The Bounty and the Bible!
How can we know the Bible is true? Dr. C.S. Lovett reminds us that “God supplies sufficient evidence for faith to operate, but not enough to convince the unbelieving mind.” If the Bible truly is the Word of God, it is a supernatural book. As such, there should be supernatural elements to validate its authenticity. These supernatural elements will supply sufficient evidence for faith to operate, but not enough to convince someone who is determined not to believe. For reasons beyond our comprehension, JAH delights in His children responding to Him by faith (see Hebrews 11:6). Now consider…
Supernatural Element #1 – Its Power to Change Lives!
“For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:13
This is one of the most important and dynamic verses in the entire New Testament! The believers in Thessalonica did not fall prey to skepticism. They accepted the word of the message of God, “not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God”! Holy Scripture is the living Word of the living God. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, said that His Words are Spirit and Life (John 6:63). And this living Word/Spirit works in those who believe. It transforms us from sinners who are controlled by the flesh into saints who are empowered by the Spirit.
Per Hebrews 4:12, “the Word of God is quick, and powerful.” In other words, the Word of God is an active, dynamic force, and once a person starts to honestly examine and ponder the teachings of Scripture, their way of thinking changes. The Apostle Paul refers to this change in thinking as being, “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2b). It is this Spirit-empowered change in our thinking that produces a change in our behavior. “The thought is father to the deed.”
In "The Reason for Our Hope" Vernon Grounds shares, “Probably there is no more sensational example of the life-transforming power of the Bible than the unbelievable story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. In 1787 the British HMS Bounty, under Captain Bligh, set sail for the island of Tahiti in the South Seas.
“After a voyage of ten months, the ship arrived at her destination, and further six months were spent collecting palm saplings. The sailors meanwhile had become so attached to the native girls, that upon receiving orders to embark, they mutinied, set the Captain and a few men adrift in an open boat, and returned to the island. Captain Bligh, however, survived his ordeal and eventually arrived home in England.
“A punitive expedition was sent out, which captured 14 of the mutineers. But nine of them had transferred to another location, where they formed a new colony on Pitcairn Island. Here, in the language of the Encyclopedia Britannica, they degenerated so fast and became so fierce as to make the life of the colony a hell on earth. One of the chief reasons for this was the distillation of whiskey from a native plant. Quarrels, orgies, and murders were a common feature of their life.
“Finally all the men except two were killed or had died. Only John Adams [also used the name Alexander Smith] and Ned Young were left alone with a crowd of native women and half-breed children. Then a strange thing happened. In a battered chest, they found the ship’s Bible. They read it, believed it, and began to live it. Determining to make amends for their past life, they gathered the women and children around them and taught them too. When Ned Young died of infection, Adams continued the work of teaching the Way.
“Time rolled on. The children grew up and became Christians. The community prospered exceedingly. Nearly 20 years later an American ship visited the island and brought to Europe and England word of its peaceful state. The British government took no further action. There was no need. Pitcairn Island was a Christian community. There was no disease, no insanity, no crime, and no illiteracy, and no strong drink. Life and property were safe, and the moral standards of the people were as high as anywhere in the world. It was a veritable Utopia on a small scale. What had brought about this astounding transformation? Just the reading of a book, and that book was the Bible.”
“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you remain in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” ~ 2 Timothy 3:13-17
Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!