by 鍾卓權牧師 (Rev. Bernie Chung)
對基督徒而言，新舊約聖經是基督徒信仰的基礎。如果不相信聖經是上帝的話語，那麼關於基督的神性，以及我們的罪孽藉著基督的血得以潔淨和復活的記載就沒有任何意義。以聖經為信仰的基礎的基督徒他們深信舊約和新約全是源於上帝自己，所以聖經是信仰基督和實踐的至高權威。
這也是為什麼聖經比其他書籍更寶貴, 因為聖經是神所默示的。我們所熟悉的提摩太後書 3:16 節說：「聖經都是神所默示的，於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義都是有益的」 。意思是說：“所有聖經的記載都是上帝的靈感動來引導作者的思想”。在 New International Version (NIV) 新國際版中可以翻譯，它說：“所有經文都是上帝所呼吸的。”換句話說，聖靈引導了聖經作者的思想，向他們揭示了上帝自己要寫的內容。
每當我們閱讀聖經，尤其是讀新約時，我們會感受到記載的內容明確地帶有權柄和準確性。 一方面是因為作者是由目擊者或與真正認識耶穌並曾經與耶穌生活在一起的人親自撰寫而成。在彼得後書 1:21 節，更直接地指出說：「因為預言從來沒有出於人意的，乃是人被聖靈感動，說出神的話來」。使徒彼得重申一個堅定的信心，舊約中的預言同樣源自於神，當先知們寫下舊約中的預言時，同樣是「被聖靈感動，說出神的話來」。
正如聖經的記載，宣稱聖經是神所啟示的道。但是以聖經為信仰基礎的基督徒又如何去證明呢？其實有大量的歷史文獻和考古學家的發掘，加上科學證據證明聖經的正確性，尤其是預言中已實現的部分是最佳的證據。舊約中記載約有 300 多個關於彌賽亞的預言都在耶穌基督身上實現了。 至於科學證據，考古學家一次又一次地證明了聖經記載的準確性。一些著名的猶太考古學家，一致承認藉著考古發現古代民族名字，歷史地域 ，分別和聖經對照參考，作證說，毫無疑問，考古學證實了舊約記載的真實性與歷史吻合。
聖經啟示的真實性是聖經的統一性，聖經是由 40 位作者歷經 1600 年之久撰寫而成。大多數作者並非出生於同一年代，彼此並不認識。不少人對聖經各卷書中的統一性感到驚訝，並感嘆地說：「這些作者以不同的方式，從不同的歷史時代，從不同的角度，談論著同一件事，並且肯定地談論著一個永恆不變的創造主和救贖主，將真理帶入人類的心靈。」
但願上帝大有能力的聖言，時常藏在我們心裏，成為生活的指南與我們 生命的粮 。阿們！
Translation:
For Christians, the Old and New Testaments (O.T. and N.T.) are the foundations of the Christian faith. If we cannot believe that the Bible is the word of God, then the accounts of Christ's deity, resurrection, and the redemption of our sins are all meaningless. Christians who base their faith on the Bible recognize that the O.T. and the N.T. come from God Himself, so they are the ultimate authority of our beliefs and our way of life.
Why is the Bible superior to other literatures? It is because the Bible is inspired by God. The familiar verse 2 Timothy 3:16 says: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” All scriptures came from the thoughts of the biblical authors inspired and guided by God. “All Scripture is God-breathed” is a more germane translation of the Greek text found in the New International Version (NIV). In other words, the Holy Spirit guided the minds of the authors of the Bible and revealed to them what God Himself would want them to write.
When we read the Bible, especially the N.T., we can appreciate the clarity, authority, and accuracy of its contents. It is because the Scriptures were written by eyewitnesses or by people who actually knew and lived with Jesus. On the other hand, 2 Peter 1:21 points out: “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Apostle Peter reiterates the indisputable belief that the source of prophecies in the O.T. was God. When the prophets wrote the prophecies in the O.T., they were also "moved by the Holy Spirit to speak the word of God."
What other proof do Christians have that the Bible is inspired by God besides the Bible’s own declaration? Actually, there are a large number of historical documents, records, and scientific evidence that have proved the validity of the Bible. More than 300 prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. These and other fulfilled prophecies are irrefutable evidence. Scientifically, archaeologists have provided proofs to the accuracy of the biblical records time and time again. For instance, many well-known Jewish archaeologists, through research and discoveries, have unanimously confirmed ancient people’s names, historical regions and references cited in the Bible, attesting what is recorded in the Old Testament is also historical truth.
The uniformity of the Bible is amazing as well. The Bible was written by about 40 authors over a period of 1600 years. Even though most of these authors are of different time periods and may have no knowledge of one another, they all wrote about an eternal Creator and Redeemer who brings truth and love into the hearts of His people, past and present. Readers of the Bible may also be surprised by the consistency of the various books in the Bible and find that the Biblical authors described the same thing in different ways, in different historical times, and from different angles—yet it is all about our Creator, Redeemer, and loving Father.
May God’s powerful words reside in our hearts and become our bread of life. Amen!
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