the fight;

When I am sick, 'tis healing medicine;

Or lonely, thronging friends I find therein.

If I would work, the Bible is my tool;

Or play, it is a harp of happy sound.

If I am ignorant, it is my school;

If I am sinking, it is solid ground.

If I am cold, the Bible is my fire;

And wings, if boldly I aspire.

Should I be lost, the Bible is my guide;

Or naked, it is raiment, rich and warm.

Am I imprisoned, it is ranges wide;

Or tempest-tossed, a shelter from the storm.

Would I adventure, 'tis a gallant sea;

Or would I rest, it is a flowery lea.

Dr. Amos R. Wells

Despite all the assaults of the destructive higher critics, the

"old book stands." Of it the British Weekly well says: "The Bible is

distinguished from all books of devotion, even from books of such rare

quality as the 'Imitatatio Christi,' by its wholesome realism and

sense of the divine order of life. Not a line of it was written in a

cloister or in a church -- not a line of it, therefore, by a saint, in

the ecclesiastical sense; not a line of it could have been. The breath

of the world is in it, of the actual realities and which men live, as

well as the breath of God. It never forgets that when God came to

bless us in his son, he came eating and drinking, accepting the

natural structure of society and all that it involved, and leaving us

the unpretentious example of his holiness in a life whose outward

fashion was that of all mankind." -- J. W. C.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."

The Bible is the last voice. It is the voice that speaks to us

from the other world, or God has never spoken. The truth about

the Bible is told in those words in "The Monastery" which Scott

puts into the mouth of the apparition which speaks to the young

Glendinning: "Within that awful volume lies The mystery of mysteries!

Happiest they of human race, To whom God has granted grace To read, to

fear, to hope, to pray, To lift the latch, and force the way; And

better had they ne'er been born, Who read to doubt or read to scorn."

A pastor asked a class of Sunday School children, "Who broke down

the walls of Jericho?" A boy answered, "Not me, sir!" Upset, the

pastor asked the teacher, "Is this typical?" She replied, "I believe

this boy is honest, and I really don't think he did it." The pastor

went to the head deacon. "I've known the boy and the teacher for

years," said the deacon, "and neither of them would do such a thing."

Aghast, the pastor went to the Christian Education Board. "Pastor,"

said the chairman, "let's not make an issue of this. Let's just pay

for the damage and charge it to maintenance."

A blind girl had been in the habit of reading her Bible by

means of raised letters such as are prepared for the use of the

blind; but after a while, by working in a factory, the tips of

her fingers became so callused that she could no more by her

hands read the precious promises. She cut off the tips of her

fingers that her touch might be more sensitive; but still she

failed with her hands to read the raised letters. In her sorrow

she took the Bible and bid, "Farewell, my dear Bible. You have

been the joy of my heart!" Then she raised the open page to her

lips and kissed it, and as she did so she felt with her mouth

the letters, "The Gospel according to St. Mark." "Thank God!"

she said; "if I cannot read the Bible with my fingers, I can

read it with my lips." --Talmage

A person in Birmingham, who lived in the neglect of the

worship of God and of reading the Bible, was on a Lord's Day

sitting at the fire with his family; he said that he thought he

would read a chapter in the Bible, not having read one for a

long time. But, alas! he was disappointed; it was too late, for

in the very act of reaching it from the shelf he sank down and

immediately expired. --Whitecross

I came up to Boston from the country and went into a Bible class where there were a few Harvard students. They handed me a Bible and told me the lesson was in John. I hunted all through the Old Testament for John, but couldn't find it. I saw the fellows hunching one another, “Ah, greenie from the country.” Now, you know that is just the time when you don't want to be considered green. The teacher saw my embarrassment and handed me his Bible, and I put my thumb in the place and held on. I didn't lose my place. I said then that if I ever got out of that scrape, I would never be caught there again. Why is it that so many young men from eighteen to twenty cannot be brought into a Bible class? Because they don't want to show their ignorance. There is no place in the world that is so fascinating as a live Bible class. I believe that we are to blame that they have been brought up in the Sunday-school without Bibles and brought up with quarterlies. The result is, the boys are growing up without knowing how to handle the Bible. -- D. L. Moody.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, “Present Day Parables.”

Burroughs tells of a great friend of his in England who sent him a

cage full of skylarks, which he set at liberty in a field near where

he lived and never saw again, but one day a Scotchman called on him in

great excitement. He had heard a skylark, he was sure that he had

heard it, and that he was not dreaming. He had not heard one since he

was on the banks of the Doon in Scotland, and yet many another man

might have passed with him on the road and never noticed the song of

the bird.

So here is this book, the Bible, thrilling with a better song than

ever skylark sang -- listen to it, receive it and live in its power

and the result will be joy.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."

[article by Muslims on dealing with Christian missionaries. Emphasis is in the original]

Part 1: Faith and Works

One of the basic arguments raised by non-Muslims, especially Christians, against Islam concerns the CONCEPT OF SALVATION. They say that in Christianity, one is saved by faith, whereas in Islam one must earn their salvation through good deeds.

Unfortunately, many Muslims fall into the TRAP OF DEFENDING THE POSITION imposed on them by these non-Muslims. This then provides the Christians with a basis for their entire Jesus-Father-Crucifixion-Salvation framework. They then go on to argue that salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned. BUT IF THE TRUE ISLAMIC CONCEPT IS MADE CLEAR, THE CHRISTIAN HAS NO BASIS TO ATTACK ISLAM.

Many times, Muslims fail to realize that the ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF SALVATION is not based upon good deeds, but IS BASED PRIMARILY UPON FAITH.

In the dozens of times Allah (SWT) talks in the Quran about salvation, he always states, “Those who believe and do good deeds.”

Belief is always mentioned before deeds or works.

When one CONVERTS to Islam, one does not do it by doing some good work but rather through realizing and believing that there is but one God and Muhammed (SAW) is his last messenger.

Non-Muslims may perform good works as well, but what sets them apart from Muslims is their LACK OF IMAN, OR BELIEF. The reason that the good works of the non-believers are worthless in the hereafter is because of their disbelief. Unless a person's iman or aqeedah is not correct, all his good deeds are worthless.

One of the more popular hadiths of the Prophet (SAW) states, “All actions are based upon intentions,” implying that the purpose, intent, or iman behind your action is what you get rewarded for; the actual action is really a consequence of the belief.

Another hadith states,

“A man came to the Prophet (SAW) and asked,

'When will the day of judgment come?'

The Prophet (SAW) replied, 'What have you prepared for the judgment day that you are so concerned for it?'

He replied, 'I do not have any good deeds in my account, but I do have one thing: I love Allah and His Messenger (SAW).'

The Prophet (SAW) then said, 'In that case, do not worry; you will be with those whom you love.'“ (Agreed Upon).

This hadith also confirms the Islamic position of placing aqeedah and belief before actions. For example, Allah (SWT) says in various parts of the Quran, “The believers you will find praying...”

He does not say the people who are praying are believers. It is the BELIEF THAT BRINGS ABOUT THE ACTION, but the converse is not always true. Another hadith of the Prophet (SAW) states, “Unless one loves Allah and Allah's Messenger more than one's own self his iman is not complete.”

PART 2: THE BIBLE

Another misunderstanding Muslims often fall into concerns the Bible. Christian missionaries in almost every discussion of the Quran assert that the Quran asks Muslims to believe in the Bible as a revelation of God.

Many Muslims tend to fall into this TRAP by saying that “WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE AS REVEALED BOOK.”

Once the Muslim accepts this fact, the evangelist can point out that the Bible contradicts the Quran and that since the Bible has precedence over the Quran and since Muslims are required to believe in it, it therefore logically follows that the Bible is right and the Quran is wrong.

But the Quran says no such thing. There is no reference to the Bible in the Quran whatsoever.

The Quran mentions the Taurat and the INJIL.

The Taurat is the book given to prophet Moses. This is not the equivalent of the Torah/Pentateuch of the Jews and Christians, since much of it was not written by prophet Moses. And the Taurat is definitely not the Old Testament since the OT includes dozens of books attributed to other prophets before Jesus.

The INJIL is translated as the Gospel revealed to prophet Jesus. This is not the New Testament. The New Testament is a collection of 4 biographies of Christ, 27 epistles of St. Paul, and other books on the lives and adventures on the followers of Christ.

There is no record of a book revealed to Jesus. Perhaps the closest to it are the WORDS OF JESUS HIMSELF, WHICH CONSTITUTES LESS THAN 10% OF THE NT. Therefore to say that Christians changed the Bible is an inaccurate statement, and can cause trouble in a discussion, because the Christian can then ask questions such as: Who changed the Bible? When exactly was it changed? How do you know it was changed if you don't have a copy of the original?

The Bible, or at least the New Testament, cannot be an altered copy of the Injil because it is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT book. In fact, the original Bible or New Testament (the very first one) did not correspond to the Injil, Taurat, or Zabur in the first place. It doesn't matter how unreliably it was transmitted; the BIBLE DOES NOT CORRESPOND TO THE QURANIC INJIL.

It is not that the Christians have changed the original, but rather they have the wrong book, altogether. The words of Christ are possibly the closest thing to the Injil. The recently discovered GOSPEL OF THOMAS, which is nothing but a list of sayings of Jesus, is even closer to the Islamic concept of Injil.

Therefore, it should be kept in mind in discussion with Christians that the Bible has not been changed, but rather the original documents chosen as the word of God were incorrect.

*

[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #17439]

History tells us that when Crowfoot, the chief of the Blackfoot

nation in southern Alberta, gave the Canadian Pacific Railway

permission to lay track from Medicine Hat to Calgary, he was given in

exchange a lifetime railroad pass. Reportedly, Crowfoot put the pass

in a leather pouch and wore it around his neck for the rest of his

life -- but he never once availed himself of the rights and privileges

it spelled out. What a tragedy it is when Christians do the same

thing with the Word of God, using it as a decorative badge of

Christianity, but never availing themselves of the wealth of access to

God's thoughts it affords.

As an illustration of "learned" scholars tampering with the

Scriptures, I quote from a newspaper article: "An electronic computer

figures that St. Paul is the author of only four of the 14 epistles

attributed to him in the New Testament. Two researchers fed the

computer a quarter of a million words of Greek prose to reach this

conclusion. They said the method could be used to determine the

authorship of any part of the Bible."

Truly amazing -- a mindless machine questioning the Word of God! If

its findings were correct, they would make Paul a liar, for he claims

the authorship of at least 13 of the epistles. Just think, a lifeless

mechanism "proving" that the Bible is not true! The computer is now a

disputer. Strangely enough, it was proven by the same computer

analysis that the man who wrote the book about these conclusions

couldn't have been its author.

A 91-year-old woman wrote, "I spend about one hour each day with my

Lord, reading my Bible and Christian literature. When people ask what

good all my reading does if I can't remember what I've read, my answer

is always the same. I'm in pretty good health, have a roof over my

head, and have plenty of food to eat... I also have two sons and one

grandson who love me dearly. My cup runneth over. I am not concerned

about my memory. I just do my reading and God does the remembering."

Does the way look dark? Keep reading God's Word. if you can no

longer read, listen to it on tapes. Thank the Lord daily for meeting

your physical needs. Draw on the support of other Christians.

Even if you forget God's promises, you'll discover that He never

forgets them. He'll strengthen you and stand with you.

Henry Ford is credited with saying, "Cut your own wood and you warm

yourself twice." What he meant was that the man who chops his own

firewood not only enjoys the heat from the logs burning in his

fireplace, but he also gets physically warmed from the exercise

involved in his labor.

If you really want to enjoy your Bible, you should "cut your own

wood" by studying things for yourself. Check the cross references,

look up the meaning of key words, and ask God to show you how the

passage on which you are meditating applies to your life. The truth

you discover for yourself in the Word will have a fresh, new flavor.

Have you tried to "cut your own wood?"