Has God Really Spoken--and Is the Bible His Final Word?
One reason many don't rightly hear the Word of God is because they have nagging doubts that it is the Word of God. Like the boy Samuel of old (1 Samuel 3:1-10), they fail to hear/read God's words as the words of God, because they think them instead to be the words of man. Their heart need is for faith: an evidence-grounded and Spirit-produced confidence that the Bible is the very Word of the true God. Settle that matter and the urgency of right hearing becomes clear.
But has God really spoken and is the Bible His final Word? Can I offer five broad reasons why I believe the answer to both these questions is yes?
1. Prediction. If you read a book in which there are hundreds of specific predictions of historical events--including dozens about the coming Messiah--all of which have come true, wouldn't you agree that there is reason to think that that book might have a Divine origin? Such is the case with the Bible.
2. Perfection. If you read a book written by 40+ men spanning 1,500 years, the major teachings of which address the most controversial topics known to man, and if you find that its message is perfectly consistent, and without contradiction, wouldn't you at least consider that it had a single, unifying, inspiring Mind behind it?
3. Corroboration (verification). If you read a book that presents thousands of historical details about towns, cities, people, rulers, and events, multiplied hundreds of which have been verified by archeological science, would you not begin to trust in its integrity?
And if you read the message of the Bible--what it says about God, about human nature, about sin, about life, about history, about death--and then see that all of these are corroborated both by nature and human experience, would you not think that this is more than coincidence?
What nature reveals about the Creator--that He is powerful, intelligent, wise, loving and yes, even angry-- and what Scripture reveals about that Creator are in perfect harmony. This fact drives me to believe that that God is real, and that the Bible is His Word.
4. Incarnation. If abundant historical evidence exists that Someone once lived who did amazing things like healing the sick and raising the dead (including himself), who even claimed to be God in the flesh, wouldn't you pay attention to His words? And if this Man claims that the Bible is God's Word, wouldn't you find that good reason to believe that it is?
That Jesus worked miracles and did wondrous things, including predicting and causing His own resurrection is one of the more verifiable claims of ancient history. So when He as the most authenticated miracle-worker and most celebrated teacher of all time claims that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God,that's good enough for me. I love Andy Stanley's take on it:
5. Self-authentication. And finally if you read a book that is simply alive and powerful, that by its own truth, beauty, and glory has changed everything about you and not only you but countless millions of others like you, would you not credit it with being something more than human?
This is what I mean by self-authentication. The Bible proves itself by it's own inherent worth, beauty, and power. It's like the sun. No one has to argue that the sun is bright; all they have to do is see it and its effects. So it is with the Bible, once it is read and learned in truth. It proves its own Divine origin. It is simply too powerful, too beautiful, too intrinisically good to be anything other than Divine.
Based on these facts, God has convinced me that He has spoken, and that the Bible is His final Word. In doing that, He also has set the direction of my life. Once I knew that God has spoken and that the Bible is His final Word, all I've been able to do ever since is approach the Bible echoing the boy Samuel: "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."
How about you?
But has God really spoken and is the Bible His final Word? Can I offer five broad reasons why I believe the answer to both these questions is yes?
1. Prediction. If you read a book in which there are hundreds of specific predictions of historical events--including dozens about the coming Messiah--all of which have come true, wouldn't you agree that there is reason to think that that book might have a Divine origin? Such is the case with the Bible.
2. Perfection. If you read a book written by 40+ men spanning 1,500 years, the major teachings of which address the most controversial topics known to man, and if you find that its message is perfectly consistent, and without contradiction, wouldn't you at least consider that it had a single, unifying, inspiring Mind behind it?
3. Corroboration (verification). If you read a book that presents thousands of historical details about towns, cities, people, rulers, and events, multiplied hundreds of which have been verified by archeological science, would you not begin to trust in its integrity?
And if you read the message of the Bible--what it says about God, about human nature, about sin, about life, about history, about death--and then see that all of these are corroborated both by nature and human experience, would you not think that this is more than coincidence?
What nature reveals about the Creator--that He is powerful, intelligent, wise, loving and yes, even angry-- and what Scripture reveals about that Creator are in perfect harmony. This fact drives me to believe that that God is real, and that the Bible is His Word.
4. Incarnation. If abundant historical evidence exists that Someone once lived who did amazing things like healing the sick and raising the dead (including himself), who even claimed to be God in the flesh, wouldn't you pay attention to His words? And if this Man claims that the Bible is God's Word, wouldn't you find that good reason to believe that it is?
That Jesus worked miracles and did wondrous things, including predicting and causing His own resurrection is one of the more verifiable claims of ancient history. So when He as the most authenticated miracle-worker and most celebrated teacher of all time claims that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God,that's good enough for me. I love Andy Stanley's take on it:
"My high school teacher once told me that much in Genesis is false. But since my high school teacher did not prove that he was God by rising from the dead, I'm going to believe Jesus instead." (Cited by Geisler and Turek in I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist)
5. Self-authentication. And finally if you read a book that is simply alive and powerful, that by its own truth, beauty, and glory has changed everything about you and not only you but countless millions of others like you, would you not credit it with being something more than human?
This is what I mean by self-authentication. The Bible proves itself by it's own inherent worth, beauty, and power. It's like the sun. No one has to argue that the sun is bright; all they have to do is see it and its effects. So it is with the Bible, once it is read and learned in truth. It proves its own Divine origin. It is simply too powerful, too beautiful, too intrinisically good to be anything other than Divine.
Based on these facts, God has convinced me that He has spoken, and that the Bible is His final Word. In doing that, He also has set the direction of my life. Once I knew that God has spoken and that the Bible is His final Word, all I've been able to do ever since is approach the Bible echoing the boy Samuel: "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."
How about you?
Labels: Apologetics, Faith, Hearing God's Word, The Word of God
posted by Tim Shorey at
1:44 PM
2 Comments:
I'm pretty sure I've always had a healthy view of the Bible as divinely inspired and, for all intents and purposes, God speaking to us. This brief list of reasons is helpful in solidifying that.
Recently though, I have come to learn that sadly, some of my college friends have turned away from the divinely-inspired view of the Bible and thus have denied its inerrancy. This of course speaks to point number two in your post. The key word in there is "if," as you say: "...IF you find that its message is perfectly consistent, and without contradiction..." My friends would say that they don't in fact find those things to be true. They struggle with the Bible's seeming contradictions on predestination, women, homosexuality, etc. (all of which I don't see!).
I guess my question is this: what would you say to those who say "no, I don't" in response to reason number 2?
I think today's post will speak a little to this point. As I will state many of those who take opposing points of view on various issues start with their personal emotional or philosophical struggles with the view and then either reinterpret or deny what the Bible says--or in the case of some simply deny that the Bible is God's Word at all.
The question becomes more one of personal misunderstanding of, or submission to biblical teaching, than one of biblical inconsistency or contradiction.
Are people really finding contradictions that undermine their faith or are they finding a very consistent biblical message that either baffles their understanding or battles their preferences?
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