BUY THE TRUTH

"Buy the truth, and do not sell it...."

— Prophet Solomon (Proverbs 23:23)

Imagine walking into a crowded marketplace packed with billions of people.

Yes, billions.

Stretching farther than the eye can see are ten thousand shops and booths. From every direction, zealous vendors are calling out, shouting, chanting, arguing, pleading, praying – some softly, some through loudspeakers, each claiming to offer exactly what you came to buy:

The Truth!

Don't laugh. Oxford University Press has published an encyclopedia identifying ten thousand distinct religions worldwide. And that doesn't include the thousands of sects and denominations found within those religions.

So what are we to buy? Who are we to believe?

If there is only one true God, and if He has revealed the truth about Himself and His plan for mankind, how can we possibly recognize it?

Four thousand years ago, the prophet Job raised a similar question:

"Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value ... It cannot be purchased for gold, nor can silver be weighed for its price ... The price of wisdom is above rubies." (Job 28: 12-13,15,18)

Must we stumble through life confused and uncertain, or can we know the wisdom and truth of the one true God?

We are about to find out.

THE BOOK OF BOOKS

The word Bible comes from the Greek word Biblia, meaning "book of books" or "library."

After more than two millennia of communicating orally to and through men like Adam, Noah, and Abraham, God used about 40 men over more than 15 centuries to put His message in writing. These messengers were called prophets or apostles. The term prophet literally means "one who speaks out" and apostle means "messenger." Today we have what they wrote in one volume – the Bible. Terms such as the Holy Scriptures, the Writings of the Prophets, and the Word of God are also used in reference to the Bible. The Torah, Psalms, and Gospels refer to specific sections within the Bible. In Arabic, these Scriptures are called al-Kitab-al-Muqadas, meaning "the Holy Book."

Century after century, year after year, the Bible outsells every other book in the world. To date, in part or in whole, the Scriptures of the Bible have been translated into no less than 2,400 languages, with 1,940 languages in progress. No other book comes close.

Yet despite its unparalleled popularity, the Bible is the most despised and feared book in human history. Over the centuries, world governments and leaders, secular and religious alike, have declared the all-time best seller illegal, persecuting and even executing citizens caught in possession of it. To this day, some nations enforce this policy. Even in "Christian" countries, Bible reading is banned from public classrooms and institutions.

TORTURED

When I was growing up, my father was a friend of Richard, a man who had spent fourteen years in communist prisons in Eastern Europe where he was regularly deprived of sleep, starved, hung upside down and beaten, locked in a refrigerated cell, burned with red hot pokers, and carved on with knives. With my own eyes I saw some of the deep and ugly scars on his body. Richard's wife was also arrested and sentenced to forced labor in a prison camp for the same "criminal activity" as her husband.

What was their crime against the atheistic state?

They were caught teaching the Bible to others.

OSTRACIZED

My friend Ali was in big trouble. His father had arranged a family meeting of the men.

The senior uncle was present.

The younger brothers were called in.

Finally, Ali the firstborn son was set in the middle.

Ali's father gave a passionate speech, which concluded something like this, "You have shamed our family! You have betrayed our religion! You must leave the house and never come back. I must never see your face again!"

The uncle interjected, "Yes, and if you are not out by tomorrow, I'll throw your belongings into the street!"

Why the anger?

After nearly a year of reading the Bible, Ali had chosen to believe it.

THE LIVING WORD

What makes the Bible such a controversial book?

What causes governments to forbid it and parents to disown their children for believing it?

What drives millions of monotheists to share common ground with atheists in their disdain for these ancient writings?

Could the Bible's claim to be the living, active, penetrating, and judging Word of God have something to do with it?

"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 NIV)

STANDING FAST BY THE BOOK

My wife and I, and our now-grown children, have spent most of the past twenty-five years in Senegal, West Africa. Nearly all of our neighbors follow the religion of Islam. Islam means surrender or submission, and Muslim means one who is submitted. The book revered by Muslims is the Qur'an (also spelled: Koran). What I write flows from thousands of personal dialogues with Muslim friends and acquaintances from Senegal and around the world.

Although I have invested considerable time studying both the Bible and the Qur'an, ONE GOD ONE MESSAGE will focus on the Bible. Years ago, a Senegalese friend and I produced a 100-program chronological radio series in the Wolof language of Senegal. Each broadcast features a story and a message from the prophets of the Bible. Some listeners have asked, "Why do you not also teach the Qur'an?" Here is my answer:

In this country, children begin to recite the Qur'an when they are three or four years old. Qur'anic teachers and schools can be found in every neighborhood, but who is able and willing to teach the stories and message contained in the Torah,...