Articles
The Good Book
There are many reasons that justify calling the Bible “the good book.” For one thing, its very antiquity entitles it to this designation. Moses began writing it a little more than 1400 years before Christ. In the centuries that followed, other men wrote the messages that God inspired them to record. The volume was completed shortly before 100 A.D. while the apostle John was exiled on the isle of Patmos. This is the only book known to man that took more than 1500 years to compose.
In addition to its antiquity, the book’s subject matter compels us to call it good. It reveals how the world began, how mankind came into existence, and what our purpose is in life. It tells us about the beginning of sin and how the ever present problem can be cured. Consequently, it is always relevant in the lives of men and women in every age. When science books are published, they are accurate for only a brief period. Human knowledge advances so rapidly that what is believed by practically all reputable scientists in one generation is completely repudiated by the learned men of the next.
But this is not true of the Bible. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24: 35). Peter stated the same truth when he wrote about the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23) Critics have attacked the Bible through the centuries, and have done their best to destroy it. No book ever written has been subjected to such unrelenting attacks; yet it stands unscarred.
The influence of the Bible certainly entitles it to the designation. It has influenced the course of human history more than all the armies of all the kings in the world. It has had a greater impact upon the human race than any other book in history. In our own nation we can see evidence of what happens when people lose respect for the Bible. Crime increases, homes break apart, and morality in public and private life seems to decline. Paul describes the downward spiral of civilization when people refuse to acknowledge God (Romans 1: 21-32). The influence of the Bible is the only force that can keep people from falling into such an abyss.
The Bible can also be called good because of the things it reveals to us. First, it reveals God to man. Man can learn some things about the existence of God from observing the natural world, but he can learn about God’s attributes-knowledge, wisdom, truth, justice, mercy, etc. -- only from the Bible. All that man can really know about God insofar as it affects our relationship with Him is revealed in this “good book”.
Not only does the Bible reveal God to man, it also reveals man to himself. It shows him human nature, and helps him understand himself. For example, Psalm 8 answers the question, “What is man ?” A book that truthfully answers this all important question is certainly good.
Finally, the Bible is the good book because it shows men and women how to make their relationship with God right. No other book in the world has such information in it. Have you read a good book lately?
