I have never asked anyone to just accept the Bible because man said it came from God. It is always good to test a thing. It is good to test the Bible with reference to its origin. In fact, the Bible encourages investigation in all matters (I Thess. 5:21).
First, the Bible claims for itself inspiration. It claims to be a book from God. Every scripture is inspired of God (II Tim. 3:16-17). God revealed His Word to the inspired men (I Cor. 2:9-13). Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (II Pet. 1:20-21). God has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness (II Pet. 1:3). There can be no doubt but that the Bible claims to be from God.
Before one denounces the Bible and says that it is nothing more than a human book, he should disprove its claims. If I claim something to be true, then it is your responsibility to prove it otherwise, if it is not true. Since the Bible claims to be from God, why doesn’t someone prove it to be false in this claim? I can tell you why. There is not a person on this earth that can prove the Bible to be false. So it stands and will stand.
Second, the Bible is a book of God because it contains many things that man could not have written had he wanted to. It tells about the earth being circular some 750 years before Christ. It states that God sits upon the circle of the earth (Isa. 40:22). How did Isaiah know this? He had never sailed the seas nor been in outer space. In fact, he never was far from the land of Palestine. God revealed this to him long before man knew the earth was a round ball.
The Bible talks about the empty space in the North (Job 26:7). Of late men have been talking about there being no stars in a certain place in the northern sky. Job said this was true about 2,000 years before Christ. How did Job know this? Did he have high-powered telescopes? Of course not! Then how did he know? God revealed this to him.
The Bible speaks of the earth being held by gravity. It says that God hung the earth on nothing (Job 26:7). Men used to think that the earth was on the back of a huge turtle or on the shoulder of a strong man. Someone says how could they think this? I do not know. I do not know how men can believe evolution but they do. But how did Job know about the earth hanging on nothing? God revealed it to him.
The Bible talks about the paths of the sea (Psalm 8:8). The paths of the sea have a current flow. They have a pull in a certain direction. Men discovered these paths only recently. They sail their vessels in them for greater speed. How did the Psalmist know about these paths of the sea long before they were discovered? The God that made them told him about them.
The harmony of the Bible proves it is a book of God. About 40 men over a period of 1,500 years wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They were of different backgrounds and were of different educational teaching. Some were farmers, some were vineyard keepers, some were fishermen, some were physicians, etc. But they wrote a harmonious book at different periods in time. It agrees and has no contradictions. How did this happen? No doubt, it was directed by One Author—the God of the Universe.
-Malcolm L. Hill, January 12, 1934 – June 26, 2012
