Book, Chapter and Verse
by J Randal Matheny

    Our meetings as a church are marked by Bible references, readings, citations, and explanations. Our conversations are peppered with phrases,words, and thoughts taken from the Bible. The goal of our educational material and study courses is to clarify the meaning of the Bible and apply its message to our lives.

    That's a lot of Bible in the head and - we hope - in practice. For we want the Bible not only under the armpit but inside the heart.

    Why so much emphasis on the Bible?

    (1) The Bible is the true Word of God. The Lord used the most trustworthy means of delivering his message to humanity. This means it is the written word. In spite of attempts in the popular media to undermine confidence in the Bible, facts show that no ancient document - without exception - is as well attested as genuine and true as is the Bible. Read 2 Timothy 2:16,17.

    (2) No other book besides the Bible brings us God's message. Only the Bible has the inner unity, the freedom from errors, the fulfilled prophecies, and other evidences that show it to be a divine product. Read 2 Peter 1:16-21.

    (3) Man's need is the same since Adam and Eve. Our great problem is disobedience to God and our distance from him. The Bible shows the way back to God. Read 2 Timothy 3:14,15.

    (4) The Bible is our only trustworthy source of information about Jesus. Everything that God wanted us to know about Christ is in the Bible. Read John 20:30,31.

    (5) The Bible contains the whole plan of God for our life, godliness, joy, peace, fullness, and purpose. It is the complete guide to life on earth and for eternity. Read 2 Peter 1:3-11.

    For these reasons and many more, we continually investigate the Bible for the foundations of our
faith. We read and study book, chapter, and verse - in other words, the entire Bible in detail, in order that we may understand its message as a whole.

    We invite you to accompany us in this investigation.

[Author's note: This article is translated from Portuguese and comes from a magazine column that presents basic spiritual concepts to those new to the Way.]

This item originally appeared at Forthright.net