8
Geneva Bible Society and become a storehouse for the Scriptures whose vigour and freshness continue
undiminished down to the present day! Nor can it be otherwise, for we are dealing with the `Word of God which
liveth and abideth for ever' (1 Pet. 1:23).
(5)
It endures translation - When a book is translated into another language, something is bound to be lost, for
the simple reason that the words of one language do not always have exact equivalents in another. We wonder what
Shakespeare would be like in Chinese! The very thought is dreadful! Yet the Bible has been translated into over
500 languages, without losing any of its power and life-giving qualities. There is obviously something behind this
Book that other books have not got, and that something is nothing less than the almighty power of God the Holy
Spirit.
(6)
The witness of Archaeology - One of the greatest evidences of the inspiration of the Scriptures has been
furnished in the last seventy years or so by archaeology. What has been brought to light by the spade is positive
evidence. It can be said straight away that nothing has been unearthed which disproves one verse of Scripture.
Rather the opposite; the Word has been confirmed again and again and the theories of the critics routed. It used to
be stated by opponents of the Bible that Moses could not possibly have written the first five books because writing
was unknown in his day. Then came the discovery of the Tel-el-Armana tablets, now to be seen in the British
Museum, and these prove conclusively that writing was in use 100 years before Moses lived! This is a large subject
that cannot be dealt with properly in a work of this size, but to all who are interested we recommend the works of
the archaeologist, Sir Charles Marston, The Bible is True, and The Bible comes Alive. Both are published by Messrs.
Eyre & Spottiswoode.
(7)
The witness of Christ Himself - Here we come to the supreme point. What was the attitude of the Lord Jesus
Christ to the Scriptures? Let us quote His own words: `Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled' (Matt. 5:17,18). `The Scripture cannot be broken' (John 10:35).
`For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how
shall ye believe My words?' (John 5:46,47). To His opponents He said `Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures'
(Matt. 22:29). How up-to-date this is!
And after His resurrection, when He made the stupendous claim `All power is given unto Me in heaven and in
earth' (Matt. 28:18), He said to the eleven apostles: `All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of
Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might
understand the Scriptures' (Luke 24:44,45). These are not the words of One Who disbelieved the Scriptures, but
rather of One Who endorsed them up to the hilt. To defeat Satan in the wilderness temptation it was sufficient for
Him to quote three times `It is written' (Matt. 4:4,7,10). The Lord used the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word
of God (Eph. 6:17), and we may be certain that a broken or mutilated sword would have accomplished nothing with
so mighty a foe.
The Lord's constant attitude to the written Word was one of reverence and complete acceptance. This is clearly
seen if the reader will consult Matthew 4:4,7,10; 11:10; 19:4; 21:13,42; 22:29; 26:31,56. The Scriptures, in His
estimation, are divinely authoritative. His attitude then must be ours. We cannot call ourselves true believers in
Him if we adopt any attitude to the Word other than His. He said `Thy Word is Truth' (John 17:17) not merely that
it contains truth, but is the Truth and the source of all spiritual light and blessing. The Lord Jesus also said `The
Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son' (John 5:22). `He that rejecteth Me, and
receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day' (John 12:48). We wonder how the reader of these words reacts to their truth? Here is an interview and a
judgment in the future that no one can escape who rejects Christ. In view of this absolute certainty, do we feel quite
happy? If not, we should think well on these words of the Lord: `He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him
that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life' (John
5:24).
Surely one of these points would be sufficient to lift this Book above all books, but the testimony of the seven
put together is overwhelming to any reasonable mind. We can approach it therefore with the certainty that it is what
it claims to be, the very Word of God, and thus we have something eternally secure upon which to rest our faith. In
it we find nothing less than a revelation of the mind and will of God concerning His creation and the human race.