The Bible is the Only Holy Book (10 Evidences, C)

Read Psalm 19

The Bible makes it clear that salvation is not simply the result of reading the Bible.  It is when the words of the Bible (the Word of God) are mixed with faith that people are saved (Heb. 4:2).  Other sacred books such as the Koran are said to do this, although careful study will show that Islam (the religion of the Koran) does not, in fact, give a person assurance of salvation.  It is not able to save as the Bible claims.  So consider this: the Bible claims to be God’s word, and the Bible claims to provide salvation.  It is truly the Holy Scriptures.

Perhaps you are thinking the Koran is backed up by many adherents willing to die for it as well as kill to defend it.  We are not saying that the Koran is unable to make great Islamists.  Or that the Book of Mormon contributes to some awfully nice people with a great family ethic.  Books that claim to speak for God must be powerful and life-changing.  And these books must have longevity, if you will.  They cannot simply be fads that barely last a generation and are then laid aside.  So what we are saying to this point is that the Bible is such a book.  There is more to be said that will distinguish the Bible from all other books.  

Briefly consider the testimony of history.  Paul and Peter illustrate what has taken place countless times in the history of the Church.  Paul, a persecutor of Christians, was radically changed after he believed the good news that is the central message of the Bible.  Peter testimony is of a continuing work of change throughout his life.  Then read the stories of the Bible as well as the stories from history and see these testimonies repeated.  We are talking about those who were true followers of Christ, who called people to take up their cross and follow Him.  The truth of the Bible’s ability to save is bound up in the martyrs, absolutely not in the lives of those who took up the sword and killed in the name of Jesus.

III.       The Bible has a beneficial effect on all who apply its teaching.  This may sound similar to the previous point but I mean something different.  Paul told Timothy the Bible was profitable or useful.  It helps people think right and to know what actions are right.  In that it makes us wise what it does it enable us to be in sync with the Creator of heaven and earth.  

To illustrate what we are saying here, think broadly about nations and societies.  In societies built on the Koran or the writings of the Hindu or Bhuddist religions you will generally find inequalities and abuse built into the laws and customs.  Islam’s promise of a male-oriented, sensual heaven helps us understand why societies built on the Koran provide almost no protection for women.  I am saying that a broad look at societies will show this.  Western culture was never perfect.  But throughout history, including today as the United States and Britain move further and further from Biblical values, it can be seen that a Biblical ethic was generally beneficial for the citizenry.

The Bible is the Only Holy Book (10 Evidences, B)

Read 2 Peter 1:12-21

How do we know the Bible is, in fact, God’s word?

I.       The Bible claims to be the Word and words of God.  This is essential for the Bible to be God’s Word; it must say it is.  And it does so in hundreds of places (start with Lev. 4:1; 5:14; 6:1,8 and see it on nearly every page).  Every book in the Bible (all 66) claim to be God’s word, to speak for God (Geisler/Nix A General Introduction to the Bible).  Our passage makes the claim in v16 that it is God-breathed.  This comes from the Greek term theopneustia combining the word for God (theos) and the word for breath (pneustia).  Every other book you read might be well written and quite useful.  But they don’t make this claim: to be the words of the Creator.

II.    The Bible can do what it says it is able to do.  If you stop and think about it, there are almost no other books that have not been improved upon or that we expect, given enough time, will be improved upon.  It is common to have revised editions or books written by later authors that had access to more updated information and so on.  And by the way, if you ever come across The Book of Mormon printed in, say, the 1930s and compare it to a modern copy, you will find revisions by which we mean substantial changes, not just revised English or some such thing.  The Bible has been translated and retranslated from the original languages, but not revised where false statements have been improved upon.

Paul says the Bible is able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  The term able means the Bible has power and capability to do this.  The Bible says that salvation is found in no other person but Jesus Christ, and the Bible is the one book that will lead you to Christ and has been leading people to Christ from its beginning.  Paul says the good news found in the Bible is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes (Rom. 1:16).  James 1:21 says that this good news found in the Bible, when it becomes part of one’s life (he calls it the engrafted word), is able to save your souls.  

You may say this is a circular argument, the Bibles claims to be God’s word that saves.  But, you ask, how is that evidence?  The point is that, if this is in fact a sacred book, it must be able to make those who read and believe and keep it right with the Creator they are seeking.  The Bible claims this.  When Paul said this to Timothy, Timothy knew that it was true because he had experienced this himself and had seen it in Paul’s life and in the lives of many others.  If a book is truly the Holy Scriptures it must contain a message that, when applied properly, will deliver a person from sin and give him/her a right relationship with God.

Let us pick this up tomorrow before we move on to evidence #3.

The Bible is the Only Holy Book (10 Evidences, A)

Read 2 Timothy 3:10-17

We cannot live faithfully without a deep respect for and understanding of and participation in the Bible, the Word of God.  I want us to take some time for a few days thinking about why the Bible is the greatest book in all of history.  Paul says the Bible is holy (the Holy Scriptures or Writings), able (to show you the wisdom which will save you), inspired (God-breathed; not just inspired like Shakespeare but in actuality, the Word of God) and profitable (of value to do for you what no other book can do).

Our goal is to encourage you to value no other book as you do the Bible, no matter what any other book may claim.  When Paul called the Bible holy he did not use the normal term for holiness, meaning set apart.  Rather he is saying it is sacred, pertaining to God.  What the sacred things in the temple were to Israel (1 Cor. 9:13; such as the altars of sacrifice and incense, the bronze laver, the table of showbread, the menorah and the ark) in specking to them of their Messiah, so the Bible is to the Church.  It is the one “thing” we must have.  We don’t have to have a building, a pulpit, a piano or drums; none of these are sacred.  But the Sacred Scriptures we must have.  And by definition (Scriptures, from the Greek for writings, something written down) we must use it and benefit from it in the way God intends.

Vernon Grounds, in his wonderful little book The Reason for Our Hope (p44) recorded this verse by W. W. Howe that expresses our recognition of Scripture:

O Word of God incarnate!

O Wisdom from on high!

O Truth unchanged, unchanging,

O Light of our dark sky;

We praise Thee for the radiance

That from Thy hallowed page,

A lantern to our footsteps

Shines on from age to age.

But you might ask, “Aren’t there other sacred books?  Why is the Bible exceptional?”  Whether you ask this or not, it is a valuable question to ask.  These thoughts were first preached in a sermon Sept. 9, 2001, two days before the attacks by a group of Muslims flying airplanes into the World Trade Center buildings in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.  It was interesting because as I preached I used two other supposed sacred books as contradictory illustrations: the Book of Mormon and the Koran.  I will refer to them occasionally as we study this matter in days to come.  We will consider ten evidences as to why the Bible alone is Sacred and worthy to be called The Word of God.  This is fundamental to our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.  And it is uniquely essential to who we are as followers of Christ.