Audio I recently had the opportunity to give Bibles to a group of people who had never had one before. These individuals come from a religious background in which written scripture is regarded very highly. According to their customs, a copy of their scriptures can never touch the ground. It would be highly offensive to their god for them to read their scriptures in certain situations – for example, in the bathroom. No one would ever dare to write in or fold down the corner of a page of these scriptures. They also have a belief that their scriptures should not be left sitting open, for fear that evil spirits will come along and corrupt them or read them and know what they say, and therefore be able to distort them in the minds of the people. In that culture, scripture is only scripture if it is written in one particular language – a language that many adherents of their religion do not know how to read. These beliefs and practices result in a superstitious regard for the object of their written copies of scripture that outweighs their regard for the actual content of those scriptures. So, as I handed them their very first copies of the Bible, I told them that they needed to understand something about how Christians view the Bible. First of all, they need to understand that we believe that the Bible is God’s Word. It was written down by human beings, but the words were inspired by God Himself. Second, they need to understand that the contents of the Bible are what we hold sacred, not the physical object of the Bible. That means that if we set our Bibles on the ground, or read them in the bathroom, or underline words in them, or make notes in them, God is not offended. It is not a sin to misplace or lose one’s Bible, because we can get another copy of it if necessary. What is most important is not how carefully we protect our Bibles, but how thoroughly we read and understand them. As I thought about my interaction with those people afterward, I couldn’t help thinking that many Christians are just as confused about the nature of Scripture as those of this other faith. There is a superstitious – almost idolatrous – regard for the physical object of the Bible that surpasses the regard for the verbal content of the Bible. The Bible is viewed as something of an amulet or good luck charm by many who will go to great lengths to protect their Bibles – including not reading or studying them. And this is the greatest disservice we can do to the Word of God: to set it in a place of prominence and security and otherwise disregard the truth that it contains. That Bible will never change anyone’s life. It is only as it is handled, read, studied, and interacted with that it becomes transformative within us. In the closing words of his magnificent account of the words and works of Jesus, the Apostle John makes a few remarks concerning what he has written. These words are his personal testimony and commendation of this Gospel. Moreover, according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these words become for us a lesson in understanding the nature of all Scripture – the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. As we study John’s words here, we find several characteristics of what he has written, and by extension of the whole Bible as well. I. The Source of Scripture (v24)  I suppose everyone enjoys a good Christmas gathering, until someone has the audacity to bring up Jesus. I mean, what does Jesus have to do with Christmas anyway? I can remember one Christmas gathering when the subject of the Bible came up, and one family member said to me, “You don’t believe everything in the Bible do you?” When I responded that I did, the look on the other person’s face was one of utter dismay! The reply came back quickly, “But people wrote the Bible, not God!” I suppose that is how many people view the Bible – the product only of human composition. So, was the Bible written by men or by God? The answer is, “Yes!” It was written by men who were inspired by