Church bulletin for the evangelistic service
Why should you believe the Bible? This is an important question which demands an answer. There are many holy books and religious writings, what sets the Bible apart? But first of all what is the Bible? The word Bible comes from the Greek “biblia” meaning “the books”. These books were written over a 1500 year period by at least 40 authors. The original languages in which the Bible was written were Hebrew, Aramaic, and koine Greek. The majority of the writers didn’t know each other, they came from diverse backgrounds, and they wrote in different circumstances, styles and genres. So what sets the Bible apart?
A. The claims of the Bible: The writers of the Bible claimed to be inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16). The idea of inspiration is that God breathed out His Word. He revealed to chosen individuals what He wanted us to know and they faithfully recorded that message. Jesus Christ treated the Old Testament as God’s Word. The apostles believed that Christ spoke God’s Word, and they believed they had been commissioned by God to make known His will. Big claims!
B. The unity of the Bible: different authors, different times, yet one unifying theme – God’s plan to deal with the problem of sin and what this means for those whom He saves. To put it another way, the Bible is concerned to explain “the kingdom of God”. This theme permeates the history, narratives, law, poetry, and wisdom literature of the Bible. The One who would make the kingdom of God possible is God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Ultimately the Bible causes us to consider His life and ministry. The Old Testament prepared the way for His entry into the world, including dozens of prophecies which He fulfilled. The Gospels detail His life, death and resurrection. The rest of the New Testament fleshes out His teaching.
C. The message of the Bible: As pointed out, the main theme of the Bible is the way of salvation or “the kingdom of God”. The Bible explains the beginning of humanity and how it all went wrong. It explains our hopeless condition because we are born in sin. It presents the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son (who is God come in the flesh) as the solution to our problem. He died so that we would not have to face eternal punishment. We cannot remove the guilt of sin through our own good works, God must do it for us; we simply need to trust in His death as payment for our sins and He forgives. If it’s possible that sinners suffer in hell for eternity, is this not a message you ought to consider very carefully? At the end of the day, Christians cannot prove that God authored the Bible. And they don’t have to. God bears witness to Himself and the reality of the message as the Bible is read and explained. If you are willing to listen, He may just convince you! (Rom 10:17)