Raise B - The Bible

What is the “authority” in your life? Those who believe something must have a reason for their beliefs. Just as there are standards in the business world, in government, and in education — the Christian needs an absolute standard for his beliefs, his duties — indeed, his whole conduct.

Many people have as their authority their inner CONSCIENCE. “Let your conscience be your guide!” they say. This sounds good, but according to Titus 1:15, the conscience may be DEFILED; according to I Timothy 4:2, SEARED; and according to I Corinthians 8:7, WEAK.

Other people, especially religious folk, have the ‘CHURCH’ or man-made CREEDS as their authority. Again, such standards are unreliable — because man is involved. Colossians 2:8 warns against PHILOSOPHY and TRADITION. (Look up and read: Matthew 15:3,6,9.)

For the Christian, the BIBLE (the Word of God) ALONE, is the unchanging authority for faith and practice. This study will teach you what the Bible is, why you can take it as your authority, and how to use it as a child of God.

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

[Use list in the front of your Bible.]

See Romans 10:17, II Timothy 3:15.

(All new Christians experience difficulty at first in finding the Books of the Bible, especially during a preaching service. Don’t be embarrassed to use the table of contents in the front of your Bible or to accept the assistance of another Christian. The more you use your Bible, the sooner you will become familiar with the location of its Books.)

HOW DID WE RECEIVE THE BIBLE?

The Bible is not just a book, it is THE BOOK—different from any other book that has or will be written. The Bible is a SUPERNATURAL Book because of the way in which God gave it to mankind.

A. Look Up II Peter 1:21

This verse of scripture teaches us three vital facts concerning how we got the Bible:
1. It wasn’t made up by men — “...came not by the will of man...”
2. Men of God wrote the Bible — “...holy men of God spake...”
3. God authored the Bible— “...as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

B. GOD USED HUMAN WRITERS TO PEN HIS WORDS:

1. God used about 40 different men from all walks of life to write down the Bible. This was accomplished over a period of some 1,600 years, with incredible unity of teaching and fact.

2. Most of the Old Testament was originally written in HEBREW. The New Testament was originally written in GREEK.

C. GOD AUTHORED THE BIBLE:

A good way to illustrate this miracle is to consider how you would write things down on paper. First, it is the PEN that actually does the writing — but it only writes as you move it. Second, the characteristics of the script will depend on the kind of pen or writing instrument you use. Write your name down on paper
using a fine ball-point pen, a felt marking pen, and a paint brush—in each case you will read the same words, but they’ll have a different appearance!

1. The Holy Spirit moved the human writers of the Bible in such a way that they recorded the very words and sense of God, though couched in their own literary style.

2. The way in which God gave us the Bible is called INSPIRATION.

Matthew 24:35 and I Corinthians 2:13.

II Timothy 3:16.

Psalm 119:160.

DO WE HAVE THE BIBLE TODAY?

The original manuscripts of the Bible have long been lost. Does this mean, however, that we no longer have the pure Word of God?

A. God has Preserved His Word

Not only did God give us His Word, but He also promised to PRESERVE it until the end of the world.

B. HOW HAS GOD PRESERVED HIS WORD?

God has providentially kept His Word from destruction and corruption in two ways:

1. Down through the centuries, the Lord has raised up men with a love for His Word to keep it from harm.

Zealous Jewish patriots, then simple Bible-loving Christians (in particular, our Baptist forefathers), have kept the scriptures available to all generations.

Satan has on numerous occasions attempted to remove the Bible from the face of the earth. Hellish decrees have seen the Bible banned, burned, banished, and battered by scornful men.

2. The Hebrew text of the Old Testament has been faithfully preserved by fastidious Jewish scribes — it is called the Masoretic Text. The Greek text of the New Testament has been faithfully preserved in what is called the Textus Receptus, or Received Text.

Over 5,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament, along with some 2,000 lectionaries (selected readings) still exist today — the vast majority of them attesting to the Received Text.

C. DO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HEBREW AND GREEK TO KNOW THE BIBLE?

NO! The preservation of God’s Word extends to our English Bible.

The ONLY English version of the Bible accurately translated from the Masoretic Text and the Textus Receptus is the KING JAMES BIBLE of 1611 A.D., also known as the AUTHORIZED VERSION.

1. When you hold a copy of the King James Version (KJV), you hold in your hands the Word of God.

2. BEWARE of all other translations such as the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New International Version (NIV), the New American Standard Version (NASB), Good News Bible, the New English Bible—they are all based upon a few corrupt manuscripts and contain serious errors.

If you don’t already possess a Bible, your pastor recommends you purchase a plain Authorized, King James Version, without added notes or comments. Make sure the type is readable.

Bibles range in price from about $5 to $150 — the difference in cost is mainly due to the type of cover and quality of the binding.

WHY DO WE NEED THE BIBLE?

Hebrews 4:12 and Ephesians 6:17.

Psalm 119:11.

I Thessalonians 4:18 and Psalm 119:50.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THE BIBLE?

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