The Holy Bible...
...Is A Lamp To My Feet...
...A Light To My Path.
Many of the pages on this Web site contain quotes from the Holy Bible...
...also referred to as the Holy Scriptures...
...the Word of God...
...and simply...
...the Bible.
Although every page may not have specific quotes from this source...
...the Holy Scriptures are the Source of the majority of the
information you will come across.
Therefore...
...the credibility of almost every page written on this site...
...is found in the authority of this written form...
...of the "spoken" words of God.
This compilation of the words of God...
...quite frankly...
...is the most amazing book ever written.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
I like using the term...
...Scriptures...
...because it brings to my mind...
...a sense of the Divine.
The definition of the term is as follows:
Scripture:
* 1a) A sacred writing or book.
* 1b) A passage from such a writing or book.
* 2) The sacred writings of the Bible. Often used in the plural.
* 3) A statement regarded as authoritative.
However...
...the term that most completely describes this book IS:
Holy Bible:
* 1a) The sacred book of Christianity, a collection
of ancient writings including both the Old Testament and the New
Testament.
* 2) A book considered authoritative in its field.
For that reason...
...I will mostly use the term...
...Holy Bible...
...at least on this page.
WHAT...EXACTLY...IS THE HOLY BIBLE?
"The [Holy] Bible is a collection of 66 documents
inspired by God. These documents are gathered into two
testaments, the Old (39) and the New (27). Prophets,
priests, kings, and leaders from the nation Israel wrote
the OT books in Hebrew (with two passages in Aramaic).The
apostles and their associates wrote the NT books in Greek.
"The OT record starts with the creation of the universe
and closes about 400 years before the first coming of
Jesus Christ...
"...After the completion of the OT, there were 400 years
of silence, during which God did not speak or inspire
any Scripture. That silence was broken by the arrival of
John the Baptist announcing that the promised Lord
Savior [Jesus] had come. The NT records the rest of the
story from the birth of Christ [Jesus] to the
culmination of all history and the final eternal state;
so the two testaments go from creation to consummation,
eternity past to eternity future."
(MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Handbook: A
Book-by-Book Exploration of God's Word. Xi.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.)
WOW!
And that's only scratching the surface...my friend.
Like I said...
...this is NO ordinary book.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that the Holy Bible was "...written over a
period of 1,500 years (ca. 1405 B.C. to A.D. 95), passed
down since then for almost 2,000 years, and translated
into several thousand languages..."?
This statement...alone...can bring a lot of questions to
mind...
...at least to the interested reader.
You...
...may be that interested reader...and...
...may have many questions concerning the Holy Bible...
...and I am sensitive to that.
Without getting really carried away with this...
...I will attempt to answer some of the most critical
questions you may have.
I am using The MacArthur Bible Handbook (noted above) by
John MacArthur...published by Thomas Nelson Publishers...
...as a source in addressing the following questions:
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Does the Holy Bible "claim to be God's Word?"
* Answer: "Yes! Over 2,000 times in the OT
alone, the [Holy] Bible asserts that God spoke what is
written within its pages. From the beginning (Gen. 1:3)
to the end (Mal. 4:3) and continually throughout, this
is what Scripture claims.
"The phrase 'the Word of God' occurs over 40 times in
the NT. It is equated with the OT (Mark 7:13). It is
what Jesus preached (Luke 5:1). It was the message the
apostles [the 12 disciples] taught (Acts 4:31; 6:2)...
Psalms 19 and 119, plus Proverbs 30:5-6, make powerful
statements about God's Word that set it apart from any
other religious instruction ever known in the history of
mankind. These passages make the case for the [Holy]
Bible being called 'sacred' (2 Tim. 3:15) and 'holy' (Rom. 1:2)."
(MacArthur. XVii, XViii)
**********************************************
Is the Holy Bible reliable?
* Answer: "The [Holy] Bible claims ultimate
spiritual authority in doctrine, reproof, correction,
and instruction in righteousness because it represents
the inspired Word of Almighty God (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
Scripture asserts its spiritual sufficiency, so much so
that it claims exclusivity for its teaching (cf. Is. 55:11;
2 Pet. 1:3, 4)."God's Word declares that it is inerrant
(Pss. 12:6; 119:140; Prov. 30:5a; John 10:35) and
infallible (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). In other words, it
is true and therefore trustworthy. All of these qualities are
dependent on the fact that the scriptures are God-given
(2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21), which guarantees its quality at
the Source and at its original writing."
(MacArthur. XViii)
**********************************************
Does the Holy Bible truly represent "the person of God"?
* Answer: "In Scripture, the person of God
and the Word of God are everywhere interrelated, so much
so that whatever is true about the character of God is
true about the nature of God's Word. God is true,
impeccable, and reliable; therefore, so is His Word.
What a person thinks about God's Word, in reality,
reflects what a person thinks about God.
"Thus, the [Holy Bible] can make these demands on its readers.
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you
with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers
know, that He might make you know that man shall not live
by bread alone; but man lives by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
Deut. 8:3
I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have
treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
Job 23:12"
(MacArthur. XViii) *emphasis mine
**********************************************
What do you mean when you say the Holy Bible is "inspired by
God"?
* Answer: "The revelation of God was captured in the
writings of Scripture by means of 'inspiration.'
This has more to do with the process by which God revealed
Himself than the fact of His self-revelation.
'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God...' (2 Tim. 3:16)
makes the claim. Peter [the apostle] explains the process,
'...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any
private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of
man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit' (2 Pet. 1:20, 21)."
(MacArthur. XiX)
**********************************************
Does "inspired" mean that the Holy Bible is free from
error?
* Answer: Yes!* Through means of
inspiration, "...the Word of God was protected from
human error in its original record by the ministry of
the Holy Spirit (cf. Deut. 18:18; Matt. 1:22). A section
of Zech. 7:12 describes it most clearly, '...the law and
the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit
through the former prophets.' The ministry of the Spirit
extended to both the part (the words) and to the whole
in the original writings."
(MacArthur. XiX) *See "What does all of this mean?" below for more info on error-free Scripture.
**********************************************
"How can one be sure that the revealed and inspired,
written Word of God...has been handed down to this day
without any loss of material?"
* Answer: "The battle for the [Holy] Bible rages, but
Scripture has and will continue to outlast its enemies.
God anticipated man's and Satan's malice towards the
scripture with divine promises to preserve His Word. The
very continued existence of Scripture is guaranteed in
Isaiah 40:8, 'The grass withers, the flower fades, but
the word of God stands forever' (cf. 1 Pet. 1:25). This
even means that no inspired Scripture has been lost in
the past and still awaits rediscovery."
(MacArthur. XX, XXi) *emphasis mine
**********************************************
Are the words of God still as powerful now, as they were in
years past?
* Answer: Yes! "The actual content of
Scripture will [forever] be perpetuated, both in heaven
(Ps. 119:89) and on earth (Isa. 59:21). Thus, the
purposes of God, as published in the sacred writings,
will never be thwarted, even in the least detail
(cf. Matt. 5:18; 24:25; Mark 13:3; Luke 16:17).
"So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Is. 55:11"
(MacArthur. XXi) *emphasis mine
**********************************************
What does all of this mean?
* Answer: "God intended His word to abide forever...
Therefore His written, propositional, self-disclosure...was
protected from error in its original writing...and collected in
66 books of the Old and New Testaments...
"Through the centuries, tens of thousands of copies and
thousands of translations have been made...which did
introduce some error. Because there is an abundance of
existing ancient OT and NT manuscripts, however, the
exacting science of textual criticism has been able to
reclaim the content of the original writings...to the
extreme degree of 99.99 percent, with the remaining one
hundredth of one percent having no effect on its content...
"The sacred book which we read, study, obey, and preach
deserves to unreservedly be called The [Holy] Bible or
'The Book without peer,' since its author is God and it
bears the qualities of total truth and complete
trustworthiness as also characterizes its divine source."
(MacArthur. XXii)
**********************************************
IN CONCLUSION...
The Holy Bible "...contains: the mind of God, the state
of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and
the happiness of believers.
"Its doctrine is holy, its precepts are binding, its
histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to
be holy.
"It contains light to direct you, food to support you,
and comfort to cheer you. It is the travelers map, the
pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and
the Christian's charter. Here heaven is open, and the gates of
hell are disclosed.
"[Jesus] Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and
the glory of its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart,
and guide the feet.
"Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.
It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of
pleasure.
It is given to you here in this life, will be opened at the
judgment, and is established forever.
"It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the
greatest labor, and condemn all who trifle with its
contents.
"For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because
when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you
welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
1 Thess. 2:13"
(MacArthur. XXiV) *emphasis mine
***********************************************
THE HOLY BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD TO MANKIND
Friend...
...the Holy Bible is...
...LIFE.
The Holy Bible is...
...TRUTH...
...available to anyone who desires it.
Embrace the wonder of the Word of God...
...the Holy Scriptures...
...the Holy Bible.
There is NO equivalent.
Blessings to you...my friend.
-- Pilgrim
***********************************************
*** All quotes are from the following source:
(MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Handbook: A
Book-by-Book Exploration of God's Word. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.)
Thank-You!
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