Fifty years ago, there was a popular song entitled, "Who Wrote the Book of Love," sung by (hard to believe, but true) The Monotones. Today, as a Christian of forty years, that song is a source of nostalgia, and the essential question one has to answer before accepting the Gospel. The Bible is the ultimate "Book of Love," and in order for a person to be saved, they must believe it is true. Hear me out. To be saved, one must believe and confess that Christ died, and that He was raised by God to be Lord of his or her life (Rom. 10:9-10). In order to believe in Him, one must hear what the Bible teaches about Him, for faith comes from hearing and believing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).
The word, "love" appears in all but twelve of the Bible's sixty-six books. It appears in four of the five books of The Pentateuch, the only exception being Numbers. Of the twenty-one books known as The Prophets, seven do not mention "love" (2 Kings, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai). And of The Writings, three do not (1 Chronicles, Ezra, Job). In the New Testament, only the Book of Acts does not mention "love." Fifty-four books in the Bible speak of "love."
God's love for mankind is the very heart of the Bible. Its most quoted of all verses declares the theme of the Book (Jn. 3:16). It begins by telling of the love of God that motivated man's creation (Gen. 1:26-28). The Bible's last chapter calls for all to come to the One who loves us: Jesus (Rev. 22:16-17). In between, there are sixty-four books that reveal the kind of love He has for His creation. It is a love that is unmerited, undeserved, and that is rejected by far more than those who accept it. It is the very essence of who God is (1 Jn. 4:16).
To the unbeliever, the Bible is just another book. They see it as no different than any other book, and although it is the oldest recorded history of man's beginnings, it is widely rejected as being authentic. Science seems to have made every effort to discredit it. Historians group it in with other early writings and call it myth. Governments have determined to destroy it, and yet, it has sold more copies than the next one hundred best selling books combined. It has sold over six billion copies, and has been printed in over two thousand languages. More than a third of the world's nearly seven billion people claim to believe its teachings about Christ. More people have given their lives for believing it, than for any other reason.
Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will attempt to "prove" the historicity and scientific accuracy of the Bible. Of course, I am fully aware that whatever requires faith to be believed cannot be proven. And I am also aware that anyone who would take the time to read what I have to say, probably owns their own copy of the Bible. Nevertheless, if what I write strengthens one or two who might be dealing with doubts, or if someone needs to share what I write with a skeptic, I praise the Lord. Please pray that the Holy Spirit moves such people to "stumble upon" my little "lighthouse of concern for travelers in danger on life's treacherous seas."
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