“Repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish”- GQ explaining why the Bible is on its list of books you don’t have to read. —The Skimm
My heart broke and anger welled bitter in my stomach when I read the discordant words. Like wrong notes struck in a piano concerto, the quote felt cringeworthy and disquieting. Can. You. Even…
Ok I admit it, I had to look up sententious. Because of the tone the excerpt set, I knew the definition wouldn’t be good. I was right, “Given to excessive moralizing, self-righteous.”
It makes me ill that words like this are bandied about in a flippant way, by silver-tongued influencers. If this statement is widely considered pithy and smartly sarcastic, then the freeway to the spiritual decline of America is unfurling at top speed. The evidence swirls around us. But to see such indignity in bold print is like a slap in the face.
I picture the huge leather-bound tome conspicuously displayed on my Grandmother’s coffee table. With gold-edged pages still bright from disuse, this grand bible acted as a dust catcher at best. On the other hand, the bible she chose to read, lay by her chair, tattered and torn from daily usage.
Life is about choices.
Will you take the popular highway of disbelief deep into the danger zone?…or not.
I choose not to let the ancient words of comfort be ripped from my soul by snarky cynics.
I choose to believe.
Here are five reasons why I believe the bible is God’s holy word:
1. The Bible is a living thing—For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
2. Unless God intervenes, the bible cannot be understood by a hardened heart—The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14
3. The Bible is oh so powerful— Many a hard-hearted man has studied to refute it and instead found his heart softened and evidence for it’s truth—undeniable.
4. It was handed down by God to ordinary men, most who did not have the education or ability to write in this miraculous way—All Scripture is inspired by God…2 Timothy 3:16
5. It is enduring—“Down through the years it’s been ridiculed, burned, refuted, destroyed, but it lives on. It is the anvil that has worn out many hammers. Most books are born, live a few short years, then go the way of all the earth; they’re forgotten. But not the Bible.” Billy Graham
6. It’s prophecies came to pass—The prophecies in Isaiah 53, Daniel 9:25-27, Micah 2, happened in Jesus life and death—just as the prophets foretold. Non-christian historian Josephus even unwittingly backs up scripture.
The beautiful thing about holding fast to the bible as truth is what it does to your heart and soul.
When I feel weak, it washes me with an understanding of God’s grace.
When I feel troubled, it offers up a balm to soothe my gaping wounds.
When I feel discouraged, it reminds me I have full access to an unfathomable power who offers a compassionate countenance and an outstretched hand.
So I encourage you—Open the word of God often.
It will change your life forever.