Oct. 21, 2025

LSW The Living Book Graphics

Lukas: What do you mean “Living Book?”

Is the Bible as alive as Pancho the monkey?

Michael: Exactly! God, through His Holy Spirit, wrote the Bible through the means of many individuals. Through the Bible, God sends us truth, descriptions of Himself (so that we may know Him and His ways), and directions on how we should live. When we read the Bible, we are not just reading any book but rather one that is alive with God’s Spirit.

The Bible declares itself a “living, breathing document”:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 nas

Living: záō; To live; Metaphorically, of things, living, lively, active, also enduring, opposed to what is dead, inactive.

Active: energḗs; Referring to energy, i.e., engaged in work, capable of doing, active, powerful, effective.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Inspired: heópneustos; from Theós, God, and pnéō, to breathe or blow. Prompted by God, divinely inspired,

Have you ever had an experience where the Bible spoke to you in the moment and addressed a present specific situation?

It was December 26, 1986. I was on a flight to Honduras, and there was an incredible view out my window. We were above a cloud deck at 33,000 feet; it was in the early afternoon. The white light of the sun was making a starburst pattern on the window of the Boeing 737 with white clouds below, deep blue sky and ocean all around. I sat there for an hour totally captivated by this incredible sight, having moments of conversation with the Artist of this masterpiece.

Finally, I said, “Lord, if there was any time that You would want to speak to me, I am listening right now.”

I took out my Bible and randomly opened the pages; it happened to be in the Book of Psalms.

My eyes fell on the page, and the first line that I read was

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts!
² My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD;
⁴ How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
¹² O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You! Psalms 84

What is unique about the Bible?

· It’s the all-time best seller. Since the invention of the Guttenberg press, over 2.6 billion Bibles have been printed. If all the Bibles printed were stacked on top of each other, the pile would reach one-third the way to the moon!

· How the Bible was written is unique. Written by more than forty authors, who come from all walks of life (kings to peasants), over a 1500 year time span (1400 b.c. to 90 a.d.), on three continents (Europe, Africa, and Asia), and in three languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic).

Amazingly, all the authors agree on the basic message!

Randy Smith: Look at the influence of the Bible in our world. If you stuck a syringe into human history and sucked out the influence of the Bible, I think Western history as we know it would completely collapse. Just look at the influence of the Bible on our Declaration of Independence. The Bible has had a direct impact even on the lives of those who have tried to prove it is wrong.

How has the Bible influenced Human history?

Consider the ‘other-centerness’ of Biblical morality.

“You must not murder.
¹⁴ “You must not commit adultery.
¹⁵ “You must not steal.
¹⁶ “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
¹⁷ “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:13-17

When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

²⁰ When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.

²¹ When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. ²² Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command. Deuteronomy 24:19-22

How we are to relate to one another:

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
⁴ Then you will find favor with both God and people,
and you will earn a good reputation. Proverbs 3:3-4

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

¹⁴ Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

¹⁷ Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:12-14,17

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.

²⁸ He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

²⁹ Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:25-29

How we are to conduct our business:

¹ The LORD detests the use of dishonest scales,
but he delights in accurate weights. Proverbs 11:1

Christians started the first universities

Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Christians established the first hospitals

And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8

¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with (medicinal) oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. James 5:14-15

How did the Bible affect the population of the Roman Empire?

“Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems.

To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope.

To cities filled with newcomers and strangers Christianity offered and immediate basis for attachments.

To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family.

To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.”

According to Stark’s calculations, the Christian population grew from about 10,000 at the end of the First Century to over 33,000,000 by the middle of the Fourth Century, comprising 53% of the Empire population.

How has the Bible affected your life?

Is the Bible a historical document? Can you trust it?

Test # 1¾Manuscripts

Specific questions to ask when you evaluate a piece of ancient literature are:

· How many manuscripts of the document do we have, and what is the length of time between the oldest one we have and the original writing?

· How does this book compare to other works of ancient literature?

Remember, before the Guttenberg press, all copies were done by hand, which means the more time between the original and the copy we hold in our hand, the more margin there is for error.

As far as the New Testament, we have over 25,000 manuscripts, and the closest one is the Ryland manuscript of the Book of John that dates from about 125 a.d., which is about thirty-five years after John died.

That’s very close to the original date of writing—a very small margin of error.

On the other hand, Homer’s Iliad was written about 900 b.c., and the earliest copy dates from about 500 b.c. That’s about 400 years between when it was written and the earliest existing copy. We only have 643 “ancient” copies of the Iliad.

Compared to the New Testament, the Iliad has a greater margin of copying errors, yet scholars accept the modern version of the Iliad as what Homer wrote.

What about the Dead Sea Scrolls?

In 1947, a shepherd boy named Mohammed Dib was down by the Dead Sea in a place called Qumran, looking for some lost sheep. There are many caves in this desert region, and the sheep sometimes wander into these caves or fall into holes in the ground. Mohammed threw a rock down into one hole, hoping to hear movement of his sheep but instead heard the sound of something breaking. He crawled down inside the hole and discovered his rock had hit and broken a clay jar. There were other clay jars; many containing leather scrolls with writing and immersed in oil.

He took these to a friend, and eventually they ended up in Jerusalem where they were identified as books of the Old Testament, dating from about 125 b.c. Suddenly, we had a text of the Bible that dated almost 1,000 years earlier than the Massoretic text, much closer to the time they were written.

Test #2¾Internal Evidence

Is the record from eyewitnesses (primary source)?

Does the book describe how people of that time reacted to the events

Are all the facts and themes consistent with the work?

Peter and John, who together wrote seven (really eight, as Mark’s gospel is probably Peter’s gospel narrated to Mark) of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, leave no doubt they were eyewitnesses.

Listen to Peter:

For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes. 2 Peter 1:16

John testifies in a very personal manner:

The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. 1 John 1:1

How did contemporary witnesses react to the words of the apostles? Here’s Peter speaking before a large crowd at the temple in Jerusalem:

Peter’s words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all. Acts 2:22, 37-38, 41

Peter appealed to them about an event that all of Jerusalem had witnessed¾the crucifixion of Jesus¾and explained its meaning. Did the people shout “No Peter, you are lying!”?

Are there contridictions in the Biblical text?

One common problem is that two statements in the Bible can differ from one another, but this does not mean that they are contradictory. To be contradictory would be to say that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and in another place say that he was born in Nazareth.

Different authors give partial information.

For example, Matthew 20:29 tells of two blind men that were healed by Jesus at Jericho,

As Jesus and the disciples left the town of Jericho, a large crowd followed behind. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Matthew 20:29-30

Mark tells us of one of these men, and gives us his name:

Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷ When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:46-47

Another problem comes from translation of Greek and Hebrew words into English.

Modern translations eliminate many of these issues.

Test #3¾External Evidence

· Is what was written consistent with other records from that same period?

Archeology in the past seventy years has discovered many artifacts of ancient civilizations. Pottery, clay writing tablets, leather scrolls, paintings, tombs, statues, staella (columns of carved stone with writing and pictures), palaces, homes, temples, and even entire cities have been discovered, uncovered, and recovered. I’ve been to some of the sites in Central America, Europe, and the Middle East.

It is safe to say there has not been one archeological discovery contradicting anything in the Bible. Instead, the artifacts discovered support the lifestyles and cultures described in the Bible. Often, exact names and dates discovered on the artifacts match the information given to us by biblical accounts!

“There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old Testament tradition. The excessive skepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which still appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details, and brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history.” Dr William Albright

Sir William Ramsey, Oxford University

In The Bearing of Recent Discovery where he confidently wrote:

'Further study . . . showed that the book (of Acts) could bear the most minute scrutiny as an authority for the facts of the Aegean world, and that it was written with such judgment, skill, art and perception of truth as to be a model of historical statement' (p. 85).

On page 89 of the same book, Ramsay accounted,

'I set out to look for truth on the borderland where Greece and Asia meet, and found it there (in Acts). You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian's and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment...'

Principle: We can trust the Bible as a historical record!

Why should we read the Bible?

Here are at least seven reasons why you should be studying the Bible.

1) So that you can personally know God.

God tells us of Himself and His ways through His Word. Reading the Bible is a great way we can really get to know God. The essence of Christianity is our personal relationship with God.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8

2) Because you need to know the truth.

Truth is not relative. It is absolute. Truth is simply God’s opinion on the matter.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

3) To receive guidance in your daily life.

With all the conflicting advice offered in this world, we need to know God’s will when it comes to making decisions in our lives.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

4) The Bible is the ultimate source of wisdom.

Other books have their value, but it is the Bible that sets the standard for wisdom in our culture.

Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.
Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.
Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws.
I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments. Psalms 119:97-100

5) We are commanded to study and know the Bible.

Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

6) Knowing the Bible will keep you from falling into error.

With so many different teaching going on in Christian circles, it’s very important to check everything you hear from a teacher (including things in this book!) against the Word of God.

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth. Acts 17:11

7) So that you will be blessed!

There is great blessing that comes from reading and meditating on God’s Word! As we incorporate this discipline into our lives, we will see many things come forth.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

Let’s wrap up this session with this perspective from Laura.

The Search for Truth

Pilate therefore said to Him, “So You are a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” John 18:37-38

We seek truth continually, often looking to books, to man, to universities. We continually seek it but seek it ever too frequently in the wrong places, using the wrong methods. We want to “know,” yet we fall short in our search, for we do not go to the Source in our seeking. The Source of truth has it all, yet we grope, wonder, rationalize, deny, and go on in our busy lives, forgetting to look where we can find it all—all that pertains to life and true freedom living.

“If you abide in My word, then you are truly my disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Spoken by Jesus in John 8:31-32

There is a source of truth. It is one that many of us have read and studied over the years but yet often mechanically and without inspiration. Yet the Bible claims to be “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) and applicable to every area of our lives.

Where is the zeal? Where does it go? It seemingly evaporates as time passes. . . . Years go by and we think we are all the more wise because we know doctrine; we’ve read every Bible story at least ten times. Doctrine isn’t an end in itself; it is the mere beginning. It has to work. It has to affect our lives and all the lives around us.

“Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1

We learn a lot about God from Scripture and do not know Him at all. The goal is to know Him and to keep our love alive and fresh for the Lord Jesus Christ. Without a growing, ever-dependent love, we simply will be “working” for our Master rather than serving Him in love and dedication. Eternity cannot be impacted in this manner. In our knowing Him, we become like Him. In becoming like Him, we will shine His character forth. He increases while we decrease.

We often encourage memorizing Scripture instead of thinking scripturally. We are to incarnate the Word of God, having our lives transformed by it and our minds renewed by it (Ephesians 4:23-24).

“The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14

As Scripture becomes alive in us, we become alive to others and show forth His mind, His heart, and His ways.

It is a shame to admit that we often hear the Word and then don’t do it. We are people who are educated beyond our obedience. The will of God cannot be played out unless our level of obedience is up to par with our level of knowledge. We “know” more than we practice. It is sin to know and not do.

“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” John 13:17

The Word of God has a special personality ingrained in it. These are not mere words written in a book. The Bible is indeed a unique book, filled with life itself. In reading it, we come to know the Creator better and experience His true love for us more deeply. We are then able to give His love out more sincerely; thus, impacting the world around us for eternity.

Personal Reflections

· What sources do you go to search for truth?

· How does knowing that the Bible is a good history book change the way you read it?

· Have you made any personal doctrines out of narrative scripture?

· Would people describe you as flexible in your walk with God?

· In the parable of the prodigal son, with whom do you identify more: the prodigal, the older son, or the father?

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