Chapter 3—A Unique Book
When we come to study the Scriptures as we would the writings of men, we find much in the comparison which indicates that the Bible occupies a unique place among all writings extant. It speaks with an authority all its own. It is written in a style which, while it appeals directly to the heart, stirring to action the emotions of the soul, likewise convinces the judgment of the wisdom and truthfulness of its utterances. Evidences both external and internal go to show that He who spoke as never man spake, has traced in the Holy Scriptures His own divine will concerning the children of men. Among some of the further evidences that the Bible is the book of God, we will mention the following:TOJ 19.1
1. Its Authority.—It speaks with assurance. It has no apologies to make for its statements. It comes with simple but direct and convincing power to the reader; and well it may, because it is the message of the infinite God to His children.TOJ 19.2
2. Its Comfort.—It carries a message of hope and courage and comfort for every soul. This is the message we would expect to come from the God it represents, a Being of love and mercy and tender compassion.TOJ 19.3
3. Its Truthfulness.—No one has been able successfully to challenge the veracity of its statements. History corroborates its truthfulness. The spade of the archaeologist is demonstrating every year the reliability of the divine record.TOJ 19.4
4. Its Perfection.—Its divine Author commands its readers, “Be ye perfect as I am perfect,” and in the divine revelation is found the embodiment of this perfection. A perfect God could give nothing less than a perfect standard; and in His infinite mercy, while He calls men to perfection, He vouchsafes to them the power of His Holy Spirit for the attainment of that end. He calls to divine sonship, and He gives power whereby this relationship to the family of God may be attained. If the Bible were false, God would be compelled, in the very nature of the case, to give us some other revelation of His will. A God of love could do no less than this. He would not be true to His character of love and beneficence, as revealed in the book of nature and in the Inspired Word, if He did not give to the creatures of His hand a revelation of the principles of His government and a knowledge of His divine will.TOJ 20.1
5. Its Unity of Thought and Teaching.—It contains sixty-six divisions, or separate books. These were written by at least forty different writers, covering a period of about sixteen hundred years. The utterances of these writers constitute a perfect and harmonious whole. This is all the more remarkable when we consider that these writers lived in different ages, in different countries, and under greatly varying conditions so far as their civil, social, and religious environments were concerned. The fact that men scattered all along the stream of time, from Moses, the writer of the Pentateuch, to John, who penned the Revelation, should write on such a variety of topics, and yet preserve in all their work such unity of sentiment and teachings, shows that their utterances were directed by one Master Mind. The unity of the Bible points to God as its author.TOJ 20.2
6. Its Simplicity and Sublimity.—In this Book the loftiest ideas are expressed in the simplest terms; the grandest truths are told with a directness that appeals to the heart; the lives of its characters are described without false coloring or prejudice. It has been said truly that the most sublime utterances ever voiced in human speech are the words found in the first chapter of Genesis, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light,” and the prayer of our Saviour on Calvary’s cross, “Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do.” The style employed throughout the Bible is worthy of a divine Being. In it there is no cheapness. The language is free from affectation. A simple, positive directness characterizes the Word, which leads the thoughts of the reader to the divine Being instead of to fallible man.TOJ 21.1
7.Its Adaptability to the Needs of the Human Family in Every Age.—The sacred canon was completed nearly two thousand years ago, some portions of the Scripture being written no less than thirty-five hundred years ago. And yet all its writers enunciate truths which are as applicable to the human family today as when they were uttered. Indeed, the Bible is so adaptable that it is suited to men of every nationality and color, to the human family in every period of this world’s history, to the dwellers in every latitude and longitude of the earth. And it is adapted as well to all periods of development, to every state of mentality. The little child may find in it the way of life, the heavenly manna adapted to its growing needs. The man of mature age and experience also can find truths more profound, and suited to his larger capabilities and capacities.TOJ 21.2
8. Its Absolute Impartiality.—The books of men have their heroes and their heroines. Their writers are oftentimes moved by class or racial prejudices. It has been truly said that no man can be a true historian of his own day and generation, because of the influence of environment upon his character. The writers of the Book of God were raised above their environment. Their class and racial prejudices were subordinated to their grand objective. In the hands of God they became His agents for the transmission of His divine will to the children of men. He who can dethrone kings, exalt the lowliest to the highest stations of the earth, and countermand the word or will of the mightiest potentates, need make no appeal to personal favor. Character alone commends itself to His approbation. The inspired penman spares not to point out the sin of Solomon, the wisest of all earth’s rulers; and the double sin of David, the sweet singer of Israel. The divine chastening rod fell upon Moses, the one who talked with God face to face as a man talks with his friend. In its absolute impartiality the Divine Word is in a class by itself, separate from all other books.TOJ 22.1
9. Its Depth.—Its wisdom is unsearchable. Human wisdom cannot fathom its depth of meaning. David the shepherd, Amos the herdsman, Peter the fisherman, have written truths so wonderful and far-reaching in their meaning as to be utterly incomprehensible in their fullness, even to the learned of the ages, without the aid of the Divine Spirit. It is possible for men to penetrate to the depth of thought in the writings of human authors. Not so with the writings of God. Every study brings new revelation and freshness of beauty and of color. The very mysteries of the Bible are evidence of an eternal mind.TOJ 22.2
10. Its Predictions.—Closely allied to its mysteries are its predictions. The prophecies of the Bible constitute a most forceful evidence of divine authorship. The mind of man cannot penetrate the future. He cannot tell with absolute certainty what a single day will bring forth, what scenes wait on the morrow in his experience, or in the experience of his fellow men. In the Scriptures of truth the future is clearly revealed. The rise and fall of kings are accurately forecast. Even the birth of certain men and the work they would accomplish, are foretold. To the divine mind the future is as the present. God’s foreknowledge is absolute. In no book of merely human authorship is this power revealed.TOJ 23.1
11. World-wide Influence of the Bible.—The world owes much to the influence of the Sacred Word. Following its divine commission, the heralds of the cross have penetrated everywhere in the promulgation of its teaching. They have explored dark continents and searched out the great unknown. It was Livingstone and Moffat who opened up Africa, Carey and Judson whose influence brought Christian civilization to India and the Orient. It was Williams and Paton and others who sailed uncharted seas of heathen Polynesia, bringing the isolated island savages into touch with the great pulsating world.TOJ 23.2
The heralds of the cross have been the advance guards of civilization. The missionary fires kindled by their ardor and enthusiasm have proved the beacon lights for the rallying forces of education, enlightenment, and progress. In the path of these valiant soldiers have followed the railway, the telegraph, the telephone, and other effective commercial and civilizing agencies. As the result of missionary influence, churches have been developed, schools opened, and hospitals established. Barbarous practices and customs have given place to the rule of justice and the arts of peace.TOJ 23.3
What would Africa be today without the mighty changes which have been wrought by the influence of Christianity? Indeed, what would the Anglo-Saxon race be but wandering nomads, had not their forefathers accepted the benign influence of the gospel of Christ? Even China and Japan of our own day, although maintaining their heathen beliefs, have been mightily influenced by the heralds of the cross.TOJ 24.1
12. Its Transforming Power in Individual Life.—The transforming power of the Word of God is seen even more significantly in individual experience. It has been in every age the hope of the oppressed. What would life be worth, with all its stern realities, wearing perplexities, and sore disappointments, without the hope of a future life, without the staff of support and solace and comfort to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ?TOJ 24.2
The Divine Word takes man in his natural condition—selfish and self-centered, the prey of lust and passion, swayed by caprice, by avarice, by anger—and transforms him into a being of noble purposes and generous impulses. It converts the drunken sot into a gentleman of refinement; the savage cannibal into a humble follower of Christ, who loves and seeks to save his enemy. It elevates, purifies, and ennobles all who accept its holy principles, and who shape their lives in harmony with its precepts. “The words that I speak unto you,” declares the Master, “they are spirit, and they are life.” They will indeed prove to be life and salvation to every sincere believer who gives heed to them.TOJ 24.3