Why Do we Believe the Bible?

Do we ever stop and think about why we believe the Bible is true? The best reason we can give anyone is the fact that...

“the Bible is a collection of historical documents written down by eye witnesses during the lifetime of other eye witnesses. They report to supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies and claim to be divine rather than human in origin.”

This statement was taken from scripture references in the Bible. In 2 Peter 1:16-21 we read, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

In 1 John 1:1-3, John writes, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

In the transfiguration (found in Matthew 17:1-8), four of the apostles were on the mountain and witnessed Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. They must have been quite incredulous at this sight, especially considering Moses and Elijah had both died many years prior to this event. It would not be hard to understand why unbelievers would think this impossible and even foolish. 1 Corinthians 1:18 tells us, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

In verse 19 of 2 Peter 1 we read, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,” In other words, they witnessed the power of God at work before their very eyes and God’s word was confirmed to them because of this. They could, therefore, admonish others to pay attention to God’s word. We are told that God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Peter says we would do well to pay attention to this word as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. We must look at God’s word as something that is necessary to guide us safely through life- to keep us from stumbling into sin. We must do what it says, even when we don’t feel like it. If we do not use God’s word as a guide for obedient living- we will stumble, fall and suffer consequences to our disobedience. Maybe many consequences. The greater the sin, the greater the consequence.

Looking at verse 21 of 2 Peter we read, For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This is the best reason to believe the Bible is true-- because it is God’s word to us. Verse 21 of 2 Peter 1 tells us that Scripture does not come from the interpretation of man, but by men who spoke ‘from God’ and were guided by the Holy Spirit. It is as if God was breathing His own words into their mouths. In their writings, they were guided along by the Holy Spirit.

If we truly believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God and that every word within it is true and without contradiction, then we can be confident in using it as our guidebook for life. And if God, by His Spirit, has made us alive in Christ, it will be our desire to encourage others, (just as the apostles did) to pay careful attention to the words within this Book. Even though it will not always be easy to do what the Bible says, we must understand that these words are our life!

Paul is writing to Timothy here in 2 Timothy 3:12-17. He says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it  and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

In other words, the Bible contains all that we need to know in order to live faithful lives, pleasing to God. May we, then determine to read it, study it, and ask God to give us a right understanding of His word-- and the grace and ability to live in obedience to it.

May we pay careful attention to God’s word- “as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts.”