The Bible Is Not an Ordinary Book

Luther’s Bible (1534). Image courtesy of Torsten Schleese.





Joel Kontinen


The Bible is not an ordinary book. It is not a random collection of old tales written by poorly-educated nomads who knew much less about the world than we do.

It is true history. The everlasting God, who says He cannot tell a lie, has a very lofty view of the book known as God’s Word. Jesus Himself had this to say:

“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18, ESV)

This obviously also applies to the other parts of Scripture. Here’s a verse from the Psalms:

“The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times." (Psalm 12:6)

Just think about it. While the Bible was written by humans, God guided the thoughts and perhaps even the words of the authors, keeping the message pure.

That is why we can trust it. Whatever it says is true.

Let Us Focus on Jesus and His Word

This Book will keep us from sin. Luther’s Bible (1534). Image courtesy of Torsten Schleese.



Joel Kontinen

The New Testament exhorts us to be followers and true disciples of Jesus. To do so, we need to focus on Him. The Letter to the Hebrews (12: 2–3) says:

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

How can we do this, as He is no longer physically present in our world?

The Apostle Paul explains:

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3: 16 –17).

We can keep our eyes on Jesus when we read His Word, the Bible, and let it dwell in us and change us into His likeness.

He promises a great reward for those who do so consistently:

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.” (John 15: 7–8).

Jesus described His Word as food. According to a much-used quotation attributed to the evangelist Dwight L. Moody, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”

The choice is ours.


Scripture verses from the Berean Study Bible

Divine Healings: Jesus Christ is the Same Yesterday,Today, and Forever (Heb. 13:8)

Jesus, the Miracle Man, has not changed but still heals.





Joel Kontinen


Is the Bible still relevant for us who are living in the Internet age? Some would claim that the Book is merely a collection of stories made up by uneducated members of a Near East nomadic tribe, and that it thus cannot be reliable.

However, many archaeological discoveries show clearly that the Bible is about real people who lived at a real time in real history in a real geographical setting.

Many other things show us that Scripture is reliable.

One of the important teachings of the Bible is that God’s Word never changes. Jesus Himself says,

“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18, NIV).

Jesus, whom the apostle John introduces as the Logos (λόγος) who created everything, is the Living Word. Scripture says unequivocally that like the eternal Word, even He never changes:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”(Hebrews 13:8).

So, what does that mean for you and me?

Luke begins the Acts of the Apostles with the words, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven” (1:1–2).

The rest of Acts shows what Jesus did through the apostles’ ministry.

Yes, but that was 2,000 years ago, you might say.

While some Christians think that the age of miracles ended when the New Testament canon was completed, there is scant evidence for this view in Scripture.

Many present-day healings suggest strongly that God still heals people.

Let me tell you of three healing miracles that I either saw or experienced. Several decades ago I prayed with some young people for a girl who was suffering from a bad migraine. She was healed instantly. Then we prayed for an elderly man suffering from the same condition. He, too, was healed on the spot.

In 2007 I hurt my knee. At times the pain was excruciating. I had to wear an elastic bandage all the time, and even then life was difficult. I could hardly walk. But then, on a short trip to the Greek island of Lesbos, God suddenly touched my knee. I noticed I no longer needed the bandage and I could actually walk very fast and soon even jog!

I have not needed the bandage since then. Now, almost nine years later the healthy knee still reminds me of the heavenly Miracle Maker, who is the same as in Bible times.

Are There Contradictions, Errors and Inconsistencies in the Bible?

The Bible has withstood the test of time. Luther’s Bible (1534). Image courtesy of Torsten Schleese.

Joel Kontinen

British writer Paul Philips sees contradictions, errors and inconsistencies in the Bible. He believes that the church is very reluctant to disclose this and “apologists of sorts are well-funded and have huge networks... including mainstream media sources with their lies and cover ups.”

I wonder where he gets this information, as the mainstream media tend to publish various kinds of challenges to the Bible.

Mr. Philips is not a theologian and some of his views resemble those of other new age advocates, who embrace an alternate view of the world.

Recently, he listed ten ways in which the Bible cannot be taken at face value. As far as I know, all of them have been addressed elsewhere.

Several arguments deal with God’s character, some with our conduct. Not a single one of them is a real contradiction:

· God was pleased with the initial creation (Genesis 1:31) but displeased with sin (Gen. 6:6).

· He loves peace (Romans 15:33) but punishes sinners (Exodus 15:3).

·We should do good deeds (Matthew 5:16) but we should not make a public show of our good deeds (Matt. 6:3-4).

·God is all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:27, Matt. 19:26), but the Israelites could not defeat the Canaanites (Judges 1:19). This is no contradiction at all since the Israelites were not all-powerful.

· Other examples include Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew and Luke that have different ancestors. There is no contradiction, however, as one of them follows Jesus’ earthly ancestors through Joseph’s lineage and the other through Mary’s.

Source:

Philips, Paul A. 2014. Bible Contradictions, Errors and Inconsistencies. Ezinearticles.com

Are There Mistakes in the Bible?

Luther’s Bible (1534). Image courtesy of Torsten Schleese, 

Joel Kontinen

Skeptics are fond of pointing out that the Bible contains errors or inconsistencies. As an example of this kind of thinking, I will focus on the views of Donald Morgan. In his list of purported biblical inconsistencies, he admits that some of them might not be contradictions at all. I would agree. If, as I believe, the Bible is the inerrant (Ps.119:160; John 17:17) and inspired Word of God (2 Tim.3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21), it should not contain any inconsistencies or discrepancies.

I have chosen two examples from Morgan’s list – one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

1) Gen. 1:26-27 and Gen. 2:7,21-22
Morgan states that in Genesis 1:26-27 “man and woman were created at the same time.” He then mentions Genesis 2:7, 21-22 and interprets it as saying, “Man was created first, woman sometime later.” This is part of the classical myth of two discrepant creation stories. The late Finnish theologian Uuras Saarnivaara, who had two earned doctorates, explains that this is a false claim that advocates of Wellhausen’s documentary hypothesis often use. They speculate that the accounts are from two different documents, P [the priestly document] and J [the Jahwist document]. However, there is actually no discrepancy between these two accounts, since Genesis 1:27 describes the creation of man in general and 2:7, 21 presents a more detailed account (Saarivaarna 1985, 149).

Wellhausen and other liberals postulated that Pentateuch was put together from four different sources, J (Jahwist) E (Elohist), D (Deutronomist) and P (Priestly), for the most part in the 7th century B.C. (Bray 1996, 303-305). However, Jesus himself stated that Moses wrote about Him (John 5:46) and that the Pentateuch was the “book of Moses” (Mark 12:26).

As Batten (1996) explains, the toledoth statements [“This is the account of”] of Genesis suggest strongly that Moses edited the text using earlier eyewitness records in writing. Batten adds that since the toledoth statements of Genesis 2: 4 and 5:1 are different, this affirms that what follows from 2:4 on is a more detailed account of what had already happened in 1:27. Moreover, the wording in Genesis 2:4b (“the earth and the heavens) differs from that in 2:4a (“the heavens and the earth”), thus the two accounts are from two different perspectives: first an overview, and then a more detailed account from man’s (or Edenic) perspective.

2) Acts 16:6 and Acts 19:8-10
The purported discrepancy between Acts 16:6, “The Holy Spirit forbids preaching in Asia” and Acts 19:8-10, “Paul preaches in Asia anyway” turns out to be no discrepancy at all but an example of God’s perfect timing. Morgan errs in believing that Paul was forbidden to ever preach the gospel in the Roman province of Asia. In Acts 16 The Holy Spirit does not allow Paul and his companions to preach in Asia and Bithynia because He wanted to guide them to proclaim the gospel in Europe (Gilbrant 1982, 271), where they were badly needed. Sometimes God’s Spirit leads believers by hindering them from pursuing the course they have chosen. Paul could probably never have gone to Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens and Corinth if he had gone to Asia and Bithynia instead (Bernspång 1983, 291).

Witherington (1998, 478-479) suggests that Paul “was not clear in advance of the beginning of this journey what direction God had in mind for him to go once he completed the circuit of the already founded churches in Syria, Cilicia and southern Galatia.” Many people, such as Lydia and the jailor at Philippi and those who were saved at Athens, will be forever grateful that the Holy Spirit guided Paul to reach out to them with the good news of the risen Christ.

Later, however, Paul was allowed to preach in the Asian centre of Ephesus – and it turned out to be a very powerful and effective ministry. He preached there for two years. The consequences were tremendous: “All Jews and Greeks, who lived in the province of Asia, heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10) and God “did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even hankerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them” (Acts 19:11-12).

Sources

Batten, Don. 1996. Genesis Contradictions. Creation 18:4, 44-45. http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v18/i4/genesis.asp


Berspång, Erik.. 1983. Apostlagärningarna: Kommentar för bibleläsaren. Herrljunga, Sweden: InterSkrift.

Bray, Gerald. 1996. Biblcal Interpretation Past and Present. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Gilbrant, Thoralf (ed.). 1982. Novum: Uusi testamentti selityksin. Vol. 3. Vantaa, Finland: Raamatun Tietokirja.

Morgan, Donald, n.d. Biblical Inconsistencies (Biblical Contradictions?) http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.html


Saarnivaara, Uuras. 1985. Voiko Raamattuun luottaa? 3rd ed. Suolahti, Finland: Ev. Lut. Herätysseura.

Witherington, Ben III. 1998. The Acts of the Apostles. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI.William B. Eerdmans.

Links:

Home page: http://personal.inet.fi/koti/joel.kontinen/

Blog (in FInnish): http://bwanajoe.blogspot.com/

Blog (in English): http://joelkontinen.blogspot.com/