These pages are designed for use to aid discipleship among Christians through individual Bible study, Cell groups, Home groups, or for meeting one to one. If you wish, you could use the questions, while leaving the group to choose their own translation of the Bible.
God’s word - The Bible
Words have an impact on us beyond our expectations. There are words that build up and there are words that destroy; there are words of truth and there are lies; there are words that harm and words that heal. The Bible is God’s word, it is powerful and affects us in ways that we would not imagine. It it not surprising that it is both the world’s most popular book each year, and the most banned book. God’s Words
God’s word speaks to each part of us. There are words for the heart, words for the head and words for the soul. Once you get to know it you will find there is something for every part of every person.
The Lord asks us to love Him with all our heart, and His Word speaks to our hearts and builds us up. If we will go to Him in the poetic literature, if we will take the time to be with Jesus seeing His heart as He went about His ministry, then our hearts will be stirred. Words for the heart.
The Bible is a book that nourishes our souls. It is not something we are conscious of while reading, but the effects are seen if we spend time with God through His word. As we look back on life we begin to see a pattern of having inner resources to face life when we have spent the time. Words for Growth.
The Bible is truth. This is quite a claim and there are paragraphs and links at the bottom of the page addressing the issue. In being truth, the Bible is something very solid in an uncertain world. We can act on what it tells us knowing that it is underwritten by the Lord of the Universe. When we live life as the Word directs we are given an incredible advantage in life. Words of Truth
Our response the the Bible being truth is that it must be lived. Knowing what is true and then ignoring it is the greatest folly known to man. Jesus was very clear that knowing the Bible but not acting was no help spiritually. Live out the Bible
Living out what the Bible says can sound hard, but God is at work in us by His Spirit. The Spirit in turn uses the Word as His means for giving us the resources to act. The Lord uses it as a means towards new life, towards spiritual cleansing and blessing. These are not just words on paper, they come to us with the power of God. Words of grace.
There are many ways into the word. The Hand illustration gives a good overview. In this section we have two main areas. Lite and Deep. It is good to have a balance between on the one hand: “Depth in the Bible”. It is good to spend the time looking in some depth at what the Bible actually says rather than what we jump to as first impressions. It is also good to go to the, “Bible lite”, it is good to have an overview of the Bible which helps us understand the broader context of those insights.
Since study of the Bible is not something that many people are used to, I have put in a page with an outline for a method of studying the Bible. Study Bible
IS THE BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY?
The Bible is truth. How is this statement backed up? There are a number of factors contributing to this conclusion.
In the first place Jesus was clearly of the opinion that the Bible is God’s word and He used it without hesitation, and in fact defended it to the extent of saying that not the smallest stroke of the pen would disappear until all was accomplished. Jesus’ View
The writers were clearly writing on the basis of integrity what they believed to be true. This was not a mere best guess, they were ready to put their lives on the line for what they believed. Even if one does not accept that the Bible is true, it still stands as a historical document, Writer’s integrity.
Some question how reliable the text can be after being copied and re copied. This is something which is more of a problem for modern times when little attention is paid to accuracy of copying, however there has been careful study of this issue and it is clear that there is negligible difference between what was written and what now is read. This clarity is backed up by looking at actual manuscripts across a wide geographic range, and how those families of copies have remained unaltered through many generations of copies. How Accurate.
My conclusion has been a resounding yes! The Bible is trustworthy. I have put it to the test again and again. It has always come through. Now I have had my say, I leave it to you to come to your conclusions.
