What's so special about the bible?
We live in what is often described as the communication age. Day by day we are bombarded with messages from different communication channels through which people are trying to get messages over to us.
The Bible is God’s communication channel. Through it He wants to speak to us today. So what's so special about the Bible?
It's Reliable
Perhaps on the outside the Bible doesn't look very exciting, but it's true that we should, 'never judge a book by its cover' because what’s inside is absolutely amazing.
The Bible contains 66 books, split into two main sections – the Old Testament, written before Jesus was born, and the New Testament which was written after Jesus was born. It was written by more than 40 different writers, over a period of around 1,500 years, in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek).
The majority of the writers didn't know one another. They lived at different times in different countries. The amazing thing is that when the 66 books are brought together they fit perfectly without any contradictions and with one clear message. You say, “how is that possible?” There is only really one possible answer, and it is given in 2 Timothy 3:16 where it states “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” So although there were many different writers, there is only really one author; God Himself.
The individuals who put pen to paper wrote under the control of God. 2 Peter 1 says “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” So the Bible is unique. It is not the thoughts of man, it is the words of God.
You might say, “How can we be sure of that?” One of the things which gives us confidence about reliability of Bible is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies. Things promised in Old Testament books were actually fulfilled hundreds of years later and have been recorded for us in the New Testament and also by other non-Christian historical writers.
For example, the birth of Christ in Bethlehem was prophesied in the book of Micah in 700BC. The betrayal of Jesus was prophesied in the book of Psalms in 1000BC. The price of the betrayal was prophesied in the book of Zechariah in 520BC. The crucifixion of Christ was prophesied in the book of Zechariah in 520BC (before crucifixion was even invented). The burial of Jesus in a rich man's tomb was prophesied in the book of Isaiah in 700BC.
It's Relevant
The Bible doesn’t go 'out of date'. It is relevant for all people, in all countries, throughout all ages of history. Down through the centuries people have tried to ban it and burn it, but they’ve never yet managed to get rid of it, because the Bible has a tremendous enduring quality. 1 Peter 1:25 says “the word of the Lord endures forever.”
It is relevant because it provides the answers to life’s greatest questions – where we came from, why we're here and where we're going. It is the definitive guidebook and instruction manual for living on planet earth – written by the Creator Himself.
The Bible diagnoses our spiritual condition as sinners and tells us of the cure provided by the Lord Jesus Christ, through His death upon the cross. 2 Tim 3:15 says that the “… holy scriptures, are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”.
What could be more relevant to us than knowing how to have our sins forgiven, how to be saved from God’s judgement and how to get to Heaven? The Bible reveals that the way to Heaven is through faith in Lord Jesus Christ. The main theme of Bible is to point us to a Saviour – in the Old Testament everything is pointing forward to Him as the world anticipated His arrival from Heaven. Then the New Testament tells us about His arrival and the rescue mission He came to carry out by going to Calvary’s cross to suffer for our sins.
It's Readable
The Bible is the best selling book in the world, ever. It’s estimated that over 5 billion copies of the Bible have been printed in the past 200 years. It’s been translated into over 2,000 languages. If you’re not much of a reader you can listen to the audio Bible on CD or on the internet. The Bible is very easy to get hold of.
It includes a great variety of genres of writing – there’s history, poetry, prophecy and letters and half of it’s 66 books can be read in less than 30 minutes each.
Why not get hold of a copy and start reading today!
The Bible is God’s communication channel. Through it He wants to speak to us today. So what's so special about the Bible?
It's Reliable
Perhaps on the outside the Bible doesn't look very exciting, but it's true that we should, 'never judge a book by its cover' because what’s inside is absolutely amazing.
The Bible contains 66 books, split into two main sections – the Old Testament, written before Jesus was born, and the New Testament which was written after Jesus was born. It was written by more than 40 different writers, over a period of around 1,500 years, in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek).
The majority of the writers didn't know one another. They lived at different times in different countries. The amazing thing is that when the 66 books are brought together they fit perfectly without any contradictions and with one clear message. You say, “how is that possible?” There is only really one possible answer, and it is given in 2 Timothy 3:16 where it states “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” So although there were many different writers, there is only really one author; God Himself.
The individuals who put pen to paper wrote under the control of God. 2 Peter 1 says “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” So the Bible is unique. It is not the thoughts of man, it is the words of God.
You might say, “How can we be sure of that?” One of the things which gives us confidence about reliability of Bible is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies. Things promised in Old Testament books were actually fulfilled hundreds of years later and have been recorded for us in the New Testament and also by other non-Christian historical writers.
For example, the birth of Christ in Bethlehem was prophesied in the book of Micah in 700BC. The betrayal of Jesus was prophesied in the book of Psalms in 1000BC. The price of the betrayal was prophesied in the book of Zechariah in 520BC. The crucifixion of Christ was prophesied in the book of Zechariah in 520BC (before crucifixion was even invented). The burial of Jesus in a rich man's tomb was prophesied in the book of Isaiah in 700BC.
It's Relevant
The Bible doesn’t go 'out of date'. It is relevant for all people, in all countries, throughout all ages of history. Down through the centuries people have tried to ban it and burn it, but they’ve never yet managed to get rid of it, because the Bible has a tremendous enduring quality. 1 Peter 1:25 says “the word of the Lord endures forever.”
It is relevant because it provides the answers to life’s greatest questions – where we came from, why we're here and where we're going. It is the definitive guidebook and instruction manual for living on planet earth – written by the Creator Himself.
The Bible diagnoses our spiritual condition as sinners and tells us of the cure provided by the Lord Jesus Christ, through His death upon the cross. 2 Tim 3:15 says that the “… holy scriptures, are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”.
What could be more relevant to us than knowing how to have our sins forgiven, how to be saved from God’s judgement and how to get to Heaven? The Bible reveals that the way to Heaven is through faith in Lord Jesus Christ. The main theme of Bible is to point us to a Saviour – in the Old Testament everything is pointing forward to Him as the world anticipated His arrival from Heaven. Then the New Testament tells us about His arrival and the rescue mission He came to carry out by going to Calvary’s cross to suffer for our sins.
It's Readable
The Bible is the best selling book in the world, ever. It’s estimated that over 5 billion copies of the Bible have been printed in the past 200 years. It’s been translated into over 2,000 languages. If you’re not much of a reader you can listen to the audio Bible on CD or on the internet. The Bible is very easy to get hold of.
It includes a great variety of genres of writing – there’s history, poetry, prophecy and letters and half of it’s 66 books can be read in less than 30 minutes each.
Why not get hold of a copy and start reading today!