The Importance of the Bible

The Bible is universally recognized as the most important book in the world and without question the best-selling book of all time, a conviction held not only by believers but also by political statesmen, royalty, and renowned intellectuals. This summary explores the Bible’s pervasive cultural influence, its history of survival against powerful critics, and the foundational role it plays in Christian life and doctrine.

I. The Bible’s Unrivaled Influence and Sales Dominance

The scripture’s impact on human history, literature, art, and commerce is unmatched.

Global Creativity and Culture: Artists, poets, writers, sculptors, and musicians have filled the world with works based on biblical themes. If every biblical reference were deleted from the great art and literature of the world, galleries and libraries would shrink by half. Writers as diverse as Milton, Swift, and Scott have borrowed liberally from its pages.

Commercial Success: The familiar observation that the Bible is the best-selling book of all time obscures an even more startling fact: it is the bestselling book of the year, every single year.

• In the United States alone, 50 Bibles are sold every minute, totaling 72,000 every day and 26 million every year.
• By comparison, the top five best-selling single volumes combined (like A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings, and The Little Prince) have sales far below the Bible’s annual distribution.
• The total number of Bibles printed and distributed since records began is estimated to be between 6 and 7 billion.
• The Gideons alone have distributed 1.6 billion copies of God’s word in over 190 countries.

Foundation of Civilization: The development of European culture and Western civilization is based upon the Bible. The Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of Jewish prudence, and the Sermon on the Mount is the foundation of morality and ethics around the world.

Everyday Language: The English Bible is deeply etched into daily language. If you have ever used phrases such as “the salt of the earth,” “signs of the times,” “the patience of Job,” “fight the good fight,” “eat, drink, and be merry,” or been “saved by the skin of your teeth,” you have quoted the English Bible.

II. Divine Origin and Historical Preservation

The Bible is unique because of its divine origin, seamless consistency, and miraculous endurance against determined opposition.

Composition and Authorship:

• The Bible was written over a span of 1,500 years.
• It was composed by more than 40 human authors from all walks of life, including kings, farmers, historians, fishermen, prophets, and apostles.
• It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) and across four geopolitical regions (the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Southern Europe).
• The Spirit of God moved the writers as they wrote, so that the recorded words are nothing less than the very words of God. Simultaneously, the authors’ own styles and personalities remain evident.

Historical Milestones:

• The first translation of the English Bible was done by John Wycliffe in 1382 AD.
• It was the first book ever printed, done by Johannes Gutenberg in 1454 AD.

Survival Against Tyranny and Criticism: History demonstrates that the Bible is incredibly resilient, consistently surviving attempts to destroy it.

• Roman Persecution: In AD 303, Roman Emperor Dioclesian was determined to destroy the scriptures, ordering that every copy be burned and martyring thousands of believers who would not relinquish their Bibles. A victory column was erected over the ashes of a Bible, proclaiming the book extinct. Yet, only 20 years later, Emperor Constantine proclaimed the Bible the infallible judge of all truth, and it “came back to life”.
• Atheist Predictions: French humanist Voltaire (1694–1778) boastfully claimed that 50 years hence, the world would hear no more of the Bible. However, 50 years after Voltaire’s death, Bibles were being printed by the Geneva Bible Society in the very house where Voltaire had lived and on his own printing presses.
• Triumph of Scripture: The sources conclude that the death knell of the Bible has been sounded a thousand times over, but the “corpse never stays put”. The prophets and apostles have overpowered the critics: Moses has outlived Voltaire, Isaiah has outlasted Ingresol, and the apostles have outsmarted the agnostics.

III. The Ultimate Value of Scripture: Knowing God

The profound wisdom, poetic beauty, and accuracy of the Bible’s history and prophecy are unmatched. Its primary value lies in its ability to resolve the most pressing human need: how to know God and be reconciled to Him.

Essential for Salvation:

• The Bible is the only God-inspired book ever written; it is definitive and authoritative.
• We cannot know how to know God unless God reveals Himself to us, and in the Bible, He has done just that.
• The Bible embodies all the knowledge man needs to fill the longing of his soul and solve all his problems.
• The entrance of God’s words gives light (Psalm 119:130).

Confidence in the Text:

• The Word of God, as promised by Isaiah, shall not return void but shall accomplish what God pleases.
• Ministers are confident that as long as they are faithful to the text, honoring it as God’s word, they will be effective. Taking a text out of context becomes a pretext.
• Proper study involves understanding what the Bible meant when it was written to the original readers. Using the Bible randomly (e.g., flipping it open and pointing to a verse for guidance) can lead to highly dangerous and inappropriate misinterpretations.

Personal Commitment and Discipleship:

• Believers throughout history have been willing to sacrifice their very lives for possessing the scripture.
• Evangelist Billy Graham confessed a desire to be “saturated with the Bible” and to know it by heart before he died.
• A minister’s calling involves dedicating one’s life to reading, studying, preaching, and distributing the Bible through all available mediums (radio, television, books, internet).

Final Exhortation: Believers are urged to make the study of God’s word a priority in their lives. The Bible is a “mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, a river of pleasure”. It is given in this life, but its content will be opened someday at the judgment and remembered forevermore.