The Bible, A True Book
By Medford Caudill
Baptist Pastor of Goshen, Indiana“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
It has been said that a good way to deliver a sermon is to tell what you are going to say, then say it, and then remind everyone of what you just said. Following that form of logic, what I intend to do after stating that the Bible is a true book, is to show why it is true, what we mean when we say it is true, and then fi nish up with, if the Bile is true then how does it apply to our daily lives.
Psalm 119:129 tells us that, “Thy testimonies are wonderful.” The Bible tells us wonderful truths about wonderful things. It is an amazing book. You can read it through several times a year for many years and still be fascinated, in awe, and even surprised by it.
I would hate to contemplate life if the Bible was not a true book. What would I know about God? What could I know about salvation? What could I know about the destiny of my eternal soul? If the Bible is not a true book then I am lost and undone. I am not able to understand these matters of eternal importance without this book to guide me.
I. WE SAY FIRSTLY THAT THE BIBLE IS A TRUE BOOK BECAUSE IT IS THE WORD OF GOD. It claims to be such. Jesus certainly thought that it was. In our text Jesus in the midst of prayer to His heavenly Father calls it “thy word.” They said over and over with Isaiah, “Thus saith the Lord God.” Psalms 119:152 says: “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever.”
If God has not given us the Bible it must be for one of two reasons. If God has not given us the Bible it may be because He cannot communicate with His creation. In which case, He is not God. Do we really believe that an all-powerful, all-wise, all-knowing Creator is incapable of communicating with His creation?
It is either He cannot or He will not communicate with His creation. If He will not then he is not the God who “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Can we really believe that the God who gave His Son for the sins of His people would not inform them of that fact? Can we believe that a loving God would not tell us how to shun Hell and gain Heaven?
God is true and therefore His Word is true. Once again Jesus said so in our text. These words are given us “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. . .” (Titus 1:2). Truth is part of His essential nature. “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure” (Psalm 111:7).
John Gill said of God’s work in the giving of the Scriptures to man; “Now since God is the author of them, who is a perfect Being, in whom is no darkness at all; not of ignorance, error and imperfection: they coming from Him, must be free from everything of that kind; He is a rock and His work is perfect; as His works of creation, providence, redemption; so this work of the scriptures.”
II. WHAT WE MEAN BY THE STATEMENT; THE BIBLE IS A TRUE BOOK? Everything in it is true. The science is true and correct. The arithmetic is true, if it says there was a certain number of anything there was exactly that number. Everything adds up correctly. The history is true, from the names of the first man and woman to the names of the churches in Acts. The history is true right down to the conversations taking place exactly as recorded. No guesses about who said what. The words spoken by various people were exactly as the Scripture records them.
We also mean when we say that the Bible is a true book that it is inerrant, that is without error. Earthly books can be without error but mostly aren’t. It is difficult for even two eyewitnesses to an event to recall it in exactly the same way. Yet, the Bible, because, “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:21), is without error. Men may make errors, the Holy Spirit does not.
We mean also when we say that the Bible is a true book, not only is it inerrant but it is infallible. A man may write a book that is error free but he is still capable of writing error. The wit said one time, “I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once but I was wrong.” The Bible cannot be wrong. Due to its unique nature as the Word of God and being preserved by God, it is incapable of containing error.
III. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO US IF THE BIBLE IS A TRUE BOOK? First of all, if the Bible is a true book it means that those who don’t believe it are cursed. “Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments” (Psalm 119:21). Unbelief in the Bible is a very serious thing. In fact it is a great sin and will not go unpunished. “Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood” (Psalm 119:118).
If the Bible is a true book then read it. Everyone should read through the whole Bible at least once a year. If every word of it is true then read every word. Start where God started in Genesis 1:1 and read through to where God ended in Revelation 22:21.
Don’t just read it but study it. Think about what you read each day. Make notes about it. Read what others have to say about it. Memorize it.
Finally, practice what it says. In everyday life put it into practice. If the Bible says don’t steal, then don’t steal. If the Bible says to love your neighbor, then love your neighbor. If the Bible says to confess your sins, then confess your sins. It the Bible says to repent, then repent.
Practice what it says not just in your everyday life but in your church life also. If the Bible says to be baptized, then be baptized. If the Bible describes a certain kind of church with certain officers and certain ordinances organized in a certain way, then seek out such a church and join it. If the Bible says forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, then forsake not the assembly.
The Bible is a true book. We urge you to read it, believe it, and put it into practice.
========================== [From Christopher Cockrell, Editor: The Berea Baptist Banner, February 5, 2006, pp. 261-262. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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