Evangelist R.A. Torrey (1856-1928) was converted to Christianity from Agnosticism. The following ten reasons summarize the reasons that he was convinced that the Bible was truly God’s word.
Torrey writes: “I was brought up to believe that the Bible was the Word of God. But later in life I found myself face to face with the question, ‘Why do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?’ I had no satisfactory answer. So I sought help from God and from books. After much painful study and thought, I came out of the darkness of skepticism into the broad daylight of faith and certainty that the Bible from beginning to end is God’s Word. The following points are largely the outcome of that experience of conflict and final victory.”
Many accept the authority of Christ but do not accept that of the Bible as a whole. But in Luke 24:44 Jesus said, “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and the psalms.”
Christ endorsed the New Testament in John 14:26, “The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Not only was the teaching of the apostles fully inspired, but so was their recollection of what Christ Himself taught. If we accept the authority of Christ, we must accept the divine authority of the Bible.
Look at the prophecies of Isaiah 53, Micah 5:2 and Daniel 9:25-27, written hundreds of years before the Messiah came. They are explicit statements as to the manner and place of His birth, life and death. When made, these prophecies were exceedingly improbable and seemingly impossible of fulfillment, but they were fulfilled to the very minutest detail of manner and place and time. How are we to account for it? Man could not have foreseen these improbable events- they lay hundreds of years ahead- but God could, and it is God who spoke through these men.
The Bible consists of 66 books, written by more than 30 different men, extending in the period of its composition over more than 1,500 years; written in three languages, in many countries and by men on every plane of social life; written under all sorts of circumstances. Yet in this wonderful conglomeration we find an absolute unity of thought.
Some compare the teachings of the Bible with the teachings of Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius and a number of others. The difference between the Bible and other teachings is that the Bible contains nothing but truth, while all the others have truth mixed with error. It is true that Socrates taught how a philosopher ought to die; he also taught how a prostitute ought to conduct her business. Jewels there are in the teaching of these men, but as Joseph Cook once said, they are “jewels picked out of the mud.”
Adapted from “Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible is God’s Word.” By R. A. Torrey
…To be continued next week…
The difference between the Bible and other teachings is that the Bible contains nothing but truth, while all the others have truth mixed with error.