<chapter id="h2-importance">
  <title>Importância da Palavra de Deus</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>Um Livro que é Único</title>
    <para>A Bíblia se destaca de muitas maneiras. É exclusiva em</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>popularidade. Vendas de Bíblias na América do Norte: mais de US$ 500 milhões
por ano. A Bíblia é o <it>best-seller</it> mais bem vendido de todos os
tempos e de ano em ano!</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>autoria. Foi escrita num período de 1.600 anos por 40 autores diferentes, de
diferentes histórias e origens, mas, mesmo assim lê-se como se fosse apenas
um livro.</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>Comparação dos manuscritos do Novo Testamento com outros textos antigos.</title>
      <tgroup cols="5">
        <thead>
          <row>
            <entry>Texto</entry>
            <entry>Quando foi Escrito</entry>
            <entry>Cópia mais recente</entry>
            <entry>Diferença de Tempo</entry>
            <entry>Número de Cópias</entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry>Herodotus</entry>
            <entry>448-428 a.C.</entry>
            <entry>900 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>1300 anos</entry>
            <entry>8</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Tacitus</entry>
            <entry>100 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>1100 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>1000 anos</entry>
            <entry>20</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis>Guerras da Gália</emphasis>de César</entry>
            <entry>50-58 a.C.</entry>
            <entry>900 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>950 anos</entry>
            <entry>10</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis>História Romana</emphasis> de Lívio</entry>
            <entry>59 a.C. - 17 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>900 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>900 anos</entry>
            <entry>20</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Novo Testamento</entry>
            <entry>40 d.C. - 100 d.C.</entry>
            <entry>130 d.C Manuscritos parciais - 350 d.C. Manuscritos completos</entry>
            <entry>30 - 310 anos</entry>
            <entry>5000 em Grego &amp; 10.000 em Latim</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>"Na verdade e plenitude das evidências e contexto, o Novo Testamento está em
absoluta e inalcançável posição dentre outras escrituras antigas."</para>
    </blockquote>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-breathed">
    <title>Um Livro Inpirado por Deus</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>Cristo o Controverso</emphasis>, Editora
InterVarsity 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>Um Livro que Funciona</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>O que o Estudo Bíblico faz para os cristãos?</title>
      <tgroup cols="2">
        <thead>
          <row>
            <entry>Referência</entry>
            <entry>Ação</entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry>Ef 5.26</entry>
            <entry>santificação -- "..., tendo-a purificado com a lavagem da água, pela
palavra"</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>At 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>Rm 15.4</entry>
            <entry>Encoraja -- "porquanto, tudo que dantes foi escrito, para nosso ensino foi
escrito, para que, pela constância e pela consolação provenientes das
Escrituras, tenhamos esperança"</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Rm 10.17</entry>
            <entry>Dá fé -- "Logo a fé é pelo ouvir, e o ouvir pela palavra de Cristo"</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>1 Co 10.11</entry>
            <entry>Instrui -- "Ora, tudo isto lhes acontecia como exemplo, e foi escrito para
aviso nosso..."</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Mt 4.4</entry>
            <entry>Nutre -- "Mas Jesus lhe respondeu: Está escrito: Nem só de pão viverá o
homem, mas de toda palavra que sai da boca de Deus"</entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-liberates">
    <title>Um Livro que Liberta</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>Quais as duas coisas que nós precisamos para escapar do erro?</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>Palavra de Deus</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Poder de Deus</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-wars">
    <title>Um Livro que Luta</title>
    <para>Ef. 6.10-18 é uma figura de nossa armadura espiritual.</para>
    <table id="h2-importance-armor-table">
      <title>Armadura Espiritual</title>
      <tgroup cols="2">
        <thead>
          <row>
            <entry>Pergunta</entry>
            <entry>Resposta</entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry>Quantas das armas listas são para defesa?</entry>
            <entry>5</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Quantas são para atacar?</entry>
            <entry>Uma</entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry>Qual?</entry>
            <entry>a palavra - <foreignphrase>rhema</foreignphrase></entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="h2-importance-exhortations">
    <title>Exortações</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>Se você é rico em alguma coisa, quanto disso você tem?</para>
    <para>Não só um pouquinho!</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>Apendice: "De uma vez por todas"</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 Leitura Bíblica</title>
    <para>Aqui estão alguns programas fáceis para leitura sistemática da Bíblia. Você
pode fazer mais de um por vez se desejar, por exemplo #1 com #4, ou #2 com
#5.  Varie o programa a cada ano para mantê-lo fresco!</para>
    <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
      <listitem>
        <para>Novo Testamento em um Ano: leia um capítulo por dia, 5 dias por semana.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Provérbios em um Mês: leia um capítulo de Provérbios por dia, correspondente
ao dia do mês.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Salmos em um mês: leia 5 salmos com intervalo de 30 entre eles por dia. Por
exemplo, no vigésimo. dia você lerá Sl 20, 50, 80, 110 e&amp; 140.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Salmos &amp; Provérbios em 6 meses: leia Salmos e Provérbios, um capítulo
por dia.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Antigo Testamento sem Salmos &amp; Provérbios em 2 anos: se você ler um
capítulo por dia do Antigo Testamento, pulando Salmos &amp; Provérbios, você
lerá o Antigo Testamento em 2 anos e 2 semanas.</para>
      </listitem>
    </orderedlist>
  </sect1>
</chapter>
