Every word of God proves true. -Proverbs 30:5 NLT
An understanding of the accuracy and importance of the Bible is central to the life of the believer, for Paul says, “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” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT).
What appears to be good isn’t always of God. Proverbs tells us, “There is a way that seems right [good] to a man, but its end is the way of death” (verse 14:12 NKJV).
This is why it is essential we have a dependable source for our standard of what is good. If we follow our own judgment or the prevailing wisdom of the world around us, we may end up walking the way of death.
The Bible is a book that was written by many authors over the course of 1,500 years, yet still possesses perfect unity in theme and teaching. Today I want to stir your love for Scripture even further by sharing from the work of Dr. Peter Stoner.
Dr. Stoner was a professor who, in the mid-1900s, used the science of probability to study the accuracy of the Bible. His work examined the likelihood that any one person could fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Let me tell you about one of his simplest discoveries, as recorded in his book Science Speaks.
Dr. Stoner and his team of more than six hundred science students started with just eight of the over three hundred Messianic prophecies. What was the likelihood that one person—from the biblical era all the way through modern times—would fulfill all eight predictions? Their discovery may surprise you: it’s a 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 chance.
That number is larger than many of us can comprehend, so here’s how Dr. Stoner illustrates his finding: Suppose you had 100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars. That’s a lot of coins—they would cover the entire state of Texas two feet deep!
Now imagine these silver dollars are indeed spread out over Texas. Mark one of them, then shuffle the coins thoroughly. Next, blindfold a man and fly him over the state. When he gives the order, set down and let him—still blindfolded—pick out one coin. The chance that he would select the one marked coin is the same chance that any single person would fulfill the eight prophecies.
Doesn’t this overwhelm you with awe? Jesus didn’t fulfill a mere eight prophecies. He fulfilled every one of the more than three hundred!
We can see that the Bible is a marvelous, accurate, and trustworthy source. So let’s build our lives upon it!
I have a challenge for you. Go through Psalm 119 and make a list of every attribute of Scripture it describes. Meditate on these truths. Does the way you interact with God’s Word reflect its importance? Its accuracy? In what way? How can you grow in this?
