The Christian’s primary, final authority on the truth of God available today is the Bible. That is, when Christians share our faith we need first establish our primary source of truth, the Bible. It’s our authority because we believe the Bible originated from the mind of God who is absolute, in his unchangeable truth.
What shall we say when people challenge us with: “Why believe the Bible?” “What proof is there that the Bible is the absolute truth?” “How do we know that the Bible is from God?”
For centuries, generation after generation, Christians, even highly educated have relied on the Bible as truth above and beyond any other book or source. Consider from Sir Walter Scott, famed Scottish novelist/poet, writer of the classic “Ivanhoe”. In his personnel library, he had thousands of books. In 1832 on his deathbed he asked his secretary to “bring me the book.” His secretary asked “Dr. Scott, which book?” Scott answered, “The Bible, the only book for a dying man.” Scott was also a committed Christian.
But the Bible is not only for the dying. It’s the book for any person in the prime of life! A book to live by!
Christian Theologian Francis Schaeffer referring to God and the Bible wrote, “He is there and he is not silent.” God speaks to us thru the sacred scriptures. Internally in the test, the Bible reveals the source and longevity of its content. Comparing the Word of God poetically to that which withers, fails and falls. In Isaiah 40:6 “…all men are like grass, like flowers.” They die and fall away. Continuing in verse 7 “all men wither and fall.” And in verse 8 “but the word of Our God stands forever.” The source of the word is Our God and the longevity of God’s word is forever. Public and private opinions, ideas and philosophies change over time, so their truth is unreliable. But God’s word the Bible, its 66 books, God’s library of truth is constant, consistent, completely reliable, unchanging, unfailing and eternal. God’s book has lasting solutions to our deepest needs and not just today but for thousands of years. But besides what the Bible reveals about itself, what evidences point us to the Bible as being from God? As a reliable truth? Consider these four evidences.
# 1 Archaeology: The study of life of ancient peoples by using excavations and artifacts. So, hard evidence documents its findings. That is, for many years’ critics, skeptics of Biblical accounts doubted King Solomon’s tremendous wealth. But archaeologists in 1925 and 1934 unearthed remains of one of Solomon’s chariot cities at Megidlb. Found stables capable of holding over 400 horses and barracks for chariot battalions. Also, found remains of a huge refining factory, for copper and iron, metals used in bartering or trading for gold, silver, and ivory. In First Kings 9:28 “brought back 420 talents of gold which they delivered to King Solomon.” (420 talents equal about 16 tons of gold). In First Kings 10:22 “The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every 3 years, it returned carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons.” Solomon was famously, fabulously wealthy! Critics of the Bible doubted even the existence of people called “Hittites” until archaeology excavated the Hittite capitol in modern Turkey and found thousands of Hittite texts. William F. Albright – world renowned archeologist attested that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historical accuracy of the Bible over its critics.
# 2 Science: Bible does not equal science books, however, references regarding scientific processes are accurate even as the ancient writers were inspired to write. As in the hydrological cycle. Rain or snow falls to the ground and runs off into streams which run into rivers, run into seas/oceans. Water evaporates from the surface of the ocean and returns to clouds where it becomes rain and snow and falls to the ground again and the process repeats. The hydrological cycle is discovery of modern times, yet consider from Isaiah 55:10 “…as the rain and snow comes down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish…” That is what geologist call “isostasy” which describes balance of earth as it orbits thru space. The concept is that equal weights are necessary to support equal weights. That is land mass must be balanced equally by water mass for the earth to remain stabled as it spins in orbit, it must be in perfect balance. Which also points to a supreme designer not just random chance. In Isaiah 40:12 “…who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? Or weighted the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” Who? Our Creator God described poetically at a prescience time yet accurately, according to modern scientific processed.
# 3 Verifiable evidence for validity and veracity, accuracy of the Bible has to do with hundreds of fulfilled prophesies, or predictions and principals of probability in mathematics Consider that if the chances of one thing happening is one in a million and chance of another thing happening is one in a million, the chance that they both shall happen is according to equations as one in a million times a million. This type of equation is used today in fixing insurance rates. Let’s apply mathematical principals of probability to fulfilled prophesy like predicted Biblical destruction of the city of Tyre: Coming from Ezekiel 26:3-16 describes seven different definite details all historically verified: 1. Nebuchadnezzar would attack the city. 2. Other nations would help fulfill that prophesy. 3. Tyre would be flattened like the top of rock. 4. The city became only a place fishermen spread their nets. 5. Tyre’s stone and timbers would be laid in the sea. 6. Citizens of other cities became afraid because of Tyre’s fall. 7. The old city of Tyre would never be rebuilt
What are the chances, the probabilities that all 7 details would occur as pre-described in the Bible? The answer is one in about 400 million – yet all seven did occur as fulfilled Biblical prophecy. Consider from the prophesy of the fall of Babylon in Isaiah 13:19 “Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of Babylonians’ pride will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.” Archeological evidence indicates that Babylon was destroyer in the same way as Sodom and Gomorrah. In applying the mathematical principal of probability, what is the chance of this happening? About one in over 100 billion and there are hundreds of fulfilled prophesies with these same astronomical odds against them happening purely by random chance, not happenstance but God’s insistence.
# 4 Evidence is subjective but not isolated. It’s my (your) personal experience with the truths of the Bible. As in truth about the forgiveness of God. I didn’t become a Christian until the age of 33. I’d lived a sinful, unbelieving life. But, upon faith in Jesus Christ I accepted God’s forgiveness for my sins. The Bible states that God forgives but I knew also I was forgiven personally because I had a sense of freedom from guilt. That is, I became a “new creature/creation” on the inside; how did I know this? Because I was changed from the inside – out. I was not the same; God changed me and I am still striving, struggling to change to think, talk, live as God desires, as described in the Bible.
I am not an isolated case. Millions of people have in the past, present, and future added their testimonies because the Bible is truth, it’s our authoritative life manual from God. I’ve personally experienced it. We need to share our testimonies with others.
God, Jesus Christ and the Bible are accurate truths.
David Johnson is minister of Sellersburg Church of Christ, Sellersburg, IN.