Tuesday, December 21, 2010

How Do You Know that the Bible is True?

Have you ever had anyone ask you: how do you know that the Bible is true? I mean what makes this book so special – what makes it stand out from all the rest? In an age where there are all of these competing religions that claim to have their own versions of what they call the scriptures, what makes the Christian Bible so different? What sets it apart?

Well if you’ve ever been asked that question I can’t help but wonder if you’ve ever gotten that sinking feeling in your stomach – maybe your face has turned a little red, because you’re not quite sure how to answer that one – but you feel like you should be able to.


After all, The Apostle Peter told the church that every Christian must be prepared to give a reason for the hope they have within them, right? So we must always be prepared to explain and defend why we believe what we believe.


And in a society today that increasingly believes that “all roads and all religions” lead to the same God, it seems even more important for us to be equipped and ready to explain why we believe that Christianity is the only religion of truth – why Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life – and why the Bible is the only inspired Scripture on the face of the earth.


Here we have a Bible that claims to be the Word of God – divine revelation – a book inspired by the Holy Spirit of God who used over 30 human authors over a period of 1,500 years, containing well over 30,000 verses. And there are many different reasons why we can trust and believe that this and this book alone is the only one that is fully true in everything it affirms.


So without going into a big dissertation, let me give you just a few quick reasons to consider.


1) This Bible has proven itself to be a life changing book in the lives of millions of people who have believed its message throughout the centuries. One sure sign of being authenticate is its ability to transform lives – to change minds, to change hearts.


People have been converted, hearts have been convicted and changed, people have experienced healing, hate has turned to love, and so this book has power. And for believers, the Holy Spirit has a way of affirming this in the very depths of their hearts and its power is revealed by our lives.


2) Secondly, there is an amazing sense of unity to this book. Like I said, there are over 30 different authors who have written over a period of 1500 years, and not a once is there a contradiction. Its message in each book is consistent and is uniquely tied together – that man is a sinner and that God alone has the answer.


Several languages are used and hundreds of topics are discussed, and yet there is this amazing unity to it all – and from Genesis to Revelation the idea that man needs a Savior runs through all its pages.


3) Thirdly, the Bible has had an amazing track record of proving that it’s historically true, and much of this has been affirmed in significant ways through modern archaeology. It has proved itself to be factually accurate, in both the Old and the New Testaments.


The ancient city of Jericho has been dug up in recent times, and the Bible story claimed that the walls fell in and the city was burned by Joshua and the Israelites when they took over the land. And sure enough, archaeologists have dug down and discovered collapsed walls and a 3-foot thick layer of ash at the site of this ancient city.


And ironically, there is no other ancient account of this happening other than what is found in the Bible, and so the Bible proves itself to be historically true over and over again.


4) Fourth, the Bible is truly unique from all other books in that it alone thoroughly contains a rather long list of predicted prophecies that have been literally fulfilled. The prophets predicted the existence of certain kings, kingdoms, famines, and wars, all of which have been verified to be true.


* Yet having said all of this, in the end, it is God alone who ultimately convinces us of the truth of God’s Word as the Holy Spirit convicts and confirms the inspired nature of Scripture in our hearts as we read it. In order for this to happen, one must be spiritually reborn by the Holy Spirit who illuminates the Word and leads and guides us into truth. God’s power inherently reveals itself as you thumb through this book, and many of us know exactly what that means as we’ve seen this book change our lives over time. Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!