IS THE BIBLE GOD’S WORD?

In other words, is the Bible without error and can it be trusted as absolute truth?  Having faced my own doubts and skepticism, I have come to a conclusion and will share what I have come to believe about the Bible and why.

This is an important issue for me because life has few certainties that serve as an anchor for my soul. The winds and storms of life can twist us around until we are not certain who we are or what life is about or where we should be headed. Things go wrong, deceptions and confusions can easily sway my mind, and I need something I can count on to always steer me in the right direction. I need a reality that can provide me with solid ground to stand on and a knowledge that everything will ultimately be all right. At some point I must decide whether to accept the Bible as that anchor I can trust and be sure about. After all, if it is God speaking, there really is no greater authority that can steer us right.

Believing the Bible takes a measure of faith because little is 100% certain and thus it always takes faith to jump from evidences to acceptance. Years ago I made the decision to trust the Bible as God’s word and to rely on it as the guide for my daily living and future well-being.

I accept what the Bible’s claims for itself. Holy men wrote as they were inspired by God’s Spirit to write and they wrote what God wanted them to say. How this was accomplished is a mystery. I once met a person who was into spirit-writing. He heard from spirits and wrote what their voices said to him. By talking with the person at great length I determined that this was demonic-driven.  One thing I saw through this experience is that it is possible for a person to receive supernatural inspiration for writing. In the case of the Bible, I don’t think it is necessary to have to explain exactly how it was done to believe that God did it. People have haggled over such issues as whether God dictated all the words, or whether he used the personalities of the writers so that the Bible was their own words. People have argued over whether everything they wrote was factually accurate, or whether God’s truth is present, even if all in not accurate. I believe it is factual and accurate. I sometimes think, “Why would God go to all the trouble of having His book written and then not preserve its accuracy for future generations”?

I believe the Bible is inerrant. This means that in its original documents, which we no longer possess, there were no errors. Some have questioned whether the copies handed down from the originals are accurate, or whether they have been changed so that we no longer have the same Bible. There is a field of study known as textual criticism which has done extensive work, particularly with the thousands of New Testament documents which are available. The accuracy of copying is deemed to be extremely efficient, and most discrepancies are accounted for. I have no problem trusting that we have virtually the same Bible as the original. Also, Dead Sea scroll discoveries have verified for me the accuracy of Old Testament transmission. Any person, if interested, can check out these assertions.

I believe the Bible is God’s word because of its fulfilled prophecies. How are these to be explained if there is not a God who has foreknowledge, a plan, and power to make His words happen as He says they will? Many books in history have made future predictions, but only the Bible has a perfect track record.

I believe the Bible is God’s word because Jesus believed it. His quotes of the Bible were made with the understanding that it was God’s word and was to be believed and acted upon. He said His own words were to be acted upon if you want your life to be built on a solid rock.

I believe it is God’s word because it has proven to produce the results it claims. Many people by reading it have experienced a new and changed life. The word of God, when read, has the power residing in its words to change people. “My word shall not return to me void”, God said. (Isa.55:11) “We are born again by the word of God”, says Peter. (1 Peter 1:23) Believing it has changed my life.

It helps me to confirm God’s word as true when archaeological discoveries have often verified the Bible’s factual content by showing that people and places named in the Bible really existed in history.

Because the Bible presents a message that lots of people do not want to hear, there will always be arguments against the Bible being God’s infallible truth. Even though I have chosen to accept the Bible as true, I need to say a few words about some of the issues I wrestled with in order to keep faith in the Bible. Following are a few of those issues:

One issue is in the area of ethics. These issues can bother people or tempt them to be turned off and not want to believe the Bible. For example, without deeper understanding, God’s commands for His people to go to war and kill people would be difficult to accept.  I ask myself, Can the judge of all the earth do right in all He does, even though we may not see it due to our limited views?

There are problems raised by form critics saying that the Gospels do not really contain Jesus words and deeds, but only what the church wanted the Gospels to say to satisfy the church’s own purposes. But, why can’t the Gospels be first-hand accounts passed down by eye witnesses? Why can’t God’s Holy Spirit make sure his words and deeds were remembered by eye witnesses and recorded?

Many point to what they see as contradictions or inaccuracies in the Bible. But, why couldn’t these be reconciled by the following facts: (1) that there may be a few unresolved copying errors that deviate from the original manuscripts. These would be very minimal. Or, (2) that it may be quite possible to explain discrepancies if all the facts in the case were known. Archaeology has done a great service in verifying many facts that critics once said could not be. Also, not every writer of Scripture thought it necessary to include all the same details as everyone else. Each had his own context for writing.

Some world views claim that miracles are not possible. This is because miracles are thought to conflict with modern science and the philosophy of naturalism.  Naturalism says that all events in the universe can be explained so that there is no need to use ancient “God” explanations. But why can’t the universe be open to Divine intervention instead of being a closed system?

Some say no one can really claim that the Bible’s truths are the same for everyone because everyone reads the Bible according to their own subjective views and interpretations. But why can’t there be one interpretation intended by the author of Scripture so that we are called to set aside, as much as possible, our own ideas, and objectively seek a consensus on the message intended? After all, if I write a letter to someone, I don’t intend that those who read it can take it to mean whatever their minds imagine.

These, and other problems, can stand in the way of accepting the Bible as God’s word. Having read many opposing opinions and having thought through many of the issues, I have reaffirmed my choice to believe that the Bible is trustworthy and that I can build my life on its teachings. I am counting on its promises being fulfilled. After all, that is what will ultimately determine whether it is God’s word or not. (Deut. 18:21-22) I would hate to be on the wrong side in the end if it proved to be true. But, by believing it and practicing it as best I can, I am expecting that I will enjoy the promised benefits, both in this age and in the age to come.