The Book

by Stephen Bastin

There is a remarkable book called “The Holy Bible.”  Of course not everyone has the same respect for the book that I do.  That is to be expected.  Not everyone likes to exercise either.  Just because something is good for you does not necessarily mean that you will like it.

It occurred to me that I could write an article concerning the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.  I made a list of 20 or so that are among the more obvious ones.  These are predictions that were made hundreds of years before Jesus was born.  That certainly ought to impress people that the Bible is a book from God.  But unbelievers still argue over such things.  In Jesus time there were those who said he got his power to heal from the devil!

Maybe belief in the Bible is like many other things.  It is just a matter of personal choice.  You believe what you want.  I will believe what I want.  It does not make any difference either way.

Wow!  Here is a book that claims to show you the way to an eternity of happiness and to rescue you from an eternity of pain, AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU BELIEVE IT OR NOT?!?

Cigarette companies argued for years that there was no connection between smoking and a whole host of diseases.  Among those whom they employed were people with Ph.D. degrees and all sorts of scientific training.  They still claimed in the face of irrefutable data that there was no link between their cigarettes and all of the diseases that were named.  Facts were not allowed to get in the way of their opinions!

The same seems to be true regarding the Bible.  The facts that support the Bible claim, that it is from God, are disregarded.  People just do not want to be denied their right to enjoy “whatever” because of some command from God.

Millions of people have lived their lives with the Bible as their guide.  Our country was founded upon principles laid down in the Bible.  To find people with an attitude of respect and reverence for the Bible is really not strange.  It is common.  Some of them are quiet about it and some of them are noisy, but there are many people who have chosen to follow the Bible as their guide through life.

On the other hand, there are also many people who have decided for one reason or another not to follow the Bible.  Some of them have been abused by people claiming to follow the Bible.  That is a tragedy and is just plain wrong.  Others have tried to follow the Bible and have been abused by those who do not believe the Bible.  That, too, is a tragedy, but is what God predicted.  From the early followers of Jesus down to our present time, disciples of Jesus have often been abused because of their faith.

Some people use the Bible to “beat up” on other people.  All the while they are twisting and distorting the Bible’s message beyond recognition by those who know and believe the scriptures to be from God.

During the Civil War, both sides used the Bible to justify their actions.  People use the Bible to oppose homosexuality and people use the Bible to support homosexuality.  That does not mean both are correctly using the Word of God.  It just means people are very skillful in twisting anybody’s words, including God’s, for their own purposes.

Following the teachings in the Bible is not always an easy matter.  As I read in the book of “Numbers” (one of the books written by Moses) I came across the story of a man who was found picking up sticks on the Sabbath Day.  When the people inquired of Moses, the man was put in custody until the will of the Lord might be revealed in the matter.  “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘The man must die.  The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.’”

Obviously, this was not an easy matter for the man who had broken the Sabbath.  Neither can I imagine it as being easy for those in the assembly who were charged with the responsibility of stoning the man.

Some might even argue that they cannot believe in a God who would require such a penalty for such a “minor” infraction.  You may choose to construct a god in your own image.  For my part, I will choose to believe in the God that is revealed through His word in the Bible!

Being right, as the Bible defines the right, is not always easy.  To do right can be costly at times.  Wrong is often easier than right.

Jesus always did what was right.  He always said what God wanted him to say.  When Jesus was tempted to doubt the word of God, he replied, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Those words were written by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy.  Moses was impressing Israel with the idea that the manna which God sent every morning was not all that they needed.  It was more important that they listened to God’s words.

One cannot be true to Jesus without being true to the book that tells us about him.  One cannot know Jesus without knowing that book.  One cannot have the spirit of Jesus without having the spirit of that book.

If we follow the crowd we cannot know if what we are doing pleases God.  The crowd has often been wrong.  They were wrong when they killed Jesus.  They are wrong when they reject what God has said.  Public opinion is not the measure of right and wrong.  The book from God, the Bible, is that standard.

Guessing is not a good approach to knowing what pleases God.  Taking the word of some preacher (even this one) is not a good plan for being right.  Check the book.

When building a house it is good to have a plan.  But the plan does no good unless it is followed.  Building a life is no good without a plan.  The Bible has the plan.  God leaves it to us to follow that plan.

All sorts of excuses are offered when someone does not want to do what the Bible plainly commands.  “It doesn’t mean what it says?”  That’s a good one.  “It’s just figurative?”  Why?  Because it would be too hard if one had to do what God has literally said to do.  “But over here it says to do this.”  So. . .  Do both.  The Bible is not a buffet dinner. It is a book that demands absolute obedience to the God who wrote the book.

God wants you in heaven with Him.  He sent Jesus to die as an atonement for your sins.  He tells you how to become a disciple (follower) of Jesus.  (Read Matthew 28:18-20.)  God’s book guarantees you a good life forever.  You neglect the Bible at your own peril.