January 2022
I mentioned in December's article that I am a Christian because of the Book. It really does start there: faith come by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Each of these articles will build on the last in my list of fives. Here, then, are five reasons I trust that the Book is true: it's amazing composition, geology and archeology, fulfilled prophesies, Jesus quoted it, and changed lives.
There is no other book like The Book. No other book has faced the opposition and attempts to destroy it like the Bible has but continues to survive and be the best selling book year after year. At the core of believing that the Bible is true is our confession that the Bible is God's Word. Not only did He inspire it, He also gave it an amazing composition. The Bible was written in three languages, on three continents, by at least forty men, over a period of 2000 years but has one theme. There was no “two millennium collaboration” between its authors to coordinate its theme. And yet, all sixty-six pieces of this collection point us to Jesus and what He did for us to solve the desperate problem of our sin. I believe the Bible is true because it is amazingly composed.
An evolutionary world view tries to explain how our earth came into being, how the tectonic plates separated, how the Grand Canyon was formed. All of those theories require believing in the virtually impossible. The Bible has much more plausible answers to these questions (for example the Great Flood in the days of Noah) which are dismissed simply because they come from a source that is primarily about faith. Archeology has also uncovered a great host of artifacts that corroborate the historical accounts of the Bible. The places, the kings, and their battles are evidenced by archeological discoveries. Taken together, both geology and archeology show that the Bible is true.
A third reason I trust the Scriptures to be true are the fulfilled prophecies. Someone has identified well over 300 specific Old Testament predictions that came true in Jesus. Psalm 22 was written around 1000 year before Jesus. Jesus did quote at least the first line from this Psalm from the cross: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me.” The entire Psalm, however, is a detailed description of all the events which took place at the crucifixion of Jesus: Jesus being jeered at, the gambling for His clothing, His bones not being broken though the knees of the two men crucified next to him were broken. The prophesies given through Isaiah were written about 700 years before Jesus. The 53rd chapter of Isaiah is a detailed, and maybe even graphic, description of the crucifixion and its purpose: by His stripes we are healed. That the Old Testament messianic prophecies were fulfilled in and by Jesus is evidence that the Bible can be trusted.
Admittedly, we have to believe what the Bible says about Jesus to believe that He is who He said He is. But if Jesus is who He said He is, the Son of God and equal with the Father—I and the Father are one (John 10:30)—then we have to conclude that what He said about the Bible is also true. Jesus regularly quoted the Bible as authority and Word of God. Jesus scolded the religious leaders of His day, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46) and claimed that what had been written was true. If the Scriptures were true for Jesus, and Jesus is God, then the Scriptures are true also for me.
Finally, the Bible is the living and active Word of God that changes lives. Yes, it is ultimately God who changes lives, but He does so by means of His Word. Examples of God's work done through His Word are too numerous to list here, but I would point you to the work of the Gideons International for many, many stories of lives changed by God's Word. The Gideons have as their goal the distribution of Bibles around the world. Perhaps you've seen a Bible placed by the Gideons in a hotel or motel room sometime in your travels. The Gideons have account after account of desperate people, many considering suicide, who picked up a Bible in a dark moment of life and where changed for the good by reading God's Word.
Nature reveals God's divine nature, but we need His Word to reveal His mercy and grace. The Book is where God reveals Himself and His plan for our salvation. The Book is trustworthy and true, preserved by the Holy Spirit so that we might have God's gift of salvation by grace through faith.
In Christ,
Pastor Christian Andrews
