The Bible is the word of God, and here are eleven reasons for me saying so.
1. The unity of the Bible
The Bible consists of 66 Books and yet all 66 books come together to form a whole dynamic and comprehensive message of God’s interventions in the History of the world. What makes this so incredible is that the Bible was written over a space of around 1’500 years, from approximately 1400 B.C. to A.D. 90; by forty different authors, many of whom were from a number of different cultural and educational backgrounds (Generals, prime minister, servants, shepherds, physician, rabbi, fishermen). It doesn’t stop there, these people came from various places and cultures ranging from Africa to Asia and Europe, written in 3 different languages, Greek, Hebrew and some Aramaic. To list all of the areas in which the Bible is in unity would be too much to talk about, here are some areas:
· Man, Beginning, fall, redemption etc.
· Sin, birth, consequences, punishment etc
· Satan
· Israel, history etc
· The Church
· Salvation
· Repentance, faith, lifestyle, service The Holy Spirit
· God, who He is.
· The person of Jesus Christ
This is only a brief summary of the unity of the Bible.
2. Its historical accuracy
There are many references in the bible to people, places and events confirmed by archaeology and other secular references confirming its accuracy. No other historical book can claim the same attention to detail as the Bible.
3. Its preservation
The Bible has certainly stood the test of time, three thousand five hundred years from the first books, coming through criticism and persecution, from Voltaire predicting the extinction of Christianity in the 1900’s to Diocletian the Roman Emperor attempting to destroy all traces of Christianity. There are thousands of copies of the original manuscripts that scripture were written on, which are extremely accurate and contain almost no discrepancies besides some spelling and grammar differences. The world is changing but the Bible stays the same.
4. Its scientific accuracy
Every time the authors of the Bible make any reference to scientific matters, their observations regarding man, nature, society and history were generally far more advanced that the scientific knowledge of the time. The Bible provides a historical account of creation, unlike the mythological stories of the Greeks for instance. Noah’s ark is another good example of scientific knowledge that could only have been God given; all the dimensions and specifications of the ark are recorded and found to be very credible. The bible corresponds with science in a way that is far greater than any other religious, ancient, primitive or mythological texts.
5. Its Honesty
The Bible is quite frank. It says things as they are. Noah was found drunk one day, Paul killed Christians, David had a man killed and stole his wife, Peter denied Jesus three times, Solomon had far too many women, the mighty warrior Gideon hid in a tree stump out of fear. Moses was an Idol worshiper and had stage fright. The faults of these people do not undermine the Bible’s message but rather convey its honesty whilst still maintaining the message of Holiness and righteousness that God requires. Jesus Christ was the only truly perfect person in the Bible without any sin.
6. Its prophetic accuracy
There is not one other book which can match the vast extent of prophecies found in the Bible, proven to have been predicted long before their time, most of which have already been fulfilled. Prophecies concerning Jesus, the coming of the Messiah (Genesis 12:7, 2 Samuel 7:16, Jeremiah 23:5–6), it was predicted that Jesus would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), that he would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2;61:1–2), that he would be betrayed, that his own people would reject him, that he would be crucified (Isaiah 53:12), pierced (Psalms 22:16; Zechariah 12:10), that he would be buried with the rich people and it was even prophesied that he would raise from the dead (Psalm16:10). There are also many other prophecies that have been fulfilled regarding the Jewish people, the fall of Jerusalem, and even some of the prophecies regarding the end times, (Wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters etc).
7. Its consistent Christocentric thread
The Christ centeredness of the Bible is yet another unique attribute, the whole bible revolves around Jesus, the Old Testament pointing toward Jesus and the New Testament pointing back to Jesus. The Old Testament records the coming of the Messiah, the preparation, the New Testament tells of his coming, the spread of his testimony, explains his teachings, tells of the establishment of his Church and Kingdom and predicts his second coming. The entire Bible exalts Jesus and points to Him.
8. Its intellectual integrity
Although the Bible was written between two to four thousand years ago it still challenges the intellectual and calls for a thorough studying of all its teachings, prophecies, songs, poems etc. The word of God stands against all intellectual attacks, it is strong and unmovable. This reminds me of what the Bible says about itself, alive, and like a double edged sword. The Bible isn’t a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, it is understandable, it is well written and if properly scrutinized, will be found faultless.
9. Its life-transforming power
What use would the Bible be if it had no effect on people’s lives, if it had little to no effect it could certainly not be the divine, almighty God’s word! All of what has been said would be rendered useless if there were no power in its words. To the contrary, the Bible has an enormous impact on every aspect of society. Some interesting facts, one, the Bible is by far the most popular book in the world, two, it is the most shop lifted book in the world. Why? Because its words are dull, boring and useless to our lives? Certainly not! The Bible has life-transforming power, it tells us how to be wise, how to work hard, how to make a marriage last, how to prevent war, most importantly how to have a relationship with God. The list goes on and on.
10. Inspiration by the Holy Spirit
The predictive prophecy of the Bible is a huge testimony to it’s divine inspiration by the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that the word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit, “God-breathed”
11. Its authority confirmed by Christ.
The Authority of the Bible was confirmed by Jesus, the only person whose confirmation we really need. In Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus said "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” And in John 10:34-35, Jesus stated Scripture “cannot be broken.”