The Divine Origin of the Bible

The sixth proof of the divine origin and authority of the Bible is the character of those who accept it and the character of those who reject it. Sometimes when a man says to me, “I believe the Bible is the word of God,” I feel like replying: “I am glad that you do. The fact that a man who lives so near God, and knows God so well, believes that He is the author of this book, is a confirmation of my own faith.” And when some other men say to me, “I do not believe the Bible is the word of God,” I almost feel like replying: “On the whole, I am glad that you do not. The fact that a man who lives so far away from God, and knows so little of God, doubts that the Bible is His word, rather confirms my faith that it is.” Of course, it is not meant by this that every man who professes to believe in the Bible is better than every man who doubts it. But this much is meant: Find a man who has entirely surrendered his will to God, who is leading a life of self-renunciation, of devotion to God and his fellow man, of humility and prayer, and in every instance, you will find a man who is fully convinced that the Bible is God’s word. An exception to this cannot be found.

On the other hand, find a man who denies or continuously doubts that the Bible is the word of God, and in every instance, you will find a man who is leading either a life of lust, or greed for money, or self-will, or pride. In other words, those who live nearest God and know God best, with absolute unanimity say the Bible is God’s word; those who deny it are those who live farthest from Him. Which of them should we believe?

Suppose a manuscript were found purporting to be by Oliver Wendell Holmes, and there was much discussion and difference of opinion as to whether Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote it or not. But when it was taken to the critics to decide, every one of them who had lived nearest to Oliver Wendell Holmes, had known him best, and were most in sympathy with his life and thought, said that it was by him. Those who doubted it were those who had lived farthest from him in life and thought and knew him least. Which of them would you believe? This is the exact case with the Bible: those who live nearest to God, who are most in sympathy with His life and thought, who know Him best, with one voice proclaim that the Bible is God’s work; those who deny or doubt it are those who live farthest from Him. Which of them will you believe? But that is not all. The nearer men get to God the stronger becomes their faith that the Bible is the word of God; the more they drift away from God, the fuller they become of doubts. This is a common experience, that men who are both sceptics and sinners, by the simple fact of giving up their sins, lose their doubts.

Did anyone ever know an instance of the opposite sort, where a man was a believer and a sinner, and by giving up his sins lost his faith? On the other hand, instances are of constant occurrence of men who once had a firm and serene faith in the Bible as the word of God, who, by becoming entangled in sin and worldliness, begin also to be filled with doubts. Indeed, my experience of late years with sceptics has led me, when men tell me that they are getting sceptical, to ask them what they have been doing, and a confession of sin often follows a profession of scepticism. Where is the stronghold of the Bible? The pure, happy, loving, holy home. Where is the stronghold of scepticism and infidelity? The saloon, the gambling-den, the racecourse, and the brothel. If a man should go into a saloon and lay a Bible on the bar and call for a glass of whisky, it would occasion wonder and remark; there would be such incongruity in his actions. But if a man should go into a saloon and lay any sceptical or profane book on the bar and call for a glass of whisky, it would excite no comment nor wonder; there would be no incongruity. It would be exactly what men expect. The Bible and whisky do not go well together; infidelity and whisky do go well together.