be His attitude. He said "I am the truth", so how could He mislead us over this? If He

misled us in this matter He cannot be the truth--but this is impossible. He has set His

seal upon the O.T. as being the Word of God, and what is true of the O.T. is surely true of

the N.T. because they are interwoven. All evidence, then, shows that this book is what it

claims to be--the very Word of God.

Now we are going to suggest to the reader that we search it together. This is surely

the greatest of all quests--the search for truth. It may take trouble, it may take time, but

surely it is worth it! Meanwhile may God give us His aid so that we may make great

discoveries for ourselves as we read the Book which He calls His Word, and have the

abiding assurance and peace that will surely follow.

In our last study together we were speaking about the Bible and were considering

what a marvelous and unique Book this is. It has all sorts of features that lift it right out

of the ordinary, and when we ponder them carefully and without any bias, we surely must

come to the conclusion that it is what it claims to be--the very Word of God. And if it is

the Word of God, then surely it is a sure basis for our trust, for our faith, for our hope.

We have in it a sure foundation that we can rely on, and instead of looking around us for

any sort of human source to place our faith upon, how much better to rest it on a Divine

Now the next point we must consider is this: what did Christ come for? What need

was there for the Lord Jesus Christ to ever come to this earth? Again, we are not going to

pass on our opinions, or the opinions of anybody else; we bring before you what He

Himself said was the purpose of His coming: "The Son of Man is come to seek and to

save that which was lost" (Luke 19: 10). "I am come, a light into the world, that

whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness". "I came, not to judge the

world, but to save the world" (John 12: 16, 17). Now if we think on these words, surely

we can understand what the Lord meant! Christ came to dispel darkness and doubt and

to give light; He came, not to condemn but to save. In another statement He said: "They

that are whole", that means healthy, "need not a physician"; they do not need a doctor.

You never go to the doctor when you are healthy or well, do you? But the Lord goes on

to say "they that are sick". "I came", here is the expressed purpose, "not to call the

righteous but sinners to repentance". So there is a sickness that men and women are

suffering from; it is a terrible disease which is universal, that of sin and death. Some

may not agree but at least they will have to acknowledge that death is universal. There is

no one that is born into this world but that will have to face death and it makes no

difference as regards rich or poor, high or low, this one event happens to all. Why did

death come? Death is not a friend; it is an enemy, and the Bible says it is "the last

enemy", and therefore it cannot spring from anything good; it can only come from

something that is evil. God said to the first human beings, Adam and Eve: "In the day