“’Is not my word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” – Jeremiah 23:29
In 1747, Lord George Lyttelton, a member of Parliament, contacted his friend Gilbert West. The two men talked about the falsehood of the Bible and Christianity. Both men had known each other for 18 years dating back to their days as students at Oxford University. They decided to write two different books.
Lyttleton chose the Conversion of Paul and West the Resurrection of Christ for the subject of their hostile criticism. They both spent the majority of 1747 dedicated to exposing the unreliability of the Scriptures.
At the end, they both independently reached the same conclusion, that the Bible was reliable.
Lord Lyttleton wrote: “The conversion and apostleship of Saint Paul alone, duly considered, was of itself a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a Divine Revelation.”
Lyttleton surmised that Paul’s twenty-five years of suffering and service for Christ was a reality, then his conversion was true, for everything he did began with his accepting Christ as His Lord. And if Paul’s conversion was true, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, for everything Paul was and did was attributed to the sight of the risen Christ.
Both Lyttleton’s “Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul” and West’s “Observations on the Resurrection of Christ” have been hailed by Christians as outstanding work supporting the Bible.
The Word of God changes men and women. We need to let its power take hold of us. Today in prayer, thank Christ for His Word and spend some extra time today reading your Bible.
“Divine inspiration makes the Bible uniquely the Word of God and not merely a book containing the Word of God, and as such is different from any other book sacred or secular.” – M.F. Unger
God’s Word: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2006, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS pkennedy6@yahoo.com