Page 68 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

BIBLE

personal library. Yet you probably have a BIBLE other one teaches salvation by works. The Roman
somewhere around the house; a testimony to the Catholic Church says salvation is through participating
BIBLE’S ability to “out survive” its attackers. If Porphyry in its sacraments, beginning with baptism. Hinduism
and Lucian would have just read the BIBLE instead of says salvation is through practicing dharma and working
attacking it they could have saved a lot of time, because out one’s karma. Islam says salvation is by surrender to
the BIBLE says: “The words of the LORD are pure Allah and obedience to his commands. Buddhism says
words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified salvation is by reaching nirvana through life works and
seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt meditation and ascetism. If you visit the Buddhist
preserve them from this generation for ever” (Psalm monastery at Boudha in Kathmandu any time of the day
12:6-7). you will find Buddhists walking clockwise, fingering
In A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an their prayer beads and twirling their prayer wheels.
edict to stop Christians from worshipping and to destroy They do this every day because they are trying to find
their scriptures. Twenty-five years later his successor, salvation.
Constantine, issued another edict ordering 50 Bibles to The Bible, on the other hand, says that salvation is
be published at government expense. Too bad Diocletian God’s free gift to sinners. This gift was very costly for
didn’t realize the promise from the Bible. “The grass the Giver. It was purchased with a great price, which
withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God was the atoning sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross. But
shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8). for the sinner it is free.
Atheist Robert Ingersoll once boasted, “within 15 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
years I’ll have the Bible lodged in a morgue.” Well, of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
within 15 years, Robert Ingersoll was lodged within a any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,
morgue, but the Bible lives on! created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
Down through the centuries many attacks against the hath before ordained that we should walk in
them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Bible have come through bitter persecution along with The Bible says there is nothing that the sinner could
outright attempts to destroy it. Many attacks against the offer God in order to atone for his sins. What could we
Bible have come from scoffers. But there have been offer? Righteous works and almsdeeds? The Bible says
some, who after examining the facts have changed their our very righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God’s
opinion. Here are two examples: great holiness (Isaiah 64:6). Money? What would the
General Lew Wallace was a Territorial Governor God of creation do with our pathetic currency? A pure
following the days of the U.S. Civil War. He had been a heart? The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all
Senator in Indiana at the age of 29 and was considered things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). How,
a very scholarly man. He had no confidence in then, could we purchase our own salvation?
Christianity or the BIBLE, so he set out to write a “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
skeptical book to disprove both. In his study he instead righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as
found the BIBLE and Christ to be true, and became a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
himself a devout Christian. General Wallace never wrote away” (Isaiah 64:6).
his book against the Bible. He wrote instead the classic No, salvation is the wonderful gift of a loving and
Christian novel Ben Hur. deeply compassionate God. As the Christian hymn says,
William Ramsey, the English scholar went to Asia “We owed a debt we could not pay; He paid a debt He
Minor with the expressed purpose of proving the BIBLE did not owe.”
was historically inaccurate. As he painstakingly poured “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
over the ancient artifacts and details, to his amazement himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
he found that the BIBLE was accurate down to the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in
tiniest detail. The evidence was so convincing that Sir Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
Ramsey himself became a Christian and a great Biblical imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
scholar. committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now
Down through the years, the BIBLE has been a then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye
mighty anvil that has worn out many of the puny reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for
hammers of the scoffers (This section is from the us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
Christian Home Bible Course; used by permission). righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
(8) The Bible’s doctrine of salvation proves it is the “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
Word of God. The Bible is the only religious scripture begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
that teaches the doctrine of salvation by grace. Every not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

68 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity