Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. Find, if you will, 2 Timothy. Chapter Three.
And verse 16. Here is a rudimentary. Fundamental verse in the Word of God. Listen to it. All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
and is profitable for doctrine? For reproof? For correction? for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished. And all Good.
works. You will never be any greater in your Christian life. than your conviction concerning the Word of God. I've been a Christian now for more than half a century. What keeps me going is not how I feel.
It is what I know. What I know that has come from the Word of God. The Bible is not the book of the month. It is the book of the ages. Is that lived?
Outloved. outlifted, outreached, outranked all other books put together. There's no book. Like the Bible. We read the Bible and the Bible reads us.
I was on an airplane. I went up to the front to get a newspaper. I met a man up there, well-dressed, button-down collar. A business suit on. And he was looking for newspaper.
And we got into discussion. He said, what kind of newspaper are you looking for? I said, I'm looking for a conservative newspaper. I said, what game are you looking for? He said, I'm looking for a liberal newspaper.
And I said, uh what do you do? He was a Washington lawyer. He said to me, what do you do? I said, I'm a Baptist preacher. And so we got in a little discussion.
He said, What do you read anyway? I said, Well, I read books and journals and news magazines and newspapers, devotional books. But I am primarily a student of the Bible. He said, well. Do you speak to people?
I said all the time. A few, I said, no, a great many. He said, well, if you don't read any wider than that, how do you know what to speak about? I said, well, mister, man only has. Three problems.
Oh, he said, no, man has many more problems than that. I said, no, he only has three. He said, all right, what are they? I said Sin, sorrow, and death. Oh, he said there are more problems than that.
I said, well, you go think and see if you can give me a fourth problem. I said, there's not a problem in the world that is not a subset. of sin Sorrow And dear. He said, I don't agree. I said, well, think about it and come up with a fourth problem.
After a while he came back to me and said, man only has three problems. Sin, sorrow, and death. That's the only kind of problems there are in the world. Every other problem is a subset of one of those three problems. This is the only book in the world that has the answer to those three problems.
No other book has the answer to the problem of sin. No other book has the answer to the problem of sorrow. No other book has the answer to the problem of death. Except the Bible. We ought to be very grateful for the Bible.
Now, there's a war against the Word of God today, and there are those who literally despise it. They hate the Bible. For whatever reasons, they would wish that the Bible were obliterated, but not only those who despise it. There are those who deny it. They don't hate it.
They just say, I don't believe it. I don't believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. There are others, like the cults, who don't despise it or deny it, they distort it. They massacre the Bible with their interpretations, and there are plenty of those around. One of the ways that I know the Bible is the Word of God, it has stood up under so much shoddy preaching.
It has to be the Word of God. Then there are those who don't distort it, but they dissect it. They come to the Bible like it is a math book rather than a love story, and they bring their minds to it and try and pick it apart piece by piece and pry out the treasures from the Word of God. And that cannot be done. Then, I suppose, however, the greatest enemy of the Bible are people who sit in our churches.
They don't despise it, they don't deny it, they don't distort it. Yeah. They just disregard it.
Now they give lip service. to the Bible, but they don't really study it. I would not ask tonight for a show of hands.
So how many people in this room spend more time with the newspaper and television than they spend with the Word of God? That'd be embarrassing. If I would ask you, how many of you believe everything you read in the newspaper? None, except an imbecile, would raise his or her hand. Probably would ask you how many of you believe everything you read in the Bible?
To be true. As God gave it, you would lift your hand. But then, if I were to ask you thirdly, how many of you spend more time in the newspapers that you don't believe than you do in the Bible that you do believe? You'd be embarrassed. We disregard the Bible to our own hurt.
These hath got married. And no man shall part. Dust on the Bible. And drought in the heart. You will not be any bigger, any better, any stronger than you believe in the Word of God.
Why is it so important to understand the Bible's word of God? Your salvation depends upon it. Your salvation is based on the gospel and the gospel comes out of the Word of God. Apart from gospel truth, no one is saved. If you want somebody to be saved, you've got to give them something to believe.
Now what are you going to give them? The Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Your growth as a Christian depends upon the Word of God. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.
Your sanctification depends upon the word of God. Jesus said, Sanctify them with thy truth. Thy word is truth. Your assurance depends upon the word of God. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Friend, I cannot tell you how important it is. that you have a solid Conviction. That the Bible is the Word of God, distinct, different, better, higher, more glorious. than any other book. that was ever written.
Now, I want to give you five reasons why I believe the Bible is the Word of God. And I pray God that He will write these five reasons indelibly upon your heart. And so you can say with confidence, I know the Bible is the Word of God. I'm going to start with the first reason. which is where the Bible is so often attacked.
I believe the Bible is the Word of God because of the scientific accuracy of the Bible.
Now there are those who will Tell you well, of course the Bible is not scientifically accurate because it was written thousands of years ago. Mal. Before you say that, Make certain that you know two things. Make certain that you know science. and make certain that you know the word of God.
You see, the Bible does not always agree with science. And for that, I am infinitely glad that the Bible does not always agree. with science. If you've ever been to Paris, you most likely have visited the Louvre. That great library and art museum there in central Paris.
In the Louvre, in Paris. in one section of books. There are three and one half miles. of books on science. Three and a half miles.
That's a lot of books. Almost every one of them. Obsolete. Because science is changing. What is called a scientific fact in One era is not in this era.
As a matter of fact, in 1861, There was a French Academy of Science. that wrote a little pamphlet, a little book. It was an anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible book. But it was a scientific book in that day. And they listed what they call 51 incontrovertible.
Thanks. that prove the Bible scientifically wrong. 51 scientific facts. Let me tell you the interesting thing about that. Today More than a hundred years later, There is not a reputable scientist Who believes one?
of those so-called 51 facts.
Now, aren't you glad the Bible, therefore, did not agree with the science of that day? Had the Bible agreed with that science, then the Bible would have been wrong. You give the scientists enough time, perhaps they'll catch up with the Bible. Mm-hmm. When a scientist says a good word about the Bible, that doesn't give him more faith than the Bible, just a little more faith in the scientist.
If you look at the Bible from a scientific point of view, it is Uh miraculous. What the Bible teaches about science, for example. You and I take it for granted that the earth is suspended in space. This celestial ball. Floats In space.
Well, men didn't always know that. You would not know it unless somebody had taught you. The ancient Egyptians who were incredibly intelligent. and had done great things in mathematics and science. Who built the pyramids that were antiquities even in the time of Christ?
They believed that the earth was supported on five pillars. Five gigantic pillars that held up the air.
Well, that's ridiculous. Let me tell you about what the Greeks believed. The Greeks believed in their mythology. that the earth was held on the back of a giant. Whose name was Atlas.
Have you ever seen a picture of a man? with the world on his shoulders, that man named Atlas. That's the sophisticated Greeks. The ancient Hindus In this sacred text, believed that the earth stood on the backs of huge elephants. And when the elephants shook themselves, that was earthquakes.
Well, somebody said, but now wait a minute, wait a minute. What are the elephants standing on? Oh, they said the elephants? They're on the back of a huge tortoise, a great big turtle. Then the thinker said, but no, wait a minute.
What's the turtle on? They said, Well, the turtle is on the back of a huge coiled serpent. But now wait a minute. What is the serpent on? Not to worry, they had an answer.
The serpent is swimming in a cosmic sea.
So that's the science. of that day.
Now We would expect to find perhaps some of that mythology in the Bible, but In Job chapter 26 and verse 7, we read this: He, God, stretcheth out the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth. upon nothing. Hangeth. The earth upon Nothing. That's a great scientific fact.
That the earth is there suspended in space. How did Job know that? 750 years before the Lord Jesus Christ was born. Perhaps the oldest piece of literature. Written literature known to man.
May God hangeth the earth upon nothing. Job 26, verse 7.
Now you and I take it for granted not only is the Earth floating in space, But we take it for granted that the Earth is a sphere. That it's a globe. That is a ball. Men didn't always know this. By observation, you would think that the earth is flat.
are relatively flat. There may still be some of you in the Flat Earth Society, but most of us. believe that the earth is round. I remember as a little boy, being enthralled with the idea of Columbus. who was sailing are West.
to find the East Indies and they said Columbus, You better be careful, you may sail off the edge. That always Concerned me because I wondered how what kept the water from pouring over the edge. of the earth. And uh I remember Learning in Grammar school, as you did in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. It was not until that time that men who had conjectured that the earth may be round Finally, conceded that the earth is round.
Of course, we have no difficulty with that today because. Our spaceships from outer space can look back and take pictures. Round. Floating in space. But 750 years before the Lord Jesus Christ, was born.
Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 22, it is God. That sitteth upon the circle of the earth. And the word for circle that Isaiah used is not a circle like I would draw in plain geometry on a piece of paper. It's a word that means sphere. our globe.
Mao. You and I. take it for granted. That the stars are without number, that is, without human number, uncountable. It was a man.
who must have wearily rubbed his eyes. When he laid down his pencil, Because he had made his charts. He had counted the stars. His name was Hipparchius. He was the noted astronomer of that day.
And he counted the stars. And there were 1,022 stars. Science. 150 years before Christ. Hipparchus counted the stars.
And he said, there are a thousand and twenty-two Now that was science. And that was the science 150 years before Christ, but 250 years later. Another astronomer came along. And this astronomer, whose name was Ptolemy, Decided he would check up on Hipparchus. And so Ptolemy counted the stars and he laughed.
He said, Did Hipparchus say there are 1,022 stars? Absurd. They're a thousand and twenty-six.
So now we have upgraded science. And it wasn't until about 1,300 years later. That a young scientist and inventor Galileo. create its first crude telescope and turn it up to the heavens. and gave a gas.
For beyond the stars that could be seen with the naked eye were more stars, and beyond those more stars, and beyond those more stars, beyond those more stars, and millions and billions. Uncountable stars. There in the canopy of space. And now with a giant Hubble telescope, Men look out. millions of light years.
and their stars upon stars upon stars. I was reading in a scientific journal where one astronomer said, if you want to have some idea about how many stars there are in the universe, There are more stars in our known universe. than there are grains of sand. On all the seashores of all the earth. Did you catch that?
Now, if that doesn't astound you, just go to my hometown of West Palm Beach, Florida, cross the bridge, go over to Palm Beach, and get a city block and start counting the grains of sand. No, I'm not talking about in one locale, one city block. I'm talking about all the seashores of all of the earth.
Well Kind of ludicrous, isn't it, with a parch saying 1,022 stars? But what did Jeremiah say in Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 22? Jeremiah said, the host of heaven cannot be numbered. You can't count stars. The host of heaven cannot be numbered.
Now how did Jeremiah know that? How did Job know the earth is floating in space? How did Isaiah know that the earth is round? How did Jeremiah know? Bet the stars.
Can't be counted. I'll tell you how they knew. We already read it. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. God made all of that.
God knows all of that. These men didn't have modern astronomy, but they knew that.
Now let's move from astronomy. Let's move into the area of physiology and biology. You and I take it for granted. that the blood in our body. is a Red River of Life.
that it is necessary for life. I took a course in human anatomy and physiology. And I had to learn all the things that the blood does, to name a few. It carries food to the cells. It carries away waste from the cells.
It carries energy to the cells. It fights disease. It maintains a constant temperature. In the body. Those are just a few of the big things that the blood does in the human body.
But it was not until the year 1615 that a physician, William Harvey, discovered that the blood even circulates in the body. That's fairly Recent time. that the blood circulates.
Now we know with hematology and all of the study of uh this Red River of Life. the incredible properties of the human blood. It is amazing. But men didn't know this. until days of modern science and microbiology.
As a matter of fact, In relatively recent times, when men would get sick. They would often attribute it to bad blood, and they would bleed people. for all manner of ailments that had nothing to do with blood. That barber pole? That's not a piece of peppermint candy.
That represents a bandage because it was the barber who had to sharp instruments, and they would often take a sick person to the barber. He would cut them and they would bleed blood into a basin with the hopes that it would make them well. As a matter of fact, the father of our country, George Washington, got sick. with a pulmonary disease. And of all things they bled him.
He didn't get well. They bled him again. He still didn't get well. They bled him the third time, and they bled George Washington to death. That's the way the father of our country died.
Today they may have given him a blood transfusion. I think the politicians have tried to get even with us ever since that time and bleed us to death.
Well, it is a shame that they did not know the word of God. Leviticus chapter 17, verse 14, speaking of the blood, says, for it is the life of all flesh. The blood of it. is for the life. There are.
An incredible scientific statement. That there is life in the blood. One of the most interesting books that I have read is a book called None of These Diseases, written by a medical doctor, Dr. S. I.
Macmillan. And Dr. Macmillan are studied Not only the scientific truths in the Word of God, particularly. in what we call the Pentateuch. Penta meaning five.
The first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And Dr. Macmillan Study these because they were written by Moses. But Moses was educated in the University of Egypt. You know that Pharaoh paid his tuition.
And the Bible tells us clearly and plainly that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.
Well, the Egyptians had some wonderful Medicine. The Egyptians were very wise people and they've done things that Our doctors are still studying like how the Egyptians embalmed. And some of those things, remarkable. The Egyptians did brain surgery, other things. back in the time of Moses.
But there is a medical volume that the Egyptians wrote. called the Papyrus Ebers, E-B-E-R-S. And in there is much of the medical knowledge. are the Egyptians. That was Taught by the Egyptians, studied by the Egyptians in the time of Moses when Moses was growing up.
And Moses learned this knowledge, most likely, if he knew all Of the wisdom of the Egyptians. Let me tell you some of the ridiculous medical. techniques in the papyrus Ebers. For example, to prevent the hair from turning gray. anointed with the blood of a black cat.
which has been boiled in oil. Or with the fat of a rattlesnake.
Now I never knew that a rattlesnake had fat. Oh, you think that's ridiculous for people who are losing your hair? When it falls out, one remedy is to apply a mixture of six fats. namely those of the horse, the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the cat, the snake, and the ibex.
So if you're losing hair, there it is. and to strengthen it, anoint it with the tooth of a donkey. has been crushed in honey.
Now, I don't think that'll work, but if you're losing your hair, I do have a remedy for you. You can take persimmon juice and alum. and rub that on your head.
Now it won't grow your hair, but it'll shrink your head to fit the hair you've got. For splinters that were stuck in. Here's why the Egyptians said you take worm's blood and donkey dumb. Can you imagine the tetanus pores that would be in Donkey Dunn? And you would put that upon a splinter or something that would impale your.
I'll wound you. Other drugs that you might have during that time would be lizard's blood. Pig's teeth. Rotten meat. moisture from pigs' ears.
Milk. Goose grease. Donkeys' hooves. and even excretion. from animals, including human beings and donkeys and antelopes and dogs and cats.
and fly excretion. They'd be hard together. Uh This this is the medicine. that these vaunted intelligent Egyptians practice According to Papyrus Hebrews, aren't you glad? Ladies and gentlemen, you don't pick up the Bible and read any of that in the Bible?
That's what Moses studied. You don't read that in the Bible. Aren't you glad we don't read something about the earth on the back of a man named Atlas? Are being supported by five pillars or Standing on the back of elephants, standing on the back of a tortoise, on the back of a snake in a cosmic sea. I'm glad we don't read that in the Bible.
Now, in the Middle Ages, in the Middle Ages, there came the bubonic plague. It was called the Black Plague. plague in the 14th century. It was so devastating. That one out of four people died.
One, two, three, you're dead. Think about it. Devastating. They tried to do everything they could do to stop the black plague. They couldn't figure out what caused it, and everybody was frightened of the black plague.
Estimated 60 million people died. One of the greatest natural disasters In human history. But it was the Word of God. That brought it to a conclusion. Not the scientist, but the Word of God.
Finally, somebody turned to the book of Leviticus chapter 13 verse 46, all the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he shall be defiled, he is unclean, he shall dwell alone without the camp. shall his habitation be. That is, if he has the plague, quarantine him. Get him away. That's what they do today, people saw us.
That's what they do today when people have these communicable diseases. You put away your quarantine.
Well, now this was written. Way before the day of microbiology. Way before the days when anybody had any idea what a germ is. Germs are invisible. They didn't know what germs are.
In 1840, There was something that took place in the hospitals in Vienna. One out of every five expectant mothers was dying of infection. They would go in for prenatal examinations. And they would Get infected. And the doctors were going from one examination room to the next examination room, the next examination room.
without washing the hands. And so one expectant mother would be infected, and the doctor would forthwith infect all of the others that he examined. There was a doctor, Dr. Simmelweiss. Who got to watching that?
He was the head of the hospital. He said from now on, You are going to wash Your hands. before you examine. As a matter of fact, The doctors in that day would go from the morgue and do an autopsy. On a cadaver.
And without washing the hands, they would come in and do a pelvic examination. unexpected mother. And he said, you will wash your hands when you leave. the morgue before you go into make these examinations.
Well, when he did that, after this, only one out of 84 died. Just by washing the hands. when they came out of the morgue. But then one time, 11 out of 12 died in a row, even after they'd washed their hands, after they'd come out of the morgue. Simobi said, Now You will wash your hands between every examination.
Oh, the doctor said, we can't do that. That takes too much time. They almost drove him insane. But he stood his ground.
Now what doctor today would even begin to think? about going from patient to patient. without scrubbing or without changing to latex gloves.
Well, friend. What does the Word of God say about all of this?
Well, look, if you will, in Numbers chapter 19. Verses 14 through 19, this is the law. When a man dieth in a tent, All that come into the tent and all that is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. That is for the bacteria to die. And notice this, and every open vessel.
which hath no covering bound upon it. It is unclean. And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave. Shall be unclean seven days. Hang in.
They had no idea. About a germ. Don't think you know about germs because you're so smart. You can't see them, you can't taste them, you can't feel them. that God says Don't contaminate.
people.
Well, I wish I had more time to talk about that. I'm just telling you the first reason that I believe the Bible is the Word of God is the one that it's so often criticized for. And that is its scientific accuracy. There's not one scientific error. in the Word of God if you understand true science.
Understand the word of God. And you don't have to sit behind the door sucking your thumb, ashamed to stand up for Christ in the Bible. Map. Secondly. I believe the Bible is Word of God not only because of its scientific accuracy.
but because of its historical accuracy.
Now, the Bible is not primarily a book of signs. A wise man has said this: the Bible is not written to tell us how the heavens go, it's written to tell us how to go to heaven. I agree with that. But the God who wrote the Bible is the God of all science. And Jesus said, If I told you earthly things and you believe not, how should you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
We can believe the earthly things of the Bible. But not only is the Bible not a book of science, it is not a book of history per se. but it is historically correct. Another wise man said, the Bible While it may not be a book of history per se, it is his story. It is the story of God.
But people have lampooned the Bible because of its history. Maybe you said, well, the Bible's not historically correct. A great scholar, Dr. S. R.
Driver. was a man who studied the ancient languages. A brilliant scholar. He laughed at the idea that Moses even wrote the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. He said it was impossible for Moses, if he lived in that time, to have written The Bible, because men did not know how to write.
During that time.
So Writing was an art. that was not known in Moses' day. But there was another man who, Dr. Petrie and others, in northern Egypt. Came across some tablets.
I studied about these in school many years ago, the Tell L. Amarna tablets. These were clay tablets that a woman uncovered when she was spading her garden in northern Egypt. And what they were was messages stamped in the clay, letters in writing. From uh people in uh Palestine, the people in Egypt and people in Egypt The people in Palestine.
And there were business letters and correspondence. Not only did they know how to write, They had a post office. Probably about as good as ours. Sending letters back and forth.
Now This man, Dr. S. R. Driver, was a brilliant man. He was just flat out wrong.
They didn't know how to write in the time of Moses. And as we told you also, how could the papyrus Hebras have been written? Had they not known how. Yeah. Let me give you another historical illustration.
Many of you have read the book of Daniel. In the book of Daniel is the story of the handwriting on the wall. Remember Belshazzar had a feast with a thousand of his lords and ladies? And he was drinking from the vessels that had been carried away from the temple of God. And in the midst of this Bacchanalian feast, A gruesome hand.
begins to write on the wall. Mine, minet, tekel, you farson. It was Daniel who came in and read the handwriting on the wall and told the king, That says that you've been weighed in the balances and found wanting your kingdom. is coming to an end. But the point of the whole matter is this.
That Belshazzar said to Daniel, Daniel, If you can read the handwriting on the wall, I'll make you the third ruler in the kingdom.
Now, the historians laughed at that story. They said that's impossible. We know it's impossible because we have the historical records of the ancient Babylonians. And we know that the last king of Babylon before it fell was not a man named Belshazzar. It was a man named Nabonitus or Nabonitus, whichever way you prefer.
to pronounce it. Nabonitis is the way I'll pronounce it. Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon. And we have no record of any Belshazzar. This is obviously a pious fraud.
Somebody wrote this story. It never happened. There was no handwriting on the wall. It never happened. And so they ridicule the Bible until one day.
The spade of the archaeologist uncovered a cylinder. Guess whose name was on it? Bill Shazler's name. And guess what? They later discovered about Belshazzar.
That Belshazzar was the sun of Nabanias. and that he and his father ruled together.
Now The secular historian was quite correct when he said that Nebonidas was the last king of Babylon. But he was quite wrong when he said that Belshazzar was not. They were co-regents. Nabonidus, according to More history was a um a big game hunter and a world traveler. And the kingdom was run.
Not by Nabonidus, but by Belshazzar.
Now you think with me. Doesn't it make more sense now that Nabonidus said to Daniel, If you can read the handwriting on the wall, I'll make you what? the third ruler in the kingdom. See, they're already too. But now, question.
Suppose they had not found the cylinder with Belshazzar's name on it. Would that have made the Bible any less true? Of course not. It would have been true without that so-called archaeological evidence. It made no difference.
What I'm trying to say is that the Bible is historically true. You can bank on the record of the word of God. But there's some great questions in the Bible. One of those questions in the Bible is How shall we escape? If we neglect so great salvation.
I mean, if you turn from God's word. There's no escape for you. Another great question is. What will you do with Jesus? Who's called a Christ?
Isn't that a great question? And you will do something with him. You will ignore him or listen to him. You will accept him or reject him. You will crown him or crucify him.
But you will do something with Jesus. You say, well, I won't decide about Jesus. You just decided not to decide, which is a decision. Another great question in the Bible, what must I do to be saved? Thank God for the answer.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved. How do I know? Not because I feel it. The Word of God tells me.
Jesus loves me this, I know. for the Bible. Tells me so. And I can tell you on the authority of the Word of God. That if you will trust Jesus Christ, He will save you instantaneously.
He'll be with you continually. And he'll keep you eternal. Amen. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683.
Thank you.
