Have you ever been stumped by someone’s argument against the Bible? Has anyone ever mocked you because the Bible sounds like a fairytale? We need to ask scoffers and seekers alike, “What makes you so sure of your beliefs? How did you come to that conclusion?”
The Bible is a collection of 66 books, over 40 writers, written over 1500 years telling 1 unified story of God’s redemption for humankind. Verses like the ones below validate the perfect power of God’s words to mankind:
·
“All
scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for
showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults
and teaching the right way to live.” (2
Timothy 3:16,
ERV)
·
“Most
important of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures comes
from the prophet’s own understanding. No prophecy ever came from what some person wanted to say. But
people were led by the Holy Spirit and spoke words from God.” (2
Peter 1:20-21,
ERV)
Every
person on Earth exercises some kind of faith whether it’s a chair holding our
weight when we sit down, that our worldview is correct, or that there is
evidence that the writers of the Bible were
moved by the Holy Spirit to write the very words of God:
1.
The Bible is extraordinary in its accuracy, harmony of thought,
historical reliability, validated prophecies, and it’s honesty of thought.
“The grass withers.
The flower fades; but the Word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8,
WEB)
“There are dozens of writings outside of the Bible that
verify the historical accuracy of many of the names of people, places, and
events mentioned in the Bible. In fact, external sources verify that at least
eighty persons mentioned in the Bible were actual historical figures. Fifty
people [are] from the Old Testament and thirty people [are] from the New Testament.” (Charlie Campbell)
2.
The Bible is extraordinarily confirmed by Jesus Christ, science, and
countless changed lives over the centuries.
“You are busy analyzing the
Scriptures, frantically poring over them in hopes of gaining eternal life.
Everything you read points to Me, you still refuse to come to me so I can give
you the life you’re looking for, eternal life.” (John 5:39-40, TPT)
“You can laugh at Christianity; you can mock and
ridicule it. But it works. It changes lives. If you trust Christ, start
watching your attitudes and actions, because Jesus Christ is in the business of
changing lives.”
(Josh McDowell)
“The Bible is
very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers.
We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the
minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.” (Søren Kierkegaard)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon
“Living Confidently in God’s Word” (installment two) Sunday April 8, 2018
Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint
Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH. Additional source used: “Can We
Really Know If the Bible Is God’s Word?” by Craig
T. Owens
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