THE PRESERVATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

Introduction

Bible is neither the answer book to know our curiosity nor the book of suggestion for success rather it is an inspired Word of God which speaks with God’s authority.  God has given His word first of all to reveal Himself and His love to the fallen Human kind. It also reveals us the fact how God actively involved in human history to save us that we may live in His presence without any guilt forever and ever.   

Rick Warren says in this way “God gave us the Bible to transform us, not simply inform us. It should give us a bigger heart, not a bigger head”.  God makes his purpose for the Bible even more explicit in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “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.” (NLT) The purpose of Bible is more than just showing us what is wrong in our lives or how we should live; God gave us His Word to radically transform our lives. He further adds that The Bible describes itself in different ways. For example, it calls itself a hammer, a sword, and a scalpel. All of those are tools designed to make radical changes. God intends for the Bible to dramatically change our lives.

From the above two paragraphs we learned the purpose why the Lord has given us His word to us. The purpose of this article is not to know the purpose why God has given His word but to know how God preserved His precious words down through the centuries to make know His will to our generations and to the generations to come if He delays His Second coming. God has supernaturally protected His word through many reproductions and translations.  The idea of preservation holds that God has faithfully superintended His Word down through the ages, so that even today, some 3,500 years after portions of the Bible were written down, we can say that what we possess, what we love and what we read are the very words of God!

However here I would like to tell you another fact you can’t go anywhere in this world and find a scrap of paper containing the actual writings of Paul, John, Moses, Peter, James, Daniel, Isaiah or any of the other biblical writers. It doesn't give any base for anyone to doubt the integrity of the Bible. Because the inspired Word of God can be decisively proven by using both the internal evidence of the Bible itself and the external sources of historical and scientific evidence, it can also be proven that the Bible has been divinely preserved down to this very day.  With that in mind, let’s take some time to explore the way how God preserved His Word in History by His power.

God’s Miraculous Preservation

Various efforts were taken by the enemy to destroy God’s inspired word for example in Jeremiah 36:1-32 we read that God gave His word to prophet Jeremiah to write a portion of the Word of God. Jeremiah carefully wrote down the words as he was commanded by the Lord. He then took that to king Jehoiakim and asked him to listen God’s word.  King received illumination from the Lord but he not only deliberately rejected the message but also cut it into pieces and burned it Jeremiah 36:23. Jehoiakim apparently thought that he would destroy the written word and will erase what the Lord had said by the prophet. However, God’s word is settled, not on earth, but in Heaven, Psa. 119:89.  God merely sent His word again through the prophet Jeremiah, Jer. 36:28.  Despite the actions of Jehoiakim, God preserved His Word! That is just one small picture of what God has always done in regard to protecting and preserving His Word down through the ages.

Let us further explore how God preserved His word in the midst of several concerted efforts taken by pagan unbelievers to eradicate the Word of God down through the centuries.

• ·In A.D. 303, the Roman emperor Diocletion ordered the confiscation and destruction of all the Christian scriptures.  Thousands of early copies and possibly some original autographs were burned.  However, the Word of God was not eradicated!  Earnest believers protected the Word and hid it away in the catacombs, in caves and in graves.  Thus the Word of God survived that attack!
• The French humanist Voltaire once said, "Another century and there will not be a Bible on the earth." Two centuries have gone, and the circulation of the Bible is one of the marvels of the age. After he died, his old printing press and the very house where he lived was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society and made a depot for Bibles. On December 24, 1933, the British Government bought a book called Codex Sinaiticus from the Russians for half a million dollars. On the same day, a first edition of Voltaire's work sold for eleven cents in Paris bookshops.
• Joseph Stalin took over all of Russia upon the death of Lenin in the late twenties. From this point on until his death in the fifties, Stalin instituted a "ban the Bible" purge from the U.S.S.R. such as had never been witnessed before. The miserable man literally attempted to wipe the Word of God and the God of the Word from the Russian people’s minds. Did he succeed? A recent poll taken in Russia shows that today more people than ever believe in God and His Word.

In 1526, William Tyndale had produced the first English translation of the Bible to be printed on a printing press.  This new version was hated by the Roman Catholic Church and in particularly by the Bishop of London. A certain man named John Packington, who knew the Bishop and his hatred of the Tyndale translation, but who was also secretly a friend of Tyndale, went to the Bishop of London and told him he knew how to get all of Tyndale’s Bibles.  The Bishop told him to get them and that he would gladly pay whatever they cost.  The Bishop of London promised to buy them with the intention of burning them a Paul’s Cross Cathedral in London.  Packington when to Tyndale and told him of the deal he had made with the Bishop.  Tyndale responded by saying that he knew the Bishop would burn his Bibles.  However, printing the Bibles had left Tyndale deeply indebted.   Tyndale decided to sell the Bibles to the Bishop of London.  He saw several advantages in doing so.  First, he could use the money to pay his way out of debt and have even more Bibles printed.  Secondly, when the people of England saw the Bishop of London burning the Word of God they would become enraged.  So, the enemy of the Word of God actually allowed Tyndale to pay off his debts, correct the text of his translation and print three times the number of Bibles that had been destroyed! Later, when some of Tyndale’s associates were arrested and asked where they received the money to print their Bibles, they answered that the money came from the Bishop of London.  This one instance is proof that God is able to preserve His Word despite the attempts of all its enemies to destroy it.

Conclusion

For thousands of years the enemies of truth have sought to destroy the precious Word of God.  Every attempt to do so has failed miserably as the Bible continues to be read and loved by millions of people. Therefore dear friends we can trust God’s Word. All of it is faithful, righteous, and true (vv. 86, 138, 140, 151, 160). It doesn’t change with the times (vv. 89, 152). One of the amazing things about the Bible is that it speaks with practical relevance to every culture in every period of history. The answers to all the problems we face today are in the Bible, because it speaks God’s truth to our human condition, which has not changed over the centuries.

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS LAMENTATIONS 3:21-26

G. Paulraj

Introduction

In this text Prophet Jeremiah is talking about God’s faithfulness. The word “Faithfulness” in Lamentation 3:23 which means “firmness, fidelity, steadiness, steadfastness.” This word pictures God as One upon whom we can depend. Jeremiah’s realization and experience of God’s faithfulness was twofold on one hand he experienced God’s faithfulness against the backdrop of the Babylonian invasion and destruction of Jerusalem whereas on the other hand he also experienced God’s faithfulness from the sufferings he underwent for announcing the impending God’s judgment upon the hard heartened people.

After experiencing the horror of war, the brutality of the enemy and the pangs of hunger, Jeremiah was still able to stand forth amid the rubble of the city and the bodies of the dead and lift his voice in praise to God for His great, unfailing faithfulness to His people. Despite his personal trials and his troubles as such as rejection, mockery, and rigorous imprisonment for the sake of God’s word Jeremiah had gotten a good grasp on the reality of just “Who God is”! Jeremiah knew that whether things went well, or whether everything fell apart, God would still be God and that God would be eternally faithful to His people, and to His servant Jeremiah was still able to find hope in a hopeless situation because he believed in the faithfulness of His great God.

Like Jeremiah, we all go through times when life seems to fall apart at the seams. When these times come we also need the blessed assurance that God is faithful! Thankfully the Bible gives overwhelming evidence of the unchanging faithfulness of our great God. We can be sure that as we face the storms, trials and valleys of life, God will ever prove Himself to be steadfast and faithful to you and me. To put it very simply, you can count on the Lord and on His faithfulness in all the areas, situations and circumstances of your life!

I. V. 22a. GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS GRACE

In this verse prophet Jeremiah talks about God’s grace that brought Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. It was also the same grace that had kept them a redeemed people in spite of their failures and wanderings. The condition of Jeremiah and the condition of the people of Judah could be paralleled both were afflicted outwardly and experienced turmoil inwardly and pushed to the brim of despair (Lam 3: 1-4; 19a VV 5, 13, 15). However the words of Jeremiah remind us the fact though the hopelessness overwhelmed him and his people they were not consumed because of God’s loyal love and grace. Though Judah was down, but not out. God punished Judah for her sin, but did not reject her as His covenant people. Thus God was faithful in His grace therefore He extended His loyal love by preserving the remnant as His dear Children. They were punished for their sins but not removed from the status of being His covenant people. He chastened His people but he didn’t consume them He disciplined them but didn’t destroy them. This truth caused Jeremiah to call out in praise, “Great is Your faithfulness”.

Dear friends are you living in a hopeless condition? Remember God is faithful in His grace. When we commit sin against Him He will definitely punish us but He will not consume us. He will surely discipline us when we go out of His will but He will not destroy us if only we repent from our waywardness because He is faithful in His grace to secure us eternally.

II. V. 22b-23 GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS GIFTS

In these verses Jeremiah uses the word Mercies this word is translated “loving-kindness” over 30 times in the Old Testament. It is a very expressive word that conveys all the ideas of “love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness and devotion.” This word pictures God as the Divine lover of men. It finds its New Testament equivalent in the idea of God’s love and grace. Therefore His loving-kindness, grace, mercy and His salvation can be described as His gifts to humankind.

Here in this text even in the midst of sufferings and in the hopeless condition Jeremiah still had the faith that God would never cease from His supply. Therefore he boldly said His compassions never fail and they are new every morning. God was still able to supply His fresh loyal love to His faithful people. It was like God’s supply of manna in the wilderness, the supply could not be exhausted. Jeremiah was taken back by the limitless supply of God's grace offered to him. He could trust God despite his circumstances because he now understood how inexhaustible the gifts of God or the supply of His loyal love.

God’s faithfulness in His gifts doesn't promise us an easier Christian life but it gives us strength of God to face battles and to bear up under times of difficulty. With this in mind, we should always remember that regardless of what life sends our way, we can be confident of the fact that the Lord will give us the necessary strength to face the trying times of life. You’ll never face a situation as a believer that God will not give grace to help you make it through. God is the same today as He has been forever, and the same as He will be forever. He was faithful in the beginning and He will be faithful in the end. He was steadfast in the lives of the Bible characters that placed their faith in Him and He will be steadfast in the life of every believer who will trust Him in these days. God is a steadfast and trustworthy God! He will never fail to supply His gifts as such as His love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness and devotion to sustain His people.

III. V. 24-26 GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS GOODNESS

The word “good” has the idea of “pleasant, agreeable and excellent.” It refers to the character of God. This word reminds us that God is ever engaged in that which is best in the lives of His children. Jeremiah calls God as his “portion” “this word means “share or booty.” It refers to “the spoils of war.” Jeremiah is saying, “In the battle of life, God is my reward, my share, and my portion.” When the Lord is viewed in this light, He will be all that a person needs to be satisfied in their soul, Psa. 103:5; Psa. 107:9. God may not give you and me the things we desire in life; but He will always give us that which is best, and He will give us that which will satisfy the soul.

If the Lord is "our portion" (Ps 73:26; 142:5), then we are strengthened by that which cannot be used up or destroyed. God is our eternal source of strength, hope, and blessing (Ps 46:1). Our circumstances change, and so do our feelings about them, but God is always good, loving, merciful, and kind, and He never changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb 13:8. NKJV). To build life on that which is always changing is to invite constant unrest and disappointment, but to build on the changeless and the eternal is to have peace and confidence.

Therefore it is good for us to rely upon His unchanging goodness and to wait patiently and silently for the Lord to work and accomplish His will in His time (vv. 25-28). God is gracious. God is great in faithfulness, and God is good no matter how we feel or what we see. But it isn't enough just to sit and wait: we must also seek the Lord and draw closer to Him (vv. 25, 40).

Conclusion

Great is the faith that can stand amid the wreckage of life and declare the praises of God. Jeremiah was that kind of a believer. Are you? During the early years of missionary activity in China, four members of one family accepted Christ as Savior, but the youngest, a little boy, did not. Later he came to his father and said he wanted to confess publicly that he had received the Savior. The father felt he was not old enough, so he explained to the lad that he might fall back if he made a profession when he was so young. To his well-meaning, concerned father, the boy gave this touching reply: "Jesus has promised to carry the lambs in His arms. I am only a little boy. It will be easier for Jesus to carry me." The simplicity and genuineness of the boy's faith made a profound impression on the father, and he quickly sensed that his son knew what he was doing. Soon the youngster made known his faith in Christ and followed the Lord in believer's baptism.

As you and I face the battles, burdens, valleys, storms and trials of life, we must always remember that we are His little lambs and that He is well able to carry us safely through. So, what kind of battles are you fighting today? Bring them to the Father and trust in His unchanging, unfailing faithfulness. If you are lost and need to be saved, you can come to Jesus He will save your soul. If you are walking through a hard place in life and need help; God will provide the help you need. If you are struggling with the flesh and some besetting sin; there is help for that as well. I hope that you can say, like Jeremiah did, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” Do you need to experience that faithfulness today?