Is The Bible Truly God's Word?

The Gospel Journey  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Good morning ABC!!!
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!!
We are going to be in Luke 1 today, if you want to be finding that in your Bibles.

Context

Our message today is going to center around the validity of the Bible as the Word of God.
Luke 1:1–4 NKJV
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
Notice the reason for Luke writing his Gospel. He says that he wants to provide an orderly account, so that Theophilus could know with certainty the things of Christ.
If I were to tell you today that I had a very special phone that would allow you to contact heaven directly and have a conversation with Jesus Himself, how many of you would sign up for a phone call? The Bible is indeed the Word of God. God Himself does directly speak to us through His Word. Every day, we have the opportunity to set aside time for a heavenly conversation with the Word Himself, Jesus Christ.
The starting place in Christian growth is to have a firm conviction about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Believe me when I tell you, this is the starting place. You will not make any substantial progress in your own spiritual journey or make any spiritual difference in anyone else’s spiritual journey without a firm conviction that the Bible is the Word of God.
The devil hates this book and would love to destroy it for good. There are some who simply deny the validity of the Bible. There are others who despise the Bible. Still, there are others who have distorted it, warped it, abused it, and misused it.
But I believe the greatest enemy of the Bible throughout history have been those who say they believe it, but yet they disregard it and ignore what it says. They only vocalized their belief of the Bible while living hypocritically to what it actually teaches.
A man once quoted:
“These hath God married and no man shall part: Dust on the Bible and drought in the heart.”
Why is the Bible so important?
Your eternal salvation depends on understanding the gospel message of the Bible.
Your assurance of salvation depends on trusting the promises of God in the Bible.
Your spiritual growth depends on how you live out the principles that are taught in the Bible.
Your power in witness depends on the confidence you have in the Word of God.
Therefore, you must be absolutely certain that the Bible is the Word of God.
Today, I want to show you five reasons why I believe unequivocally that the Bible is truly the Word of God!

Content

Its Eternal Presence

No other book ever written has faced as much opposition as the Bible. Men have laughed at it, they have scorned it, they have ridiculed it, they have made laws against it. There have been countries to completely ban it with a punishment of death if caught with one. There have even been those who have vowed to do everything in their power to destroy this Book.
Yet here we are.
The Bible is not the Book of the month, or even the Book of the year....it is the book of the Ages!!!
The Holy Bible is the #1 most sold Book in history.
To give you an idea, Google Books estimated in 2010, that nearly 130 million books had been published. It is estimated that around 2 million books have been published each year since 2010. That means that we are nearing 160 million different books in circulation right now. Out of 160 million different books, the Bible has always been and still is the #1 most sold Book in history.
The Guinness World Records recorded in 1995, that the Bible had sold over 5 billion copies worldwide. And....that was almost 30 years ago.
The next book closest to the Bible in all-time sales is only at 1.1 billion copies sold.
Not only is the Bible the best selling Book of all time, It has also maintained the #1 best selling Book year-over-year. You can hardly find the Bible on any “top selling” lists on the internet, but according to The New Yorker:
“The Bible is the best-selling book of the year, every year.”
Despite the devils attempts to abolish the Word of God, the Bible has consistently remained the most prominent Book to ever exist.
Why? Because it is the Word of God and it changes lives.
Peter declares the eternal presence of God’s Word:
1 Peter 1:24–25 NKJV
because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
We are living in the most advanced technologically advanced era that has ever existed and we are still studying this old, old Book. It has stood the test of time and towers over all other books. God has kept the promise that He made to Isaiah more than 2,500 years ago:
Isaiah 59:21 NKJV
“As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
The Bible is truly the Word of God and it will always remain!!

Its Historical Accuracy

Though Bible is not primarily a history book, but it does tell “His Story”.....the story of God!!! In the process of telling His story, many historical accounts have been recorded. As you can imagine, the Bible has been challenged time and again concerning its historic accuracy. Every time someone thinks they have proven a historical narrative of the Bible wrong, new evidence surfaces showing that it was right all along.
What Every Christian Ought to Know Chapter 1 Every Christian Ought to Know the Bible Is the Word of God

In the late 1800s, the scholar Dr. S. R. Driver ridiculed the idea that Moses wrote what is called the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Driver claimed, “In the time that Moses was supposed to have lived on the Earth, men didn’t know how to write. So how could he have written the Pentateuch?”

So some scoffed at the Bible for a while until one day, in northern Egypt, a lady was spading her garden when she came across some clay tablets. They were called the Tel el-Amarna tablets and were tablets used for correspondence. They were written from people in Egypt to people in Palestine, or what we call today the Holy Land, centuries before Moses was born. Not only did they know how to write, but also they had a postal service that allowed them to send letters back and forth to one another.

What Every Christian Ought to Know Chapter 1 Every Christian Ought to Know the Bible Is the Word of God

In the book of Daniel is a story about the handwriting on the wall. King Belshazzar saw handwriting on the wall during a feast he made for a thousand of his lords and ladies. The gruesome handwriting told him he was weighed in the balances and found wanting. Do you remember the story? Well, scholars would laugh at that and say, “It’s a fabrication. That never happened because we have the records of the ancient Babylonians, and we know that Belshazzar was not the last king of Babylon. The last king of Babylon was named Nabonitus. Obviously this would appear to be just some pious fraud, some story that somebody made up.”

But one day the spade of an archeologist uncovered a cylinder, and sure enough, the name on it was Belshazzar. More records were found that showed the historians were right when they said that Nabonitus was the last king of Babylon, but they were wrong when they said that Belshazzar was not the last king of Babylon. Nabonitus and Belshazzar were father and son and had ruled together, making them both kings at the same time! Nabonitus was a big game hunter, among other things, and was often gone, leaving Belshazzar in charge. Remember what the king said to Daniel in Daniel 5:16 concerning the handwriting on the wall, “If you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” It makes sense now that we understand there were already two kings simultaneously.

Daniel 5:16 NKJV
And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
All we have to do is give people time, and maybe one day they will catch up with the Bible!!!
I heard a story one time about two individuals on an airplane.
A woman was reading her Bible in Genesis and just started shouting as she read. It just so happened that sitting next to her was an educated atheist.
The atheist asked the woman what she read that was so good to shout over and she said, “I just read how God parted the waters of the Red Sea so that Israel could cross on dry land to the other side. God is such a miracle worker!!!
The atheist scoffed at her and said, “Lady, you need to get up to speed on the archeological evidence concerning that story. It has been proven that at that time of the year, the rivers waters would have been very low…2 to 3 feet deep at most. That doesn’t sound like much of a miracle to me.”
The woman sat back for a moment and pondered what he had said. All of a sudden she started shouting again. The man asked her a second time what she was so happy about and she replied, “Praise God Almighty, he drowned the entire Egyptian army in just 2-3 feet of water. He truly is a miracle worker!!!”
There are tons of stories we could tell of how archeologists have discovered the remains of cities right where the Bible said they were. Other non-biblical writers like Plato, Josephus, and others have verified the historical accuracy of the Bible through their writings as well.
The Bible truly is the Word of God and it can be trusted.

Its Prophetic Fulfillment

Now we could approach this from multiple angles and look at all kinds of different prophecies, but for today, let us just consider some of the prophecies that Jesus Christ Himself fulfilled.
Scholars say that Jesus fulfilled more tan three hundred Old Testament prophecies. His enemies have said, “Yea, but it was all a hoax. He rigged it somehow.” Let’s just take a look at some of the prophecies that Jesus would have had to rig...
He would have had to arrange His own birth in the city of Bethlehem. Is that even possible? Can someone arrange their own birth before they even get here?
Micah 5:2 NKJV
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
He would have had to orchestrate with Isaiah, who lived centuries before He came to this Earth concerning key details of His life.
Isaiah 7:14 NKJV
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:20–25 NKJV
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
Isaiah 11:1–2 NKJV
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Matthew 1:1 NKJV
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
Matthew 3:16 NKJV
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Then He would have had to arrange His own death on the cross by means of crucifixion.
Did you know that if you read Psalm 22, which was written by David over a thousand years before Jesus came in the flesh, that you read the account of Jesus’ crucifixion as if you were present that day. It is very detailed.
The most amazing part of it is that the Romans had not even come into power during the life of David. Crucifixion was the death penalty of the Romans. This means that David is prophesying vividly of the death sentence of Jesus Christ, by means of a death penalty that had not even been invented yet. Wow!!!
Or maybe He arranged that He would be crucified between two thieves as recorded in Isaiah. Or maybe He orchestrated Judas to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver as prophesied in Zechariah 11.
The list can go on for hours, but here is what you need to see. The Bible is the Word of God and the literal fulfillment of its prophecies is one of the greatest evidences for it. How else could these things be?

Its Perfect Unity

The Bible is one book: Genesis to Revelation. But it is also sixty-six books, 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT. It is written by over 40 authors that spanned a time of at least 1,600 years. These men lived in about 13 different countries and on 3 different continents.
What Every Christian Ought to Know Chapter 1 Every Christian Ought to Know the Bible Is the Word of God

Think about this. They came from all backgrounds: some were shepherds, and some were kings; some were soldiers, and others were princes; some were fishermen; some were scholars; some were historians; some were professional men, and some were common laborers. And the Bible is written in different styles and in at least three different languages. But when you bring all that together, it makes one book that has one story beginning with Genesis and going through Revelation.

• The Bible has one theme—redemption.

• The Bible has one hero—the Lord Jesus.

• The Bible has one villain—the devil.

• The Bible has one purpose—the glory of God!

All of its parts fit together.

What Every Christian Ought to Know Chapter 1 Every Christian Ought to Know the Bible Is the Word of God

Dr. R. A. Torrey gave this illustration—let me paraphrase it. Suppose in your city they decided to build a monument honoring all of the fifty states in the union. Stones are gathered from each state. For example, from my home state of Florida, they get coral stone; from Georgia perhaps they would get granite; from Indiana they get limestone; from Nevada, sandstone—all of the various kinds of stones in different colors.

Then let’s suppose that these stones are cut into different shapes; some are square, some are rectangular, some are cylindrical, some have a pyramid shape, some are like a trapezoid, and some have shapes that don’t even have a name. They are cut out in the quarry, put in crates, and shipped by barge, by rail, and by air to your city.

Workmen uncrate these stones and begin to put them together, and they all interface, and they all interlock. There is not one stone too many, not one stone too few. No stone needs to be built up; no stone needs to be shaved down. And when they’re finished, it is a magnificent temple.

You are a thinking person. Would you say that happened by chance? No, any thinking person would say that it did not happen by chance. There would have to have been a master architect who, in his mind, could see that building and had sent out the specifications to the quarry. Is that not true?

You see, when we get this Book written over a period of sixteen hundred years, forty different authors, three different languages, by men from all different walks of life and bring it together, it makes one beautiful temple of God’s truth. Nothing needs to be added or taken away or embellished. There it stands—one Book! We can’t say that just happened, that it was just an accident. No! The unity of the Bible is one of the wonderful proofs of the inspiration of God’s Word—that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
The Bible is the Word of God and the literary makeup of it pleads that case.

Its Transforming Power

The great apostle Paul said in:
Romans 1:16 NKJV
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
That word used for living is where we get the word zoo from. It means to be alive. That word used for powerful is where we get the word energy. The Bible is full of life and energy. It is an incredible book.
What Every Christian Ought to Know Chapter 1 Every Christian Ought to Know the Bible Is the Word of God

Billy Graham started his ministry as a young man, and often when he preached, he would say, “The Bible says, . . . the Bible says.” In 1954, he went to London to preach in the great Harringay Arena. A great crowd was there, including many news reporters. Two men who had come to see the flamboyant American evangelist were sitting up in the stands and discussing Billy Graham. One of the men was a medical doctor. They were finding fault with most everything.

Yet when Billy Graham began to preach, the Word of God began to take its toll. God says, “Is not My word . . . like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). The hammer began to fall and conviction fell on that place, and that medical doctor who had been ridiculing Billy Graham said to the man sitting next to him: “I don’t know about you, but I’m going down there to give my heart to Christ.” And the man next to him said, “Yes, and I’ll go with you, and here’s your billfold, I’m a pickpocket.”

Later Graham stated, “I found in my preaching that the Word of God was like a rapier; and when I quoted it under the power of the Holy Spirit, I could slay everything before me.”

That is the transforming power of the Word of God. It can “rescue the perishing” and “care for the dying” and “snatch them in pity from sin and the grave.”
The Bible is truly the Word of God and the transforming power found within its pages is the greatest evidence of it.

Commitment

The question is, do you believe it?
There are some of you right here in this room this morning that have never trusted in this Book as the literal Word of God. You are struggling in life. Your minds are at the point of explosion. Your hearts are absolutely broken. Your spirits are weak.
You have been searching for answers for years, but you have been searching in all of the wrong places. This world cannot offer you anything of eternal significance. It can only offer temporary relief, and once that relief is gone it leaves you worse off than when you started.
The Word of God says that God loves you! Do you believe that?
John 3:16 NKJV
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Let me tell you what else it says. It says that God will help carry your burdens. It says that God will never leave you or forsake you. It says that by trusting and believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be forever forgiven. Don’t you want that?
The Bible says that God will give you purpose and meaning in your life. It says that when you get connected to the source of eternal life, you will be filled with love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control. Don’t you want that in your life? God is the only one that can give it to you.
The Bible says that God will transform you into a new person. He will not leave you alone to figure it out on your own. He will walk step-by-step with you through the process. He will aid you in overcoming the sin in your life so that you can live a life for Him. Don’t that sound good?
Don’t you want the weight of sin that is so heavy upon your life right now to be taken away? Don’t you want to be free from it? God can help you overcome it.
His Word is True. His Word can be trusted. Do you believe it?
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