<chapter id="h2-importance">
  <title>Importancia de la Palabra de Dios</title>
  <para>Understanding God's word is of great importance to all who call on God's
name. Study of the Bible is one of the primary ways that we learn to
communicate with God.</para>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-unique">
    <title>Un libro que es único</title>
    <para>The Bible stands alone in many ways. It is unique in:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>popularity. Bible sales in North America: more than $500 million per
year. The Bible is both the all-time and year-to-year best seller!</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>authorship. It was written over a period of 1600 years by 40 different
authors from different backgrounds, yet reads as if written by one.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>preservation. F. F. Bruce in <emphasis>Are New Testament Documents
Reliable?</emphasis> compares New Testament manuscripts with other ancient
texts:</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    <table id="h2-importance-manuscripts-table">
      <title>Comparación de manuscritos del Nuevo Testamento con otros textos antiguos.</title>
      <tgroup cols="5">
        <thead>
          <row>
            <entry>Obra</entry>
            <entry>Cuando fue escrita</entry>
            <entry>Copia más antigua</entry>
            <entry>Tiempo transcurrido</entry>
            <entry>Número de Copias</entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry>Heródoto</entry>
            <entry>448-428 AC</entry>
            <entry>900 DC</entry>
            <entry>1300 años</entry>
            <entry>8</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Tácito</entry>
            <entry>100 DC</entry>
            <entry>1100 DC</entry>
            <entry>1000 años</entry>
            <entry>20</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis>Guerra de las Galias</emphasis> de César</entry>
            <entry>50-58 AC</entry>
            <entry>900 DC</entry>
            <entry>950 años</entry>
            <entry>10</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis>Historia Romana</emphasis> de Livio</entry>
            <entry>59 AC - 17 DC</entry>
            <entry>900 DC</entry>
            <entry>900 años</entry>
            <entry>20</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Nuevo Testamento</entry>
            <entry>40 DC - 100 DC</entry>
            <entry>130 DC manuscritos parciales, 350 DC manuscritos completos</entry>
            <entry>30 - 310 años</entry>
            <entry>5000 Griego y 10000 Latin</entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>
    <para>Ten copies of Caesar's <emphasis>Gallic War</emphasis> exist, the earliest
of which was copied 900 years after Caesar wrote the original, etc. For the
New Testament we have full manuscripts dating to 350 A. D., papyri
containing most of the New Testament from the 200s, and a fragment of John's
gospel from 130 A. D. How many manuscripts do we have to compare to each
other? 5,000 in Greek and 10,000 in Latin!</para>
    <blockquote>
      <attribution>Textual critic F. J. A. Hort, "The New Testament in the Original Greek",
vol. 1 p561, Macmillan Co., quoted in <emphasis>Questions of
Life</emphasis>p. 25-26</attribution>
      <para>"En la veracidad y la plenitud de las evidencias en que se apoya, el texto
del Nuevo Testamento está absolutamente inalcanzable por otros antiguos
escritos en prosa".</para>
    </blockquote>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-breathed">
    <title>Un libro que Dios sopló (inspiró)</title>
    <para>
    <emphasis>Heb.4:12</emphasis> "<emphasis>For the word of God is living and
active...</emphasis>" Jesus said <emphasis>(Mt.4:4),</emphasis>"
<emphasis>It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every
word that proceeds [lit., is proceeding] from the mouth of God.</emphasis>"
As we read the Bible, God's Spirit is there to speak it to our hearts in a
continually-fresh way.</para>
    <para>2 Tim.3:16 declares, " <emphasis>All scripture is inspired by God [lit.,
God-breathed].</emphasis>" Do you believe this? Before you answer, consider
Jesus' attitude toward the Scriptures.</para>
    <blockquote>
      <attribution>John R.W. Stott, <emphasis>Christ the Controversialist (Cristo el
Polemico)</emphasis>, InterVarsity Press 1978, pp.93-95</attribution>
      <para>He referred to the human authors, but took it for granted that behind them
all was a single divine Author. He could equally say 'Moses said' or 'God
said' (Mk.7:10). He could quote a comment of the narrator in Genesis 2:24 as
an utterance of the Creator Himself (Mt.19:4-5). Similarly He said, 'Well
did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written', when what He went
on to quote is the direct speech of the Lord God (Mk.7:6 &amp; Is.29:13). It
is from Jesus Himself that the New Testament authors have gained their
conviction of the dual authorship of Scripture. For them it was just as true
to say that 'God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets' (Heb.1:1) as
it was to say that 'men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God' (2
Pe.1:21).  God did not speak in such a way as to obliterate the personality
of the human authors, nor did men speak in such a way as to corrupt the Word
of the divine Author. God spoke. Men spoke.  Neither truth must be allowed
to detract from the other.  ...</para>
      <para>This, then, was Christ's view of the Scriptures. Their witness was God's
witness. The testimony of the Bible is the testimony of God. And the chief
reason why the Christian believes in the divine origin of the Bible is that
Jesus Christ Himself taught it.</para>
    </blockquote>
    <para>2 Tim.3:16 goes on, " <emphasis>and profitable for teaching, for correction,
for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped
for every good work.</emphasis>" If we accept that the Bible really is God
speaking to us, it follows that it will be our authority in all matters of
faith and conduct.</para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-works">
    <title>Un libro que Obra</title>
    <para>What will studying the Bible do for you? 1 Thess.2:13 says that the Bible "
<emphasis>performs its work in you who believe.</emphasis>" Beside each
scripture, write down the work the Word performs.</para>
    <table id="h2-importance-results-table">
      <title>¿Qué hace el estudio de la Biblia por los cristianos?</title>
      <tgroup cols="2">
        <thead>
          <row>
            <entry>Referencia</entry>
            <entry>Acción</entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry>Efesios 5:26</entry>
            <entry>limpia -- "...limpiándola en el lavamiento del agua por la palabra"</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Hechos 20:32</entry>
            <entry>builds up -- " ...the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and
to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. "</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Romanos 15:4</entry>
            <entry>alienta -- "...para que por la paciencia y consolación de las Escrituras,
tengamos esperanza."</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Romanos 10:17</entry>
            <entry>da fe -- "Así que la fe viene por el oír, y el oír, por la palabra de Dios."</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>1 Corintios 10:11</entry>
            <entry>instruye -- "Y todas estas cosas les acontecieron como ejemplo; y son
escritas para amonestarnos a nosotros"</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Mateo 4:4</entry>
            <entry>alimenta -- "Mas Él respondiendo dijo: 'Escrito está: No sólo de pan vivirá
el hombre, sino de toda palabra que sale de la boca de Dios.'"</entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-liberates">
    <title>Un libro que libera</title>
    <para>Jn.8:32 " <emphasis>and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.</emphasis>"This is usually quoted by itself. Is this a conditional
or unconditional promise? Would it apply to all kinds of knowledge? Find the
answers by examining the first half of the sentence, in v.31. " <emphasis>If
you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine...</emphasis>"</para>
    <para>We see that this is a conditional promise, specifically speaking of the
truth of God's word.</para>
    <para>The Greek word for "wind" used in Eph.4:14 means a <emphasis>violent
wind.</emphasis>" <emphasis>As a result, we are no longer to be children,
tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of
doctrine...</emphasis>"One thing studying the Bible does for us is to ground
us in the truth, with the result that we won't be easily "blown away."</para>
    <para>
    <emphasis>But Jesus answered and said to them,</emphasis>" <emphasis>You are
mistaken [KJV Ye do err], not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of
God.</emphasis>" Mt.22:29</para>
    <para>¿Qué 2 cosas necesitamos saber para protegernos del error?</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>La palabra de Dios </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>El poder de Dios</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-wars">
    <title>Un libro que guerrea</title>
    <para>Efesios 6:10-18 es una imagen de nuestro armamento espiritual.</para>
    <table id="h2-importance-armor-table">
      <title>Armadura Espiritual</title>
      <tgroup cols="2">
        <thead>
          <row>
            <entry>Pregunta</entry>
            <entry>Respuesta</entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry>¿Cuantas armas que figuran en la lista son armas defensivas?</entry>
            <entry>5</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>¿Cuantas con ofensivas?</entry>
            <entry>Una</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>¿Cúal?</entry>
            <entry>la palabra - <foreignphrase>rhema</foreignphrase></entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-exhortations">
    <title>Exhortaciones</title>
    <para>2 Tim.2:15 (KJV) " <emphasis>Study to show thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.</emphasis>"</para>
    <para>Col.3:16 " <emphasis>Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you; with
all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to
God.</emphasis>"</para>
    <para>Si usted es rico en algo, ¿cuánto tiene?</para>
    <para>¡No un poco!</para>
    <para>Eccl.12:11-12 " <emphasis>The words of wise men are like goads, and masters
of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one
Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is
endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the
body.</emphasis>"</para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-once">
    <title>Apéndice: "Una vez para siempre"</title>
    <blockquote>
      <attribution>John R. W. Stott, <emphasis>Christ the
Controversialist,</emphasis>InterVarsity Press 1978, pp.106-107</attribution>
      <para>The truth regarding the finality of God's initiative in Christ is conveyed
by one word of the Greek Testament, namely the adverb
<foreignphrase>hapax</foreignphrase>and
<foreignphrase>ephapax</foreignphrase>. It is usually translated in the
Authorized Version once, meaning once for all. It is used of what is so done
as to be of perpetual validity and never need repetition, and is applied in
the NT to both revelation and redemption. Thus, Jude refers to the faith
which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), and Romans says, "
<emphasis>Christ also died for sins once for all</emphasis>" (Rom.6:10, see
also 1 Pe.3:18; Heb.9:26-28).</para>
      <para>Thus we may say that God has spoken once for all and Christ has suffered
once for all. This means that the Christian revelation and the Christian
redemption are both alike in Christ complete. Nothing can be added to either
without being derogatory to Christ... These are the two rocks on which the
Protestant Reformation was built -- Gods revealed word without the addition
of human traditions and Christ's finished work without the addition of human
merits. The Reformers great watchwords were <foreignphrase>sola
scriptura</foreignphrase>for our authority and <foreignphrase>sola
gratia</foreignphrase>for our salvation.</para>
    </blockquote>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-supplement">
    <title>Suplemento: Programas de Lectura de la Biblia</title>
    <para>Here are some easy programs to systematically read your Bible. You can do
more than one at a time if you like, for instance #1 with #4, or #2 with
#5. Vary the program from year to year to keep it fresh!</para>
    <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
      <listitem>
        <para>Nuevo Testamento en un año: leer un capítulo cada día, 5 días a la semana.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Proverbios en un mes: leer un capítulo de Proverbios cada día, que
corresponde al día del mes.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Salmos en un mes: 5 leer los Salmos, a intervalos de 30 cada día, por
ejemplo, el día 20 leer Salmos 20, 50, 80, 110, y 140.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Los Salmos y Proverbios en 6 meses: leer a través de los Salmos y Proverbios
de un capítulo por día.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Antiguo Testamento, sin Salmos y Proverbios en 2 años: si se lee un capítulo
al día de el Antiguo Testamento, saltando Salmos y Proverbios, se lee el
Antiguo Testamento en 2 años y 2 semanas.</para>
      </listitem>
    </orderedlist>
  </sect1>
</chapter>
