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“The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me! I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E!”

I have many fond memories of singing that children’s song in Sunday School, both as a small child and as a teenager helping in my mom’s kindergarten class. As a small child, I didn’t really understand the lyrics - especially that stand alone part - but it was still a cool song because you got to stand up when you said that phrase!

Thinking back to that song now that I’m an adult, those words really are powerful. I place my faith on this book alone - this book that was written many centuries ago, and penned by ordinary humans - over 40 of them actually! Some of the books within the Bible are as old as 1450 B.C., while the newer ones are dated to the 1st century A.D. It is made up of a total of 66 individual books - 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Despite this span of time and variety of books and authors, it is still one cohesive work. The Bible is considered to be the most best-selling book in the entire world, although in many countries a person can be arrested or worse simply for owning it. It has been translated into 2,018 different languages.

Those facts are pretty impressive, but what else makes this book so special?

The best answer I have to this question is found within the Bible itself. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Let’s pick that passage apart a bit. First of all, it is “God-breathed.” That means that the words are truly inspired by God. Yes, human hands physically wrote them down, but God gave them direction and inspiration as to what to write. Second, it is useful for many things - teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training. Why? So that the servant of God may be equipped. The Bible equips us, as God’s servants, to do the work that He has prepared for us to do.

Compared to other ancient writings from similar time period, the Bible has the most archaeological evidence. Even though we do not have the original autographs of the Scriptures, we have at least portions of many early copies. Many modern archaeologists have made discoveries that confirm what the Bible says. Not only that, there is no other book in recorded history that contains so many prophecies that were fulfilled.

But, the best part about the Bible is that through it, we can come to know the Creator of the entire universe, and to receive salvation from Jesus, the Redeemer of all humankind! I have never read another book that is so powerful and life-changing, because it is not simply words on a page when the God’s Spirit dwells in the one reading it. The Bible is my primary authority by which I base my decisions in life, and next week we will discuss that aspect in more depth.

The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me!