The Most Famous Book Ever Written and Why We Must Read It
By Cindy Asmussen
Have you ever been intrigued by true stories filled with mystery, love affairs, crimes, assassinations and coups, military strategy, law and courts, prophecies given and fulfilled, science and creation, the rise and fall of nations, family discord and restoration, ancestry, adoption, details and destinies of individual lives, and supernatural miracles and events?
Not only does the Bible have all of that, but so much more.
In fact, you can read the Bible over and over again and each verse and chapter will be as if you are reading it for the first time. When you read the Bible, you can sense that it's speaking directly to you - even straight to your heart and the circumstances of life.
Hebrews 4:12 says that “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.”
We can also encourage and help others with the words of Scripture. It is a love story from the Maker and Author of the Universe to His creation - the greatest love story ever told.
The Bible is called the Word of Truth. It is God’s Word to us and is inerrant and infallible. Approximately 40 writers who were divinely inspired by God, across a span of almost 1,600 years from Near Eastern ancient culture and the Greco-Roman culture of the first century, recorded the words that make up the 66 books of the Bible. The harmony and unity of the books of the Bible is divine and miraculous and the “scarlet thread” of truth that binds each of the books together as one is the blood and witness of Jesus of Nazareth and the Holy Spirit. It is a revelation of God to man and one of the ways He chose to reveal Himself to us.
Within its pages is the story of Creation, God's plan for mankind, Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, how He loves mankind and came to save us, and how He took upon Himself the penalty of our sin and rebellion so that all who repent and confess that He is Lord and Savior can have eternal life with Him. Through the Bible, we discover that we can become a new creation, adopted by Him and share in His inheritance.
The Bible is based on key eyewitness accounts and has repeatedly been corroborated by archeological discoveries and impartial third-party historians. It has specific prophecies that were made hundreds of years in advance that were literally fulfilled against all mathematical odds. Well-documented and credible miracles were recorded and confirm its message.
The Bible has stood through the ages as an undeniable fact. No other written work as the Bible has been so attacked, scrutinized, persecuted, and even outlawed. Yet it continues to solidly withstand all forms of opposition and has remained the best-selling book of all time.
Noah Webster, called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education” said, “All of the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from them despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.”
And President Abraham Lincoln said, “The Bible is the best gift God has given to men. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it, we could not know right from wrong.”
The Bible was a key factor in America's success and greatly influenced western civilization. It laid the groundwork for democratic forms of government and law, societal morals and values, and has been a wealth of cultural literacy. References to the Bible are found not only in religion but also art, music, philosophy, literature, law and more.
President Ronald Reagan said, “Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible...The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Father's abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual – rights which they found implicit in the Bible's teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual.”
The Bible is often misquoted or taken out of context and it is important to know what it says firsthand. Paul wrote, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)
John Quincy Adams, sixth U.S. President said, “No book in the world deserves to be so unceasingly studied and so profoundly meditated upon as the Bible. The first and almost the only book deserving such universal recommendation is the Bible.”
It is worthy of daily study, and especially every person who proclaims themselves a Christian must read God's words to mature and be conformed to His purposes and good plan. History has shown us that the Bible cannot be ignored.
Do we want to know God? Do we want God’s blessings?
Jesus said in Luke 11:28, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
And Psalm 33:12 declares, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
(We here at Christians Engaged believe that the Bible informs the way we pray, we vote, and we engage with our culture. Don’t forget to TAKE THE PLEDGE and let us help you do all three.)