January 06 Describe the genuineness of the bible and explain why we can rely on it for guidance in faith and in practice.

Describe the genuineness of the bible and explain why we can rely on it for guidance in faith and in practice. The Bible is all about God and His will for creation. It is a book written by about 40 authors at different intervals where God reveal Himself and also give information about Himself. It comprises of two books- Old and New Testament; however the Old Testament has 39 Books while the New Testament has 27 Books. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible portrays old and new Testimonies about God showing how Christ is God in flesh among His people using progressive revelation. The progressive revelation built upon earlier prophecies in the Old Testament and a lot of it relates to the birth, life, miracles, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. These validates Jesus claim that indeed, He was the promised Christ as professed by the Bible. Furthermore, the genuineness of the Bible and why we can rely on it for guidance in faith and practice is further strengthened in Isaiah 53. Here we are able to see Jesus as the true Messiah from the accounts and prophecies that had been recorded in relation to Him. It also answers the question why the Jews were looking for a Messiah in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the Bible helped to ascertain salvation in Christ Jesus Himself and on the other hand our beliefs is assured on the basis of how the Old Testament describes the sacrificial system given to the people of Israel to temporary cover their sins as against that which is permanent in Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 9:22, the reliance of our faith on the genuineness of the Bible is further heightened. This is because the bounds of the covenants were illustrated. It remained one of the reasons that necessitated Christ death because it is necessary for blood to be shed so that we can all be made whole once again, through the redemption of our sins. In the Bible, we see the Revelation of the same righteous God, who condemns sin but also have the desire to bring to Himself a fallen human race through forgiveness and also through Christ’s atoning sacrifice. In parts, we discover in both Testaments that the knowledge of the Scripture accepts our attitude towards the present and also the future. This means the more we know about what God has done in years past through the Old Testament, the greater the confidence we have about what He would do in the days ahead, through the coming of our Lord in the New Testament. Hence, we can describe the Bible as a channel whereby people are taught, correct and also led to the way of God. It reveals the life of creations and also ends time judgement without leaving the beauty of heaven which has direct influence on our disposition in the society today (1 Corinthians 2:13) As Christians, we can rely on the Bible’s guide for guidance in faith and practice because of its sufficiency. This is because we are able to relate with God instructions on some particular topic and answers are also given to those questions that may be unclear to us. One must mention that there is no means of man adding to the words of God but rather God can add more to those words He had already spoken. These assurances show how authoritative the Bible is, it is a final authority and there is no higher authority because the messages it delivers are honest and very clear. (Romans 10) It is however clear, that these messages are divinely given by inspiration and or revelation through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. This attributes confirms God as the author of the Bible and it is very reliable in all its Testimonies which today, has proved to be pinnacles that Christians rely on in practice and in faith. In Hebrews 11, today’s Christians are taught how living by faith pleases God. There were holy men of God who believed vehemently in the words of God, as a result, they did things by faith, lived by faith and also spoke with faith. In obedience to the words of God, these men of God did some crazy things. Noah carried out the instructions of the Lord to the letter. Without seeing God physically, he believed on God’s revelation to him that he should build an Ark that would save some of His creation from destruction, as He was about to destroy the world with water. The message also encouraged Noah to evangelize the truth about this impending doom so that people can change their ways and come to God. So also Abraham, he abandoned the comfort of his home to follow that which the Lord had shown him through revelation, that he should leave his immediate family and go to a land that he would show him. The Bible also made us to think about Abraham telling people that Sarah, his wife would have a baby after 100 years. So also, our faith in the Bible is further strengthened by the way David told the entire army about how he was going to slay Goliath- a 9 foot giant. Overall, the teachings depict the facts that as Christians we have to let go our lives completely to God by only acting according to His dictates. It reinforces the idea that in obeying the words of God, we must be able to take risk. We are also discouraged from putting time on the time that His Will should be carried out in our day to day activities. These issues were also clarified by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Book of Mark 11:23 (“ whoever says unto the mountain be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart but believes those things which He says shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he says” ). This was addressed by Christ Himself in Mark 11: 12-14. This is a great story where Jesus applied faith in cursing a tree and nothing happened until the next day. The next day, Peter notices the tree has died from the roots. The Bible message is however clear. We are taught to “have the faith of God” and not faith of man. This is because; man’s faith lies in his own strength and mind while God’s faith lies in the Word that comes out of His mouth which is revealed through inspiration in the Bible. Hence, the Bible is genuine and can be relied upon for guidance in our faith and practice owing to the challenges that face all Christians today which can sway them away from the directions of the Lord. Therefore, we can rely on the Bible because we are encouraged as Christians to turn any challenge into land of opportunities through our faith. Faith pleases God and only faith can show Him how much we believe in Him and His Word. As Christians however, we are therefore guided by the Bible to speak by faith, act with faith (James 5:15), live with faith (Hebrews 11:6; Habakkuk 2:4) and walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) and above all that we are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8). Conclusively, the whole essence of Christianity is borne out of the fact that God created us in Christ Jesus for good works that we should work in faith and through this, Christ Jesus which was once far off had been brought near to us by the blood of Christ that He shed for us through the same faith. Consequently, he created a new man in us by making peace as a result, between us and the Lord through the cross that finally laid the enemy to death. Hence, our faith and practice as Christians cannot be explained without genuinely accepting the authenticity of the Bible. The Bible is inspired and from Genesis to Revelation, God divinely influenced the human authors of the Scriptures in such a way that what they wrote was the very word of God. By and by, the Bible stands out among all other books and the Bible confirms this in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 2: 12-13. Therefore, we can conclude that because the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, the Bible is inerrant and authoritative and act as a correct view of God which ultimately, will lead us to a correct view of His word in faith and practice. This is because we now see God as all knowing, all- powerful and also completely perfect. His instructions through His Word is assumed through faith to carry the same characteristics and therefore when people rely on them, there is that belief that we can be called adopted sons and daughters of the Lord who carry out His injunctions as Christ Himself has taught us. The Bible is so genuine that immensely, we can rely on it for guidance for our faith and practice. BIBLIOGRAPHY HOLY BIBLE KING -JAMES VERSION WAS JESUS GOD- RICHARD SWINBURNE THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE- KEVIN J CONNER Http://testimony-times.blogspot.co.uk http://timetoreachmyheart.blogspot.co.uk Just Checking into His Presence...