As we continue to unpack the Authenticity of God's Word, we're forced to ask the question of whether or not the Bible is true, or rather, if the accounts recorded in the Bible are true. After all, there are some pretty unbelievable stories in there. Seas being divided and crossed, plagues coming from nowhere, people living to be almost a thousand years old, people walking on water, turning water to wine and all that raising people from the dead. And don't even get me started on getting those kangaroos back and forth from Australia for their year-long boat ride on the flooded planet. The Bible is loaded with story after story of tales that rival the Brothers Grimm or Mark Twain, and yet we're supposed to accept them as fact while similar stories from other cultures and religions are written off as allegorical explanation or mythical fancy. Why do we believe that the Bible is true?
This is a tough question to talk through as the entirety of our faith rests in our ability to accept the whole of God's Word as being true, even the tricky parts. If any part of it ceases to be true, then the whole of it becomes questionable, including salvation by grace through faith. So how can we be sure? We started by looking in 2 Peter 1:16-19. In it we see Peter addressing the reasoning behind his written testimony. As an eye-witness to the Messiah, he provided something essential to the rest of the world, both then and for all future generations: the credibility of experience. Most of the New Testament was written long after Jesus had been crucified and risen. As he ascended into heaven, he promised he would be back. Those who heard him believed him. And they waited. There was no need to record the account of the gospel or to communicate for future generations because they assumed that his return was going to be quick. As they began to get old, they realized that not only was Jesus not coming back as soon as they had imagined, but that they had the most vital job left to do before they died. As witnessed to the life, words and actions of the Christ, they needed to tell about what they had seen, heard and experienced.
This is a tough question to talk through as the entirety of our faith rests in our ability to accept the whole of God's Word as being true, even the tricky parts. If any part of it ceases to be true, then the whole of it becomes questionable, including salvation by grace through faith. So how can we be sure? We started by looking in 2 Peter 1:16-19. In it we see Peter addressing the reasoning behind his written testimony. As an eye-witness to the Messiah, he provided something essential to the rest of the world, both then and for all future generations: the credibility of experience. Most of the New Testament was written long after Jesus had been crucified and risen. As he ascended into heaven, he promised he would be back. Those who heard him believed him. And they waited. There was no need to record the account of the gospel or to communicate for future generations because they assumed that his return was going to be quick. As they began to get old, they realized that not only was Jesus not coming back as soon as they had imagined, but that they had the most vital job left to do before they died. As witnessed to the life, words and actions of the Christ, they needed to tell about what they had seen, heard and experienced.
The thing that makes the Bible historically viable is it reliance on eye-witnesses to the son of God. Peter's claim here is that not only did they see the majesty of Jesus with their eyes, but they actually heard the sound of the Lord from heaven as He affirmed that Jesus was His son and that He was pleased with him. Can you imagine the honor of being one of the only humans in recorded history to experience something as important as the Transfiguration or to directly hear the voice of God confirming the identity of His son? And Peter's first hand account of that experience stands as a testimony to all mankind of that event.
In Hebrews 4:12-13 we read that not only is God's Word written down for us, but that it is living and active. Unlike other books that are finite in the story they tell, the Bible is still able to move and change as the Spirit guides the reader through the words. And it is the great separator. God isn't fooled by the masks men wear for other men to see. God sees all and the motivation behind it. And the Bible is able to separate those things because it isn't an ancient history book of rules, but God's living Word.
Lastly, we see how important the Bible is for man to use to discern Truth. In Matthew 4, we see the Spirit lead Jesus in the wilderness where the devil is allowed to test him. As the devil attacks his humanity, spirituality and loyalty, we see Jesus quoting scripture as a way of battling temptation. And when the devil even spouts scripture back to Jesus, it is the knowledge of truth that allows Jesus to discern the scheme and see the trap for what it is. Because the Word is true, it illuminates truth. And for Jesus to know it and use it like this, reaffirms its authority as God's Truth.
So where does that leave us with these crazy stories of walls falling down and people in furnaces not being burnt up? Beats me. The mystery of God's Word is that He didn't tell us everything. Part of it is a secret. But why would God keep information from us that could easily reveal Himself to everyone in the most undeniable ways? What a great question! The only answer I have is that if God told us everything, there would be no need for faith. And without faith, well... things would be a lot different. And so we have faith that a big God can do big things without having to make sense or even fall within the boundaries that He set in place. So a blind man, who has never seen and whose brain has never made the neurological connections that modern science understands is essential to sight, can instantly receive his vision with a little spit-mud. And the sun, which isn't actually moving through the sky, can stop and hold still for hours without the earth ceasing to spin and messing up that whole gravity thing, because some random guy's prayer was heard by a God great enough to make it happen. So we believe and by faith we know it is true. If you need proof, you might be missing the point.
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