PODCAST: Our God-Breathed Book, Part 2 (Reasons to Believe #179 with Daniel Whyte III)

Welcome to The Reasons to Believe podcast, episode #179. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International.

Our Reasons to Believe Scripture Passage for today is 2 Timothy 3:16. It reads, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Our Reasons to Believe quote for today is from Norman Geisler. He said, “The inerrancy of Scripture is the foundational doctrine in which all other doctrines rest, and the Psalmist rightly said, ‘If the foundation be destroyed, then what can the righteous do?’”

As I promised in our last episode, today we are taking a brief detour from “The Handbook of Christian Apologetics” by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli, which we were using as our guide for this podcast, since they were starting to say some things which I disagree with on the matter of scripture, its validity and interpretation, etc. For this topic, we will now use “Our God-breathed Book: The Bible – The Verbally Inspired, Eternal, Inerrant Word of God” by John R. Rice. Our Reasons to Believe powerpoint today comes from the Author’s Foreword, Part 2:

To get the viewpoint of a number of the best Bible-believing scholars, we wrote to some of them the following letter:

Dear Dr. ———-:

I am writing to you and about twelve other godly scholars concerning a matter of great interest to me and, I think, to you. Because of my faith in your devotion to Christ and the Bible, and my respect for your scholarship, I want your counsel.

I have been working for months on a book on the inspiration of the Bible. There are other good books on inspiration, but because of certain areas about the human sources and color in the Scriptures, some good men keep insisting on a “restudy” of inspiration. There is the seeming paradox that men wrote the Bible, and in it express their hopes and desires, their history, their testimonies, and yet the Bible insistently declares that God gave the very words of the Scripture. In a study of this matter there are thoughts that come to mind, on which I would be deeply grateful if you can counsel with me.

I. DID THE SCRIPTURES EXIST COMPLETELY IN THE MIND AND PLAN OF GOD BEFORE THEY WERE GIVEN FOR MEN TO WRITE DOWN?

1. Some Scriptures seem to teach so. Psalm 119:89 says, “For ever, O Lord, they word is settled in heaven.” Was all the Word of God, including the part yet unwritten, settled in Heaven when this Psalm was written?

On the same line, Psalm 119:152 says, “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.” I not the past tense. That seems to teach that they were founded before they were written down.

In Acts 15:18 we read, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” That is recorded as a statement of James, but I regard it as an inspired and authoritative statement. If so, does not that mean that all the Bible, in detail, was known unto God from the beginning of the world?

2. Consider the ceremonial law. The Tabernacle in the wilderness, and its furniture and appointments, were evidently copied after a heavenly tabernacle which Moses saw in Heaven. Hebrews 8:2 speaks of Christ as “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” And verse 5 says that earthly priests “…serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” Would that not mean then that all the ceremonial matters involved, and their spiritual meaning, were already planned out in every detail before the Scriptures were written down?

Lord willing, we will continue looking at this topic in our next episode.

—PRAYER—

Now, if you are listening today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time, my friend, please keep in mind these reasons to believe. God bless!