What makes the Bible so special? Why have Christians throughout history staked their lives on what it says?
The answer is simple: Faith
I’ve met some atheists who know more about the Bible than I do, but the difference between us is that my faith allows me to believe what the Lord says so that His power can take hold of my life.
When we read the Bible, we’re reading God’s very word. The evangelist Dwight Moody once prayed earnestly to the Lord for faith, but he didn’t know why his faith remained stagnant. It was only when he read Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” that he had his epiphany. Moody said, “I was closing my eyes and praying for my faith to grow, but once I opened my eyes to the Word my faith has been growing ever since.”
Faith comes by hearing God’s word
Maybe you’re like Dwight Moody, wanting your faith to grow but getting nowhere. When that happens, it’s time to go to God’s Word and listen for His voice.
Hebrews tells us, “The word is living and active.” When the Bible speaks, the Lord Himself speaks. His word can wake you up and breathe new life where you never thought you’d find it.
But what sets the Bible apart from any other book in the world?
1. It has a unified theme from beginning to end. In John 5:39, Jesus said, “all of the scriptures testify about me.” From the very beginning (in the garden) all the way to the end (Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane) the Bible is about God saving sinners by sending Jesus to die in their place. Just like my friend Sally Lloyd-Jones says so often, every story “whispers his name.”
2. It is “God breathed.” There are thousands of helpful Christian books out there, but none of them have been directly breathed out by God. Only the Bible can make this audacious claim. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter that when the authors of the Bible wrote, they were “carried along by the Holy Spirit.” And so we can be confident that God will continue to speak to us through it.
A new documentary captures the uniqueness and authority of Scripture quite well. It’s called The God Who Speaks and it responds to some of the most common objections to the Bible’s reliability through insightful interviews with some of the world’s most respected Bible scholars. Here’s the trailer:
The Bible is unlike any other book in the world. Its unity, its power, and its origin is all divine. No other book in history can compare. But, in another way, it’s also just like every book.
The Bible didn’t just drop out of the sky. It was written by more than forty different authors over a period of over 1500 years. The Lord used actual, historical people to produce the Bible, which is one of the biggest differences between Christianity and the claims of Mormonism or Islam.
The Bible is also all about Christ, it is breathed out by God with prophecies and promises that the Lord himself would come to save His people. And it tells us that the Messiah did come, that He lived a perfect life, and that He died on a cross. Other ancient historians knew about Jesus, and they confirm He was put to death.
But then the Bible goes further by claiming Jesus rose from the dead. He appeared to all of his disciples, he appeared to Saint Paul, and he even appeared to 500 people at one time after His crucifixion. And when Jesus’ apostles began writing and preaching about this resurrection, they weren’t just teaching an ideology … they were telling others about a powerful historical event they witnessed firsthand.
Maybe you’ve thought to yourself that the resurrection really isn’t that important, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It is central to our faith and all that the Bible teaches. If you still have concerns about the authority of Scripture, I want to encourage you to listen the interviews and messages we’ve included in this week’s series. Click here to listen. You can also receive a copy of the new, groundbreaking documentary The God Who Speaks when you make a gift to this listener supported ministry.
However you seek the Lord, I want to encourage you to open your eyes, go to the Word, and watch your faith grow.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As the leader of the Haven Ministries, Charles Morris is always thinking of ways to lead Christians and non-Christians to Christ—hence the familiar slogan, “Telling the great story … it’s all about Jesus.” A former secular journalist, Charles has worked for United Press International, and as a press secretary for two former U.S. senators. He and his wife, Janet, have authored several books, including Missing Jesus. Charles’ latest book is Fleeing ISIS, Finding Jesus: The Real Story of God At Work.
