Can We Trust the Bible?
Can one trust that the Bible is truly the Word of God, given to guide our lives? In a scientific, skeptical, whatever’s right for you kind of world, can we really have confidence in the Scriptures? Can we really believe what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:13? I believe that we can.
I will support that belief with four reasons of the head and then move to some reasons of the heart. First of all, God uses prophecy to demonstrate that the Bible is more than merely the words of human beings, who can only guess regarding the future. Human beings do not know the future. They can predict events with some level of accuracy one, five or ten years in advance, but hundreds and thousands of years? That requires divine knowledge. The Bible contains such knowledge. The accuracy of prophecies like Daniel 2 and Matthew 24 show a God who reveals secrets that human beings cannot know on their own.
In their approach to the Thessalonians; Paul, Silas and Timothy demonstrated how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in relation to the Messiah. Acts 17:2-3 tells us that when Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he reviewed the prophecies regarding the Messiah and then showed how Jesus fit the specifications. I detail Jesus’ remarkable fulfillment of the Old Testament in my book Meet God Again for the First Time. As we discover a God who knows the future, we gain confidence that God can use His Word to read our hearts and guide us in the right path (see John 2:23-25; Heb 4:12-13).
A second reason I have confidence in the Bible is the evidence we have in ancient manuscripts. Most ancient documents are found in, at most, a handful of hand-written documents, often only in translations, or in a fragmentary state. By way of contrast, our New Testament alone is based on around 5800 different Greek manuscripts. While there are some interesting variations in that evidence, more than 99% of the words in the NT text are based on multiple pieces of evidence from different traditions and locations. The original words of the New Testament have not been manipulated or distorted. We can have confidence that the Bible we hold in our hands today is the book God intended us to have.
A third reason I have confidence in the Bible is its account of the resurrection of Jesus. The main reason to doubt the resurrection of Jesus is bias against the possibility of resurrection. Consider the empty tomb. It makes no sense apart from a resurrection. Why was the tomb empty? Why has the body of Jesus never been found? The enemies of Jesus had no motive for removing body of Jesus. And if they had control of the body of Jesus, why didn’t they produce it when the disciples started proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection? The enemies of Christian faith could have destroyed it in a moment, if only they had had the body of Jesus in their possession!
The friends of Jesus had no motive for removing the body of Jesus either. Nor did they have the power to do so. They exhibited a total lack of courage at cross. They were devasted by this unexpected event. What could possibly have changed that perspective only a day later? The disciples didn't believe He would allow himself to die in the first place (Matt 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33), and they were very slow to believe resurrection when it actually did occur. Even if they had wanted to steal Jesus’ body, there was a platoon of highly trained Roman soldiers guarding the tomb. So the theory that the disciples stole the body of Jesus makes no sense historically.
Think about it. If the disciples had somehow stolen the body of Jesus, they would have known that they were suffering torture and death for a hoax, a flat-out lie. Maybe one person might be dumb enough to do that, but there were hundreds who claimed to have seen Jesus after his crucifixion (1 Cor 15:6). So purely in terms of the historical evidence, the best explanation for the empty tomb is that Jesus was, in fact, resurrected from the dead. And if the resurrection of Jesus really happened no other miracle in the Bible is impossible or incredible.
A fourth reason I trust the Bible is archaeology. There was a time when we knew little about the ancient world. Wherever the Bible differed from what we thought we knew, many assumed the Bible was in error. But more and more findings are verifying the historicity of the Bible. For example, it was assumed for a time that the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem never existed, it was a made-up story. But now the pool has been found and it was huge! I could mention many more examples, but space does not permit.
But let’s move to reasons of the heart. Ultimately, the Bible is self-authenticating. In other words, as we read the Bible we become increasingly aware of the presence of God in the text. You can’t necessarily put your finger on why or how, but millions of people over nearly two thousand years have testified to this awareness and I have experienced it many times.
You haven’t experienced this? One possible reason is that people often approach the Bible as a book of history or a book whose teachings are disputed. They stand in judgment over the Bible, seeking to determine what about it is true and what is not. Jesus Himself pours cold water over this idea (John 7:17). If the Bible is truly the Word of God, it is not to be handled in a trivial manner. The Spirit of God is bound up in this Word and God will manifest Himself through the Bible if we approach it with an open heart and mind.
One of the hardest things for human beings to learn is a teachable spirit. We love to be right and we bristle when anyone tries to correct us. But the Bible is given for correction and if we approach it in a teachable spirit, it will not only modify the detours in our own thinking, but minister the presence of God into our hearts. You gain confidence in the Scriptures the same way a couple gains confidence in their relationship. You spend time with the Word and the God behind the Word will reach out to you. Over time that presence becomes more and more real to you.
Beyond the presence of God, we discover that the Word of God meets our needs. It is almost as if God’s word can read our minds, discern our needs, and apply the truth of God directly to our hearts (John 2:23-25; Heb 4:12-13). So if you have never developed the kind of confidence in the Bible I am talking about here, I invite you to taste and see for yourself. I believe that if you will open God’s word with an open heart, you will gradually come to experience what so many before you have experienced. God’s Word will become real to you, and in the process God Himself will become real to you.
I will support that belief with four reasons of the head and then move to some reasons of the heart. First of all, God uses prophecy to demonstrate that the Bible is more than merely the words of human beings, who can only guess regarding the future. Human beings do not know the future. They can predict events with some level of accuracy one, five or ten years in advance, but hundreds and thousands of years? That requires divine knowledge. The Bible contains such knowledge. The accuracy of prophecies like Daniel 2 and Matthew 24 show a God who reveals secrets that human beings cannot know on their own.
In their approach to the Thessalonians; Paul, Silas and Timothy demonstrated how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in relation to the Messiah. Acts 17:2-3 tells us that when Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he reviewed the prophecies regarding the Messiah and then showed how Jesus fit the specifications. I detail Jesus’ remarkable fulfillment of the Old Testament in my book Meet God Again for the First Time. As we discover a God who knows the future, we gain confidence that God can use His Word to read our hearts and guide us in the right path (see John 2:23-25; Heb 4:12-13).
A second reason I have confidence in the Bible is the evidence we have in ancient manuscripts. Most ancient documents are found in, at most, a handful of hand-written documents, often only in translations, or in a fragmentary state. By way of contrast, our New Testament alone is based on around 5800 different Greek manuscripts. While there are some interesting variations in that evidence, more than 99% of the words in the NT text are based on multiple pieces of evidence from different traditions and locations. The original words of the New Testament have not been manipulated or distorted. We can have confidence that the Bible we hold in our hands today is the book God intended us to have.
A third reason I have confidence in the Bible is its account of the resurrection of Jesus. The main reason to doubt the resurrection of Jesus is bias against the possibility of resurrection. Consider the empty tomb. It makes no sense apart from a resurrection. Why was the tomb empty? Why has the body of Jesus never been found? The enemies of Jesus had no motive for removing body of Jesus. And if they had control of the body of Jesus, why didn’t they produce it when the disciples started proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection? The enemies of Christian faith could have destroyed it in a moment, if only they had had the body of Jesus in their possession!
The friends of Jesus had no motive for removing the body of Jesus either. Nor did they have the power to do so. They exhibited a total lack of courage at cross. They were devasted by this unexpected event. What could possibly have changed that perspective only a day later? The disciples didn't believe He would allow himself to die in the first place (Matt 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33), and they were very slow to believe resurrection when it actually did occur. Even if they had wanted to steal Jesus’ body, there was a platoon of highly trained Roman soldiers guarding the tomb. So the theory that the disciples stole the body of Jesus makes no sense historically.
Think about it. If the disciples had somehow stolen the body of Jesus, they would have known that they were suffering torture and death for a hoax, a flat-out lie. Maybe one person might be dumb enough to do that, but there were hundreds who claimed to have seen Jesus after his crucifixion (1 Cor 15:6). So purely in terms of the historical evidence, the best explanation for the empty tomb is that Jesus was, in fact, resurrected from the dead. And if the resurrection of Jesus really happened no other miracle in the Bible is impossible or incredible.
A fourth reason I trust the Bible is archaeology. There was a time when we knew little about the ancient world. Wherever the Bible differed from what we thought we knew, many assumed the Bible was in error. But more and more findings are verifying the historicity of the Bible. For example, it was assumed for a time that the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem never existed, it was a made-up story. But now the pool has been found and it was huge! I could mention many more examples, but space does not permit.
But let’s move to reasons of the heart. Ultimately, the Bible is self-authenticating. In other words, as we read the Bible we become increasingly aware of the presence of God in the text. You can’t necessarily put your finger on why or how, but millions of people over nearly two thousand years have testified to this awareness and I have experienced it many times.
You haven’t experienced this? One possible reason is that people often approach the Bible as a book of history or a book whose teachings are disputed. They stand in judgment over the Bible, seeking to determine what about it is true and what is not. Jesus Himself pours cold water over this idea (John 7:17). If the Bible is truly the Word of God, it is not to be handled in a trivial manner. The Spirit of God is bound up in this Word and God will manifest Himself through the Bible if we approach it with an open heart and mind.
One of the hardest things for human beings to learn is a teachable spirit. We love to be right and we bristle when anyone tries to correct us. But the Bible is given for correction and if we approach it in a teachable spirit, it will not only modify the detours in our own thinking, but minister the presence of God into our hearts. You gain confidence in the Scriptures the same way a couple gains confidence in their relationship. You spend time with the Word and the God behind the Word will reach out to you. Over time that presence becomes more and more real to you.
Beyond the presence of God, we discover that the Word of God meets our needs. It is almost as if God’s word can read our minds, discern our needs, and apply the truth of God directly to our hearts (John 2:23-25; Heb 4:12-13). So if you have never developed the kind of confidence in the Bible I am talking about here, I invite you to taste and see for yourself. I believe that if you will open God’s word with an open heart, you will gradually come to experience what so many before you have experienced. God’s Word will become real to you, and in the process God Himself will become real to you.
Thank You. Just one question. I was trying to read about the book you mentioned when I came across this statement on a website: "If you are in Jesus, God can't touch you". This seems to resurrect the idea that Jesus is the "nice" one and that God is "mean" or otherwise needs to be kept at bay by Jesus.
Maybe I should get the book, and the idea of not punishing for the same deed twice is interesting but I just have that objection.
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The book that Dr. Paulien mentioned in this blog, "Meet God Again for the First Time", can be obtained through this website in the SHOP. Look for the 10 Dollar Special. You can get 17 plus books, transcripts, articles, etc. It is an incredible value... all digital download to read on yourcomputer.
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I must respectfully object to the whole bible being trustworthy. This is a foundational issue and much to huge and important to even begin to do justice in thiscomment/reply.
However, first let me state that only the "Law and the Prophets" were considered "Scripture" by Jesus and this is what Jesus taught from and therefor verified so that they can be trustworthy.
Second, Rev. 12:17 show us that the covenant AND the testimony of Jesus is to be held as trustworthy too. Please note that the testimony that Jesus presented was about what God Almighty wanted His Son to testify about. Nothing more and nothing less. Therefore, even Jesus' testimony was not and can not rightfully be called "scripture".
Third, there was no such thing as a "bible" when Jesus was here. Do some research and you will find that it was only for political reasons the bible was established. God was NOT involved in preserving all of it to be held as the inspired words of God because IF He would have, then Satan could have honestly and legally called God a manipulator.
The number one foundational belief of the SDA Church is that the whole bible is the inspired word of God. Then they list verses in a feeble attempt to prove this understanding. Problem is, not one of them can lawfully verify this false and mistaken belief. The bible was not even around when the words for those verses were written.
Finally, this issue is much more important than most believe, because IF people actually say that the whole bible IS the inspired word of God and just one little part of it isn't, then they have just called the Holy Spirit a liar. Just believing a lie will land one into the lake of fire. See Revelation 21:8 and 22:15.
To rebut or reply to mycomment, please use the words of Jesus given to us by His eyewitnesses as found in John 14:26 and 17:17-20. All else is hearsay evidence and is NOT trustworthy. There is a good reason why hearsay evidence can't be allowed in our courts today!
By the way, God does not predict anything, He knows what is going to happen and when. This is the difference between prediction and prophecy.
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As with many people I was raised a Christian and believed that the Bible was 100% correct in every conceivable way. Over the last couple of years I have been challenging some of those long held beliefs.
To my delight I have found that there are very good reasons to believe that the core aspects of Bible are true on historical grounds alone. Scholars like NT Wright, Craig Blomberg & Richard Bauckham have demonstrated that the gospel accounts score well as accurate historical documents.
While in the absence of this knowledge the witness of the Holy Spirit is sufficient to provide confidence in the validity of the gospels it is very reassuring to know that other areas of knowledge also testify to the gospels reliability.
I'm currently reading a book by Paul Copan who in turn references K.A. Kitchen "On the reliability of the Old testament", James K Hoffmeier "Israel in Egypt, "Israel In Sinai" & "The archaeology of the Bible" as references that testify to the historical reliability of aspects of the old testament.
While I'm less than enthusiastic about claiming an historical accuracy regarding Genesis I still feel that the theology of this book is inspired by God.
Last by not least I think Biblical inerrancy should not be the centre of Christian belief. Second only to our personal relationship with God should be the central belief that Jesus died to atone for our sins and was risen. Everything else just supports and adds context to this claim.
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In a nutshell, the Bible is reliable for its purpose, outside that purpose it uses logic, arguments and details that would be helpful to the original readers and hearers, but not necessarily "accurate" in the Greek Western expectation of such. I believe your comments point us to a balance between absolute inerrancy on the one hand and unreliability on the other.
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As an interesting aside, while reading the aforementioned book by Paul Copan "Is God a moral monster?" (an excellent book so far) I found another very important perspective on Genesis.
Namely Genesis provides us with a vision of what God tells us is morally optimal. In effect you need look no further then Genesis to show that God does not endorse things like polygamy. In such light many of the mosaic laws are in effect examples of case law where instruction is given to make the most just decision for a less than ideal scenario.
So in short look to Genesis not Ex 20, possibly an oversimplification but you get the idea.
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