God bless you today and thank you for joining us here on another segment with Jesus Christ for Muslims. I am privilege to spend this time with you and to help us grow together as to understand the word of God in our Christian walk. We are addressing some questions that had been sent to us and they are very good questions, questions that truly deserve a good answer that is based on the Bible because the Bible has answers to all of our questions. So this is the question that we are addressing today.
“Muslims often claimed that the Bible has been corrupted and that it is not authentic. The Bible is written by over 40 men including a Prime minister which was Denial, a fisherman which is Peter, a doctor which was Luke and prisoners like Jeremiah and the apostle Paul, and for almost two thousand years it was written while the Quran was written by only one man, Mohammad and was dictated to him by the angel Gabriel.”
So, the question is why should people believe in the authenticity of Quran more that of the Bible. And the Bible says in second Timothy 3:15 through 17, and this is what I truly believe;
“You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus”. And this is kind like a main verse that we are reading here “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work”.
So, even though the Bible truly was written by more than 40 authors and truly was written throughout a big span of time of over 15 hundred years to almost two thousand years we need to understand that the authenticity of the Bible, its consistency throughout all these 40 plus writers, and all these 15 plus hundred years were still able to maintain a continuity of God’s Word to his people.
Listen to what first Thessalonians says; chapter 2 verse 13 “Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received His message from us. You did not think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what is said as the very word of God which, of course, it is. And this word continues to grow in you who believe”. This is the difference between the Bible that was written even by 40 plus authors, even in over 15 to two thousand years. That it is able to make an effect in your life. That you might grow in your Christian walk, that maybe other books out there that are written even the Quran that do not allow you to grow from your position but rather always stay at the same level because the power that it has to transform your life, the power that it has to make you a better person is simply not included in those words, even if they were dictated by the Angel Gabriel, the Angel Gabriel is not God. God is the one who wants to speak His words into your life. God has the power to allow you to take this word and eat it and digest it and grow with it and be transformed by the power of the Word of God no other book has that power.
The last scripture that I want to read to you is in second Peter chapter 1 verses 16 through 21 and this is what the word of God says “For we are not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw His majestic splendor with our own eyes”. You see, the people that were inspired to read this book did not hear from someone else was dictating it to them, they saw it, they are testifying, there were eye witnesses to the power of God. When Jesus rose from the dead, when Jesus was taken up into Heaven, the apostle Peter here saying “we saw it, no one told us about it, we saw it, we experienced it”.
And when he received the honor and glory from God the Father. The voice of the majestic glory of God said to him “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy”. They heard the Word of God spoken at that moment. When they talk about Jesus and the apostle keep saying in verse 18 “We ourselves heard that voice from Heaven when we were with Him on the Holy mount”.
Verse 19 “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day of dawn, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts”.
Verse 20 “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding”. That is very understanding. that is very powerful to understand, that does not matter how many books might be written out there, that might be written by their own knowledge, by their own understanding. That is not what the prophets of the Lord did, that is not what the apostles of the Lord did, they did not speak of their own knowledge but rather they were testifying of being the eye witnesses of what God did through Jesus Christ. They lived it and they were able to write it down inspired by the Holy Spirit so they did not forget anything was important so that you and I might learn it and might know it to grow in our Christian walk.
And the last verse, verse 21 “or from many human initiatives. No, (no, no they say’s) those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke directly from God”.
See, that is the difference, that is the reason why it is almost something that is like a miracle in itself. The Bible the word of God even though it was written by 40 plus men, even though it was written from a span of 15 hundred to two thousand years, every book of the Bible always pointed towards Jesus Christ. When He came on this earth then the books that fall in the Bible for then testifying being witnesses of what they saw, of what they heard from Jesus Christ Himself, and it is always in accordance, it always coincides one with another. You will never find a discrepancy from one book to another, they will always coincide because it is truly the Word of God, Hallelujah! And that is why it is amazing that we believe that this book that we call the Bible, it is consistent and it has not changed and that is why the last book of the Bible says; and you shall not add to this book, and you shall not subtract from this book because it is complete. It does not need no more addition, it does not need any subtraction, it is completely the Word of God.
The difference from the authors that wrote the book were not based on their own ideas as I mentioned earlier but rather they were writing down with the Holy Spirit of God was directing them to write to His people and this is why the Bible becomes a book that is powerful, a book that is authentic, a book that is perfect in every way and manner, no matter how you read it, no matter which book you read first or which one you read last they are all going to coincide with each other because they are the truly the Word of God.
There is a verse in the Bible that is very powerful when it talks about the Word of God and it is in Psalms 118:8 and this is what the verse say’s “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” It is pretty simple then, if the Bible is the Word of God, I need to trust the Word of God. First and foremost than any other book that might be written by any other man it is that simple the Word of God just told me, it is better to trust in the Lord then to put your trust in man because man can fail us, man can be here today and be gone tomorrow but God, God is always there, God was here yesterday, He is here today, He will be tomorrow and forever more, He is someone you can place your trust in, He is someone who can truly meet all the needs of your life, maybe physical maybe spiritual maybe monetary, does not matter what God is fulfilling, His Word is complete, His Word is faithful and true, you can trust it and it will come through to you.
So, I ask you today whom would you rather trust; the Lord or man? I know the Holy Spirit gives you the answer and tells you to trust the Word of God. Trust the Lord, it will never fail you, it will always fulfill its purpose in your life. So, yes! The Word of God is written by more than 40 authors. yes! It was written from 1500 to 2000 years. there is no problem with that but the authenticity of the Bible is true and real because it coincides, it works together to bring you to Jesus, you accept Jesus, you live with Jesus and then you have eternity with Jesus. all of that is included in the Word of God which is faithful and true. trust it today. I ask you do that in the name of Jesus. Thank you once again for being with us. if you have any questions or concerns please write to us. we are here to grow together with you keep us in your prayers support us the best you can and together we will bring the Word of God and the truth to the entire world. God bless you today and thank you for joining us here at Jesus Christ for Muslims.
Pastor Samuel R Garza