The Bible

Is the Bible - God? No. Just as we wouldn't say "my diary is me;" it has a glimpse of who we are, but it doesn't contain us. In the same way, The Bible is a collection of instructions, messages, stories to learn from, prophecies, and warnings God prompted certain people to write down.

John 21:25 "Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written."

The Bible is a printed book that can be mistreated and/or mistranslated. However, the correct version of the Bible contains the Word of God that has the power to save and give us eternal life, if we believe what it says with all our hearts, and do what it instructs. 

The Words We Speak Have Power

Proverbs 18:21 "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

Proverbs 15:4 "Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

John 1:1-5

"In the beginning THE WORD ALREADY EXISTED. The Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. THE WORD GAVE LIFE to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."

Deuteronomy 18:17-20 "Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’"

John 1:14 "So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son."

John 3:31-36 “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

God Created The World By Speaking Words

Psalm 33:4-9

"For the WORD OF THE LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

The Lord merely SPOKE, and the heavens were created. He BREATHED THE WORD, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For WHEN HE SPOKE, THE WORLD BEGAN! It appeared at his command."

The Word of God Is The POWER That SAVES

James 1:21-25

"So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept THE WORD God has planted in your hearts, for it has THE POWER TO SAVE YOUR SOULS. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."

Romans 10:13-18

"For “Everyone who CALLS on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

• one needs to SOUND THE WORDS to CALL ON THE LORD! And who can sound those words? Only those who are humble and believe! Only those who know they need saving! 

But NOT everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and THE WORDS TO ALL THE WORLD.”

1 John 2:14 

"I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. GOD'S WORD LIVES IN YOUR HEARTS, and you have WON your battle with the evil one."

God Appointed Certain People What To Write Down

Isaiah 30:8 "Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness"

Exodus 34:27 "Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”

Deuteronomy 31:19 “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them."

Jeremiah 30:2 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah."

Ezekiel 24:2-3 “Son of man, write down today’s date, because on this very day the king of Babylon is beginning his attack against Jerusalem. Then give these rebels an illustration with this message from the Sovereign Lord: “Put a pot on the fire, and pour in some water."

Galatians 1:12 "I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."

Revelation 1:19 "Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen."

Revelation 21:5 "And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

Understanding Is Given Only To Those Who Truly Listen

HEARING VS LISTENING: Hearing is the passive, physical act of your ears perceiving sound waves, while listening is the active, mental process of focusing on, understanding, and interpreting those sounds, requiring effort and attention to grasp the message. 

The words "hear" and "listen" are interchanged in the Bible, but if you really LISTEN to what it says, you will be able to distinguish whether is applies to passiveness or action. 

Matthew 13:10-23

"His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who LISTEN to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are NOT LISTENING, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

“Now LISTEN to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:

The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.

The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.

The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Ezekiel 33:30-33

“Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’ So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it! But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.”

John 8:42-51

"Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

“No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”

Judged by The Word

Matthew 12:31-37

“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.

“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Acts 10:39-43

“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

• Revelation 11:16 "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords."

  
  

• Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable."