Christianity is the religion of a Book. Without this Book
Christianity cannot be perpetuated. Wherever this Book has
not gone there is no evidence of anything Christian. Salvation
is through faith in Jesus Christ, and people cannot believe in
Him of whom they have not heard: “How then shall they call
on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall
they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14). And we are shut
up to this Book for news about Jesus Christ. This Book is the
Bible, and, in its original, is God’s word to us today. Efface the
teachings of the Bible from human thought and Christianity
passes into oblivion. The Bible is an infallible Book, sufficient
and authoritative in all matters of religious faith and practice:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works” (II Tim. 3:16,17).
“Bring me the Book!” cried Sir Walter Scott on his death bed.
“What Book?” he was asked. And this genius of the Scottish
people replied, “There is but one Book; bring me the Bible!”
When Queen Victoria was asked the secret of England’s
greatness, she took down a copy of the scriptures and said,
“This Book explains the power of Great Britain.”
SCRIPTURE VS. TRADITION
The word for Scripture in the Greek is “graphe” and means “a
writing, “or “anything written.” The expression “holy scriptures”
occurs only twice in the New Testament: “(Which he had
promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)”(Rom.
1:2); “And that from a child thou hast known the holy
scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15); but
wherever the Scriptures are referred to, the Divine writings are
meant. The usual reference is to the Old Testament writings,
but Peter speaks of Paul’s epistles as Scripture: “As also in all
his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are
some things hard to be understood, which they that are
unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other
scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).
The Scriptures of our Lord’s day were the writings of the Old
Testament. The Bible of that time was the Septuagint, which
was the Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament. To our
Lord and the apostles the Old Testament was the word of
God. This was the Book Christ challenged the Jews to search:
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). This
was the Book He meant when He said “If he called them
gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture
cannot be broken; “(John 10:35). This was the Book the
Bereans searched to see if what Paul preached was true.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that
they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”
(Acts 17:11).
Our Savior charged that the “traditions of men” were against
the Scriptures. The Scriptures were the verbally inspired
writings of God; the traditions of men were the teachings
handed down by the Jewish elders. When the scribes and
Pharisees charged Jesus with transgressing “the traditions of
the elders, “He turned on them with this question: “Why do thy
disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash
not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and
said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment
of God by your tradition? (Matt. 15:2,3). Before Saul of Tarsus
became a believer in Jesus Christ: He was “exceedingly
zealous of the traditions of my fathers” (Gal. 1:14). But when
he became a believer he renounced the traditions and turned
to the Scriptures. There are many traditions which need to be
given up today, things handed down that are contrary to
Scripture.
REVELATION AND INSPIRATION
These two words must not be confused. The word of God
came to the prophets; that was revelation. Inspiration is the
method by which the word came through them to us. It is by
inspiration that the revelation to them became a revelation to
us. Without inspiration we would have no revelation, for the
word of God does not come today as it came to men of old.
This inspiration has given us a written revelation. God’s word
which we have today is in the form or nature of a Book, the
Bible.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:” (2 Tim. 3:16). This does not say the prophets
were inspired; inspiration has to do with the words; the words
of scripture came from God; they were God breathed. It is not
our purpose to enter the controversy about theories of
inspiration, except to say that we believe in the verbal
inspiration of the scriptures, which means that the very words
were selected by God, and the men spake as they were borne
along by the Holy Spirit. They were not given conceptions or
ideas of truth; they were given words of truth and directed by
the Spirit to put those words of truth in writing.
The human element in the production of the Bible is fully
recognized, the Book came to us through human agency, but
the human element was not allowed to hazard the accuracy or
infallibility of the Book. The Bible is as accurate and infallible
as if God had written it without the human agent. “For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2
Pet. 1:21).
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Heb. 1:1). The
Old Testament is the Divine record of what God said at
different times and in different ways to Israel through their
prophets. The New Testament is the Divine record of God
speaking in the Son. The comparison between the prophets
and Christ is to point a contrast. God was using the prophets
to give His word to Israel; but in Christ it was God Himself
speaking. The prophets were many; the Son is one. The
prophets were servants; the Son is the Lord. The prophets
were temporary; the Son abideth for ever. The prophets spoke
the word; Christ is the Word.
The Bible is in two editions, commonly called the Old and the
New Testaments. They are not two but one book. The Old
Testament is the New enfolded; the New Testament is the Old
unfolded. In the Old Testament the New is concealed; in the
New Testament the Old is revealed. The Old is patent in the
New; the New is latent in the Old. The Old is prediction; the
New is fulfillment. The two Testaments have the same Author:
God; they have the same subject: Christ. The crimson thread
runs through the whole Bible. You can begin anywhere and,
preach Jesus. In both Testaments it is recorded that the Lord
said: “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is
written of me” (Ps. 40:7); “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the
volume of the book it is written of me,)to do thy will, O God”
(Heb. 10:7). And in Rev. 19:10: “And I fell at his feet to
worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy
fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of
Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy.” Martin Luther quaintly compared the two
testaments to the two men who brought the branch with the
cluster of grapes from the promised land. They were both
bearing the same fruit; but the one in front did not see it, but
knew what he was carrying. The other saw both the fruit and
the man who was helping him. The prophets who came before
Jesus testified of Him, although they did not see Him; and we
who live since He came, see both Him and them.
ARGUMENTS THAT THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
1. There is a presumption in its favor. Man needs a revelation
from God, and if the Bible is not this revelation we have none.
To be sure there are the sacred books of other religions, but
they are like the gods they witness to, and are obviously not
the revelation of the true and living God. Man needs the kind
of revelation we have in the Bible. There is a revelation of God
in nature, but this revelation is inadequate; it does not cover
enough subjects. Nature reveals His eternal power and Deity,
but has nothing to say about His moral qualities. Nature tells
us there is a God, but it does not tell us what He is. A savage
on an island far removed from civilization, finding a watch,
might reach the conclusion that it was made by man, but he
could not, by examining the watch, learn anything about the
character of the maker. And man cannot learn the character of
the Creator through the study of geology, biology, and
astronomy. The Bible makes no effort to prove the existence
of God, but it goes to great lengths in telling us what God is.
He is revealed in His mode of existence and in His many
moral perfections.
Man is in darkness about himself. He needs a written
revelation to tell him what he is, whence he came, and,
whither he is bound. The Bible answers every question
concerning the eternal welfare of the human soul. It convicts
every man of sin and tells him how to be saved. Yes, there is
a presumption in favor of the Bible. Man needs a revelation;
God is able to give it, and the Bible is the kind of revelation
man needs. The Bible satisfies the thirsty soul.
2. The Bible claims to be the Word of God. “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God” (John 1:1). If the Bible is not what it claims to be it is a
bad book. It is utterly inconsistent to extol the Bible as a good
book, and at the same time deny its infallibility. All through the
Bible runs the expression, “Thus saith the Lord.” This
expression or its equivalent is used fully two thousand times in
the Old Testament.
3. The testimony of Christ argues for the authenticity of the
Bible. The Old Testament was in existence in His day, and He
accepted it and quoted it as the word of God. The very book
most frequently attacked by the critics (the book of
Deuteronomy) was the book from which He made every
quotation when tempted by Satan: “And he humbled thee, and
suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou
knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make
thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man
live” (Deut. 8:3); “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as
ye tempted him in Massah” (Deut. 6:16); “Thou shalt fear the
LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name”
(Deut 6:13), and compare with: Luke 4:4-12: “And Jesus
answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking
him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said
unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them:
for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it
is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set
him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written,
He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And
in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou
dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto
him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
4. The uniqueness of the Bible attests its Divine origin. It is
different from all other books. To drink at this fountain of Truth
is to taste the difference. It is unique in its teaching about
God, about creation, about man, about sin, and about
salvation. It has been said that man could not have written
such a book if he would, and he would not if he could. Any
honest man, who knows much about the Bible, will readily
admit that it cannot possibly be a human production.
5. The frankness with which this Book deals with its heroes
and authors, gives abundant evidence that it is the word of
God. Human biographies give only the bright and best side of
a man’s life. They extol his virtues and praise his
achievements, but say little or nothing about his weak points.
But the characters of the Bible are painted in the colors of
truth. The Bible does not whitewash.
6. The wonderful unity of the Bible is an argument for its
inspiration. This is a miracle within itself. Penned on two
continents, written in three languages, its composition and
compilation extending through the slow progress of sixteen
centuries, having about forty different authors; parts of it
written in tents, palaces, dungeons, in cities and deserts;
written in times of danger and in seasons of ecstatic joy;
among its writers were judges, priests, kings, prophets, prime
ministers, herdsmen, scribes, soldiers, physicians, and
fishermen; yet in spite of these varying circumstances,
conditions, and workmen, the Bible is one Book. It holds
together. There is affinity one part for the other. The more this
truth is pondered the more amazing is the Bible.
“Imagine forty persons of different nationalities, possessing
various degrees of musical culture, visiting the organ of some
great cathedral and at long intervals of time, and without any
collusion whatever, striking sixty-six different notes, which
when combined yielded the theme of the grandest oroatorio
ever heard: would it not show that behind these forty different
men there was one presiding mind, one great Tone-Master?
As we listen to some great orchestra, with its immense variety
of instruments playing their different parts, but producing
melody and harmony, we realize that at the back of these
many musicians there is the personality and genius of the
composer. And when we enter the halls of the Divine
Academy and listen to the heavenly choirs singing the Song of
Redemption, all in perfect accord and unison, we know that it
is God Himself who has written the music and put this song
into their mouths”(A. W. Pink).
7. Fulfilled prophecies give testimony to the Divine origin of
the Bible. Prophecy is the foretelling of events before they
come to pass. This is the acid test of Divine revelation. God’s
appeal to fulfilled prophecy is made all through the Bible:
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the
thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the
LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:22);
“Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong
reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth,
and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former
things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know
the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew
the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that
ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be
dismayed, and behold it together” (Isa. 41:21-23); “We have
also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that
ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the
will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:19-21). Men may make some
general predictions about the future, but the Bible contains
hundreds of prophecies, which have been literally fulfilled
hundreds of years after they were written.
7a) Prophecies about Christ. He is the one great subject of
prophecy: “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said
unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10);
“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written
of me,)to do thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:7). Micah predicted His
birthplace: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he
come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2).
Isaiah said his mother would be a virgin: “Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).
We have many things about His death predicted in Ps 22:1-
22: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art
thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my
roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not;
and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy,
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted
in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried
unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were
not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of
men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh
me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head,
saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let
him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he
that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when
I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon thee from
the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. Be not far
from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many
bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset
me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a
ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all
my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in
the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a
potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast
brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed
me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they
pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they
look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them,
and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O
LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul
from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save
me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the
horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my
brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee, “
and Isa. 53:1-12: “Who hath believed our report? and to whom
is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before
him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he
hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised
and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he
was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of
my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done
no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it
pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the
LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath
poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with
the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.” And in Ps. 16:10: “For
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption” we have His resurrection foretold.
7b) Prophecies about the Jews. These like the prophecies
about Christ, are too many to enumerate. Frederick the Great
once demanded of one of his marshals, who was a devout
believer, proof of the truth of the Bible in one word. “The Jew,
“was the laconic, unanswerable reply. The destruction of their
royal city, Jerusalem, was foretold years in advance. “And
Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and
said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which
made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not
come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them
which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my
oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come
unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their
ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the
remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and
slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth:
and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers,
and burned up their city” (Matt. 22:1-7 24:1,2): “And Jesus
went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples
came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And
Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.” and Luke 21:5,6: “And as
some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly
stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold,
the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one
stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Read the
account of the destruction of Jerusalem by Josephus, who
was with Titus in this campaign and afterwards wrote the
history of it. The wandering Jew has long been a proverb in
human history, but it was a Divine prophecy a long time
before.
7c) Prophecies about Babylon. “And Babylon, the glory of
kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as
when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be
inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to
generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither
shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of
the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of
doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall
dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in
their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces:
and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be
prolonged” (Isa. 13:19-22); “For I will rise up against them,
saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name,
and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. I will
also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water:
and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the
LORD of hosts” (Isa. 14:22,23); “Therefore hear ye the
counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and
his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the
Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out:
surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. At
the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the
cry is heard among the nations” (Jer. 50:45-46). Of all the
cities in prophecy apart from Jerusalem, Babylon figures most
prominently. Babylon is mentioned in Genesis and in
Revelation. This city is Divinely threatened through Isaiah; at
great length through Jeremiah, and there are further
threatenings through John in the book of Revelation. It would
be interesting and profitable for the student, by the use of
concordance, to read all the Bible says about Babylon.
7d) One of the most interesting bits of prophecy is that
concerning Josiah, the boy king of Judah, who reigned from
637-608 B.C. When Jeroboam stood by his altar at Bethel to
burn incense, an unknown prophet of God came out of Judah
“And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and
said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall
be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon
thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn
incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon
thee” (1 King 13:2). The date of this prophecy was 975 BC.
Here is the prediction of the birth, and name, and deed of a
later king of Judah, which took place three and one-half
centuries later. The fulfillment is recorded in 2 King 23:15,16:
“Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place
which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,
had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down,
and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder,
and burned the grove. And as Josiah turned himself, he spied
the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and
took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon
the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD
which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these
words”. (2 King 23:15,16). The fulfillment took place 624 BC,
or 351 years after the prophecy was spoken.
SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BIBLE AS A
DIVINE REVELATION
1. It is a religious Book. It is not a textbook on natural science,
but a revelation of moral and saving truth. It was not written to
tell men how to get on here, but to tell them how to prepare for
the hereafter.
2. The Bible is an open Book. Its truths are not veiled in
scientific language, but are given in the popular language of
the people. If the Bible had been written in the scientific
language of the first century it would have been out of date in
the twentieth century. If it had been written in the language of
the twentieth century nobody could have understood it until a
few years ago. If written in scientific language only the
scholars could understand it. The Bible was not written for
scholars but for men. It is the people’s Book. It was delivered
to the saints, not to the pope, or priest, or cleric. If the gospel
is veiled the veil is not on the Book but on the human heart.
The best qualification for understanding it is a sincere and
honest and Spirit-enlightened mind.
3. The Bible is a practical Book. “All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable” (II Tim. 3:16). The value
of the Bible is beyond human appraisal. This book came from
God and takes us to God. I know it came from God because it
treats the subjects beyond the human intellect. The Bible
shows the way to God, and how to become righteous before
his Holy law. It is a manual of life and conduct. It was not
given to adorn a table, but to direct a life. Read this Book to
be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. As
another has said, “know it in the head, store it in the heart,
show it in the life, and sow it in the world.”
4. The Bible is an immortal Book. All other books die. It can be
said of the Bible as was said of Christ: “Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from
the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth” (Ps.
110:3). Time writes no wrinkles on the brow of the eternal
Word. The Bible is the world’s best seller and at the same
time the most hated of all books. Every weapon from the
arsenal of hell has been used against it. All the strategists of
Satan’s empire have collaborated in an effort to destroy it. But
the Bible is a living and indestructible Book. It has survived
the fires of pagan and papal Rome, and the sophistries of all
opposing philosophers. It triumphed over the arguments of
Ingersoll, the ridicule of Voltaire, and the reasonings of Tom
Paine. “For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven” (Ps.
119:89). The Bible is like the bush which Moses saw burning
but not consumed, for God was in it. It is like the anvil that
wears out all the hammers.
“Yes, like a solid anvil the sacred Scripture stands, And
fiercely is it beaten by unbeliever’s hands; With noise and
show of learning they make a large display, But, like the
blackemith’s hammer they wear themselves away.”
5. The Bible is an expensive Book. The cost to us is not much.
We enter a book store and ask for a Bible; we lay down the
price, one dollar, two dollars, or ten dollars as the case may
be. But is that the cost of the Bible? God in providential mercy
has made the costliest of all books cheap to us. We estimate
the value of an article by the cost of producing it. The Bible is
a costly Book in its human aspect. Men sank their lives in
medieval monasteries to make copies of it for future
generations. Then there was the cost to martyrs who laid
down their lives for love of the truth when pope or pagan
would try to sweep away every copy of it. The Bible also
represents a cost to God. From Genesis to Revelation it is
written in the blood of His Son. The Old Testament is the
finger of prophecy pointing forward to Calvary; the New
Testament is the finger of history pointing back to Calvary. To
write the message of love we have in the Bible God broke the
heart of His Son on the cross. In olden times the word of God
was inscribed on parchment which was the skin of sheep and
today it is written on paper. The parchment speaks of the
Lamb slain that its skin might clothe and its blood might atone,
and that its skin might also bear the news of gracious love to
sinners. The paper made from wood crushed into pulp
reminds us that the Tree of Life was cut down and crushed on
Calvary, crushed and marred beyond all the sons of men, that
He might bear the glad tidings of God’s love.
METAPHORS OR SYMBOLS OF THE WORD
It is both interesting and instructive to study the symbols or
figures under which the Word of God is set forth.
1. It is likened to a lamp or light: “Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet, and a light unto my path…The entrance of thy words
giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Ps.
119:105,130); “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law
is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:” (Prov.
6:23). The word of God is to man morally what a lamp is
physically. This world is in a state of moral darkness; ignorant
of how to become righteous before God, but God’s word is a
light shining in a dark place, and every believer delights to
say, “The entrance of Thy words giveth light” (Ps. 119:130).
2. The Bible is a mirror: “But we all, with open face beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2
Cor. 3:18); “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty,
and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a
doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed”
(James 1:25). This cannot be said of any other book. I look
into the Bible and see myself, not as I think I am, but as I
really am, guilty and ruined: “Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law:
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). The Bible is a mouth
stopper. The least way to stop a man’s boasting is to have him
look at himself in the mirror of God’s holy word.
3. The word of God is a laver or wash basin: “That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”
(Eph. 5:26). The very Book that reveals moral dirt also
provides for washing. “Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy
word” (Ps. 119:9). “Now ye are clean through the word which I
have spoken unto you” (John 15:3).
4. The Bible is represented as food: “Neither have I gone back
from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words
of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).
Every man by nature is a prodigal away from the Father’s
house and perishing with hunger; in the word of God we find
the gospel table ladened with soul satisfying food. There is
milk for babes, and strong meat for men. There is bread for
the hungry and honey for those who can take the sweets. The
fat soul is the one who feeds upon the word of God.
5. The word of God is compared to a hammer: “Is not my word
like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that
breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). The best way to
break stony hearts is to quote Scripture. These is no heart too
hard for the word when wielded by the Spirit. It caused the
hard hearted jailer to cry out, “What must I do to be saved?”
(Acts 16:30).
6. The word is called the sword of the Spirit: “And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God:” (Eph. 6:17). It is a perfect weapon with which to
resist Satan. And the Holy Spirit knows how to use it in cutting
the sinner to the heart and killing his self-righteousness.” For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
7. The word is likened to seed: “Now the parable is this: The
seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). In spiritual as in natural
farming the seed must be sown. It is the commission of our
Lord to sow this world down with the word of God. We must
sow beside all waters, and at all seasons. “In the morning sow
thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou
knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or
whether they both shall be alike good” (Eccl. 11:6).
“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his
sheaves with him” (Ps. 126:6).
“Say, Christian, wouldst thou thrive
In knowledge of thy Lord?
Against no Scripture ever strive,
But tremble at His word.
“Revere the sacred page;
To injure any part
Betrays with blind and feeble rage,
A hard and haughty heart.
“If aught there dark appear,
Bewail thy want of sight;
No imperfection can be there,
For all God’s words are right.
“The Scriptures and the Lord
Bear one tremendous name;
The written and the Incarnate Word
In all things are the same.
“For Jesus is the Truth,
As well as Life and Way;
The two-edged sword that’s in His mouth
Shall all proud reasoners slay.
“Why dost thou call Him Lord,
And what He says resist?
The soul that stumbles at the Word,
Offended is at Christ.
“The thoughts of man are lies,
The Word of God is true.
To bow to that is to be wise;
Then hear, and fear, and do.”
—Joseph Hart.
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
THE WORD OF GOD (THE HOLY SCRIPTURES)