The Inspired Word Of God

A farmer was working in his fields and saw these letters in the sky, GPC!  He dropped everything he was doing and went to town and started preaching the gospel, go preach Christ!  He got worse and worse and worse until no one would listen.  Finally a little old lady came up to him and suggested he misinterpreted those letters in the sky.  Don't you think they meant Go Plant Corn?

That made me chuckle right there.  For us believers it's no easy task living and sharing what we believe.  The best I can do is keep myself straight and lead by example.  I need to be ready for teachable moments when a person has a serious question and I don't have an answer.  Often I think of the answer in a few hours or the next day and the person is long gone by then.

"Is the Bible the Inspired Word of  God?

During a question and answer session at a recent speaking    engagement, a university student asked me, "Why do you believe that the Bible    is the inspired word of God?" Now this is a very interesting question; and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask themselves. What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?
In answering this    student's question, I encouraged him to consider the following facts about the    Bible:
First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more common misconception than many people realize, especially with people who do not come    from a Judeo-Christian background. Rather than being a single book, the Bible    is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures.    These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom,    literature, letters, and apocalyptic just to name a few.

Second, these    66 books were written by 40 different authors. These authors came from a    variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and    others. And most of these authors never knew one another    personally.

Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1500    years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never    knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

Fourth,    the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages. In the Bible    we have books that were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and    Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which    each of these books were written.

And finally, these 66 books were    written on 3 different continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe . Once again, this    is a testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God's    people.

Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents. What's more, this collection of books shares a common storyline- the creation, fall, and redemption of God's people; a common theme- God's universal love for all of humanity; and a common message-salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all    of their heart, soul, mind and strength. In addition to sharing these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions.    God's word truly is an amazing collection of writings!

After I had    shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following    challenge: I said to him, "If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, then I challenge you to a test." I said to the student, "I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can choose any library    you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in    the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over    1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents.    However, they must share a common story line, a common theme, and a common    message, with no historical errors or contradictions." I went on to say, "If  you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not    the inspired word of God." The student's reply was almost instantaneous, he    emphatically stated, "But that's impossible!"

Ed Winkle