P art I I T is sad today to hear some theo logians and preachers, who should know better, attack or question the inspiration of Scripture. They would seek a compromise in saying the Bible “contains” the Word of God, rather than accept the positive truth that the Bible is the Word of God. While this Book has been given to us through human penmanship, unques tionably it is the Word of God. Every true Christian should study the Bible with the view to gaining true knowledge about God; and spiritual growth in Christ. This is not option al, but obligatory. We need this incomparable Book for such things as a right under standing of the origin of the uni verse and man, the great redemptive work of God culminating in the ad vent of the atonement, and the as cension and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need the Bible to teach us how to live right as well as how to prepare for death and eternity. The Bible is our one standard Textbook, our safe and sane rule of faith and practice, our final court of appeal. We must obey the command, “Study to show thyself ap proved unto God” (II Tim. 2:15). Too long has the Bible been misrep resented. Millions of young people have been brainwashed by infidels and atheists who have never taken the time nor the trouble to attempt to understand the Bible. The Bible is criticized and condemned by those who know the least about it (I Cor. 2:14). The m ost serious and intense struggle in which the Christian Church has ever engaged in is the
war over the Word of God. If this war ever could be lost, our faith and hope in God would be destroyed and every witness for Christ would like wise be destroyed. The Apostle Paul warned of this onslaught to come (Acts 20:28-30; II Tim. 3:1-13). Carefully should we follow the ex hortation, “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make th e e wise u n to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 3:14-17). If the Bible is confined to human thought, why is there only one such Book? Whatever man has produced in the past he has reproduced with improvements. Many attempts have been made to paraphrase and revise the Bible, but no man has ever at tempted to write a Bible of his own. God has revealed Himself in nature, to be sure, but such a limited revela tion has in it no solution to the prob lem of evil nor does it give assurance of life after death. Man needs the Bible, God’s true and complete rev elation. First of all, what do we mean by inspiration? Neo-orthodoxy would have all Christians abandon the scriptural teaching of inspiration, turning to rationalistic thought for contemporary hypothesis. We start properly with the Bible to find an an swer to our question. Any court will recognize that a man has a right to testify in his own behalf. Because the Bible is the Word of God, it can not lie. One of the best-known pas sages is II Timothy 3:16, “All scrip- 3
Made with FlippingBook Annual report