’Come now, and let us reason together,’ saith the LORD: ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” Isaiah 1:18
I went to a Bible study one time where a man asked some easy questions about the Bible. When someone answered a question correctly; he gave them a little booklet to read. In retrospect, I realize he was more concerned about getting me to read a good book about the Bible than rewarding me for answering the question correctly. The little booklet he gave me was called Is Christianity Credible? I kept it for years. In fact I may still have it somewhere. I guess that I kind of kept it kind of like a trophy along with the picture of Jesus I received for bringing more people to church than another team leader. I guess I thought that maybe I could take them with me to the judgment as evidence that I had been a pretty good Christian. The booklet? I never read it.
I remember my mother talking to a fellow that believed in evolution. Her solution to the discussion was to holler at him. I’m sure he found that very convincing. (Not!)
When I was young, people used to state that there were two things that you should avoid talking about. They were religion and politics. Howbeit, those two subjects are probably the two most important subjects to talk about. It kind of makes you wonder who it is that was behind that reasoning. (II Corinthians 4:4)
There is no question that the most important thing a person can share with another person is how they can be certain that they will have eternal life after they die. That is important to every living person, because every living person is going to die. As Mark Twain told us, the only things that are certain in this lifetime are death and taxes. I’m not so sure about taxes, but it is certain that we are not going to get out of this one…this life…alive. And the Bible teaches clearly: “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) Three things we can see in that verse: (1) Every man is going to die. (2) Every man is going to die only once. (Praise God!) (3) After we die we will be judged. (4) There is only one judgment for each of us after we die.
In view of these facts, the most important thing that we need to settle in this life is to be certain that we will go to heaven in the after life. Since this is the most important thing to get settled in this life, we should base our beliefs about how to be prepared for death on sound reasons. God invites us to come and reason together with Him, now. If we wait until we die, it will be too late.
Through the years I have talked to some people about their eternal destiny. I have been amazed at how many unreasonable philosophies on which people are basing their eternal destiny. They do not seem to realize that being wrong on this one most important thing in life will have dire eternal consequences. Some have figured out their own set of beliefs, but most who have done that are so unsure about them that they make little effort to share them with others. (Proverbs 14:12) Others simply listen to what their spiritual leader has told them not realizing that God is reasonable, and invites them reason with Him. (Matthew 15:9) Some have actually embraced science fiction as their guide to the truth of what happens to us when we die. Trying to find the truth through science FICTION? Really? (II Thessalonians 2:10) Many have tried to interpret the future (The after life of a living person must be future.) through science, not realizing that true science deals with physical observable repeatable facts from the past that are true of the present, but in no way applies to the spiritual realm. (I Timothy 6:20) Some rely on visions or dreams, as if what they dream is some kind of alternate reality. (Colossians 2:8) Others study the world’s religions to try to find the truth, and when they find that the world’s religions are all contradictory, they come to the conclusion that either there is no way of knowing about the future life or it does not really matter which religion you embrace. (Acts 4:12) Finally, there are those who do not think that there is a future existence after death at all. Now that is just plain foolish! (Psalm 40:1) What if that person is wrong? (And, of course, he is.)
Many books have been written to show that the Bible is the Word of God. Maybe this one will be short enough that you will find it interesting enough to read.
Pastor Jerry
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” Psalm 19:1
One day I was mowing the yard when the lawn mower picked up a rock and threw it across the yard. It hit the side of the barn with such force that it broke into over a thousand pieces that flew into the air. When they finally landed the pieces fell together in such a way that they formed a beautiful grandfather clock.
“What?” You might say. “That’s impossible!”
You know, I’ve told that story many times, and I’ve yet to find anyone that believes it. I know why that is, though. I just haven’t shared that story with the right people. There are actually people that believe that the universe, which has even more detail and intricacy than any clock (or rock), and is far more beautiful to boot, kind of blew up in some sort of big bang, and when everything settled back down, we have the universe as it is with all of its complexities and intricacies. That kind of person should have should have no problem believing that a rock could haphazardly break into a clock.
“But the clock has more material in it than any rock that could be picked up by a lawn mower!” you might reason.
True enough, but there are actually people that believe that the universe started off microscopically small, but after a big bang has gotten really big. They certainly would have no trouble believing my story.
I’m sure you can see what I’m getting at, but just in case you are like some of those that believe the wonderful design of the universe came about without a designer, or that a microscopic speck became the vast material in the universe without a powerful creator; the story about the rock and the clock isn’t really true.
The point is, the wonderful design of the universe requires a designer. Look at the creation. How many times would you have to throw mud off of a cliff before it landed in such a manner that it would make a man…and a woman…at the same time so they could have children?
“That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20
The creation shows us that there must have been a creator. As Maria sang in The Sound of Music “Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could.” Every effect has a previous cause. There must have been a beginning cause. Every reaction must have had a previous action. However, there must have been an original action that started everything going. Let’s give this “beginning cause” or “original action” a shorter name. Let’s call it God. The creator and intelligent designer is God.
“He who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man; but He that built all things is God.” Hebrews 3:3-4
Two things I want you to consider. Whatever God is, He must be greater than that which He created. Just as the forest has to be greater than the lumber in a house that is build from lumber taken from the forest, and the architect that designed and the contractor that built the house are greater than the house, so is God greater than His creation. Therefore, the creation shows us a lot about His power and godhead.
Everything in the universe is made up of energy or power. (Remember the theory of relativity?) All energy is contained in the universe. Since God is greater than that which He created, we can know that God is all-powerful or omnipotent. Since the universe goes on without any known end, and God is greater than that which He created, then He must be everywhere, or omnipresent. Since the creation was in the beginning of time, (Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-3) and the destruction of all things is at the end of time, (Which is an inevitable conclusion to end results of the second law of thermodynamics), and since God is the creator of time and must be greater than that which He created, He must be eternal. And since we have no knowledge of anything outside of the universe, and, consequently, all knowledge is contained within the universe; since God is greater than that which He created, He must be omniscient. Omniscience, which is all knowingness or having all knowledge, demands that the creator be of infinite intelligence. Intelligent beings do not do things without a reason or purpose. Since God created all things, including time, it is evident that His existence is outside the physical temporal realm. We have no experiential knowledge of anything outside of our physical time and space, so let us give the realm of God’s existence the description of being a spiritual eternal dimension. In view of the fact that God is intelligent and purposeful, He must have had a purpose or reason to create something outside of His spiritual realm. It would be safe to assume that His purpose for creating a physical universe is in some way to affect the spiritual realm. It is logical to assume that since God must have a purpose for His creation, He has a purpose for man. Furthermore it is logical to assume that if God has a purpose for man, then He will communicate that purpose to His creation. If God is to create a man with a purpose, then He must communicate that purpose to mankind. The most logical and effective way for God to communicate with His creation throughout time is by the written word. So it is logical to assume that God would communicate His will to mankind through the written word.
I suppose that there are many reasons to believe that the Bible is that written record of God’s will and work for mankind. After all, it claims to be God’s Word. (I Thessalonians 2:13) I want to share just five. (1) The Bible is 100% prophetically accurate. (2) The Bible is 100% historically accurate, and has had more historic impact than any other single physical thing. (3) The Bible has had immeasurable impact on literature, and has the greatest literary value of any other piece of literature. (4) The Bible is 100% scientifically accurate. (5) It has had the greatest positive effect on the lives of mankind than any other physical force in history.
Prophetic Accuracy
There are a number of ways to categorize prophecy. There is Fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy. Every prophecy in the Bible is either fulfilled or unfulfilled, yet every prophecy is 100% accurate. In other words it will be fulfilled in the future. Just because it has yet to be fulfilled doesn’t mean it isn’t accurate. God has prophesied many things about the end of the world, our inevitable death and judgment, and His own second coming. They have not been fulfilled yet (obviously). However, all prophecy in the Bible is still accurate. Because of all of the many detailed prophecies that have been fulfilled, we can know that the things that He has told us about the future will also be fulfilled. It would be foolish to believe otherwise.
Prophecy can also be divided into prophecies about the Jews, and prophecies about Gentile nations. There are many passages in the Old Testament that foretells that the Jews would be scattered throughout all the world, but in the last days would go back to the land of Israel that God gave them over three thousand years ago. Sure enough, after two thousand years of being without a land, they are now miraculously back in their land. The New Testament, also, gives detailed prophecies about Israel. Jesus Himself told about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and the scattering of the Jews that would take place in 70 AD. The prophecy was so detailed and exact in its fulfillment that many believers left the city of Jerusalem in the year before it was destroyed due to the clear fulfillment of prophecy. Then when The Romans conquered the city, they burned the temple. When the gold that was on the temple melted, it ran down into the cracks between the stones, and, to get the gold, the Romans took every stone one off of the other to get it, just as Jesus had prophesied.
There is also Gentile prophecy such as the prophecy against the city of Tyre. In Ezekiel 26:12 God says that Tyre would be destroyed and the city’s stones and timbers would be laid in the water. Furthermore in verse fourteen God said that the city would become like the top of a rock so that it would become a place where fishermen would spread their nets on it. Verses four and five point out that the enemy would even scrape the dust down to bedrock.
Sure enough, Tyre was destroyed, but rather than the people being killed as God had prophesied, when the conquering army breached the walls, they found that this port city had moved to an island on the other side of the port thus becoming inaccessible to their enemies. The Bible was close, however.
Many years later, Alexander the Great became determined to conquer this island city. So he took all of the rubble from the destroyed coastal buildings and cast them into the sea to make a causeway so his troops could access the island. He ran into a problem, however. He ran out of material, so he scraped the very dust from the city down to the bedrock to complete his conquest of Tyre. You may have seen pictures of fishermen’s nets being dried on the rocks where Tyre used to stand. Many family Bibles have photographs of them.
Probably the most detailed prophecies are about the coming of Christ. Micah 5:2 tells the city in which He would be born, and Daniel 9:25-26 tells us the very year that Jesus would be born, and if you find that hard to understand, God points out that after Messiah would be born, the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. The temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, so Messiah had to have come before then. Now, think about it. In just two verses we have narrowed down the person of the Messiah to someone born in Bethlehem before A.D. 70. How many people can you think of that was born before A.D. 70 in Bethlehem? I would say that if Jesus is not the Messiah, then we must have missed Him.
In Ezekiel 44:1-2 we see that after Messiah passed through the eastern gate of Jerusalem, that it would be shut and would not be reopened until Messiah comes to reign on the earth as king. This is the gate that Jesus used to go into the temple. Interestingly enough, after Jesus was crucified and quit frequenting that gate, it was destroyed, then rebuilt. However, after it was rebuilt, it was walled shut. It is walled shut, today. You can see pictures of the sealed eastern gate in many pictures today, also.
Zechariah 9:9 tells us that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, and the words the crowd would use to honor Him (Matthew 21:2-9; Mark 11:2-10; Luke 19:30-38). Zechariah 11:12-13 tells us that Jesus would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, but the silver would be cast down in the temple then used to buy a potter’s field (Matthew 27:3-7). Psalm 22:1 tells the words Jesus would utter on the cross (Matthew27:46). Verse eight quotes the words Jesus’ enemies would use to mock Him (Matthew 27:43). Verses fourteen through seventeen give a better description of crucifixion than the New Testament does. Verse eighteen even tells about the parting of Jesus’ garment and the casting of lots for His vesture (John 19:23-24; Matthew 27:35).
There are well over three hundred prophecies that were fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus. These are just a few to show the detail and clarity of the prophecies.
No other book has such detailed prophecies with 100% accuracy like the Bible has.
So if there is an intelligent reasonable God who desires to communicate His purpose for His creation to man, the Bible fits the bill better than any other book, or other form of communication.
Historical Accuracy and Value
The Bible is 100% historically accurate. Consequently, that makes the Bible of unparalleled value in discerning and interpreting history. Archaeological find after archaeological find has verified the writings of he Bible. One example could be when John Garstang excavated the city of Jericho in the middle nineteen thirties and found that the walls had fallen down the hill and the city had been burned with fire, just as the bible had said. If an invading army would have destroyed the walls, they would have been pushed inward, but all the wall had fallen down the hill except for one short portion. Now, if you think that that was an oversight on the part of God, consider the promise to protect Rahab, the woman that hid the spies, and consider the fact that she lived on the wall.
Beyond the historical accuracy of the Bible, the fact that it was written at the time that these ancient things happened gives us historical insight into the way things were as well as the things that happened.
So the Bible is of greater historical value and accuracy than any other historical records.
Literary Value
According to the three tests of literary value, the Bible is far and away the greatest piece of literature ever written.
Consider its sale ability. The Bible has sold more copies than any other communication in history.
Consider its translatability. The Bible has been translated into every major language and dialect in the world. There are missions that are dedicated to translating the Bible into tribal birth languages of even the smallest tribes.
Consider its longevity. Some people think that there are other writings that are older than the Bible, and that may be the case. However, age is not the same thing as longevity. If you buy a lawn mower and after one season it stops working, so you put it in the garage thinking that you’ll have it fixed one day. Then you forget about it. The next year you buy another lawn mower. You use it for thirty years. The first lawn mower is older, but it is no longer in use. Its longevity was one year. The other lawn mower was newer, but it had a thirty year longevity, which was twenty-nine years longer than the older mower.
If there are older writings than the Bible, ask yourself, “How many people do I know that read those older writings every day, and find them useful for daily life?
Beyond the three tests of literature, the Bible has also had a huge impact on literature. While our nation is doing its worst to try to eliminate the Bible and its influence from our lives, you cannot pick up a newspaper without finding some reference to a Biblical literary term or subject from the Bible. We speak of “An eye for en eye,” “just a stone throw,” Being saved “by the skin of our teeth,” “The apple of your eye,” “Speaking face to face,” a “Good Samaritan,” “Armageddon,” “Heaven,” “Hell,” and many other terms. The Bible has stabilized our language, as well as affected our language. Doesn’t it make sense that the one who has the intellect to design and create the universe would write the greatest piece of literature ever written?
Scientific Accuracy
It is clear that the Bible is not a science book. However, every time the Bible and true science speak of the same thing, they always agree. The Bible is one hundred percent scientifically accurate.
According to I Timothy 6:20 there is that which is “science falsely so called” which is in opposition to the Bible. They are only “so called” science, because they are really theories or philosophies masquerading as science. Remember, science deals with facts. Scientific method involves repeatable, verifiable, observable, phenomenon. Interpretation of facts gets into philosophy or religion.
Just a few examples of some of the scientific facts include:
Leviticus 17:11-The life of the flesh is in the blood. Of course, we know that, but in the days of George Washington the blood was considered a coolant, and disease was treated by draining some of that evil stuff away in a process called “blood letting.”
Ecclesiastes 1:6-The wind has circuits.
Ecclesiastes1:7-The water cycle
Even the oldest book of the Bible is full of scientific facts such as:
Job 25:5-The moon does not shine with its own light.
Job 26:7-The earth has no physical support. It is hung upon “nothing.”
I Corinthians 15:39-Animals and man have different kinds of flesh.
I Corinthians 15:40-There are two kinds of heavenly bodies: Reflective, such as planets, and those that give off their own light such as the sun and stars.
I Corinthians 15:41-The reflective terrestrial bodies give off one kind of light, while the sun and stars shine with their own light. What’s more, each star has its own unique light or glory.
Hebrews 11:3-The physical realm is not made up of things we can see with the naked eye.
To be honest, these few facts are just the ones I remember off hand. It is not my intention to write a science book, nor to take up time and space when many whole books have been devoted to the subject as have many college courses, and whole organizations.
I just want to point out that the Bible is one hundred percent scientifically accurate, whereas other books, even many science books having been taught in public schools in the last fifty years, are not scientifically accurate. Consequently, the Bible is truly an amazing, unique, accurate book.
Personal value
Possibly the greatest evidence that the Bible is the Word of God is its personal value. The Bible has changed more people’s lives for the better than any other physical thing in history on earth.
As we pointed out earlier, since God, a reasonable creator, created man, He must have a reason or purpose for man. Since He has a purpose for man, it is logical to assume that He would convey that purpose to man in the written word. Since the Bible outshines all other books in its prophetic accuracy, historical accuracy and value, literary value, and scientific accuracy, it is only logical to assume that the Bible is God’s communication of man’s purpose to man.
In Revelation 4:11 we see that God created all things for His pleasure. We find in Hebrews 12:6 that it is faith that pleases God. So if we do not have faith in Him, we fail in our created purpose.
In Isaiah 43:7 we find that those who are called by His name were created to glorify God. In Romans 4:20 we learn that it is faith that gives glory to God. So if we do not have faith in God, we have failed in our purpose.
What is the “glory of God,” and how can we glorify Him?
Think of God’s glory as all of His attributes which we have mentioned earlier working together to the greatest degree without compromising the other attributes in any degree.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” Psalm 19:1
Nature displays the powerful attributes of God. It shows His omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and eternity. However, nowhere in nature do we find fairness or righteousness. So God gave us the law to demonstrate the fact that He is righteous, and hates sin and injustice (Romans 7:12). So, while the animals demonstrate the creative glory of God, they have no understanding of the righteous glory of God. Only man has the concept of perfection, although we have never seen it. The fact that we have a concept of righteousness could only have come from a righteous God. No animal could even conceive of such a thing.
Now here’s the deal. It is man’s imperfection that has caused all the problems on the earth. A perfect eternal righteous being such as God would not create a world that was full of sin, would run down, and wear out. It was man’s sin or imperfection that started all of that. The second law of thermodynamics that shows us that everything is running down and will eventually come to an end was not put in place by God, but by man’s unrighteousness. Sickness, sorrow, misery, and death and then decay all came about because of the wrong things we do. God calls that sin.
Now, God did not want us to live in this temporary world of misery and death, so He created another place called heaven where there will be no death, sickness, sin, or sorrow. However, there is a problem. We all have sinned, so if we go to heaven with any of our sin, then there would be sickness and death in heaven, and heaven would, eventually, come to an end, too.
Therefore, God did an interesting thing. He made a statement in Romans 6:23. He said, “The wages of sin is death.” I guess you could say that He was stating the obvious. The wages of sin is death, because that is what sin does. It kills everything that comes into its presence. But a closer inspection of Romans 6:23 helps us to realize that He did not say the wages of the SINNER was death. Therefore, if sin could be removed from the sinner and placed upon another person that had no sin, then that person could die in the sinner’s place. The problem is “All have sinned.” Romans 3:23.
So, all have sinned, and the payment for that sin is death, since that is what death does. God cannot allow any sin into heaven to keep death from entering there, so, you must be perfect to get to heaven. That creates a problem. The problem is there is nothing you can do to get yourself to heaven. We are hopelessly lost by anything we can do. There is an answer, however. Jesus came to earth, took the sin off of us onto Himself, then He died paying for the sin. The only thing that He requires of us is that we believe it. We simply trust what He has done to get us to heaven. Then according to I John 5:13 we can know that we are going to heaven. He says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” He says that you can know it. He says you have it right now. You don’t have to wait until you die to get it. And it is eternal, so you can never lose it. All you have to do is believe on His name. That means that He, Jesus, is God, and that His death, burial, and resurrection is everything required to save and keep you.
If you have never trusted Jesus that way to get you to heaven, then you need to trust Him, now. You see, when you do that, then you glorify God. How does that glorify God? The creation glorifies God’s creative glory. The law glorifies His righteous glory, but His provision for salvation demonstrates His love and mercy that are not revealed in the law or in the creation.
“That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory.” Romans 9:23.
“That we might be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ.”
Ephesians 1:12
“That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:7-9
So, when we trust Jesus to get us to heaven, not only do we go to heaven, but we glorify God by our faith.
On the other hand, if we trust our own self, we glorify our self rather than God. To sin less will not get you to heaven. You must be sinless, and we have all sinned.
What must we believe? We must believe that Jesus is God who came to earth to take our sins upon Himself and die to pay for them. If you have never trusted Jesus to get you to heaven, why not trust Him now? While praying is not necessary to get you to heaven, maybe you could tell Him in the quietness of your own mind, “God, I don’t understand it all, but the best I know how, I trust you to get me to heaven.”
If you are doing that right now, then you can know that you will go to heaven some day.
Religion brings people into bondage through fear of death, (Hebrews 2:14-15) but Jesus came to deliver us from bondage to religion and fear of death by giving us the certainty of going to heaven when we die. That knowledge is of greater personal value than anything else.
“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of Him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” Psalm 8:3-4