It has been interesting to me that as I have started this study how God has brought other classes or other sources across my path who studying the same subject. There are so many times that the Lord does this as an affirmation to me that I’m in the right place doing the right thing. As we closed out the last blog we had talked about the second proof, which was talked about how the Bible is true because of the testimony of changed lives. This time I was to talk about how the Bible is truly the Word of God because of all the opposition and the unbelief.
Since the fall of man the world and the ungodly have rejected and denied the Bible. They have said that it is not the Word of God. There have been times when they have become vocal and oppressive, they have ridiculed and persecuted those who profess and teach the Bible. We can read throughout history of the believers who have been burned at the stake, shot, crucified, and used as human torches to light up palaces because of their belief in the Word of God. You don’t have to go back to far in our country’s history to see this carried out. I’m sure that many of you remember the Columbine shooting where the gunmen went into the Columbine High School shooting those who professed to be Christians and would not renounce their belief in Jesus. How about that horrific day on September 11th when our country came under attack and terrorism came knocking on our door? Or when Hitler set out on a mission to stamp out the Bible by having all copies burned at his assembly of book burnings. There have been and are governments who have outlawed its presence within their lands, actually making it a crime for a citizen to own a Bible. In our own country it is offensive for you to carry a Bible in public and read it at a restaurant. Our children can’t carry them to school and read them in class during free reading time, and yet they can read the Koran. You can then move to the World scene where you have worldly scholars who attack the Bible, denying that it is the Word God, attempting to water down its authority and meaningfulness in life. As a side note, we need to make sure that in the church we don’t do the same thing. There are times when we have a tendency to do this in order to make it “seeker-friendly.” God’s Word is already “seeker-friendly” on its merits alone. The worldly and carnal neglect, reject, and deny the Bible and often ridicule those who hold its teachings dear to their hearts.
The question is “Why? Why do so many of this earth oppose the Bible?” Well, I’m so glad you asked. I believe it is because it tells us the truth about God and ourselves, demanding that we live righteous and godly lives. You see the Bible demands that we live lives that are moral, just and good. That we accept, love, and live at peace with all people of all races and nations. That we sacrificially give to meet the needs of the poor and the spiritually lost.
There are very few people who are willing to give their lives up to God and to accept and love people as brothers and fewer still are willing to give to the point of sacrifice in meeting the needs of the poor and in carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is why so many reject the Bible and it s followers so much. Very simply, the Bible reminds people that they cannot live like they want.
But note something: belief in the Bible has always grown when there has been a deliberate attempt made to stamp it out. Persecution stirs the flame of evangelism: it weeds out the weak and carnal—those who hold to a false profession—and it strengthens the true believers, making them more courageous and determined to stand true for the Word of God. How? How could the Bible, the Word of God, actually grow and be strengthened when it has been ridiculed and persecuted like it has? If any other book had been attacked, opposed, and burned as much as the Bible, that book would have disappeared long ago. How has the Bible endured so much denial and persecution?
There is only one answer: God. God has supernaturally protected His Word and kept it alive and working upon the earth. This is evidence, strong evidence, that the Bible is the WORD OF GOD.
I pray that you will continue to be blessed as you continue to study and read His Word. Until next time.
Pastor Rob
