The Bible

WHERE DID THE BIBLE COME FROM?

This question is very important because it establishes a foundation for our belief. By answering the question we will begin to have confidence that the Bible is from God and is the only source of authority in religious matters today.

I wish that more people would seek out confirmation of the authenticity of God's book known as "The Holy Bible".
This question is really answered by what we call apologetics. Many people have answered these questions and many have addressed all of the criticisms of the Bible. Sadly, the greatest enemy of Jesus and the Scriptures is not the atheist or the agnostic or even the critic, but the people who claim to be the friends of God that openly deny the inspiration and authority of His word, and replace God's truth with man's thoughts.

A very deplorable situation exist when we have so many people that have spent a great effort to PROVE the Bible actually comes from God, and that Scripture is the message of God to mankind today. Then they turn around and teach doctrines and precepts of men that are contrary to the words of God. How strange to prove a book infallible (without error), and fully sufficient to provide everything man needs (2 Peter 1:3) to know to be pleasing to God, then disregard the same. No wonder that so many intelligent people are confused by such matters. The simple answer to our question is: God wrote the Bible.

Deity (The Godhead) used His influence to motivate selected men to write His message. Everyone one of them knew what they were doing when they wrote to others. What they probably did not realize at the time was the fact that the holy Spirit helped to guide them in their thoughts and on some occasions, their very words. God used these men to instruct,discipline, reprove everyone that needs God's message. Some writers wrote to encourage people to obey the laws of God and some wrote to warn those who were disobedient to the Laws of God.

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will."(Hebrews 2:1-4)

God also instructed these writers to request that their message be spread everywhere. Most of the Bible was written in such a way that everyone could benefit from a message, even if that message was intended for a specific person. Now the fact that God wrote through these men many years ago in languages known to them, but foreign to us required that the message be interpreted.

Since God intended that everyone receive His message, it only makes sense that God would somehow oversee the process by which we received the Bible in our own language. Many men have sought to bring the original words of God forward to an understandable way.
"And they read from the book from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8)

We must accept by faith that God has not deprived us of anything necessary for our salvation. We must also accept His word as His law, and we must submit to the precepts and teachings of God through that book as we recognize that the book comes from God Himself.

We are warned about adding or taking away or even changing the things that God has given us. Acceptance of the Grand book as INSPIRED actually obligates us to obedience of His laws.

Not only must we accept the Bible as being inspired, but our teaching must always reflect the truths found in the book. For that reason a very noble goal of any teacher of the word is to speak as it were the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). In other words, when we are teaching God's will, we must speak only those things that He has revealed unto us.

Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

To really read the Bible to find out what it means, you need to read with the following questions in mind:

1. What does the text say? (observation)
2. What does it mean? (interpretation)
3. How does it apply to me? (application)

The following guidelines are helpful in proper Bible reading:

1. Scripture interprets Scripture. If an idea you get from one verse is out of line with the rest of what the Bible says, you need to reevaluate what you thought that verse said. "Let everything be established by 2 or 3 witnesses" before you make a doctrine of something.
   
   Literal where possible -- what it says, it means.
2. 
   Consider the form of the writing in each section (i. e. historical, narrative, parable, poetry, teaching, prediction of the future, etc.).
3. 
   Consider grammar and history. This means understanding how natural languages work in general, and at least something of how the original languages of the Bible work. It also means that it is helpful to understand the history, culture, geography, etc., of the original audience.
4. 
   More on how to read the Bible on our sister website here.

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The scriptures are perfect, but men are fallible. I prayerfully check all of the material I put on my sites. However, I am quite capable of missing something or making a mistake. If you find anything at all on these pages that is questionable or find any links broken please contact us here.