What Do You Believe About the Bible?...Continued from page 6

Marvin A. McMickle

The fourth reason why I love and trust the Bible has to do not with its length, or breadth, or depth; but with its height. I love the Bible because of what I believe to be its authorship. The Bible was not written like any other book ever written. Hear Paul remind us once again that "all scripture is inspired" or God-breathed (II Timothy 3: 16). The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God was at work in the lives of the men whose hands wrote as their hearts and souls were moved. II Peter reminds us Scripture was written by holy men who wrote as God moved within them The Bible is the "inspired" word of God. People did not think up what is in this book; people were the conduits and messengers through which God sent his will into our world. The Bible really is the Word of God, not because its contents are about God, but because its authorship is from God.

I trust the Bible because of Whose Word this is; the Word of God. I may listen to the opinions of others, but I will never place those opinions above the teachings of this book. Some people are anxious to find out what Dr. Phil has to say about something, and even more live and die based upon what Oprah says. I personally do not care what either one of them says about anything. I don't watch either of their shows and I do not wait to hear what they think before I make up my mind. But I want to know what God thinks. I want to know what Jesus said. I want to know what the Bible teaches. I want to conform my life to the lessons of this book. I am willing to say "Not my will but thy will be done" when I read this book, because this book is about the will of the eternal and everlasting God.

I cannot speak for anybody else, but I have found the answer for the questions in my life. I have found a rock strong enough to bear my burdens. I have found a light bright enough to illumine my pathway. I have found a friend who will stick closer than any brother. I have found a book that will always be helpful as I journey through this world. I did not find it in Shakespeare or Cervantes. I did not find it in Dante or Chaucer or Homer.

I found it in a book that has stood for over 3500 years. I found it in the book that is known and loved and read in every language under the sun. I found it in the book whose teachings, if they are taken seriously, can address and resolve every problem we confront in life. Finally, I will found my answers and my inspiration in the book that is the revealed and written word of God that will be eternally true. Heaven and earth may pass away, but the word of our God shall stand forever!

Sorry Professor Bloom, but "On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand."

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Marvin A. McMickle is Senior Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Notes.
1. A Life in Books, Newsweek, March 12, 2007, p. 15.
2. Ibid, p. 15.

Original publication date: April 1, 2007