"Obedience Gap" Inspires New Book on Biblical Authority

Mark Ellis : Mar 12, 2008
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"People must have confidence that the Bible is trustworthy and is what it claims to be: the very Word of God, and thus God's inspired handbook for life."

(Laguna Niguel, Ca.)—A growing chasm between people's faith and their lifestyle choices is the motivation of a new book intended to build confidence in the Bible.

"The disparity between what people say they believe and how they live has grown greater almost every year," says Dr. Harold J. Sala, author, speaker, and radio commentator. His Guidelines radio commentary is the longest-running five-minute program on Christian radio. "Vast numbers of people say 'I believe the Bible,' yet what it says never greatly affects their lives, their marriages, their morality, business ethics, or lifestyle choices."

Dr. Sala's new book, "Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible" (Harvest House), combats cafeteria-style Christianity by methodically building a case for the uniqueness and authority of God's Word. "People must have confidence that the Bible is trustworthy and is what it claims to be: the very Word of God, and thus God's inspired handbook for life," he says.

"Vast numbers of people have bought into alternative spiritual beliefs," he notes. Sala hopes to reach a generation influenced by postmodern thinking and relativism. "Many of these individuals have never been confronted with the case supporting Biblical authenticity and authority."

The book builds a bridge to confidence in Scripture by examining the uniqueness of the Bible in its authorship, structure, claims, and preservation. Sala relates the story of Cambridge University Professor J.B. Phillips, who once had a snobbish disdain for the Bible—until he actually studied it. Then he discovered the book was "strangely alive" and "it spoke to my condition in the most uncanny way."

In his book, Sala highlights ten important archaeological finds that affirm the Biblical text, including the 15,000 tablets found in the remains of the royal library at Ebla. Considered one of the most important discoveries of the 20th Century, these nearly perfectly preserved tablets opened a window on a highly literate society that existed in Mesopotamia 1,500 years before Moses wrote the Pentateuch.