This week’s devotions are based on the Week 6 “Explore God” – Is the Bible Reliable? (WATCH HERE)
Almost every online store has some sort of rating system. If you sell things on Facebook Marketplace, you as a seller are rated. One of the things that factors into the ratings is if the product description is accurate. If you say something works, it has to work. If not, people will not trust you to be honest in your listing.
If you buy something on Amazon, you will look at the reviews and determine if the product you are looking at does what it is supposed to and whether it will last, or has durability.
When we invest in something, we want to make sure it works. If it doesn’t work, we are not going to spend our time or money on it.
So what about the Bible? Does it work?
Perhaps it may be hard to define what it means if the “Bible works”? But a place to start is to see what the Bible claims it is supposed to do.
Here are three Scriptures which give us indication of what the Bible is supposed to do:
- Create faith:
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
- Give salvation:
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
- Guide life:
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
If these are three claims of the Bible, then I would expect to find evidence that the Word of God actually does these things. Here’s an example of each:
- At Pentecost, the message of Jesus changed the hearts of 3000 people!
Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
- John is given a glimpse of all those that are in heaven because of faith in the message of Jesus…the Gospel
Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
- And is there blessing for life by being in the word of God?
Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
And then there is your experience. It’s the Word that has brought you to faith. It is the Word that has given you the certain hope of heaven through the Gospel and it is the Word that brings blessing to you as you put its truth into practice in your life.
Is it reliable? It works. If it works, it is reliable.
Apply: What impact have you realized from the time you have spent with the Word of God?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Word which is powerful and effective, to bring me to faith, guide me in life, and promise me eternal life with you. AMEN.