Q – What is the Bible?
The Bible is a book that lets us know and understand God’s way of thinking, what’s important to Him and the attributes of His nature and character.[1]
Q – Who wrote the Bible?
The 66 books of the Bible were written by 40 people over a span of 1500 years running from around 1400 BC to 100 AD. The writers lived across a section of the earth from present day Rome, Italy to Iraq. They were of various nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and stations of life, e.g. kings, peasants, poets, herdsmen, fishermen, scientists, farmers, priests/pastors, tentmakers and governors. [2]
A couple of its better known writers are a man named Moses who wrote the first five books and Paul who wrote much of the New Testament.
Q – Why Was The Bible Written?
God had the Bible written to show us who He is, that He created us to have an eternal relationship with Him, how sin ruined that relationship, what He set in motion to deal with sin and to restore the relationship that sin destroyed.
Q – How Was The Bible Written?
Humans under the direction of the Holy Spirit wrote it. While the style of the writer is evident, the content is from God’s mind and heart.[3][4]
Q – How Do We Know The Bible Came From God?
Jesus made it clear that the Bible came from God.[5] He often quoted from it and he believed that the people and places in the Bible were real.[6]
Christian author and pastor Josh McDowell says, “Yet it speaks with agreement and reliability on hundreds of controversial subjects. Yet it tells one story from the beginning to end, God’s salvation of man through Jesus Christ. No person could have possibly conceived of or written such a work!”[7]
Q – What Are Some Of The Differences Between The Bible And Other Holy Books?
The Book of Mormon is translated from a single original that is claimed to have been seen and translated by just one man: Joseph Smith. Whereas, after the original manuscripts of the New Testament of the Bible were written, 24,000 copies became available over a relatively short period of time and were translated by multiple people into multiple languages.
The Koran is the writings and record of one man, Muhammad in one place at one point in history. The Bible was written by 40 different authors, spanning 50 generations and three continents.
The Hindu scriptures claim all roads lead to the same place and focus on stories of things that happened in the celestial realms. The Bible provides God’s distinctive solution to man’s dilemma with sin and focuses on God’s work through human history to redeem his human creation to Himself.[8]
Q – How Do We Know The Bible Has Been Accurately Translated From The Original?
The New Testament documents are the best attested documents of antiquity in terms of the total number of manuscripts. More than 5,000 individual Greek manuscripts that contain all or part of the New Testament exist.[9] To put that in perspective, there are only 643 copies of Homer’s Iliad, and that is the most famous book of ancient Greece![10] Generally speaking, very few manuscripts of the ancient classical writers (Aristotle, Plato, Caesar, etc) exist. The best cases average about 20 extant manuscripts for any given historical work.[11]
What this means is that even though a very small number of extant manuscripts exist for ancient classics they are still accepted as reliable and authentic reproductions of the original. The Bible with its large number of manuscripts makes a much stronger case for its reliability and authenticity.
Q – How Do We Know The Bible Contains The Right Books?
Jesus recognized the Old Testament. [12]
The apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, in one verse [13] quotes from Deuteronomy 25:4 of the Old Testament and Luke 10:7 of the New Testament and calls them both Scripture![14]
The books of the New Testament were included on the basis of three things. One was the authority of an eyewitness, e.g. an apostle like Peter. Another was that it taught the truth which was consistent with the rest of Scripture. And the third was the confirmation through the wide spread use of the same collection of books by local Christian churches through out the ancient world.[15]
Q – Why Should I Read The Bible And Live My Life By It?
The Bible is the operating manual for how God designed you to live. It has the potential and power to transform your life.[16]
God wants you to know Him![17] The Bible is His self-revelation so you can personally know Him.
Q – Which Version/Translation Should I Use?
The New International Version [NIV] is used by about 1/3 of Bible readers. The Amplified Bible includes explanatory words and phrases to help give context and understanding to a verse. The Message and Living Bible are paraphrases using modern language and they are written to convey meaning and concepts in contemporary language.
For more guidance on this subject visit our Growth Resources page.
Q – Anything Else?
Yes. Be sure to attend a bible teaching church so you learn truth and not error. Plus, get involved with a regular Bible study so a teacher can answer your questions.
And finally, as you read your Bible expect God to work in your life in a great way![18]
[churchpack_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”20px” margin_bottom=”20px”] [1] “And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 38:23 [2] Tom Holladay & Kay Warren, Foundations A Purpose Driven Discipleship Resource (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 19. [3] “All Scripture is God-breathed…” 2 Timothy 4:4 [4] “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say…” Ezekiel 11:5 [5] “Scripture is always true.” John 10:35 NCV [6] “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. Luke 17:26
“I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Matthew 10:15 [7] Tom Holladay & Kay Warren, Foundations A Purpose Driven Discipleship Resource (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 19. [8] Tom Holladay & Kay Warren, Foundations A Purpose Driven Discipleship Resource (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 19. [9] Kenneth Richard Samples, Without a Doubt (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 92. [10] Tom Holladay & Kay Warren, Foundations A Purpose Driven Discipleship Resource (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 18. [11] Kenneth Richard Samples, Without a Doubt (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 92. [12] This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Luke 24:44 [13] For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 1 Timothy 5:18 [14] Tom Holladay & Kay Warren, Foundations A Purpose Driven Discipleship Resource (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 21. [15] Tom Holladay & Kay Warren, Foundations A Purpose Driven Discipleship Resource (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 21. [16] When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD Almighty. Jeremiah 15:16 [17] “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 29:13 [18] He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,… Ephesians 3:20