We accept the thirty-nine Books of the Old Testament and the
twenty-seven Books of the New Testament as the only infallible and
authoritative Word of God. These are the “core” Books accepted by the Eastern
Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Churches. Such Scripture is the final standard
for judging faith and practice and all religious tradition.
Consider what the Bible says about itself:
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God
stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8 NIV). Over forty men were inspired by the Holy
Spirit to write the Bible. These men were not writing like machines, not
writing apart from their personalities. Instead, they wrote in their own
styles. God inspired men to record his word throughout the centuries.
“20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture
came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20,21 NIV).See also 2 Timothy 3:16,17.
Though the Bible was written over a long period of time by various
men, the Books of the Bible agree on one theme: There is one God who rules the
universe, and the one way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. See Deuteronomy
6:4 and John 14:6. Scripture is shown to be valid because the prophecies of the
Bible are being fulfilled. See Deuteronomy 18:18-22; John 6:14. Also see the
training module on this website entitled “Messianic Prophecy.” God said that he
gave prophecy so that people could not claim that some idol has divine power.
See Isaiah 48:3,5. Scripture is also shown to be valid because it accomplishes
its purpose. See Isaiah 55:10,11. These claims for the validity of Scripture
were given through some of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament: Moses
and Isaiah. If we want to understand the truth of Scripture, we receive the
Holy Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 2:9-13. We receive the Holy Spirit when we
believe in Christ. See John 7:37-39. The Holy Spirit indwells us and guides us
to the truth. (For
details and for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)
