Book, Chapter, and Verse
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http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Final Phase
Book, Chapter, and Verse
by J. Randal Matheny
[Author's note: This article is translated from
Portuguese and comes from a magazine column that
presents basic spiritual concepts to those new to
the Way.]
Our meetings as a church are marked by Bible
references, readings, citations, and explanations.
Our conversations are peppered with phrases,
words, and thoughts taken from the Bible. The goal
of our educational material and study courses is
to clarify the meaning of the Bible and apply its
message to our lives.
That's a lot of Bible in the head and - we hope -
in practice. For we want the Bible not only under
the armpit but inside the heart.
Why so much emphasis on the Bible?
(1) The Bible is the true Word of God. The Lord
used the most trustworthy means of delivering his
message to humanity. This means it is the written
word. In spite of attempts in the popular media to
undermine confidence in the Bible, facts show that
no ancient document - without exception - is as
well attested as genuine and true as is the Bible.
Read 2 Timothy 2:16,17.
(2) No other book besides the Bible brings us
God's message. Only the Bible has the inner unity,
the freedom from errors, the fulfilled prophecies,
and other evidences that show it to be a divine
product. Read 2 Peter 1:16-21.
(3) Man's need is the same since Adam and Eve. Our
great problem is disobedience to God and our
distance from him. The Bible shows the way back to
God. Read 2 Timothy 3:14,15.
(4) The Bible is our only trustworthy source of
information about Jesus. Everything that God
wanted us to know about Christ is in the Bible.
Read John 20:30,31.
(5) The Bible contains the whole plan of God for
our life, godliness, joy, peace, fullness, and
purpose. It is the complete guide to life on earth
and for eternity. Read 2 Peter 1:3-11.
For these reasons and many more, we continually
investigate the Bible for the foundations of our
faith. We read and study book, chapter, and verse
- in other words, the entire Bible in detail, in
order that we may understand its message as a
whole.
We invite you to accompany us in this
investigation.
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