{"id":268,"date":"2011-05-24T08:49:56","date_gmt":"2011-05-24T12:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.coldnoseconsulting.com\/?p=268"},"modified":"2011-05-24T08:49:56","modified_gmt":"2011-05-24T12:49:56","slug":"the-bibles-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/2011\/05\/the-bibles-proof\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bible&#8217;s Proof"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I thought this article by missionary David Cloud was excellent, and wanted to share it with you&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>The individual must accept that the Bible  is the Word of God by faith, for \u201cwithout faith it is impossible to  please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that  he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him\u201d (Hebrews 11:6).<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Bible faith is not a blind leap into the dark. It is  confidence in a believable Record that God has given, for \u201cfaith cometh  by hearing, and hearing by the word of God\u201d (Romans 10:17). The writers  of the Bible explain to us that they were not delivering cunningly  devised fables but an inspired record based on \u201cmany infallible proofs\u201d  (Acts 1:3; 2 Peter 1:16).<\/p>\n<p>Following are some of the objective, time-proven reasons why we can have complete confidence in the Bible:<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>1. Christ\u2019s resurrection proves that the Bible is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Christ\u2019s resurrection was witnessed by hundreds of people (1  Corinthians 15:5-7). Paul wrote this only 20-30 years after the  resurrection, and many eyewitnesses were still alive. Were they all  lying? On numerous occasions, the resurrected Christ was seen by many  people at once, and on one occasion He was seen by more than 500 people.  Those who saw Him talked with him, touched him, walked with him, and  ate with him (Luke 24:36-43).<\/p>\n<p>Before the resurrection, the apostles were hiding from the authorities  (John 20:19). After they saw the resurrected Christ with their own eyes,  they became bold and fearless and were willing to lay down their lives  for the gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Before Paul saw the resurrected Christ, he hated and persecuted  Christians, but afterwards he loved them and willingly suffered the loss  of money and prestige and even his own life for Jesus\u2019 sake.<\/p>\n<p>It took a powerful event to cause such changes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. The Bible\u2019s unique construction proves that it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bible was written by 40 different authors representing some 19  different occupations (shepherd, soldier, farmer, fisherman, tax  collector, medical doctor, king, etc.) who lived during a period of some  1,600 years. That is approximately 50 generations. The first 39 books  of the Bible were written in the Hebrew language over a period of about  1,000 years. There was then a 400-year gap when no Scriptures were  written. After that, the last 27 books of the Bible were written in the  Greek language during a period covering roughly 50 years. The writers  could not have collaborated, because they did not live at the same time.  Yet the product is one book that fits together perfectly and contains  no contradictions or errors. There is nothing else like this in all of  man\u2019s history. Some have claimed to have found mistakes in the Bible,  but I have studied it for 37 years and each time I have considered a  supposed error or contradiction, I have found that the Bible is true and  the critic is wrong. (See our book Things Hard to Be Understood: A Handbook  of Biblical Difficulties.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. The confidence and sincerity of the Bible\u2019s authors prove that it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bible testifies that \u201choly men of God spake as they were moved by  the Holy Ghost\u201d (2 Peter 1:21), and an examination of the lives of the  Bible\u2019s writers rings true to this testimony. These were serious men.  They came from all walks of life. They were men of good reputation and  sound mind. Many of them were viciously persecuted and killed for the  testimony they held. They were not enriched by the prophecies they gave.  Far from it; many were impoverished. Moses, the author of the first  five books of the Bible, chose to live a life of terrific hardship in  the service of God as opposed to the millionaire\u2019s life he could have  lived as the adopted son of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Many Bible  writers made similar choices. Their motivation certainly was not  covetousness and worldly advantage. These were not perfect men, but they  were holy men. They claimed that God had put His hand upon them to  speak His Word. The lives they lived, and the testimonies they held, and the deaths they died gave mighty evidence that they were telling the  truth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Fulfilled prophecy proves the Bible to be the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bible contains a vast amount of prophecy, much of which has been  fulfilled. The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecies by J. Barton Payne  lists 1817 specific prophecies, 1239 in the Old Testament and 578 in the  New. The predictions are precise and detailed, and the fulfillment is  exact.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible prophets use prophecy to prove that their message is from the true God (Isaiah 42:8-9; 46:9-10).<\/p>\n<p>Prophecies Pertaining to Jesus Christ<\/p>\n<p>Jesus\u2019 entire life was written down in the Old Testament part of the  Bible before He was born. There are 191 Messianic prophecies. These  described His birthplace (Micah 5:2), virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14),  sinless life (Isaiah 53:9), miracles (Isa. 35:5), wonderful speech  (Isaiah 50:4), rejection by the Jewish nation (Isaiah 53:2), crucifixion  (Psalm 22:16), burial in a rich man\u2019s tomb (Isaiah 53:9), resurrection  (Psalm 16), and many other things.<\/p>\n<p>We know that these prophecies were written before Christ was born,  because copies of the Old Testament books were found in the Dead Sea  caves dating to 100 and more years B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Prophecies about Israel<\/p>\n<p>The continued existence of Israel is one of history\u2019s most amazing stories, and it was prophesied in Scripture in great detail.<\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s history was prophesied by Moses and recorded in the book of  Deuteronomy about 4,000 years ago. God warned that if Israel broke His  law she would be \u201cplucked from off the land\u201d and scattered \u201camong all  people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other\u201d (Deut.  28:63-64). There the Jews would \u201cfind no ease, neither shall the sole of  thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling  heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang  in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have  none assurance of thy life\u201d (Deut. 28:65-66).<\/p>\n<p>This is an accurate description of Israel\u2019s history from the first  century until now. Jerusalem was conquered in 70 A.D. by the Roman  armies under Titus. The Jewish temple was destroyed and the city walls  were torn down. Sixty-five years later Jerusalem was plowed under on the  order of Emperor Hadrian in response to the Jewish rebellion led by Bar  Kochbar. The Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth and  found no rest. They were hated by the Muslims and hounded and persecuted  by the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church for a thousand years.  Hitler\u2019s regime tried to destroy them. Giving preference to the Arabs,  England tried to keep them from returning to their land after World War  II. They are the object of hatred until this very day. Most of the world  is opposed to Israel and the reporting in secular publications about  the Middle East crisis is generally slanted against her.<\/p>\n<p>All of this was foretold in Bible prophecy, but the prophecy also said  that Israel would be brought back into her land and that she would  remain a nation even after all of this, and that is exactly what  happened in 1948. Never before in the history of the world has a nation  of people been scattered throughout the world and persecuted for 2,000  years and then come back together as a nation with their ancient  language intact. This is a divine miracle.<\/p>\n<p>Bible prophecy describes the restoration of Israel in two parts. First,  she would return to the land in a position of unbelief. Then she would  be converted. The amazing prophecy in Ezekiel 37:1-14 describes Israel\u2019s  restoration in these two stages. She is described as a valley of bones  that are resurrected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgain he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O  ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord God unto  these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall  live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you,  and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and  ye shall know that I am the Lord\u201d (Ezekiel 37:4-6).<\/p>\n<p>In verses 11-14, Ezekiel states that this vision pertains to the  restoration of Israel to her land and to her repentance toward God. The  dry bones symbolize Israel in her scattered, spiritually dead condition.  When Ezekiel prophesies, the bones are brought back together and given  life and become a great army, and this happens in two stages (verse  7-10). First the bones are given sinews and flesh, and next God breaths  upon them and they live.<\/p>\n<p>The first part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. Israel has been back  in her land as a nation since 1948, but she is there in unbelief and  spiritual death. She continues to reject her Messiah, Jesus Christ. She  has no temple and priesthood and no true worship. She lives in constant  fear.<\/p>\n<p>But she is back in the land just as the Bible prophesied. In 1800 there  were only six thousand Jews in Palestine, but by 2000 there were over  five million (John Ecob, Amillennialism Weighed and Found Wanting,  Herald of Hope, p. 44-45).<\/p>\n<p>During the Great Tribulation God will grant repentance unto Israel and will breathe spiritual life into her and she will live.<\/p>\n<p>The continued existence of Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.  It is a very great miracle and an irrefutable evidence of the divine  inspiration of the Bible. (For more on this see our illustrated book  Israel: Past, Present, and Future.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. The Bible\u2019s factualness and scientific accuracy proves that it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Everything the Bible says is true and factual.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the Bible says man is a sinner, and that is not difficult  to confirm. Just look at the world! When asked for his opinion on  original sin, Samuel Johnson, the famous British lexicographer, replied,  \u201cWith respect to original sin, the inquiry is not necessary, for  whatever is the cause of human corruption, men are evidently and  confessedly so corrupt, that all the laws of heaven and earth are  insufficient to restrain them from crimes.\u201d David Berlinski, a  Princeton-educated \u201csecular Jew,\u201d says, \u201cOne need hardly be a Christian  to appreciate the wisdom in these remarks\u201d (The Devil\u2019s Delusion, p.  33).<\/p>\n<p>The Bible is true not only in its statements about man, but also in its  statements about everything. Though the Bible is not a scientific  manual, it is scientifically accurate, even from its earliest pages,  which were written nearly 4,000 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Following are some examples of the Bible\u2019s scientific accuracy,  beginning with statements from the pages of Job, probably the oldest  book in the Bible. The late Henry Morris, who had a Ph.D. in geology,  said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese references are modern in perspective, with never a hint of the  mythical exaggerations and errors characteristic of other ancient  writings &#8230; perhaps of even greater significance is the fact that in a  4000-year-old book filled with numerous references to natural phenomena,  there are no scientific mistakes or fallacies\u201d (The Remarkable Record  of Job).<\/p>\n<p>Job said the earth is hung upon nothing (Job 26:7). This is obvious to  our modern generation, as we have seen the actual pictures of the earth  hanging in space, but to previous generations it was not obvious and  there were many commonly-held myths about the earth sitting on the back  of Atlas or a turtle or an elephant, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Job said the air has weight (\u201cthe weight for the winds,\u201d Job 28:25). It  was not until the 17th century that Galileo discovered that atmosphere  has weight, and the modern science of aerodynamics is based on this  scientific fact. Further, the weight of air is important in the function  of the earth\u2019s weather. \u201cThe \u2018weight of the winds\u2019 controls the  worldwide air mass movements that transport the waters evaporated from  the oceans inland over the continents\u201d (Morris, The Remarkable Record of  Job).<\/p>\n<p>Job described the springs of the sea (Job 38:16). Man had no way to  know about the fresh-water springs on the ocean floor by firsthand  observation until recent times. Modern science has discovered that there  are thousands of underwater springs that add millions of metric tons of  water into the oceans each year.<\/p>\n<p>Job understood that light has a way and that darkness has a place (Job  38:19). \u201cThat is, light is not to be located in a certain place or  situation. Neither does it simply appear, or disappear, instantaneously.  Light is traveling! It dwells in a \u2018way,\u2019 always on the way to  someplace else. Though usually traveling in waves, sometimes it seems to  move as a stream of particles, but it is always moving. When light  stops, there is darkness. Thus, darkness is static, staying in place;  but light is dynamic, dwelling in a way\u201d (Morris).<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says that the light creates wind (Job 38:24), but it is only  in recent times that modern weather science has discovered that wind is  created as the sun heats up the surface of the earth, causing the hot  air to rise and cooler air to fall, creating weather systems.<\/p>\n<p>Job describes the amazing hydrological cycle (evaporation, atmospheric  circulation, condensation, precipitation, run-off) (Job 36:27-28; Ecc.  1:7; Jer. 51:16). The process of evaporation and condensation was not  discovered until the 17th century and not well understood until the  20th.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says plants and animals reproduce after their kind (Genesis  1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25). This is in perfect harmony with everything that  can be observed and tested by modern science. There is great variety  within kinds, different types of roses and dogs, but there is no  reproduction between kinds, between roses and dandelions or dogs and  penguins. Breeding experiments have demonstrated that there are genetic  barriers that restrict change. The fruit fly has been used in genetic  experiments since the early 1900s. Tens of millions of fruit flies have  been artificially bred, bombarded with x-rays, doctored, and poisoned.  The result has been a variety of mutant fruit flies but no evidence that  the fruit fly could evolve into some other type of insect or animal.  This is proof of the Bible\u2019s 3500-year-old statement that all creatures  reproduce according to kind.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says the heavens cannot be measured and the stars are without  number (Genesis 22:17; Jeremiah 31:37). Before the invention of the  telescope, man could see only a few hundred stars with the naked eye.  Yet today we know that the stars are innumerable, just as the Bible  says. There are 300 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy alone. In  1999, observations by NASA astronomers, using the Hubble Space  Telescope, suggested that there are 125 billion galaxies in the  universe. The most up-to-date star count was announced in July 2003 as  70 sextillion observable stars (70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000).  This was the conclusion of the world\u2019s largest galaxy study, the  Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey, which is considered 10 times  more accurate than previous ones. The team of scientists did not  physically count the stars. Instead they used some of the world\u2019s most  powerful telescopes to count all of the galaxies in one region of the  universe and then to estimate how many stars each galaxy contained by measuring its brightness. They then  extrapolated these figures out to the whole universe visible through  telescopes. This massive figure, of course, probably covers only a tiny  percentage of the actual stars.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says there are paths in the sea (Isaiah 43:16; Psalm 8:8).  Since the 19th century the ocean currents or paths have been charted and  ships travel these paths just as trucks travel on roads. Writing in the  mid-1800s, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Superintendent of the U.S. Navy\u2019s  Depot of Charts and Instruments in Washington, D.C., observed, \u201cThere is  a river in the ocean: in the severest droughts it never fails, and in  the mightiest floods it never overflows; its banks and its bottom are of  cold water, while its current is of warm; the Gulf of Mexico is its  fountain, and its mouth is in the Arctic Seas. It is the Gulf Stream\u201d  (Maury, The Physical Geography of the Sea, 6th ed., 1856, p. 25). Since  then, other sea paths have been discovered.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says the life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). This was  written about 3,500 years ago, but it was not understood scientifically  until recent times. For centuries doctors used \u201cblood letting\u201d as a  healing method. George Washington, America\u2019s first president, probably  died because of this bogus practice. Modern medicine has learned what  the Bible has taught all along, that the life of the flesh is in the  blood. The amazing system of blood vessels and capillaries carries the  life-giving oxygen and other necessary elements to every part of the  body. The blood also forms a major part of the infection fighting and  clotting systems, which are necessary for the \u201clife of the flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Bible is not a book of science, but wherever the Bible touches on  science it is accurate. This proves its divine origin, because all other  ancient books are filled with scientific errors. Even science books  just 100 years old are filled with errors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. The Bible\u2019s candor proves that it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When men write biographies of their heroes, they commonly omit or  whitewash their faults; but the Bible exhibits its divine quality by  showing man as he is. Even the best of men in the Bible are described  with all their faults. We read of Adam\u2019s rebellion, Noah\u2019s drunkenness,  David\u2019s adultery, Solomon\u2019s apostasy, Jonah\u2019s pity party, Peter\u2019s  disavowal of his Master, Paul and Barnabas\u2019 petty strife, and the  disciples\u2019 unbelief in the face of Christ\u2019s resurrection. The Bible was  written by Jews, yet it candidly describes the faults of the Jewish  people: their stubbornness and unbelief that caused them to have to  wander in the wilderness for 40 years; their idolatry during the period  of the judges; their rebellion that caused them to be rejected from the  land and scattered throughout the earth for two millennia; their  rejection of the Messiah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. The Bible\u2019s indestructibility proves that it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Above all other books combined, the Bible has been hated, vilified,  ridiculed, criticized, restricted, banned, and destroyed, but it has  been to no avail. As one rightly said, \u201cWe might as well put our  shoulder to the burning wheel of the sun, and try to stop it on its  flaming course, as attempt to stop the circulation of the Bible\u201d (Sidney  Collett, All about the Bible, p. 63).<\/p>\n<p>In A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict to stop  Christians from worshipping Jesus Christ and to destroy their  Scriptures. Every official in the empire was ordered to raze the  churches to the ground and burn every Bible found in their districts  (Stanley Greenslade, Cambridge History of the Bible). Twenty-five years  later his successor, Constantine, issued another edict ordering fifty  Bibles to be published at government expense (Eusebius).<\/p>\n<p>In 1778 the French infidel Voltaire boasted that in 100 years  Christianity would cease to exist, but within 50 years the Geneva Bible  Society used his press and house to publish Bibles (Geisler and Nix, A  General Introduction to the Bible, 1986, pp. 123, 124).<\/p>\n<p>Robert Ingersoll once boasted, \u201cWithin 15 years I\u2019ll have the Bible  lodged in a morgue.\u201d But Ingersoll is dead, and the Bible is alive and  well.<\/p>\n<p>The communist regimes in Russia and China tried to destroy the Bible  and its influence, but they have been completely unsuccessful. There are  more churches in Russia today than ever before in its history, and  printers cannot print enough Bibles to satisfy the insatiable demand in  China.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, many who set out to disprove the Bible have been converted, instead. The following are a few examples:<\/p>\n<p>Gilbert West, an English poet who was included in Samuel Johnson\u2019s  Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, while a student at Oxford set  out to debunk the Bible\u2019s account of Christ\u2019s resurrection. Instead he  proved to himself that Christ did rise from the dead and published  Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus  Christ.<\/p>\n<p>George Lyttelton, an English Statesman, author, and poet who was  educated at Oxford, determined to prove that Paul was not converted as  the Bible states. Instead, Lyttelton wrote a book providing evidence  that Paul\u2019s conversion was real and that it is evidence that Jesus  actually rose from the dead. The book was titled Observations on the  Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Frank Morison, a lawyer, journalist, and novelist, set out to write a  book to disprove the resurrection of Christ. Instead he was converted  and wrote a book in defense of the resurrection entitled Who Moved the  Stone?<\/p>\n<p>Simon Greenleaf, Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University and one  of the most celebrated legal minds of America, determined to expose the  \u201cmyth\u201d of the resurrection of Christ once and for all, but his thorough  examination forced him to conclude that Jesus did rise from the dead. In  1846 he published An Examination of the Testimony of the Four  Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of  Justice.<\/p>\n<p>William Ramsay, a renowned archaeologist and New Testament scholar,  began his historical research in Asia Minor with the assumption that he  would find evidence to disprove the Bible\u2019s historicity. He concluded,  though, that the book of Acts was written during the lifetime of the  apostles and that it is historically accurate. His discoveries led to  his conversion to Christianity.<\/p>\n<p>Josh McDowell was a skeptic when he entered university to pursue a law  degree, but he accepted a challenge by some Christians to examine the  claim that Jesus Christ is God\u2019s Son. He says, \u201cI decided to write a  book that would make an intellectual joke of Christianity.\u201d He traveled  throughout the U.S. and Europe to gather evidence to prove his case, but  instead he was converted to Christ and wrote the book defending the  Bible entitled Evidence That Demands a Verdict.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Richard Lumsden, professor of parisitology and cell biology, was  dean of the graduate school at Tulane University and trained 30 Ph.D.s.  When he was challenged by a student about the evidence for evolution, he  sought to refute the student by demonstrating evolution\u2019s scientific  evidence. Instead, he became convinced that the evidence is lacking.  This led to an examination of the Bible, which led to his conversion to  Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Lee Strobel, who has a law degree from Yale, was an atheist when he  worked as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. After his wife\u2019s  conversion to Christ, he determined to use his investigative skills to  prove that the Bible is not true. He says, \u201cI plunged into the case with  more vigor than with any story I had ever pursued. I applied the  training I had received at Yale Law School as well as my experience as  legal affairs editor of the Chicago Tribune.\u201d Strobel became convinced  that the Bible is true and that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He has  written many books defending the Christian faith, including The Case for  Christ: A Journalist\u2019s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus  and The Case for the Resurrection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDown through the years, the Bible has been a mighty anvil that has  worn out the puny hammers of the scoffers\u201d (Christian Home Bible  Course).<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. The Bible\u2019s universal appeal proves that it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In spite of the aforementioned attacks, the Bible is the most popular  book in the world, by far. Some books have been translated into a few  dozen languages, but the Bible in whole or in part has been translated  into every major language of the world, plus most minor ones&#8211;more than  2,450 so far. Translation work is progressing in another 2,000  languages. Compare this with other religious books. The Hindu scriptures  have been translated into 46 languages, and the Muslim Quran into about  40.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. The Bible\u2019s doctrine of salvation proves it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bible is the only religious Scripture that teaches the doctrine of  salvation by grace. Every other one teaches salvation by works. Hinduism  says salvation is through practicing dharma and working out one\u2019s  karma. Islam says salvation is by surrender to Allah and obedience to  his commands. Buddhism says salvation is by reaching nirvana through  life works and meditation and asceticism. If you visit the Buddhist  monastery at Boudha in Kathmandu any time of the day you will find  Buddhists walking clockwise, fingering their prayer beads and twirling  their prayer wheels. They do this because they are trying to work out  their salvation.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible, on the other hand, says that salvation is God\u2019s free gift to  sinners. This gift was very costly for the Giver. It was purchased with  a great price, which was the atoning sacrifice of God\u2019s Son on the  cross. But for the sinner it is free.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we  are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God  hath before ordained that we should walk in them\u201d (Ephesians 2:8-10).<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says there is nothing that the sinner can offer God in order  to atone for his sins. What could we offer? Righteous works? The Bible  says our righteousness is as filthy rags before God\u2019s great holiness  (Isaiah 64:6). Money? What would the God of creation do with our  pathetic currency? A pure heart? The Bible says the heart is deceitful  above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). How, then,  could we purchase our own salvation?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as  filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the  wind, have taken us away\u201d (Isaiah 64:6).<\/p>\n<p>No, salvation is the free unmerited gift of a loving and deeply  compassionate God. As the Christian hymn says, \u201cWe owed a debt we could  not pay; He paid a debt He did not owe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that  whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life\u201d  (John 3:16).<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. The Bible\u2019s invitations prove it is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bible invites the hearer to partake of its spiritual realities and  thus prove for himself its genuineness: \u201cO taste and see that the Lord  is good\u201d (Psalm 34:8); \u201ccome unto me all ye that labor and are heavy  laden\u201d (Matthew 11:28); \u201cwhosoever will, let him take the water of life  freely\u201d (Revelation 22:17); \u201cho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to  the waters &#8230; come ye, buy and eat\u201d (Isaiah 55:1); \u201clook unto me, and  be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none  else\u201d (Isaiah 45:22).<\/p>\n<p>The Bible promises that \u201che that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself&#8230;\u201d (1 John 5:10).<\/p>\n<p>God will prove Himself to the sincere seeker.<\/p>\n<p>We have looked at nine major evidences that the Bible is what it claims to be, the very Word of God.<\/p>\n<p>____________________________<\/p>\n<p>Distributed by Way of Life Literature&#8217;s Fundamental Baptist Information  Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other  fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR  ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY IS NOT DEVOTIONAL BUT IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION  TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE  HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to  the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are  the instructions for removal. The Fundamental Baptist Information  Service mailing list is automated. To SUBSCRIBE, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wayoflife.org\/wayoflife\/subscribe.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.wayoflife.org\/wayoflife\/subscribe.html<\/a> .\u00a0 TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any  email received from us and click &#8220;Manage My Subscription.&#8221; If you have  any trouble with this, please let us know. We take up a quarterly  offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are  expected to participate (Galatians 6:6) if they can. Some of the articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 27th year  of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is  located at the web site: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wayoflife.org\/publications\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.wayoflife.org\/publications\/index.html<\/a>. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. <a href=\"tel:866-295-4143\" target=\"_blank\">866-295-4143<\/a>, <a href=\"mailto:fbns@wayoflife.org\" target=\"_blank\">fbns@wayoflife.org<\/a>.  We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching  and who are not helped by these publications, but only from those who  are. OFFERINGS can be made at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wayoflife.org\/wayoflife\/makeanoffering.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.wayoflife.org\/wayoflife\/makeanoffering.html<\/a>. PAYPAL offerings can be made to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/xclick\/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/xclick\/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>WAY OF LIFE LITERATURE SHARING POLICY: Much of our material is  available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life  web site. Other items we sell to help fund our very expensive  literature, video, and foreign church planting ministry. Way of Life\u2019s  content falls into two categories: sharable and non-sharable. Things  that we encourage you to share include the audio sermons, video  presentations, O Timothy magazine, and FBIS articles. You are free to  make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and  family. You are also welcome to use excerpts from the articles. All we  ask is that you give proper credit. Things we do not want copied and  distributed freely are items like the Fundamental Baptist Digital  Library, print edition of our books, PDFs of the books, etc. These items  have taken years to produce at enormous expense in time and money, and  we need the income from the sale of these to help fund the ministry. We  trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I thought this article by missionary David Cloud was excellent, and wanted to share it with you&#8230; The individual must accept that the Bible is the Word of God by faith, for \u201cwithout faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coldnose.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<br />
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