The Authority of Scripture

In August of 1949, Billy Graham was on the verge of making a decision of whether or not to begin his evangelistic crusades which would ultimately make him the most well known evangelist in America.  However, he had to struggle with his personal doubts about whether the Bible was completely true or not.  In his autobiography, "Just As I Am" he said these words one evening, "I had no doubts concerning the deity of Jesus Christ or the validity of the Gospel, but was the Bible completely true?  As that night wore on, my heart became heavily burdened.  Could I trust the Bible?  If I could not trust the Bible, I could not go on.  I would have to leave pulpit evangelism.  I was thirty years of age.  It was not too late to become a dairy farmer.  But that night I believed with all my heart that the God who had saved my soul would never let go of me.  I got up and took a walk . . . dropping to my knees there in the woods, I opened the Bible at random on a tree stump in front of me . . . the exact wording of my prayer is beyond recall, but it must have echoed my thoughts:  'O God!  There are many things in this book I do not understand.  There are many problems with it for which I have no solution.' 

I was trying to be on the level with God, but something remained unspoken.  At last the Holy Spirit freed me to say it.  'Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word - by faith!  I'm going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.'  When I got up from my knees at Forest Home that August night, my eyes stung with tears.  I sensed the presence and power of God as I had not sensed it in months.  Not all my questions were answered, but a major bridge had been crossed.  In my heart and mind, I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won."

This was the turning point for Billy Graham.  From that moment on he could preach the Word of God with power and authority.  Billy Graham's favorite expression was, "the Bible says."  He didn't defend or apologize for the Bible, he just presented it.

The Bible is the word of God.  It is not the word of human beings.  II Timothy 3:16 tells us, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."  The Greek word here for inspiration means literally, "inbreathed by God" and has a direct connection to the Holy Spirit.  This means that the Holy Spirit was the One influencing the human beings who wrote the different books of the Bible.  Psalm 119:160 states, "The entirety of your word is 
truth . . . " John 6:63 tells us, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

Have you ever had your Billy Graham moment when you wrestled within your soul about the truth of the Bible?