The Bible does not shy away from the controversies of the past and gives an honest account of the mistakes made by men and women during that time, according to legendary evangelist Billy Graham. There is a good reason why the Bible does not "gloss over the faults of those whose lives it records," he says.

If the Bible did not fully reveal those faults, "we might wonder if the Bible were really accurate and could be trusted. But it can be trusted, and one reason is because of its honesty about human nature," Graham writes in an article for the Kansas City Star.

He says the Bible is open about the sins of men and women who are supposedly following God because God wants Christians of today to learn from them.

"One reason is so we'll learn from their example and not make the same mistakes they did. They didn't fail because God hadn't told them how he wanted them to live. They failed because they turned their backs on God's Word and chose to go their own way. And this can happen to us," Graham explains.

The Bible verse 1 Corinthians 10:11 says, "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us."

Moreover, Graham says the Bible records their sinfulness so that people will realise just how much they need a Saviour.

"We aren't any different from them; we too sin, and we too need God's forgiveness. And God made this possible by sending Jesus Christ — who alone was sinless — into the world to take away our sins," says Graham. "As a footnote, don't let anything rob you of your confidence in the trustworthiness of God's Word, the Bible. Through it we come to know Christ, and through it we discover God's will for our lives. Make it part of your life every day."