Bible reading; the key to spiritual growth (3)

Perhaps you wonder, “Is the Bible really inspired by God? Is it true, trustworthy, and infallible?” The answer is yes, and here are three reasons why: (1) It is remarkable in composition. It was composed over 16 centuries by 40 different authors, including soldiers, shepherds, farmers, and fishermen. Begun by Moses in Arabia and finished by John the Revelator on Patmos, it was penned by kings in palaces, shepherds in tents, and captives in prisons. Would it be possible for 40 writers, largely unknown to each other, writing in three different languages in several different countries, separated in time by as much as 1,600 years, to produce a book of singular theme? This would be impossible unless behind them there was one mind and one designer (see 2 Peter 1:21). (2) It is remarkable in durability. It is the single most published book in history. Translated into at least 1,200 languages by an army of translators, it has outlived all its opponents. Bibles have been burned by governments and banished by courtrooms, but God’s Word endures. The death knell has been sounded a hundred times, but God’s Word continues (see Isaiah 40:8). (3) It is remarkable in prophecy. Its pages contain more than 300 fulfilled prophecies about the life of Christ, yet they were all written at least 400 years before He was born. What are the odds? Imagine if something similar occurred today. If we found a book written in the year 1900 that prophesied two world wars, a depression, an atomic bomb, and the assassinations of a president and a civil rights leader, wouldn’t we trust it? Yes. So you can believe these words: “All scripture is inspired by God.”