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The Bible
How do we view the Biblical text? Is the Bible inspired or is it just a historical account?
The men who wrote the Bible claimed that they were inspired.
How do we verify this claim? We
have already said that the Bible is historically accurate.
Now we look for reasons that the writers had superhuman knowledge.
Take Daniel for example. Daniel
was written well before Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem (we have sources
eluding to the existence of the book before Alexander the Great), but the book of
Daniel clearly describes the rise of Alexander the Great and his four generals.
Isaiah wrote some 800 years before the birth of Christ, and if the events
of the gospels are accurate he told the events that would happen in the birth,
life, and death of the Christ. One
of the most compelling reasons to believe that the Bible is true is that all but
one of Jesus twelve apostles, who were from incredibly diverse backgrounds,
became martyrs because of what they had seen and to which they testified.
So is this text a suggestion or is it authoritative?
How probable is it that God inspired a huge book over the period of some
1500 years and 40 different men and then just says, “This is just a
suggestion.” How probable is it
that he sent his son to die and said, “This is just in case you might get a
feeling in your gut someday.” No,
God revealed his Word because he expected us to apply it and obey it.
Old Testament examples show how serious God was about what he said.
People were struck dead (Uzzah and the ark in 2 Samuel 6), Saul was rejected as king
(1 Samuel 15:26), Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire from heaven (Leviticus
10), Moses and Aaron did not get
to enter the promised land (Numbers 20:12), the earth opened its mouth and consumed people (Dathan
and Abiram and their families in Numbers 16). While
we are freed from the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant is based on love and
self-motivation, the self motivation should find fulfillment in following the
commands of God (James 2).
How do we act in areas that are not drawn black and white? We try to take the safe road. Why risk your eternal soul on any earthly thing? There were several times in the Old Testament where it says that “God spoke no more.” Paul says in 1 Corinthians that we are not to go beyond what is written. 2 John says not to run ahead. We cannot make assumptions and in our presumption forfeit out eternal soul.