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As we have seen, the "intellectual elite" - humanists, atheists, evolutionists and philosophers—have their sundry theories on the origins and purpose of human life. But in their vanity, they have wholly dismissed - even rejected—the ultimate source of vital knowledge, the Holy Scriptures. Having never honestly proven the Bible, they reject it—convinced it is filled with myths, fairytales and fables from the minds of men. In arrogance they rebuff those who believe the Bible is actually the revealed Word of God—written by men under the inspiration of God.
Of all the writings and books men have composed throughout history, none can be compared to the Scriptures, 1 Only the Bible contains the revealed truth of God—and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18). Jesus said of the Word of God, “Your word is the truth” (John 17:17).
But what is the Bible really? It is God’s personal message to you, to me—to all of mankind! It alone reveals the purpose for human life!
God literally wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets with His finger (Ex. 31:18). But for the remainder of the Scriptures, God carefully chose men who loved and feared Him and inspired them through His Spirit to compose the Word of God. 2 The apostle Peter writes that the Scriptures are not humanly devised myths based on the imaginations of men: “For we did not follow cleverly concocted myths as our authority, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His magnificent glory…. We also possess the confirmed prophetic Word [the teachings of Christ] to which you do well to pay attention, as to a light shining in a dark place ... knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture originated as anyone’s own private interpretation; because prophecy was not brought at any time by human will, but the holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet. 1:16, 19-21).
The apostle Paul substantiates the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, when he wrote to Timothy: "And that from a child you have known the Holy Writings [Old Testament], which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture [Old and New Testaments] is God-breathed and his profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim 3:15-16).
In the Greek, “God-breathed” literally means “God-spirited.” Thus, each and every passage is “God-spirited.” This completely separates the Bible from all other writings! God inspired—spirited with His Holy Spirit—the words of the Scriptures. When faithfully translated into other languages, the spiritual meaning and power of the inspired original is carried over into the translated text. This is why Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that gives life…. The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63)— and “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ ” (Matt. 4:4). 3
Only the Scriptures reveal the awesome divine purpose for mankind’s existence. But, in His infinite wisdom, God has hidden this truth “in plain sight” right on the pages of the Bible. Why? Because most people do not want to follow God’s way of life; instead, they want to follow the ways of this evil world, with all of its materialistic pleasures. God has determined that He will reveal the incredible purpose for human life only to those who fear Him—who obey Him. The Scriptures themselves reveal the keys that unlock God's hidden purpose and plan for mankind. Thus, if we are to understand the purpose for human life, we must revere and submit to the Word of God—His personal revelation to mankind.
Have You Too Been Deceived?
Modern Christians profess a belief in God, and even acknowledge that He created all things. Research, however, shows that most so-called Christians largely pay lip-service to God; from a practical standpoint, they are indistinguishable from non-Christians. 4
Most Christians entertain vague ideas of one day “going to heaven.” They are blinded, deceived, as to the true destiny of mankind. Why? Because they have no real regard for the teachings of the Bible (Isa. 5:24). Notice what Isaiah writes: “Be stunned and amazed! Blind your eyes and be blind! They [today’s so-called Christians] are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink, for the LORD has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes; He has covered the prophets [your teachers and pastors] and your rulers, and the seers. And the vision of all has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one who is learned [the so-called Bible scholar] saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ And the book is delivered to him who is not learned [the ordinary man or woman], saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I am not learned.’
“And the LORD said, ‘Because this people [today’s “Christian” churchgoer] draws near Me with their mouth, and with their lips honor Me [they say all the right-sounding things], but their worship of Me is made up of the traditions of men learned by rote, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do again a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the wisdom of their intelligent ones shall vanish’ ” (Isa. 29:9-14).
What a resounding indictment on modern Christianity—with its manmade traditions and its obsession with worldliness. Referencing Isaiah, Jesus said, “Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.’ For leaving the commandment of God, you hold fast the tradition of men” (Mark 7:5-8).
Spiritual blindness is the result of a false “conversion”—by a false “Christianity” based on human tradition and the near total disregard for the laws and commandments of God. When was the last time you heard a Sunday morning sermon on overcoming sin, on obeying God in every area of our lives, on being totally different from the world? You won’t hear such a message in mainstream Christianity—because it doesn’t fill pews and it won’t pay the pastor’s salary! What you will hear is a feel-good “Gospel” proclaiming that “Jesus has already done it all for you.”
Your Bible teaches that true understanding comes only to those who obey God. The way to overcome spiritual blindness is to return to God by seeking Him in repentance. And we have to come to God on His terms! “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (Isa. 55:6-9).
How do we return to God? First, we must repent of our sins, which are the transgressions of God’s Law (I John 3:4). Second, we begin to keep the commandments of God (I John 2:3-6). Third, we begin to love God, as the apostle John writes: "For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:3). Jesus also said, “If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments” (John 14:15).
When we love and fear God, He will grant us spiritual understanding: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do [keep or practice] His commandments” (Psa.111:10). Again, God tells us that by loving and fearing Him, we will be blessed with wisdom and understanding: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Prov. 9:10).
Those who truly fear God—who draw close to Him in loving obedience—will be given the knowledge of his plan for mankind. Notice: “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant [which reveals God’s plan and purpose for mankind]” (Psa. 25:14). And again, “For the crooked man is an abomination to the LORD, but His secret is with the righteous” (Prov.3:32).
You Can Understand!
After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He opened the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures: “And He said to them, ‘These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…” (Luke 24:44-45). Again as David wrote, “Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law” (Psa. 119:18).
God is most willing to open your eyes to the truth of His word—the truth of why He created humankind! But you have your part, and obedience is the key. Righteousness is the keeping of God’s commandments (Psa. 119:172), starting with the Ten Commandments, which are easy to understand (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21). God’s laws and commandments are living principles that you will come to fully understand only by keeping them. You will learn that God’s commandments are based on love—toward God and toward neighbor (Matt. 22:36-40).
With this as your foundation, God will begin to lift the spiritual blindness that plagues so many professing Christians today. He will open your mind to comprehend the Word of God.
While many passages in the Bible are easy to understand, others are admittedly difficult. But God has given us definite keys to discover and understand the secrets hidden in His word. As you progress through this book, keep these vital principles in mind:
First, realize that key passages concerning the hidden things of God are not all written in one place. Rather, they are scattered “here a little, there a little” throughout the entire Bible. It is our job to search them out as we “examine the Scriptures” (Acts 17:11). Isaiah writes: “Whom shall He [God] teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Those who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts…” (Isa. 28:9). This means God will impart understanding only to those grounded in the fundamental things of the Word of God—no longer needing the milk of the word only (I Pet. 2:2-4). Isaiah continues, showing how God has inspired the hidden things of His word to be written: "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little" (verse 10). This is how God has hidden His secrets - even the deep things of God - in various places throughout the Bible. Indeed, we must “search the Scriptures” to find these truths.
Searching the Bible—bringing relevant passages together—is what Paul called “rightly dividing” the Word of God. He admonished Timothy: “Give careful consideration to the things that I am telling you, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things…. Diligently study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of the truth” (II Tim. 2:7, 15). As we gather the various relevant passages together, we will begin to comprehend the full meaning of what God has purposed for the human family.
Paul brings out another vital factor in our righteous use of the Scriptures. He explains that the Word of God and the Spirit of God work hand-in hand - because the words of God are "spirit and life". This means that without the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you cannot understand the deeper things of God. “Now we speak wisdom among the spiritually mature [those who submit to God in loving obedience]; however, it is not the [intellectual] wisdom of this [secular] world, nor of the rulers [or scholars] of this world, who are coming to nothing. Rather, we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom that God foreordained before the ages unto our glory, which not one of the rulers [or intellectuals] of this world has known (for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory);
“But according as it is written, ‘The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things—even the deep things of God. For who among men understands the things of man except by the spirit of man which is in him? In the same way also, the things of God no one understands except by the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world [with its human wisdom], but the Spirit that is of God, so that we might know the things graciously given to us by God; which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit in order to communicate spiritual things by spiritual means. But the natural man [with an unconverted mind] does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:6-14).
In the following chapters we will apply these principles of “searching out” and “rightly dividing” the Word of God. As we do so, we will begin to understand God’s incredible purpose for creating mankind!
Chapter 2 Notes:
1. The Bible remains the all-time number-one-selling book—and there are more Bibles available today than ever. Since the first printing of the Bible in 1450 AD, nearly seven billion Bibles have been published, with the majority of them still available for use.
The complete Bible has been translated into over 450 languages; the New Testament alone has been translated into nearly 1,500 languages and the Gospel of Mark into over 2,000 languages. Today, the Bible, in whole or in part, is available on the Internet from hundreds of Web sites. This makes it downloadable to any digital device anywhere in the world—24/7. With digital devices already numbering in the billions, access to the Bible is virtually unlimited. This universal availability of the Scriptures is no doubt a key element in reaching the entire world with the Gospel (Mark 13:10; Matt. 24:14; Acts 1:8).
2. Over a period of some 4,000 years, God used only 40 men to write the entire Bible. For the Old Testament, originally written in Hebrew, God used Moses, the prophets, and some of the ancient kings of Israel. For the New Testament, originally written in koine Greek, He used only eight men—all chosen and taught by Christ.
3. The Word of God is active and living at all times, because it has the power of God’s Spirit behind it. Paul notes: “For the Word of God is living and powerdul, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of both soul and spirit, and of both the joints and the marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart “ (Heb. 4:12). No other book in the world can do this!
God's word works hand-in-hand with His laws - which are as inexorable as the “law of gravity.” Thus, when we love and obey God, as written in His word, blessings automatically result. But when we reject God and His word - and break His laws, which is sin - the automatic results are judgments and curses.
4. Please refer to our booklet Why Is Christianity Failing in America?
