Did you know that the Mary Magdalene was the mother of
Jesus? And that the New Testament book that records Paul's
conversion is Psalms? And that the last book of the Bible is
evolution? And that the first murderer in the Bible was Pilate? And
that Isaiah was the son of Solomon? These are some of the answers
given to a Bible knowledge test which was given to 357 incoming
freshman at a Christian college. Out of 25 fairly easy questions the
average number correct was 8. 75 who had been Sunday School
teachers got 11 right. All but 22 were members of a church, and
they had been in Sunday School since childhood, and yet they hardly
knew anything about the Bible.
Apparently we are becoming a nation of Bible dusters rather
than Bible diggers. The American people buy Bibles like hot cakes,
but apparently they read them like they read hot cakes also, which is
not at all. We can hardly blame the Supreme Court for the fact that
the Bible is taken out of our schools, for even one atheist woman
with enough conviction to fight as more influence than millions of
Bible dusters who don't know Paul from Adam. Masses of
professing Christians know more about Paul Bunyan, Bugs Bunny,
Lassie, and Yoggie Bear than they know about the Word of God.
With such a weak possession on the value and power of the Bible it
is no wonder that the forces of unbelief can gain such ground.
When the Bible is no longer our ultimate authority then only
weakness can follow. The strength of the past came from Bible
educated people. Theodore Roosevelt said, "Almost every man who
has by his life-work added to the sum of human achievement of
which the race is proud, of which our people are proud; almost
every such man has based his life-work largely upon the teachings of
the Bible." William Gladstone, the great statesman and intellectual
giant of England said, "I have known ninety-five great men of the
world in my time, and of these eighty-seven were followers of the
Bible." Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Nearly all of the great men of
our country have been well versed in the teachings of the Bible."
Why then are men so foolish to neglect it and reject it? It is
because of the devil's deception that says men do not need God.
Men are deceived into thinking that the Bible is old fashion. People
in earlier times of ignorance needed the Bible, but modern man has
grown beyond that need. God challenges this folly, and He says
through Peter that we are not to look to man's glory, for it is gone in
no time and withers away like a flower, but His Word endures
forever. The Bible is still our absolute authority for two reasons
that Peter gives us in verse 23. It is because the Word is-
I. A LIVING WORD.
It takes life to give life, and the Bible is a living and life giving
power, for as Peter says, they were born again by this Word. All
through history men have been discovering new life through the
Bible. Robert Ingersoll, the skeptic, urged General Lew Wallace to
write a book exposing the falsehood of Christianity. General
Wallace began to study the Bible in order to write such a book, but
he discovered that the Bible did not just lay there, for it was alive,
and it got a hold of his heart and changed his life. He wrote, instead
of his book of criticism, the classic about the beauty and the divinity
of the life of Christ called Ben Hur.
History is filled with amazing examples of the power of the Bible
on the lives of people. A colporteur distributing Bibles in Sicily was
traveling at night when he was held up. The bandit ordered him to
build a fire and burn all his Bibles. He asked if he could read a part
of each one before he threw them in, and his request was granted.
From the first he read the 23rd Psalm, and the bandit said, "That is
a good book, we will save it." The second he read the parable of the
Good Samaritan; the third from the Sermon on the Mount; the
fourth I Cor. 13, and in each case the bandit said, "Save that one."
It turned out that none were burned, and he took them with him,
and the transforming power of the Word worked in the life of this
bandit, and he became a minister of the Gospel.
John said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." It is through
the Bible that we come to know Christ, and through Him to know
the Father, and so it is the book of eternal life. It is no good that 85
million people go to church in America if only a handful of them
ever read the life giving Word of God. If the Bible is not read, the
church will be dead no matter how many activities they have. The
Bible is a Living Word, not only because it gives life, but also
because it sustains life. One of the best proofs of the inspiration of
the Bible is the way it will inspire you if you read it.
Watts Dunton tells the tale of an Italian girl reading the Bible. A
skeptic said, "Don't waste your time reading that." She said, "But it
is inspired." He laughed and said, "How do you know that?" She
responded, "How do you know that the sun is in the sky?" He said,
"I can see it and feel it." She replied, "So when I read the Bible I
see the wisdom of God and feel the warmth of His radiant and
redeeming love." To know the Bible is to have a life-giving, and
life-sustaining power within that will give victory over the trials and
temptations of life. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God, and faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
One night during World War I General Edward Allenby sat in
his tent studying a map of Palestine. He was making plans on how
to capture a village that was in the hands of the enemy, the Turks.
He had to find a weak point, but nothing would come to him. The
name of the town was Mickmash, and he thought he had heard of
that name before, but he didn't know where. He laid on his cot until
after midnight. Suddenly it came to him that he had read it in the
Bible. He quickly got up, found his Bible, and began to search. He
found it in I Sam. 13-14. He got his map out and worked all night,
and in the morning he unfolded his plan to his officers. He read the
description of the land to them from the Bible. They said it would
be a miracle if it worked, but in less than 12 hours it had worked,
and the allied troops had taken the village. That description in the
Bible over 3000 years old gave guidance into victory. So it is in
every realm of life, which is a form of warfare, if you know the Bible
you can be victorious.
Though the cover is worn,
And the pages are torn,
And though places bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than gold
Is this book worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.
This old Book is my guide,
'Tis a friend by my side.
It will lighten and brighten my way;
And each promise I find
Soothes and gladdens the mind,
As I read it and heed it each day.
To this book I will cling,
Of its worth I will sing,
Though great loses and crosses be mine;
For I cannot despair,
Though surrounded by care,
While possessing this blessing divine.
II. A LASTING WORD.
Peter says it abides forever. In Luke 21:23 we read, "Heaven and
earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away." Many
passages express what Isa. 40:8 says, "The Word of our God shall
stand forever." To know the Bible is to have knowledge that
eternal. The Bible, like Jesus, is the same yesterday, today, and
forever. To know it is to be educated for eternity as well as time.
But you might ask, why are there so many different translations? It
is because language is constantly changing. The Hebrew and Greek
that the Bible was written in do not change, but our language, and
the languages of the world, are changing all the time. We need to
keep bringing the Word of God into the language of the day, and so
there are constantly new translations.
God has always wanted His Word in the language of the people.
John Wycliff was so hated for giving the people the Bible in their
language that he was dug up 30 years after he was buried, and his
bones were burned, and his ashes thrown into the River Avon. John
Hus was burned at the stake for making a translation of the Bible in
Bohemian. William Tyndale was also burned at the stake for
translating the Bible into English. Many have died in getting the
Bible to the people, and many enemies have fought against it
happening, but nothing has been able to stop the Word of God
getting to the masses.
In 1951, at a meeting of the United Bible Societies, Mr. Gilbert
Darling of the American Bible Society told of how measures had
been taken to preserve various translations of the Bible in case of
atomic war. Copies of all important editions have been deposited in
specially made vaults in Colorado and New Hampshire, and one is
New York City. If every book in the world were destroyed the Word
of God would be preserved. With or without man's efforts, God's
Word will never pass away. But what good is the Eternal Word if we
do not read and study it now for our absolute guide. May God help
us to become students of this Living and Lasting Word.
