Who Wrote the Bible?

Who exactly wrote the Bible? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2600. Our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes or so, so now is the time to call.

You can also post your question on one of our social media sites, and of course you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Lou. Hi, my name is Lou, and I look forward to your program, Pastor Adriel and Dr. Bill, as I go to and from work. It's about an hour's commute, and I get so much reassurance, and I just love the conversations on your program. Lou, thank you so much for the kind words, Bill. It's always great to hear from callers who are encouraged and enjoy the broadcast.

I love it. That's our purpose here, to offer encouragement and help people grow in their faith and understand the Bible more. By the way, today is a very special day at CORE Christianity. It marks our third anniversary as a live radio program. See, our producer always says the applause there. He loves that. He really needs to get a new, he needs to get a new, we need something else besides just the applause.

I mean, especially for the three-year anniversary. I think trumpets or, I don't know, we didn't even have a cake here. Oh, wait a minute. I can't believe I just said that because it looks like there is a cake here. Wow. Oh my goodness. Amazing.

One of those nothing Bundt cakes. Hold on a second. I got to, this looks like a fire hazard. What is it?

It's very pathetic. For our radio listeners, you got to tell us what's going on. Well, we just, we just did some fireworks in the office, non-flammable ones. And there is a cake here. Am I supposed to eat this during the, is this like a food broadcast now?

During the breaks. This is awesome. This is awesome. Well, thank you to Aaron, our producer. Yeah. And Aaron, we appreciate you so much every day.

He does such a great job. If you're new to CORE Christianity, we want to let you know we were a prerecorded program. We started back in 2018. Then in January of 2021, three years ago, we became a live show. Now get this, we've now produced over 1000 episodes of CORE Christianity. The majority of those have been live.

Thanks to our wonderful audience who supports us and keeps us on the air. And so to kick off today's show, we thought we would answer the most Googled question about Christianity. And that question is who wrote the Bible? Believe it or not, 42,000 people Google that question every day. Who wrote the Bible? The second most asked question is how many books are in the Bible? And believe it or not, the third most Googled question is what does the Bible say about tattoos? Oh, so we're not going to get into that one today.

But Adriel, what? So go ahead. Who wrote the Bible? That's it seems like Americans, everybody actually internationally wants to know who wrote the Bible.

I love it. I mean, I think that that's wonderful. And they also want to know about tattoos, which is quite interesting. So maybe we'll have to answer that another time. But who wrote the Bible? And I think the simple way in which I would answer that question is men wrote the Bible under the inspiration of God, the Holy Spirit. And so the scriptures that we have in the Bible were inspired by the Lord, were inspired by God to communicate to us so that we might know him, so that we might know his will for our lives.

It really is such a wonderful thing to be able to open up the Bible and to know that God is speaking to us there. Now, what I said there, you know, the Bible was written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That's precisely what the Bible itself tells us in 2 Peter 1.

Listen to what Peter said. This is verse 20. Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit was carrying along these individuals as they were writing.

It wasn't like God was, you know, erasing their memory and possessing them so that they didn't have control over their faculty. Somehow God was using them and their words and inspiring them at the same time so that what they wrote is for us and for our encouragement, for our being built up in the faith. And so take up and read, especially, you know, what a great thing for us to encourage once again at the beginning of a new year still in January here to be able to say, man, I hope that you guys are digging into the scriptures because they make us wise for salvation.

And so may the Lord bless you all. And Bill, I love that that's the most popular question. People want to know who wrote the Bible. And a lot of people want to know why are there books of the Bible that aren't included in the canon of scripture? We've talked about this before, that there was a point in history where there were certain books that were considered non-canonical. You want to explain what that means?

Yeah. Well, I mean, books that just weren't included in the canon. What happened was the church got together somewhere around the fourth century and then, you know, each book came up and then they flipped a coin. And if it was heads, it was included in the canon. If it was tails, they just said, okay, that must not be.

No, that's not how it happened. Although sometimes people seem to suggest that that is sort of, you know, when people talk about, well, a bunch of guys got together and just sort of decided this. No, the scriptures are self attesting. I mean, this is God's word to us. And so the word of God is something that the church received more than decided upon. And already in the New Testament, you have Peter referring to Luke's writings as, or excuse me, Peter referring to Paul's writings as scripture and Paul even himself. In First Corinthians chapter 14, he says, you know, the things that I'm writing to you are the word of God. So he even has this sort of understanding of the fact that what I'm writing, what I'm putting on paper here, this is God's word for you to hear and listen to. And so we have a longer discussion, but it's really that the church received God's holy word and cherished it up. And that resulted in the canon of scripture that we have.

Great explanation. Thanks for that, Adriel. You're listening to Core Christianity.

And if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life doctrine or theology, we'd love to hear from you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Douglas who's calling in from Minnesota. Douglas, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Pastor. Hey, Douglas.

Thanks for giving us a call. What's your question? My question is, it revolves around Romans 7, and I was trying to pinpoint it. I guess it could cover the entire chapter, but more specifically, it talks about, I am of the flesh, soul under sin, for I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Now, if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh, for I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. And I don't need to read the whole thing.

You obviously know what the rest of it is. I'm trying to wrap my mind around it, and I'm assuming, maybe to my discredit, but I'm assuming it basically is saying that Jesus Christ knows that we cannot be without sin. And Jesus Christ knows that we're going to continue to sin, but Jesus Christ has taken away our sin, so it is not us that is sinning, it's the sin within us. So we are still more or less saved.

That's a great question. This section in the book of Romans, really Romans 6-8, we're learning about our new identity as Christians, those who have been baptized, believing in Jesus Christ, we've been united to him in his death and resurrection, so now we consider ourselves no longer as slaves to sin. This is what you're getting in chapter 6, so just the previous chapter, but as those who have been brought to life, now called to walk in the newness of the Spirit. But even though that's the case, we're regenerated, we're born again, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we still battle with indwelling sin. In my view, that's what Paul is getting at there, in particular in chapter 7, that battle between the flesh and the Spirit.

And so there are other ways of looking at this. Some people think that Paul in Romans 7 is talking about himself as a Jew prior to his conversion, but I think he's talking about that battle that takes place in the life of every believer, the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. In verse 15, he says, I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want to do, but I do the very thing that I hate.

And here you have that tension. It's also something that's brought up in his letter to the Galatians. In Galatians 5, verse 16, he uses very similar language. He says, I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other. And then he says this, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. It's very similar to what we're getting there in Romans 7, verse 15.

That tension, I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, and the very thing I hate I do. So there's still that battle, but God grants us the victory through Jesus Christ. Now, when we sin, I don't think we can blame it on something else inside of us.

I mean, it's still us. Nevertheless, we have hope, even though we still have indwelling sin, that the Lord is the one who keeps us, and the Lord is the one who gives us the victory. That's what he goes on to say in verse 25.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And he goes on then to further talk about that life in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. And so, yeah, I mean, there's nothing that we do as Christians that is without sin. Even the good works that we do are still tainted because of indwelling sin that is in us, and yet God in his grace and mercy covers them. They're still pleasing in his sight as we seek to love him and to love our neighbor by the grace of the Holy Spirit. But I really think what we read there in Romans chapter 7 should be an encouragement to all of us who are in that fight against sin, because we feel that tension in ourselves. You know, there are times where it's like, why do I have these unrighteous desires?

Boy, I just, I can't believe that I thought that thought or felt that feeling. Well, that's the battle that Paul is talking about here, and we bring that to the Lord. And by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he's at work in our lives, causing us to grow in grace, you know, to put to death the sinful deeds of the body. That's what Paul's going to go on to say in Romans chapter 8. And again, we have that ultimate victory in Jesus.

Douglas, thank you for reaching out. Wonderful passage to meditate on, and that really is a section, Romans 6 through 8, so read it in the larger context there. And I love that you quoted 8.1, because that is such a key verse. Whenever I talk to somebody, to a believer, who is just, you know, wracked with sin over, you know, some kind of thing that they did in the past, I just point that to Romans 8.1, and I say, you need to understand there's no condemnation now for you.

Absolutely, yeah. It's so important for us to understand that positionally in Christ, we've been justified, so we're not under the wrath of God. We're no longer under the law in the sense that it condemns us. Now we've been set free to obey the law of love and to pursue the Lord.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, doctrine, theology, something in your church life that maybe you're confused about or concerned about. Here's the phone number. It's 833-843-2673.

You can spell it out, 833-THECORE. Let's go to Angel, who's calling in from New York. Hi, Angel, what's your question for Adrian? Oh my God, this is only the second time that I called you guys in a few weeks. Hey, Angel. Well, I'm glad you got through, brother.

What's your question? I cannot believe, first of all, that you are live on the way. I thought you guys were pre-recorded, but I found out that you're live because I heard the call screen pick up the phone. Nice. Yeah, we're live. I mean, this is the real deal. And wait, wait, there's more.

I cannot believe that you guys are celebrating three phenomenal years being on live rather than pre-recorded. Yeah, it's not bad. Hi, Angel. Thank you.

Thank you so much. All right, enough of the fun. Let's get to the serious question. And this is one of those questions that is very unusual. You ready for it?

I'm ready. And then I'll hang up and listen after I ask you this question. Now, I need to ask you a question. Pastor Bill. Pastor Bill, right? Right, Bill? Bill wishes he was a pastor.

No, Bill is great, too. So what's your question? My question is, what time is your worship service at your church, Pastor Adrian? What time? We meet at 9 a.m. 9 a.m. Pacific time, 10, 11, 12 noon Eastern time, right?

My time. Now, my worship service starts at 11. So I just need to know what time do you think should be the right time for people to worship on Sunday? Because most churches I've been to, they all worship on Sunday morning, like 10 a.m., 9 a.m., and some churches, they worship the Lord in the evening. But all the churches I've been to, most of them, they worship on Sunday morning. So I need to know, why do you think that churches should worship the Lord, whether it be Sunday morning, some churches do Sunday afternoon services, Sunday evening services, or even Sunday night services?

Why do you think that we should worship the Lord on a Sunday rather than a Saturday? God bless you. All right, Angel. By the way, it sounds like there's a party happening at your house, man. You guys must be celebrating the three-year anniversary of Core Christianity. God bless you.

And an excellent question. What time should the worship service be? There was actually a season in our church where we were having a later service, almost into the afternoon at 11.30. We rent a building, and there's another church that meets there as well. The life of a church planter, you know, this is how it is.

But we've started meeting at 9 a.m., which is a lot more convenient. This is what we refer to as a circumstance of worship. And so one thing I'll say is, when it comes to the Lord's Day, really the whole day, as much as is possible, we want to devote to worshiping the Lord. And then as far as gathering together with the saints is concerned, that is one of the chief element, or the chief part of Sunday, you know, the Lord's Day. Gathering together with the church to be under the preaching of the word, the administration of the sacraments, you want to do it in such a way that it's convenient for people. They're able to attend, they're able to participate in the service.

And so you're trying to accommodate as many people as you can. It's a circumstance of worship. And we sometimes distinguish, Angel, between those two things, the elements of worship and the circumstances. Elements are those things that have to happen so that the worship service is a worship service, so that it's in line with what Scripture teaches. There needs to be the preaching of God's word. There needs to be prayer, fellowship, you know, the offering. These are things that are described as elements of early Christian worship, even in the New Testament. If you look at places like the Book of Acts or 1 Corinthians, I mean, this is what you see.

Bible teaching, commitment to the apostles teaching, the breaking of bread, probably a reference to the Lord's Supper. That's what makes a worship service a worship service. Not if you meet at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m., but of course if our service began at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., we'd probably have less people there. And I'm sure there's maybe a couple people in our congregation that that's exactly what they would love, you know, give us the 6 a.m. service so we can get out of the way. But what you're trying to do with those circumstances is to be accommodating, to help people to worship and to engage. And so you're not trying to do it too early, you're not trying to do it too late. I once heard somebody say, you know, you can't have an afternoon service because people have had lunch and they're full of beef and unbelief.

And so I don't know if, I don't think that that's entirely accurate, but again, it's a circumstance. And so scripture doesn't tell us you have to do it in the morning or you have to do it at 7 p.m. Rather, I think the whole day is to be a time set apart for worshiping the Lord and the service time should accommodate as many people as possible. Angel, thanks again for your, enjoy your party that you're having there at your house today. And God bless you and thanks for calling us. I appreciate, Angel.

This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you've ever got a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can call us 24 hours a day and leave a voicemail on our system. Here's the number. It's 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. You know, our country is so divided right now on a variety of different issues. And perhaps one of the most controversial is the issue of abortion. And because of that, we've created a special resource that we think will help you develop a biblically informed view on the sanctity of human life. Yeah, if you didn't know, January 21st is National Sanctity of Human Life Day.

So it's coming up here very, very quickly. This is a free resource that's going to equip you to have conversations about the sanctity of life, that's going to give you scripture to support what you believe as a Christian, to emphasize, you know, the value of people made in God's image, you know, children in the womb. So get a hold of this resource. What it is is a 30-day devotional, really.

I mean, I think it's also going to be edifying for you. Go over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to get Fearfully Made. And again, this is a free resource for you.

So please take advantage. Check it out, corechristianity.com forward slash offers and look for Fearfully Made. And while you're there, check out some of our other free resources, our core guides, our core questions. And we've got a lot of great Bible studies as well on both Old Testament and New Testament books. If you lead a small group or a Sunday school class, we know you'll find those very helpful.

So check those out, corechristianity.com. Let's go to Terry calling in from Indiana. Terry, what's your question for Adriel?

I was just talking to that lady about the granddaughter of 27 in March, and she has a lot of questions about Jesus and, you know, the Bible and stuff like that. Can you hear me? Yeah, I can hear you.

Okay. And unfortunately, my grandma raised me in the church. My grandma raised me and, like, we went, you know, on Wednesdays to choir and Sundays, you know, and I went to church camp faithfully. And unfortunately, when she passed away, and I know it was wrong, I got mad at God. And I know it wasn't his fault. I know that was just her time. I was a kid. Okay, and I made amends, you know, and I went back and our church was over 100 years old.

It was generational, like to our entire family. Me and my husband are the last ones to get baptized there before they toured the church now for a parking lot. But my granddaughter's got all of these questions, and I want to start her on the right road.

I want to give her that foundation that my grandma was giving me. Unfortunately, like I just said, our church was tore down, and I know there's other churches. My husband and his family were in the country, and they've always went to church, but they don't have like a Sunday school.

They don't have that kind of thing. She's not going to understand if you sit in front of adults. Does that make sense? Okay, Terry, let me just say, God bless you, sister. And I hope if you stay on the line, maybe we can get you some resources that will help you to encourage your granddaughter as well. So important, and I'm so grateful to hear about that relationship you had with your grandmother who sought to share the faith with you. And it reminds me of what Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 1 to Timothy, verse 5. I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I am sure dwells in you as well. And the way in which that happened, just a couple chapters later, Paul says from childhood, you have been acquainted with the sacred writings. So Terry, I would charge you as a grandmother to acquaint your granddaughter with the sacred writings, to be in the Scriptures yourself, the Gospels, to read them. You know, I have young kids, around seven as well, and we read the Bible together in the mornings, you know, oftentimes in the Gospels or maybe an Old Testament story. And you'd be surprised how much, I mean, the kids just, they're like sponges, and so it's an opportunity for conversation, an opportunity for prayerful meditation on the Word. But I also want to tell you, Terry, I know how difficult that was, and you know, that sense of anger that we can feel when a loved one dies. But giving thanks to God for the testimony of her life and knowing, you know, the call that God has on each of us, including on you, to fellowship with his people, to be a part of a church where you're going to hear the Word of God and be equipped to have these kinds of conversations with your granddaughter. So I want to encourage you to get plugged into a good church, to immerse yourself in the Scriptures, and not to be intimidated by them, but to pick up the Bible, to read it, and to read it with her, and to know that as you do, God is going to bless you guys and grant you understanding that the deeper you dig, may the Lord be with you and bless you, and thanks for calling. When you contact us, let us know how we can be praying for you, and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.