We have looked at various issues concerning the Bible--Its revelatory nature, Its authority, Its inspiration, etc. But how did the Bible become the Bible? Why were Isaiah, Nahum, and Revelation included in the Bible but the Gospel of Thomas Book of Jasper omitted? In answering these questions, we are discussing the canonicity of the Bible.

The canonicity of the Bible refers to the authoritative books inspired by God for inclusion in Holy Scripture. C. The antiquity or authenticity of a book [nor the prestige of a religious community] could make a book canonical or authoritative. A book is valuable because it is canonical and not canonical because it is or was considered venerable. Its authority is established by God and merely discovered by God's people. [Dr. Norman Geisler, 2005. https://jashow.org/articles/the-canonicity-of-the-bible/]. In other words, the Holy Spirit revealed which books were to be made part of the Canon and included within the modern Bible. 

Ultimately, one's att...

It was recently revealed that Communist China is rewriting the Bible to control Christians and deceive them into giving their allegiance to the Communist Chinese party.

• The Chinese Communist Party, China's ruling regime, has been on a mission to rewrite the Bible. This quest has reportedly resulted in shocking distortions of Scripture and Gospel truth. [https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2022/february/china-rsquo-s-communist-government-is-reportedly-rewriting-the-bible-and-calling-jesus-a-lsquo-sinner-rsquo-but-that-rsquo-s-not-all-hellip,
• "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced plans to update the Bible to 'keep pace with the times.' The revisions will include adding 'core socialist values' and removing passages that do not reflect communist beliefs," a VOM Facebook post read.
  [https://gospelnewsnetwork.org/2022/02/18/chinas-communist-government-is-reportedly-rewriting-the-bible-and-calling-jesus-a-sinner-but-thats-not-all/]
• The Chinese Communist Party is demanding that the Bib
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One aspect of the Bible that creates stumbling blocks for many folks is the Bible's accounts of miracles. Many non-believers and Liberal theologians doubt the veracity and inspiration of the Biblical record because the Bible recounts various miracles.

What is a miracle? According to the Bible, a miracle is an event or activity only God can perform. It involves the direct and decisive action of God. This action usually supersedes one or more natural laws. Miracles defy behavioral expectations [such as the plague of frogs] or natural laws [Jesus' walking on the water]. Miracles testify to the supernatural work of God. Miracles demonstrate God's mastery over the physical universe and His interest in the lives of individuals and groups.

The incredible nature of some of these recorded miracles leads some people to reject the Bible. However, these miracles are actual historical events. Although these occurrences may appear fantastic and almost unbelievably extraordinary to man's limited in...

The early Church Fathers accepted the Old Testament Scriptures based upon the testimony of Jesus. Jesus had revealed to His disciples that His life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [Mt. 5:17-19, KJV]

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself...

I have written about the supernatural nature of Scripture, focusing on the revelatory nature of God's Word. I have also written about how humanity "got the message" [so to speak] of God's revelation. Through the process of "inspiration," God directed men to write down what He revealed to them.

Authority of Scripture

Today, let us consider the authority of Scripture. The Bible claims to be authoritative because it reveals God's decrees and laws.

• The Scriptures are the commandments of the Lord (1 Co. 14:37; Heb. 1:2). Since God created humanity, we must obey the old and New Testaments as God's orders to us. The primary revelation "in these last days" is Jesus. Jesus demonstrated by His life, as well through his words, the love of the Father. The New Testament writings of Paul, Peter, and others serve as part of this Written revelation concerning Jesus that helps to clarify Jesus' sacrificial role and to prepare the Church for Jesus' return.
• Over one-third of the Bible consists of p
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The Bible claims to be a supernatural book, a record of God's purpose and plans for humanity. It reveals how humanity's relationship with God was broken and restored through God's sending of Jesus Christ to die and become alive again. It also promises that when Jesus returns, all vestiges of sin will be removed from humanity's experience forever.

Yet how did the supernatural revelation of God's plans get recorded in a written form? The Bible plainly states that God is a spirit, yet the Bible, for all its supernatural claims, is a material object that even a child can hold in their hand. How did something composed of spirit change into a material asset? The answer is a process theologians call "inspiration."

Through "inspiration," each of the sixty-six books of the Bible was originally written down. God Himself supernaturally guided the writers to write what He wanted. As 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us,

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and trai...

The Bible is unlike any other religious work. While other works express man's philosophies or religious ideals, the Bible declares that It alone contains a true and accurate written revelation of God.

Now, as we continue the discussion of the importance of the Bible, we must recognize that the Bible is the written, recorded revelation of God [Jesus is the Incarnate Word].

So what does this mean to say that "the Bible is the written, recorded revelation of God?" 

Now, before I answer that, we have to stop a moment and consider some words that religious scholars nonchalantly fling about in describing the Scriptures. Knowing these words will may our discussion clearer. We could spend days discussing each of these definitions, but their meanings will become more evident as we progress.

• The first definition is "revelation." "Revelation"refers to a supernatural communication from the Creator God to man. Through this unique revelation, God reveals a truth or truths to a person which no
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Have you ever considered what the world would be like is God had never spoken to humanity?

A world void of the revelation of God [either through His prophets or through His Word] would be significantly different. If God had never revealed Himself through His Word, humanity would never have received the assurance and peace that come through faith by hearing God's Word (Ro.10:17). The basis for Western civilization's law and society would not exist. Men would have no absolutes or truth to guide them. If God had not spoken, "at sundry times and in diverse manners… unto the fathers by the prophets. . .” or "unto us by his Son" (Heb. 1:1-2), and if that revelation had not been written down it would have been forgotten by latter generations, the only possible revelation available to man would have been the more obscure revelation of nature, history, or of conscience.

However, the revelation of nature, history, and conscience is incomplete. Yes, God has spoken through nature in a variety of...

The Bible is unique in that it was composed over 1600 years. This Bible, a collection of some sixty-six smaller books, claims supernatural authorship (1 Pe. 1:25; Ps. 119:89). Although some forty men were involved in the creation of the various sections of the Bible, God alone is responsible for the words contained in the Scriptures. This supernatural authorship is confirmed repeatedly by phrases such as “thus saith the Lord,” “the Lord spake. . . “, etc. However, the Bible also reveals that man was important in the formation of the Bible. Moses gave the Law as he received it to Israel (2 Chr. 34:14). Ecclesiastes is called “The Words of the Preacher.” (Ecc. 1:1). Therefore, the Bible is the result of a combined effort between God and humanity.

The Scripture Itself explains how this cooperative effort between God and man to produce the Bible occurred. The Bible states,” All Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . . .” The Hebrew Word for “inspiration” is השראה and means “a puff, ...

It’s Alive!

The importance of the Bible in my life has become more apparent as I have grown as a Christian. However, no matter how my failure to acknowledge its influence, the Bible [that collection of books that dares to claim to be the written Word of God] has always undergirded my existence.

I was eighteen years old before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior; however, I had grown up in the organized church. In Sunday school, I learned the Bible stories found in the Old and New Testament. The Biblical themes taught to me in Sunday School undergirded the development of my moral character and thinking. Although I assumed the Bible was inaccurate in its scientific and historical record and historical record [because of what I was being taught in public school], I still felt the impact of the Bible’s teachings. As a result, my sinful nature was somewhat checked during my youth.

In junior high school I read through the New Testament and found it boring. I was offended by some of th...