Serious, Straightforward
“The Book”
We have purchased an estimated six billion copies. In whole or in part, it has been translated into approximately 2500 languages. We read it for pleasure. We read it for encouragement, for instruction, and for inspiration. We read it for education, discussion, and debate. We read it for amusement. We read it out of curiosity. We read it so we can dismiss it. Yet, we can’t seem to put it down.
What is the “bible”? Its title is an obscure one—Book. The Book. An all-time bestseller, with others not even coming close, man has treated the Scriptures, this collection of “writings,” with fascination...some with devotion...some with disdain.
Whatever one’s view this book deserves a serious look. The bible stands alone among works of antiquity for its vast amount of critically examined and investigated evidence. We are not left to doubt: the message that was preserved and handed down to us was intended to be preserved and handed down to us. But why? What is its significance?
The significance of these words is that they are not man’s words; they are the words of God.
-1 Thessalonians 2:13 “...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.”
These words were breathed by God...
-2 Timothy 3:16-17 “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 competent, equipped for every good work.”
...the same God who breathed the world into existence.
-Genesis 1:3ff “And God said, ‘Let there be light...’”
These words, then, are more powerful than the wonders they produced.
-2 Peter 1:19-21 “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
These words are truth.
-Psalm 119:160 “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.
-John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
These words get to the heart of man, revealing who he is and his eternal purpose.
-Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
-1 Peter 1:22-25 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
This book was penned by over forty writers over the course of a millennium and a half, yet is one story from start to finish. It is not a collection of mere stories, nor are they historical only. They are thematic. That is the bible reveals the world as it really is, reveals man as he really is...and as he is meant to be.
Most importantly the bible reveals God to man.
-John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
You are invited to study seriously with me, and to apply God's word straightforward to our lives.
"...Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." -1 Corinthians 3:10b-11
We have purchased an estimated six billion copies. In whole or in part, it has been translated into approximately 2500 languages. We read it for pleasure. We read it for encouragement, for instruction, and for inspiration. We read it for education, discussion, and debate. We read it for amusement. We read it out of curiosity. We read it so we can dismiss it. Yet, we can’t seem to put it down.
What is the “bible”? Its title is an obscure one—Book. The Book. An all-time bestseller, with others not even coming close, man has treated the Scriptures, this collection of “writings,” with fascination...some with devotion...some with disdain.
Whatever one’s view this book deserves a serious look. The bible stands alone among works of antiquity for its vast amount of critically examined and investigated evidence. We are not left to doubt: the message that was preserved and handed down to us was intended to be preserved and handed down to us. But why? What is its significance?
The significance of these words is that they are not man’s words; they are the words of God.
-1 Thessalonians 2:13 “...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.”
These words were breathed by God...
-2 Timothy 3:16-17 “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 competent, equipped for every good work.”
...the same God who breathed the world into existence.
-Genesis 1:3ff “And God said, ‘Let there be light...’”
These words, then, are more powerful than the wonders they produced.
-2 Peter 1:19-21 “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
These words are truth.
-Psalm 119:160 “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.
-John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
These words get to the heart of man, revealing who he is and his eternal purpose.
-Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
-1 Peter 1:22-25 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
This book was penned by over forty writers over the course of a millennium and a half, yet is one story from start to finish. It is not a collection of mere stories, nor are they historical only. They are thematic. That is the bible reveals the world as it really is, reveals man as he really is...and as he is meant to be.
Most importantly the bible reveals God to man.
-John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
You are invited to study seriously with me, and to apply God's word straightforward to our lives.
"...Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." -1 Corinthians 3:10b-11