The Bible is the best-selling book in the world, but it is not just a book; it is the Word of God. God knows everything about everything. We cannot have a correct worldview without knowing what God tells us about its history and why He created this Cosmos.
In this short video, Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis provides useful background on the Bible and its importance to living in God’s world.
Sarah Holliday, reporter at The Washington Stand looks at possible reasons why in a country that has been increasingly turning away from God and His values.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that “Bible sales are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same period last year.” According to the outlet, there are several potential factors for why this is the case. Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, believes “people are experiencing anxiety … related to artificial intelligence [and] election cycles.” All of which “feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be okay.” Maybe Crosby is right. People want to know they’re going to be okay, and so they’re turning to the Bible.
Others have speculated that the rise in Bible sales can be attributed to influencers on social media. Cely Vazquez, whom WSJ described as an artist and influencer, has used her platform to share that she “recently bought her first Bible.” Likewise, the outlet highlighted Amber Cimiotti, another social media figure who thinks podcasters and TikTokers play a major role in the growing number of people buying Bibles.
WSJ also noted how several publishing houses found the customers largely responsible for the surge in Bible sales were members of Gen Z, college students, and younger people alike. And it’s not just religious publishers seeing the Bibles fly off the shelves, but mainstream retailers too — including Amazon. Observers are puzzling over what’s causing it in light of recent surveys that have found that at least 28% of American adults claim to be religiously unaffiliated. That doesn’t exactly scream an increased demand for religious material.
Ultimately, it’s more than likely that all of these factors laid out by WSJ played a part in the increase of people buying Bibles. Rev. Blaine Crawford of Irvington Presbyterian Church told WSJ that he has seen a recent increase in Scripture study groups. He remarked that God’s word is a “grand epic story of the great questions of life. What do we do with grief or anger, what are we here for, where is the world going? The Bible provides a counterpart in a conversation about what we’re doing at this time.”
As people made in the image of God, we were never meant to be away from Him. The reigning theme in the book of Ecclesiastes is not that life has no meaning, but that apart from Christ, the source from which our purpose derives, there is no meaning. As The Post Millennial wrote, “Experts and industry insiders attribute the growth in Bible sales to societal anxieties and a search for hope.” But I don’t think the experts are the only ones who could have figured this out. Rather, Christians should understand this to be the case better than almost anyone. After all, Christians are to be the people who understand their sin and need of a Savior. We ought to be at the frontlines of an anxious culture offering them the hope of the gospel.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins put it this way: “Obtaining a Bible is the first step; the second step is to read it and then understand it. As Philip helped the Ethiopian leader understand the Word, pray that those who are turning to the truth for hope will have others who can help them understand the Good News contained within the pages of the Bible.” Guest host Jody Hice also commented on the news that the Bible is in higher demand on Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” Simply put, he stated, it’s “tremendous news!”
Pastor Jay Johnson, FRC’s National Prayer Director, agreed. As he emphasized, “I certainly rejoice at that news, and [I’m] just grateful that … there’s a demand” for the word of God. “There [are]people all over looking for hope, and people are guiding them to God’s word.” But according to Johnson, “it’s not just to know the Bible [and] not just to read the Bible, but to know God. And I think that’s the beauty of God’s word.” He also referenced FRC’s Bible reading plan, Stand on the Word, noting that it’s “a great resource for people to engage in reading God’s word.”
Both agreed that it’s important to read and study the Bible, but beyond Scripture, Johnson urged that “it’s also very vital to find a church that is teaching and preaching the word of God.” It’s important “to get engaged with a local church where they can study with others.” Especially because, as Hice and Johnson agreed, it can be difficult to stay focused when reading the Bible. It can be hard to get started, particularly for people who are new to picking up God’s word like the 22% or so this year. “I just want to encourage people,” Johnson said, “to start out by praying and asking for divine guidance.”
On behalf of everyone here at FRC, we believe in the life-giving, soul-saving power of God’s word. It’s the reason we start every morning as an organization in prayer and Bible study. And so, whether you’re new to reading the Bible or have been reading it nearly your whole life, now is the time to open it up and study it, know it, and ask the Holy Spirit to write it on your heart. And as we read of the 22% increase of people who are cracking open the pages of Scripture, let us pray that God opens their eyes, ears, and hearts to the glorious truth of the gospel.
It’s no wonder this fallen world is full of broken people looking for hope, answers, and truth. And this hope, these answers, and the truth we all crave is found in the Bible. The riches are there, free of charge. All you have to do is read and, by God’s grace, believe.
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Paul said in Romans 10:17 that our faith comes from “hearing through the word of Christ.” Psalms 119:105 says “Your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; something we store up in our hearts as to not sin against the Lord. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:13 “the whole duty of man” is to “fear God and keep His commandments,” which can only be done by knowing Him and His commands through His Word. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the Bible is how we are “complete” and “equipped for every good work.” Jesus says the Word is the truth that sets us free.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
Really, all of Scripture proclaims our need for Scripture. All of Scripture proclaims our need to pray. Time with the Lord, via our communication with Him in prayer and time spent in His Word, are the most valuable, precious, and significant ways we can spend our time. Jesus knew this. In His earthly ministry, we see how He knew Scripture, preached Scripture, and lived out Scripture. Encompassing all of this was His consistent communion with His Father in prayer. Jesus is the best example we have of prioritizing spiritual discipline over all other disciplines, and we’re supposed to imitate Him. Yet not only do we often fail to imitate Him we also often neglect to even try.
Jesus said in John 14:15, “Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words.” This is not to say you don’t love your Lord and Savior, but do you keep His words? Do you read His Word? We may proclaim, “Lord, I love you!” But do we also proclaim, “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8)?
God’s Word is utterly substantial and worthy of being the top priority in our lives. Sadly, we prioritize other things. But don’t you see? The pursuit of spiritual growth is worth putting forth the same effort as we would toward any other form of growth. In fact, it’s worth infinitely more effort — hopefully, you will soon be convinced of this, if you aren’t already.
It’s a perspective focused on the immediate that often drives us to prioritize things other than spiritual growth, and this isn’t surprising. It’s easy to see how working toward a healthy diet, physical activity, or career advancement is beneficial now, and when we focus on these things, we often allow the importance of spiritual growth to be put aside. However, challenge yourself to consider these areas in light of eternity, and you just might see how minuscule their weight truly is.
One day, our bodies and worldly achievements will fade away. If we shove the maturing of our faith to the side, it may be too late before we realize our faith is all that matters. In reality, unlike everything else that will fade away, our souls will go with us to the White Throne judgement by God, which inevitably makes them the most important aspect of our life now. Am I saying you should put aside all earthly ambition to pursue spiritual growth? Certainly not. The argument is that prioritizing spiritual growth is what allows you to then prosper in other areas.
It would be a mistake to think our spiritual well-being only matters when considering eternity. It surely does matter then, but it equally matters now. It’s worth our every effort to grow in our faith now because the effects of such a pursuit will become manifest in both the immediate and what’s to come.
To prove that our faith plays a role in all areas of life. My question is: Is this the perspective you have each day? Do you believe what you do right now counts for eternity? If so, then it should change the way you view your priorities. You just might see the spiritual growth that’s easily forgotten is exactly what you need to get through today, tomorrow, and each day that’s to come.
A heart with the Word of God written upon it can have peace in the chaos, joy in the trial, and hope for the future. A life that prioritizes spiritual growth is one that inevitably leads to growth elsewhere. The way I see it, a strong faith makes for a better friend, spouse, relative, co-worker, athlete, musician — you name it!
We already know as we’ve read from 1 Corinthians 10:31, that “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” What we prioritize should glorify God, as well. And truly, I cannot think of a better way to glorify Him than by making His Word, His truth, and revelation what we cherish.
People are searching for solid foundations. They are dealing with a lot of information and a lot of data, and they just don’t know how it all holds together. Genesis has a blueprint for this very thing, and it is in the opening phrase, “In the beginning, God . . .” All things originated with Him. He made them, ordered them, and gave them purpose and meaning.
Without acknowledging our Creator God and His commandments for how we are to live our lives we make up our own rules. We can see how that is working when we now do not even acknowledge that God made us male and female with established roles. Also, we have no understanding of why the world is like it is with death and suffering if we do not acknowledge God and His Word. God has revealed to us not only that He created the world and humans made in His image to be in a relationship with Him but He has also told us that man’s disobedience to His commandment not to eat of the tree of good and evil is the reason for death and suffering in the world and the severing of our relationship with God.
Martyn Isles of Answers in Genesis does a great job of showing us how important Gensis 1 to 11 is to understanding all the big questions of life, giving us meaning and purpose and answers to the Why, How, Where,and When of it all.
Scripture says this about its own nature:
“Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16
“No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21
The people in Berea were commended for subjecting the apostle Paul’s words to God’s Word:
“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” Acts 17:11
Everything the Bible says about God is true; everything anyone says about God that contradicts the Bible is false. Apart from a belief in the authority of God’s Word—as well as a growing knowledge of what it says—we’ll be vulnerable to deception. This is why one of the greatest needs in churches today is the consistent teaching of sound doctrine. Without it, and without people reading good books that reinforce a biblical worldview, God’s people will drift along, swept away by the current of popular opinion.
Faith is not inherently virtuous. Its value depends on the worth of its object. The Bible, understood in context and given precedent over our own instincts and preferences, is our dependable guide for faith and practice. Only by learning what Scripture says about God can we know what’s true about Him.
I’ve heard people say, “Don’t take pleasure in the Bible; take pleasure in God.” But to study God’s words is to take pleasure in God because His Word is an expression of His very being.
Anyone who finds happiness in God must find happiness in God’s words as David did:
“In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.” Psalm 119:14
“I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.” Psalm 119:47
“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
Notice these Scriptures demonstrate that to delight in and to meditate upon God’s Word is to delight in God Himself.
The point of studying God’s Word is to know Him.
There is a danger of idolizing our own knowledge of the Bible rather than remembering the point is to know Him better. (If we fail to understand that, the problem is with us, not the Bible!)
J. I. Packer, in the first chapter of his book Knowing God, says this: “To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher a motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception. We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude and pray to be kept from it. …there can be no spiritual health without doctrinal knowledge, but it is equally true that there can be no spiritual health with it if it is sought for the wrong purpose and valued by the wrong standard… Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God himself better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God’s attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are. As he is the subject of our study, and our helper in it, so he must himself be the end of it.“
May we see Bible study and doctrine as a basis for humble worship of our King and Savior, not for prideful posturing.
When Jeremiah said that God’s Word “became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16), he was suggesting that Scripture has a cumulative effect that increases over time. Happily, by God’s grace, As Joni Eareckson Tada says: “If you want to increase your desire for God, then get to know Him more deeply. And there is no better way to know Him than through His Word. Get into God’s Word, and you will get a heart for Jesus. Get passionate about Scripture, and your passion for Him will increase. Feelings follow faith…and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.“
God promises that His Word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). We live in a time where the Bible is increasingly minimized. Let’s be committed to doing everything we can to uplift and honor God’s Word, as a means of knowing and loving Him.
Adapted from an article by Randy Alcorn, “Is There a Danger of Worshipping the Bible Instead of God” http://www.patheos.com
In 2013 Time Magazine did a story about the ‘Most Significant Person in History’ and concluded after a very comprehensive and detailed research program that Jesus was that person. If one googles ‘the most significant person in History’ and searches through the numerous websites claiming this title you will find that Jesus appears more than any other claimant. His life story on film has had more than eight billion views and counting. The Jesus film has been translated into 1,800 languages. His life story is written in the most read and most published book in history. There have been some five plus billion copies of the Bible distributed in over 340 languages. And at least one book of the Bible is available in over 2,000 languages. His life story has been translated and recorded and can be heard in some six thousand, five hundred different languages on the 5 fish app.
What do we know about Jesus from texts apart from the Bible? Jesus is mentioned in the writings of both the Jewish historian Josephus “Antiquities of the Jews” (Bk.XVIII.III.3 written about 93 AD) and the theologian Origen, in his book “Contra Celsum” written about 248 AD.
More recently J. Warner Wallace, Author of Cold Case Christianity was a former homicide detective and former atheist. He used his ‘cold case’ skills to verify the reality of the existence of Jesus.
Sir Lionel Luckhoo (1914-1997) is considered one of the greatest lawyers in British history. He’s recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Most Successful Advocate,” with 245 consecutive murder acquittals. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II — twice.
Luckhoo declared: “I humbly add I have spent more than 42 years as a defence trial lawyer appearing in many parts of the world and am still in active practice. I have been fortunate to secure a number of successes in jury trials and I say unequivocally the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt. It is recorded in the Bible that at least 513 people saw Jesus after his resurrection. These recorded eye-witness accounts happened on at least 8 separate occasions.”
Two computer scientists, Professor Steven Skiena of Stony Brook University in New York and Charles Ward used quantitative analysis to decide who the most significant people were in world history. They studied thousands of historical figures to determine which person’s opinions had the most impact on world affairs. Using an algorithm similar to Google’s ranking system and “other data sources,” they ranked the various historical figures by importance as referenced in the English version of Wikipedia — an online encyclopedia. Their analysis concluded conclusively that Jesus Christ was the world’s most influential person.
The largest volume and most authenticated writings about the teachings of Jesus were recorded by those ‘eyewitnesses’ who actually lived with and were taught by Jesus himself. The accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as recorded in the Bible have stood the test of time and the sceptics. Millions of followers of Jesus around the world can attest to the value and transformational nature of his teachings. Consider some other celebrations and events that would demonstrate the impact and the significance of this person Jesus.
Is it any wonder, then, that Christians are the largest religious group in the world?
Jesus is the only hope for this lost world. He is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to our Heavenly Father and inherits eternal life except through Him. Why would you not want to come to Him? He is the only way you will discover true meaning and purpose to your life.
Most of this Information was provided by my long time friend : Graham McDonald Email : graham@diduno.info
Joel interviews Tim Mahoney, creator and director of the Patterns of Evidence films. The most recent being the second of the films in the Red Sea Miracle film series. Tim has been on a crusade to show that the books of the Bible that Moses wrote are true history. Jesus said, “if you won’t believe Moses and the prophets then you won’t believe me.”
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27
“He (Jesus) said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” Luke 16:31
These books are foundational to the Gospel message. Tim understands this, hence his dedication to the Patterns of Evidence series. His first film was The Exodus then The Moses Controversy and now the Red Sea Miracle Series. I believe God has raised up Tim to produce these films for this hour to prove He is the miracle working God that established Israel for His purposes and the Bible is His inerrant Word.
You need to not only watch these films yourself but to promote them as widely as possible both to church members and to use them in promoting the truth of God’s Word.
Parents we need to raise kids that don’t just go to church on Sundays. We need to raise children that know the truth about the world, about the universe and know it can only be discovered in God’s Word – The Bible.
They need to know the Bible is inerrant. Down through the ages, God has told us through His prophets what would happen in the future. Hundreds of prophecies have been fulfilled exactly as prophesied, proof indeed the Bible is inerrant.
That the Bible provides an accurate history of God’s universe. That it not only tells us why, when and how God made it but it also tells us what went wrong and therefore why the universe and us are like we are.
That Jesus death on the cross has provided a way (the only way) back into an eternal relationship with our Heavenly Father.
That the Bible tells us the end of the story, which is good news for all that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and have been born again by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, but it is incredibly bad news for all those that reject Jesus, God’s free gift of salvation.
That they would understand the extent of what Jesus sacrifice has provided. Our Heavenly Father has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer, to be their counsellor, comforter, teacher, to produce the fruit of the spirit in their lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control and to provide all nine gifts of the spirit so we can be effective ambassadors for Christ in this world.
That they would wake up in the morning thankful for the day, and commit to following the Holy Spirit’s leading, so that they can lay their head down each night, confident that God’s will had been done and His Kingdom advanced and that they had not grieved the Holy Spirit nor quenched His work in their lives.
That they would face the storms of life knowing God’s presence and provision.
That they would reach for the stars because they know the One who created them has a purpose for their lives.
That they will look up when they fall down. Reach out when they need help trusting the indwelling Holy Spirit.
That they will be like oaks planted by His stream of living water and bear much fruit.
That they would love their neighbours fiercely as their Heavenly Father loves them.
That they would see hope when every one else sees hopelessness. That they would share that hope and bring His light into every dark corner.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 