what think ye of the bible? why do we need the bible?

What Think Ye Of The Bible?Why Do We Need The Bible?

• In the libraries of the world, there are many books, but there is only one book that can lead us from this life to a life better than this - the book is titled, “Holy Bible”

• Something attractive about this book ...– Draws people to it …– Compels people to read it …– Motivates people to study it …

• True of both “friend” and “foe”


1 Universal Appeal– Written for all peoples of all nations for all time– Regardless gender, color, social standing, etc.– Teaches all men can be ONE in Christ!

• From the wealthiest king to the poorest beggar• From the most righteous to the vilest offender• All who are willing to come to Christ, on HIS terms,

can enjoy the blessings of Heaven!

“26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:26-29)

What Think Ye Of The Bible?What Makes The Bible Attractive?

2 Answers life’s most troubling questions ...– Questions like ...

• Where did we come from?• What is our purpose for being here?• What is our destiny?• What is life?• What is death?

– Only is the pages of God’s word can we truly find the answers to these (and many other) questions


“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” (2 Pet 1:3)

3 Durability– Bible has withstood the test of time, being passed

down through many centuries with meticulous accuracy and precision

– This despite manifold opposition ...• Roman persecution of the Caesar’s• Oppression of modern day communist & atheistic

movements

– Bible has been burned, banned, persecuted, criticized, outlawed, ostracized, etc.


The Bible Is Still Here!“24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Pet 1:24-25)

“Infidels for 1800 years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assault make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer on the pyramids of Egypt.”


H.L. Hastings on the durability of the Bible ...

“No other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology … has ever been subject to such a mass attack as the bible? With such venom and skepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line, and tenet? And yet, the bible is still loved by millions, read by millions, and studied by millions.”


Bernard Ramm on the durability of the Bible ...

4 Divine authorship, origin, and nature– “All scripture is given by inspiration of

God...” (2 Tim 3:16)– Paul spoke, “not in the words which

man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth” (1 Cor 2:13)

– “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. ” (1 Pet 1:21)


B.C. Goodpasture“The nature and contents of the Bible are such that the rank and file of its readers in all generations have recognized GOD as its author. Man would not have written such a book, if he could; and could not, if he would. It moves on a superhuman plane in design, in nature, and in teaching. It caters not to worldly desire and ambition. It condemns much which men in the flesh highly prize, and commends much which they despise. Its thoughts are not the thoughts of men.”

Still, the question

persists, why do we need the Bible?


Three Reasons Why We Need The Bible

• If there is a God (and there is) …– Some form of communication would be expected between

an intelligent creator (God) and creation (man)

• “but I thought nature testified to the existence of God” – Indeed (Psa 19:1; Rom 1:20), but nature does not reveal

His will for us (nature testifies that “God is”)– It is in the pages of God’s “special” (i.e. supernatural)

revelation (the Bible) that God (the creator) chose to reveal His will to man (the created)

Reason 1 - The “Created” (Man) Requires Communication From The “Creator” (God)

We needs this type of communication in many difficult area’s...


The Character Of God

Can glean some degree of understanding about God from creation, but a more definitive revelation is needed for us to more fully comprehend the nature / essence of God (find this revelation in the pages of the Bible).

Origin Of Evil

On every hand we are surrounded by evil, pain, and suffering and our rational demands to know why! Man needs to be educated as to why he finds himself in this predicament; Bible fills that educational need.

Origin Of Man

Without divine revelation (provided by the Bible), can could never truly know and/or comprehend from whence he came (view of origins is of vital importance, for it forms the foundation upon which your life is built).

Purpose Of Man

Left to his own devices, man could never accurately determine or understand the purpose for which he was created.

Without this understanding, life becomes pointless … a fathomless mystery.

Destiny Of Man

Minus the Bible, man could never know, with any degree of certainty, about the existence of life beyond the grave.

Only by revelation of the Bible are we so informed of Judgement, Heaven, Hell, etc.

• Man needs a concrete revelation on the certainties of religion, and the Bible provides this.

• Bible is designed to provide for us ...– Knowledge (Eph 3:3-5)– Faith (Rom 10:17)– Instruction In Duty (Eccl 12:13)– Instruction In Relationships (Matt 7:12)– Instruction In Destiny (2 Cor 5:10)


“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my

knowledge in the mystery of Christ)”




“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by

the word of God”


• Bible is designed to provide for us ...– Knowledge (Eph 3:3-5)– Faith (Rom 10:17)– Instruction In Duty (Eccl 12:13) – Instruction In Relationships (Matt 7:12)– Instruction In Destiny (2 Cor 5:10)


“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,

and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of

man”




“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the

prophets”




Without the special revelation of the Bible, man would be hopelessly adrift on a sea of despair & uncertainty

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;

that every one may receive the things done in his body,

according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”

• Man is incapable of correctly charting his own course.

– “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer 10:23)

– “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts” (Prov 21:2)

Reason 2 - Man needs direction in the affairs of life

• Without revelation, man would be governed by his own thoughts / feelings.– “The heart is deceitful above all things, and

desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9)

• Feelings come as a result of what one believes.– What a person believes is a result of what he hears ...– If a person hears and believes the wrong thing, they will

“feel good” about doing it– “There is a way which seemeth right unto a

man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov 16:25)

– Faith is based on hearing the word of God (Rom 10:17)


• Bible solves this problems - it is...– Living and powerful (Heb 4:12)– Everlasting (1 Pet 1:23)– Settled and never changing (Psa 119:89)– Is spirit and life (John 6:63)– The source of light and understanding (Psa 119:130)– Illuminates and guides our way (Psa 119:105)– Cleanses (John 15:3)– Sanctifies (John 17:17)– Saves (James 1:21)– Judges (John 12:48)


“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” (NKJV)

• Bible solves these problems - it is...– Living and powerful (Heb 4:12)– Everlasting (1 Pet 1:23)– Settled and never changing (Psa 119:89)– Is spirit and life (John 6:63)– The source of light and understanding (Psa 119:130)– Illuminates and guides our way (Psa 119:105)– Cleanses (John 15:3)– Sanctifies (John 17:17)– Saves (James 1:21)– Judges (John 12:48)


“ ...the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”



“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in

heaven”



“ ...the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they

are life”



“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it

giveth understanding unto

the simple”



“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”



“Now ye are clean through the word

which I have spoken unto you”



“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”



“receive with meekness the

engrafted word, which is able to save

your souls”



“the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in

the last day”

• Without the Bible, all things are subjective.– Who, or what authority, determines if adultery is “right or

wrong”?– Who, or what authority, determines if murder is “good or

evil”?– Who, or what authority, determines if rape / child abuse is

“moral or immoral”?

• Fallible Men?– Adulterer sees no problem with cheating on spouse– Murderer (c.f. abortionist) sees no wrong in taking innocent life– Rapist / child abuser feels no remorse (people as property)

Reason 3 - Without the Bible, there would be no standard of “right or wrong, good or evil,

moral or immoral”

• Without a standard of authority, the views / beliefs of adulterers, murders, rapists, and child abusers stand on equal merit with ours.

• Every man does that which is right in his / her own sight.– Your opinion on a matter is as good and/or authoritative as

mine.

• Hitler? Stalin? Lenin? Pol Pot? Hussein? Bin Laden?– If no moral “absolutes”, on what ground do we judge these

men to be “wrong, evil, and immoral”?


moral or immoral”

• Without the Bible, there are no “moral absolutes”. Without moral absolutes, man becomes a discerner of truth, rather than a discoverer of truth.

• Man does not have the capacity to rightly direct his own steps (Jer 10:23).– The antediluvian (pre-flood) world is a striking example of this

great truth (Gen 6).

– As are the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen 19).


moral or immoral”

• Imagine the material world without absolutes...– Construction with no standards of weight / measurement

– Business transactions with no monetary standards

– A world with “hit or miss” gravity

• Minus the absolute standards to which we are accustomed, life would be an exercise in futility!


moral or immoral”

Same is true morally & spiritually; Minus the Bible, we are left in a hopeless state of chaos and confusion

“If it were announced upon reliable authority that on a certain date in the near future an angel from heaven would visit New York and would deliver a sermon upon the invisible world, the future destiny of man, or the secret deliverance from the power of sin, what an audience he would command! There is no building in that city large enough to accommodate the crowd which would throng to hear him. If upon the next day, the newspapers were to give a verbatim report of his discourse, how eagerly it would be read! And yet, we have between the covers of the Bible not merely an angelic communications, but a Divine revelation. How great then is our wickedness if we undervalue and despise it!”

What Think Ye Of The Bible?

Arthur W. Pink ...

what think ye of the bible? why do we need the bible?

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