It Can Handle the Heat
It was 1942 when, at the time, Senator Harry S. Truman would coin the phrase, “If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen”. This is to say that if you are afraid of scrutiny, avoid the place where you might face that negative feedback.
In Matthew 24, Jesus makes a pretty big promise. After predicting the signs that will precede the end of the world, Jesus promises, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
This is a pretty bold promise, that God’s word will outlast that which is above the earth and those things and peoples of the earth. I gotta be real with you, I believe Jesus. God’s word is eternal and that it can withstand the tests it might face.
Scripture can handle the heat. It’s big enough for our questions and doubts. The Bible has endured through history and persecution. God’s word continues to outlast its doubters. When we consider the ways it has endured many attempts to eliminate it, and its continual impact, we cannot help but trust the word of God.
God’s word can handle the heat because it is a word of permanence. Isaiah 40:8 declares, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.” God’s word has staying power. Theologian and Bible Teacher Arthur Pink said of the lasting nature of God’s word, “A very small percentage of books survive more than twenty years, a yet smaller percentage last a hundred years, and only a very insignificant fraction represent those which have lived a thousand years.”
The Bible has endured time, intellectual criticism, and even direct attempts to destroy it. Consider the King in Jeremiah 36, who was intentionally burning the prophecies written down by Jeremiah. This is no surprise considering God’s Word has always been under attack. In 100 B.C., In 100 B.C., Antiochus IV ordered the destruction of the Jewish scriptures and the death of anyone who owned them. Diocletian, the Roman Emperor, ordered the destruction of all Bibles and churches in 303 A.D. After using the first printing press to give God’s Word to people in the common language, William Tyndale was imprisoned and killed in October of 1536. French philosopher Voltaire predicted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would be extinct…. He died in 1778… Even Hitler made an attempt to rid the world of the Bible, having thousands of scrolls containing the Hebrew Bible destroyed in the 1930s.
Despite the best attempts of emperors, philosophers, tyrants, and armies, God’s Word has not only endured but thrived through the ages. It can handle the heat! In fact, its permanence is a testimony of its purpose. God ordained His Word. God preserved His Word. God’s Word is permanent.
Not only has the Bible survived its opponents’ best attempts to stamp it out, it continues to impact people even today! The British and Foreign Bible Society estimates that the total number of Bibles sold all time is between five and seven billion. This makes it unequivocally the #1 best-selling book of all time! (Aka the NOBSBOAT). According to Answers in Genesis, there are an estimated 20 million Bibles sold each year worldwide. In 2024, Bible sales increased by 22%! In an age where access to information is greater than ever, people seem to have an increasing hunger for the Word of God.
History and civilization have been greatly impacted by the Bible. Sir Isaac Newton said, “We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history
whatsoever.” Dr. Charles W. Mayo, who helped found the Mayo Clinic, said, “In sickness or in health, one can find comfort and constructive advice in the Bible.” Author Charles Dickens said of Scripture, “It is the best Book that ever was or ever will be in the world.”
We hold much more than just a book! Psalm 12:7 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.” Scripture has been given to us, persevered carefully through history, and continues to impact people thousands of years after its authorship because it is the living, breathing word of God.
