Essentials # 1

The Bible is infallible and timelessly true.

When most Christians hear the word 'revelation' they immediately are drawn to the last book of the New Testament. Interestingly enough, when asked most Christians want to study the book of Revelation. I rarely have heard anyone desire to study Zephaniah, or Micah or some of the other lesser known books. But, anyway...

Where do you begin? Every person has a starting point, a place where their beliefs and values rest. It may be in a creed, it may be in a statement such as "there are absolutely no absolutes (except obviously the statement that there are no absolutes.)" Some would argue that every person is free to create or define their own starting place- which sounds wonderful till the place I choose collides with yours...then who is right?

The Bible opens with the words, "In the beginning God...." That is a starting place. God. He is. He exists. He reveals Himself. The Apostle Paul, writing thousands of years after Moses penned the words of Genesis 1:1 reminds us that God is a revealing God, that God is making Himself known (see Rev. 1:18-following)

Much ink has been spilled over the past generations- some seeking to prove the Bible is true, some seeking to demonstrate that the Bible cannot be true, and some suggesting that there may be truth in the Bible as well as other sacred documents.

The Bible consistently testifies to its own accuracy, authenticity, and authority. The Ten Commandments are said to have been written by the finger of God Himself and given to Moses. The prophetic books of the Old Testament repeats the refrain again and again, "Thus saith the Lord...." Jesus spoke of the Old Testament as true. His disciples used passages from the Psalms, from the prophets, from the historical books of the Old Testament as witnesses to the veracity of Jesus, the necessity of His death, and the reality of His resurrection.

Indeed, we need a place to begin. God has spoken. We have His word in the Bible.
We can trust all He said. We can bow in submission to Him as He reveals Himself in His Word.

Next time we'll continue to examine this idea of revelation, inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency.

Till then...


Steve