Nothing Like God’s Book
By Dr. Tom Walker
McDowell County
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
The greatest book in the whole world, past, present, and future is the Word of God. It has much to say about itself. There are three significant words we use in reference to the Scriptures. Those words are inspired, inerrant, and infallible.
The word “inspired” comes from the Greek New Testament word which simply means “God-breathed.” Thus, the Scriptures are the very breath and the exhaling of divine truth to holy men of God as they penned down God’s mind to men.
The word “inerrant” means the Bible is not a book of error. It is accurate in all it speaks about to men; it is fully trustworthy. It is not a book of science but what it says concerning science is all right and true. It is not merely a book of philosophy, but what it says about life is spot-on. If the Bible were plagued with errors, how could we believe it? I believe the Bible to be the Word of God without any taint of error. If someone said there are errors in the Bible, they have failed to interpret the Bible accurately.
The word “infallible” means not capable of erring, to be entirely exempt to make a mistake, not liable to deceive or betray confidence. You might argue that men wrote the Bible, but they did so “moved” by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:21 declares, “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.” That word “moved” is a nautical term. It can refer to the sails of a ship being moved in the direction which the wind blows. God’s Spirit so moved these men to the point they wrote without error.
On what basis do we say there is nothing like God’s Book the Bible?
Its Principles Are Unchanging
Psalms 119:89 tells us, “Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” Times are changing around us, and not necessarily for the better, but for the worse. Though that be true we have a book whose principles are unchanging, fixed and invariable. The Bible stands with principles that will never be outdated or irrelevant.
Its Reliability Cannot Be Rivaled
When you pick up a book and read from it, you do not know if all the information contained therein is all trustworthy and reliable. There may be an error in stating a number of statistics or a host of other areas, but that is not the case when you look toward the Scriptures. If you read it, you do not have to determine what part of it is trustworthy and what is not trustworthy. You can trust all of it or you cannot trust any of it. It is one way or the other with no middle ground.
It is Invaluable to Educate The Mind
Today in our educational system, there has been a movement to eliminate the Bible from our public education. William Lyon Phelps of Yale, one of America’s highly esteemed professors, said, “ I thoroughly believe in a university education for both men and women, but I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college education is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.”
I think I should repeat what Phelps said, “A knowledge of the Bible without a college education is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.” What a good statement from a public educator! He obviously realizes the importance of the Bible in enlightening the mind.
It Adds Sweetness to the Soul
Psalms 119:103 informs us of, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” The people who are sweet in spirit are those who spend much time with God’s truth. To neglect or refuse God’s truth through His written word is to invite bitterness and sourness into one’s life.
Someone asked George Mueller, “How many times have you read the Bible through?” Mueller responded by saying, “I have read it through sixty-six times and now I am going through it the sixty-seventh time. It gets more interesting and sweeter every time I read it.”
If you want to be sweet in spirit and soul as the senior years come, spend a great deal of time with God’s Word when you are young.
It Is Miraculous in Its Conception
The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books, written by forty different authors, on three different continents, in three different languages, over a period of 1500 years. Yet, all sixty-six books have a marvelous unity. Forty men have never written with more unity and agreement that these men. The Bible has proven itself to be from God scientifically, historically, and archeologically. It is truly a miracle! No other book with forty authors could produce the unity the Bible possesses throughout its pages.
It Is A Most Effective Tool Against The Devil
The Psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:111). Satan endeavors to lead us into sin, while the Lord seeks to draw us away from sin.
In Ephesians 6, the Bible is likened to a sword. A sword is an offensive weapon. When it comes to Satan, we must go on the offensive and not just the defensive. Ephesians 6:17 says, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
If you recall, when the Lord Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 6), he responded to Satan’s temptations by using the Word of God. He used the statement “It is written” and quoted Scripture each time Satan sought to make Jesus sin. That is a pattern for us to follow. We should quote the Bible to Satan when he tempts you and me to sin against God, repelling him with it.
It Is Not Just A Book- It Is A Mirror
It shows us as we really are. Since men are born sinners (Rom.5:12), it reveals us as we really are before salvation. Before our new birth, according to Ephesians 2, we were dead, depraved, detoured, disobedient, and doomed. “Children of wrath” is what the lost man is referred to before a salvation experience.
You may think you are really good looking, but all it takes is to look into a mirror and the truth comes out. A standard mirror does not lie; it will reveal you as you actually look.
How frightful is the reflected image of the unregenerate man as he sees himself in God’s mirror, the Bible! The Bible is the only Book present which depicts accurately the true condition of mankind in his lostness: Isaiah 1:5-6 declares: “Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”
It Changes Lives Like No Other Book
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” There is a transformation takes place when a person repents of sin and trusts the Lord Jesus Christ that nothing else can cause but the Bible.
Through the Scriptures, people become new creatures or new creations. It is because when we are born again or born of God, we become partakers of a new nature. Peter puts things this way in 2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The verb “escaped” is an aorist verb, which means it points to a particular time in the past. We escaped the corruption that is in the world by God giving us a new nature, new desires, and new impulses that would change us completely.
The Bible says, “Old things are passed away.” Again, the verb tense for “passed away” is an aorist verb. Things began to change in the past when we were saved by God’s marvelous grace.
It also says, “All things become new.” The verb for “are become” is in the perfect tense, which means at that pointed time in the past, when we were saved, all things became new, and results from that experience continue in the future with ongoing results.
There is nothing like God’s book divine. Cherish your Bible.
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Dr. Tom Walker is President of Foothills Bible College and Pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Marion, NC.
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