The Inspiration of the Bible -- part 3

Internal Evidences of Inspiration - 2


  1. Its BREVITY and RESTRAINT
    1. Brevity -- a virtue in literature, the Bible is the epitome of brevity:
      1. The creation of the universe is told in 34 verses.
      2. Jesus' birth is told in 8 verses in Matthew, 20 in Luke, and not at all in Mark or John.
      3. Jesus' baptism is described in 5 verses & His temptation by Satan in 11.
      4. His betrayal, death, and resurrection is told in 2 ½ chapters in Luke.
      5. His entire life's work, encompassing 3 ½ years, is condensed into the events of 34 days.
      6. In spite of its brevity, the depths to which one may mine its treasures has yet to be plumbed. (A year's worth of 30 minute sermons = nine 450-page novels each year)
    2. Restraint -- God did not deem it necessary to reveal every detail - He did not cater to human curiosity (Deut 29:29):
      1. "Where did Cain get his wife?" (Only two choices)
      2. "What happened to the ark of the covenant?"
      3. "What was the name of Lot's wife?" (Luke 17:32)
      4. "Where was Moses buried?" (Deut 34:5-6; Jude 9)
      5. "What about Jesus' life between ages 12 and 30?"
      6. "What happened on Lazarus' four-day journey into Paradise?"


  2. IMPARTIALITY in Dealing with Characters
    1. Noah - the only righteous soul on earth (Gen 6:5-9), yet was found drunk in his tent after he was delivered (Gen 9:21).
    2. Abraham - "the father of faith" whose faith in God wasn't strong enough to allow him to be honest to the Pharaoh (Gen 12:10-20) and Abimelech (Gen 20:1-18).
    3. Moses - killed the Egyptian (Ex 2:11-12), pridefully struck the rock (Num 20:7-12), yet still the meekest man on the face of the earth (Num 12:3) and the great lawgiver (Ex 32).
    4. David - an adulterer, defiler, and a murderer (2 Sam 11), yet still called a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22, 1 Sam 16:7)
    5. Solomon - the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3; Matt 12:42), yet failed to follow God all his days (1 Kings 11).
    6. Jehu - did much good in the name of God (2 Ki 9-10), yet took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel (2 Ki 10:29-31)
    7. Nebuchadnezzar - an idolater and wicked king (Dan 3) yet is last noted as one who praised God (Dan 4:34-37).
    8. Peter - made the good confession (Matt 16:16), yet denied Jesus 3 times (Luke 22:34, 54-62), later preached the first gospel sermon (Acts 2) and the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10).
  3. Its INDESTRUCTIBILITY
    1. The Bible claims for itself indestructibility:
      1. Matthew 24:35
      2. 1 Peter 1:22-25
    2. @ A.D. 64 -- Nero imprisoned and later executed Paul, but Nero is dead and his empire long since destroyed, but Paul's prison epistles are still alive and are published throughout all the earth.
    3. @ A.D. 303 -- Roman emperor Diocletian ordered all copies of the Bible destroyed and all Christians executed. To celebrate his "success," he had a medal engraved with the following inscription: "THE CHRISTINA RELIGION IS DESTROYED AND THE WORSHIP OF THE GODS RESTORED." Where Bibles were burned He erected a monument which said: "EXTINCT IS THE NAME OF CHRISTIANS." Less than 30 years later, Roman emperor Constantine embraced Christianity and ordered the Bible to be published and distributed throughout the Roman empire.
    4. In the 18th century, Voltaire said, 'It took 12 ignorant fisherman to establish Christianity, and I will show how one Frenchman can destroy it.' He claimed that within 100 years, the Bible would be seen only on display in museums. 25 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society purchased his home as a storehouse for the distribution of Bibles.


  4. Its PERFECTION
    1. It is the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25), needing neither addition, subtraction, nor revision. The US Constitution is one of the greatest documents ever penned, but in less than 200 years it was amended 22 times.
    2. The Bible contains everything pertaining to LIFE and GODLINESS -- 2 Peter 1:3
      1. It is the world's greatest marriage manual -- Ephesians 5:23-32
      2. It gives instruction in child-rearing -- Deut 6; Ephesians 6:1-4
      3. It addresses employer-employee relations -- Col 3:22-25; Titus 2:9-10
      4. It shows how to live at peace with others -- Matt 7:12; Rom 12:17
      5. It has the answers to life's greatest questions:
        1. "Where did I come from?" -- Genesis 1-2
        2. "Why am I here?" -- Isaiah 43:7 (cf Ecc 12:13)
        3. "Where am I going?" -- Matthew 25:31-46
        4. "What must I do to be saved?"