from WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES

by F.G. Smith

(permission given by Faith Publishing House)

 The special design of this work, indicated by the title, does not necessitate an inquiry into the fact of revelation itself, but the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures is accepted presumptively as the everlasting basis of all doctrinal truth. But since the subjects considered are of such vast importance, involving the deepest and holiest interests of the human race, here and hereafter, it is fitting that we should at the outset consider briefly the character of those Scriptures to which we appeal as to the court of last resort.

The truth of the Bible is determined by its nature; while its authority is dependent altogether upon its source. The more carefully and reverentially we study the sacred Scriptures, the more deeply are we impressed with the fact that they have proceeded from one source. True, the Bible consists of many books penned by various writers during a period of fifteen hundred years, but there exists throughout a grand unity and harmony that suggests the idea of divine inspiration. The writers themselves did not claim to be the authors of the messages they delivered; but, as the apostle Peter affirms, they "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1: 21). Their writings encompass a variety of subjects the origin of things, war, prophecy, biography, law and government, moral philosophy, ethics, theology and poetry; still there exists a remarkable harmony of sentiment and teaching such as can be found in no other collection of books on the earth. Thousands of able scholars have written on all of these subjects; but if the best of such works, by a score of different authors, were brought together in one volume, what an assemblage of perversions and contradictions we would have!

While visiting the splendid cathedral at Milan, Italy, I was deeply impressed with the marvelous perfection of its architectural design and the beauty of its execution. Standing on the roof, in the midst of a forest of glistening marble spires, bearing hundreds of elegantly carved statues, I was made to realize what wonders can be accomplished by men who work in accordance with a fixed plan. This structure was begun in A. D. 1886 more than five hundred years ago-and it is still incomplete; thousands of workmen have been employed in its construction; and its grandeur has excited the admiration of the world. Could I believe that this was the result of mere accident or chance? Impossible! To behold it is to be convinced, without being told, that one mind planned it all.

We witness the performance of an orchestra. The strains and melodies delight us; the modulations and the variations draw out the finer feelings of the soul; and our enjoyment is supreme when the low, soft minor movement turns into the major and ends in one grand, sweeping majestic climax. But we know that this is the product of the creative genius of a single composer, while the beauty of its execution depends upon the ability of the director and the skill of those assigned to the different parts.

So with God's Word. Viewed as a unified structure, it is the most perfect and magnificent that has ever been reared, thus showing the hand of the one divine Master Builder. As music, it is the grandest that has ever fallen upon human ears. It forms the cradle lullaby of innocent childhood, bursts forth spontaneously in the happiness of youth, or modulates into a minor movement in seasons of affliction and sorrow. Music for the young and for the old, for the free and for the care-worn; for the strong and for the dying. God the composer; his Spirit the director of the orchestra.

The revelation that the Scripture makes of the one true and living God testifies as to its source. While the idea of a Supreme Being is universal, his nature, and his relations with men, are necessarily subjects of revelation. The history of all heathenism fails to disclose in one single instance the conception of a pure, holy God, kindly disposed toward the human race. On the other hand, the mythologies of all such nations abound with the most shocking and disgusting details of the actions of the gods whom they worshiped. The history of the Hebrew people given in the Bible shows that they, like other nations, were prone to evil of the deepest and blackest type. Whence, then, did they derive the idea of a God of holiness, a God who was opposed to all of their evils, and yet gracious and full of mercy? When even Athens was devoting thousands of her choicest women to the lustful service of Venus; when Corinth, according to Strabo, had one thousand sacred prostitutes in one temple, who, I ask, taught the Israelites the principle of holiness and gave them such exalted moral conceptions of God?

The special messengers of God by whom the Bible was written were given the power of performing miracles, by which their inspiration was attested and their messages made authoritative; but the "more sure word of PROPHECY" (2 Pet. 1: 19) furnishes the greatest external proof of its inspiration. To this more than to anything else Christ and the apostle: made their constant appeal. Matthew, narrating the deeds of the Savior, gives us the standing phrase, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet"; while Peter affirms, in words unmistakable, that the "holy men of God. spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21). From these facts Paul adduces his conclusion relative to the authority of the Bible, in these words: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 8: 16).

Christianity is the only religion that has ever dared to base itself on prophecy, contented to stand or fall with its exact fulfillment. It is true that some heathen nations had oracles which they sometimes consulted in regard to the future, but the utterances of these oracles were so ambiguous and uncertain, so easily convicted of downright hypocrisy and deceit, that they are not worthy of comparison with the sublime prophecies of the Bible. Their construction was made to agree with whichever turn events might take. To illustrate: When Constantine was marching toward Rome, leading his victorious army, Maxentius, who was in command of the Eternal City, consulted the sibylline books as to the result of the impending conflict. He received this certain answer: "On that day the enemy of Rome will perish." Assured by this statement, Maxentius led his forces out to the conflict on the banks of the Tiber, but he was completely overwhelmed and in attempting to flee back into the city was crowded off the Milvian bridge into the river and drowned by the weight of his own armor. But this result did not invalidate the ambiguous oracle; for whichever way the event turned, it could be claimed that the enemy of Rome had perished. So also when Croesus, king of the Lydians, consulted the Delphian oracle as to whether he should proceed in war against Cyrus, king of Persia, he received the encouraging response, "You will destroy a great empire"; he did, but it was his own.

I can not, in the space at my disposal, refer to the thousand examples of prophetic utterances recorded in the Bible, but even an infidel can see at least many of them are not ambiguous or uncertain sayings. So many details are given that the predictions are forever removed from the category of mere human guess-work. One man has said that it requires no divine foresight to predict that a certain person will die; but if you add to this announcement the statement that his death will be occasioned by a certain disease and will take place on a particular day, this combination of circumstances removes it entirely from the scope of human foresight. Now, the prophecy of Daniel recorded in chap. 8:1-12 contains at least fifteen points of exact identification with the subsequent historical facts which it portrays. When Elijah stood before King Ahab and announced the destruction of his entire household and declared, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel," there was nothing ambiguous in his prediction.

The marvelous prophecy which Christ made concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the ruin and dispersal of the Jews has been fulfilled with such unquestionable exactness that the boldest infidels dare not deny the agreement; consequently they are forced to shift to the ridiculous and unproved position that these words were not spoken by Christ, but were written by some one after the events themselves occurred. How strange that Porphry and Celsus, those early opponents of the Christian religion, did not think to employ this ingenious device in order to break the power of the words of Christ! But perhaps the events themselves were not far enough removed from the knowledge of the people to allow such a wretched perversion of the facts.

The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah describes Christ's crucifixion and atonement work with such accuracy of detail that the inspiration of the prophet is assured. As there was no possibility of showing that this was written after the crucifixion occurred, Bolingbroke went to the absurd extreme of claiming that Christ, having read this saying of Isaiah's, brought on his own crucifixion in order to strengthen his cause by giving his disciples an appeal to the supposed prophecy! One would think that Bolingbroke would have known that deceivers and hypocrites are not quite so anxious to die. Even these infidels themselves are well contented to rest in the shadow of our meeting-houses, and never trust their precious heads among the cannibals where the consecrated missionaries go!

The internal proofs of the divine authorship of the Bible are many, but I shall refer only to a few.

Its moral beauty is everywhere evident. While it describes the lowest forms of sin in the plainest language, still they are named only to be condemned. No unprejudiced person can read the sacred pages without realizing that the Book stands for all that is good in man, and is forever opposed to all that is evil. It pronounces the last word on moral character. So keenly is this felt that at the present day the leaders of heathen religions are attempting to adjust their moral standards to those of Christianity. This book, coming from heaven, has given the correct standard, and this is all summed up in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who "spake as never man spake." The mind of man has never conceived anything so noble, so elevating, so inspiring, so grand, as that one sermon on the mount. Search through all the religions of the ages, glean out every choice moral precept and delineation of human character and conduct, place the findings together in one collection, and they will bear a most wretched comparison with the divine beauty and the infinite wisdom here expressed by the Christ of the Bible. Here is given the spiritual essence of the law and the prophets. Here truth is pressed homeward to the human soul, and character and conduct are defined by the secret springs and motives of the heart. Here all pride, hypocrisy, and self-seeking stand condemned; while all the finer virtues of which the soul is capable find free expression and infinite encouragement in the incomparable Beatitudes. Here a restraining influence is brought to bear upon wicked men by the solemn assertion of a future state of punishment in hell; while the righteous are assured of a great reward in heaven.

Another beautiful feature of God's Word is its simplicity. While it contains the choicest wisdom of the ages, still it meets the wants and requirements of the unlearned and illiterate. "The wayfaring men though fools shall not err therein." The way of salvation, though straight and narrow, is not hidden, and there is nothing to hinder any seeking soul from coming in contact with its Maker. Blessed thought!

But one of the clearest proofs that the Bible is the word of God is the fact that it now transforms human character and accomplishes the regeneration of society. The promises of salvation and deliverance contained in its pages are, in millions of instances, proved to be a living reality. The words of men have never accomplished such results as these. Aristotle wrote on the "Principles of Ethics," but who has ever heard of his works' transforming the nature of a single man from sin to holiness? Thomas Paine wrote the book "Age of Reason"; has it ever been known to reclaim a man from drunkenness and debauchery, as does the holy Book which it so vilely derides? BUT THIS BOOK IS THE BOOK OF GOD. It bears on its face the stamp of divine inspiration and performs the work o f God in the world. Millions of redeemed men and women have given their lives in its defense, and today it is loved and reverenced by the worthy ones of earth. It is the inspiration of the world's best literature, which in countless thousands of volumes have radiated from it, as the common center of everything that is lofty, upright, and good.

Furthermore, it claims divine inspiration. "Hear the word of the Lord," cries Isaiah. "Give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken" (chap. 1: 10, 2). "The Lord said unto me," are the words of Jeremiah (chap. 1: 7). And we read that "the word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel" (chap. 1:8). Jesus says concerning Moses, "He wrote of me" (John 5:46). And again, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:89). "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:81). "In the volume of the book it is written of me" (Heb. 10: 7). "A more sure word of prophecy" (2 Pet. 1: 19). "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet.1:21) .

The apostles themselves were specially inspired by the Spirit, for Jesus said to them, "Take no thought how or what ye shall speak . . . . for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you" (Matt. 10: 19, 20). Paul commended the Thessalonian brethren because they received his preaching, "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word o f God" (1 Thess. 2: 18) ; and to the Corinthians he said, "The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (1 Cor. 14: 87). Peter refers to the epistles of

Paul and classes them with "the other Scriptures" (2 Pet. 8: 15, 16). Paul declares that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine" (2 Tim. 8: 16).

The Bible emerges from every legitimate test, external and internal, with glories undimmed, and bearing every evidence that it is indeed the word of God. And since it is clearly proved to be the divine Word, its absolute authority is forever settled.

O precious Bible! burning words from heaven,

We'll ever cherish thee in our heart.

Sweet is the counsel by thy pages given;

On life's dark ocean, our only chart.

O precious volume! only in thy pages

We read the duty of all our race;

Only thy sunbeams, shining through the ages,

Reveal the wonders of saving grace.

The sweet words of Jesus that our lips were taught to frame in childhood's early morning shall cling to us forever. In the darkest hours of trial and affliction they furnish an unfailing light that leads to the brightness of a better day. When the pathway of life is pleasantest and happiest, our raptured spirits find joyous expression in thankful praise in the language of the living Word. And when the darkness of the long night gathers around us and we are about to begin our untried journey to the future land-bring us the Bible, blessed Bible! It alone can give us the clear light of immortality. "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 28: l2).

"Forever, 0 Lord, thy word is settled in heaven."

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