Trusting the Bible

This is a fundamental question which we discussed in chapter 2 of ASK…

TEXT: But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God- breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

Trust

Trust is really important. If we don’t trust someone then we won’t believe what they say. This is even more important when it comes to things that are really vital to our lives. If you are a delivery driver and you have to travel to an area you do not know, you need a reliable map or Sat Nav.

If you are a doctor you need to have a good and trustworthy list of the appropriate drugs to use. The Bible is even more important than that. If it is to reveal Jesus to us, show us the way to heaven, tell us about ourselves and give us guidelines for our lives, then it had better be accurate!

Some people who are not Christians will argue that the Bible cannot be the Word of God. That’s because they don’t believe in God, and therefore he cannot have a word. To them a non-existent being clearly does not speak. The trouble is that they have usually made their minds up without any evidence.

An Old Book

Some people are what we call ‘chronological snobs’. A ‘place snob’ is someone who thinks that just because of the place they live in, they are a better person. A chronological snob is a time snob. They think that just because they live in the twenty-first century they are better than every one who has gone before. But think about that! Just as living in the U.S.A. or the U.K. does not make you a better person than someone who lives in Africa or China; so living in the twenty-first century does not make you a better person than someone who lived in the first century.

Being really old might actually be much better. Imagine if you as a young person said: ‘I’m not going to listen to older people, because they are older’. Would that not be a pretty arrogant and stupid thing to do? Older people generally will have more experience and you could have a lot to learn from them. Similarly, to dismiss the Bible because it is old would be both arrogant and stupid.

However, just because something is old, does not mean it is right. So how do we know we can trust the Bible? There are lots of different reasons … the evidence of those who

have been helped by the Bible, the witness of those who have taught it to us, the fact that it has stood the test of time, the beauty and truth within it, the way that we experience it today. But the only way we really know is when the author, the Holy Spirit, bears witness in our heart’s using his Word, to show us that it really is the Word of God.

Reliable and Relevant

I became a Christian when I was about sixteen years old. I have been studying and reading and teaching the Bible for forty years since then. And I can honestly tell you that I have found it to be 100 per cent reliable (although not always easy!) and always 100 per cent relevant to wherever I have been. The Bible is relevant. We don’t need to make it relevant. Indeed, when we try to do so by changing it, we always end up making it irrelevant.

We can trust the Word of God, because it is the Word of God. It is ‘God-breathed’. Inspired by the Holy Spirit as Peter tells us:

‘For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit’ (2 Peter 1:21).

God does not lie. Jesus does not lie. The Holy Spirit does not lie. It is the devil who is the father of lies. He is the one who always seeks to undermine the Bible so that we will not trust our God.

CONSIDER: Do you trust the Bible? Who do you ask if you have any questions? How do you think the devil tries to stop us listening to God speaking to us through his Word?

RECOMMENDED FURTHER READING:

Why Trust the Bible – Amy Orr-Ewing

PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, we bless you that you have given us your Word; that you have breathed it out; that you inspired the prophets and apostles to record and bring it to us. And we thank you that your Word is as sure today as it ever was. Heaven and earth will pass away, but your Word is eternal. Thank you for the certainty it brings to us. Enable us to understand and apply it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.