148: 10-11-2024 "Bible Based Church"

Today, we're exploring the first of our church’s guiding values: being Bible-based. At Bible Based Church, we believe wholeheartedly that the entire Bible is God's inspired Word, guiding us in what is true and showing us when we’re off track. Scripture isn’t just a historical text; it's reliable, divinely authoritative, and as alive today as when it was first written. The Bible’s reliability is evidenced through accounts that would have been unlikely to be fabricated in the first century. Key moments, like the testimony of women as the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, reveal the Bible's authenticity—challenging cultural norms of the time and showing that its authors recorded events as they happened. The Bible’s authority comes from its divine inspiration. Early church leaders, even those who lived only decades after Christ, revered the New Testament writings as inspired, alongside the Old Testament. This wasn’t an invention of later church councils or emperors; early Christians saw these texts as God-breathed and equal in authority. While some writings like The Shepherd of Hermas were valuable for devotion, only the apostolic works that aligned with core truths were accepted. With this foundation, the Bible became a reliable guide, rooted not in human authority but in divine direction. Finally, the Bible is living and active, powerful to transform our lives when we approach it with humility. It’s not merely a rule book but a pathway to know God deeply. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we can experience heart-burning moments as we encounter God’s Word. As we submit to its truth, the Bible can reshape our hearts, redirect our paths, and anchor us in faith, giving us a dependable compass in a world of shifting values. 2 Timothy 3:16-17