Today is the 305^th Day of 2013. There are 51 days left in this year and only 45 days until Christmas!

On this day in 451 AD, the Council of Chalcedon was adjourned. The Council was convened to deal with the heresy being taught that Jesus Christ was not fully human. To this day, this is one of the most important creeds adopted by the Christian Church!

On this day in 1961, Evangelist Mordecai Ham died. He had been in ministry since 1900 and had pastored for many years at the First Baptist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas. Likely, he is best known as the man who was preaching the revival during which Billy Graham was saved!

Your Dose of Doctrine: How can we know that the Bible is perfectly true?

The One True and Living God determined to reveal Himself to the humans whom He had created. He decreed that this would be done in two specific ways:

1) General Revelation

– There are two types of General Revelation

A. Creation

(Psalm 19:1-6) ¹ “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. ² Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. ⁴ Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, ⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. ⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

                 (Romans 1:18-20) ¹⁸ “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

B. The Conscience

(Romans 2:14-16) ¹⁴ “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶  on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”

2) Specific Revelation

– There are also two types of Specific Revelation

A. The Content of Scripture

(Deuteronomy 29:29) ²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

                 (John 5:39) ³⁹ “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…”

B. Christ

(Hebrews 1:1-2) ¹ “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

In order to communicate with humans, God decreed that He would reveal Himself to us primarily through the use of human language! Yes, there is much we can and do learn about God through Creation, and our Conscience; but, the specific information we must have to know the truth about ourselves and about God can only be found in the Word of God and in the Person of Jesus Christ!

Let us thank God for the Bible!

Thank Him that He gave and preserved it; and, that He allowed it to be translated into our language. We have it in English and we can read it and thereby come to both understand HIM and know HIM!

Over the next several days, I will have a lot more to share with you about the Bible, but for now, why not make a fresh commitment to read from it on a regular basis?

It is an old, old saying; but, it is nonetheless true… “Either the Bible will keep us away from sin, or, sin will keep us away from the Bible!”

Get your Bible out and dig in! You will love it!