Wonderful Words for Life

Can I Trust the Bible?

Whenever anyone asks me why I trust the Bible I simply tell them, “Jesus did!” Everything I believe has come from reading the Bible. I cannot separate The Old Testament Scriptures from the New Testament writings. It is where I met Jesus. Through the history of the Jewish people, recorded in the Old Testament, I found the Messiah that was long promised.

With the first four words found in Genesis, “In the beginning God,” I have accepted that we are here on earth because of an ever-present Creator God. I can say this because the Bible begins with God, not with a philosophic argument debating His existence!

Though science denies it, the proof of intelligent design is all around us and cannot be explained away. Archaeologists continue to unearth proof of biblical cities, biblical characters, and proof of many of the events that are recorded throughout the Bible.

In Jesus day, the Scriptures were the Old Testament. These writings were by men of various lifestyles; kings, scribes, shepherds and prophets, who wrote under the inspiration of the Lord himself.

Jesus quoted from Scripture some seventy-eight times. He dispatched Satan himself by correctly quoting three times from the Book of Deuteronomy during his time in the desert deflecting Satan's temptations.

Jesus referred to the Old Testament as the Scriptures, the word of God and the wisdom of God.

The Old Testament speaks of Jesus’ coming, and predicts hundreds of events that come to fruition in the New Testament. Thereby, the New Testament testifies to the genuineness of the Old Testament, making both of these collections inseparably the Word of God!

If Jesus is who he claims to be, then we must conclude that it was He who divinely inspired the writers of the Old Testament. If we declare that Jesus inspired it, and quoted from it, He also authenticates it. This fact is vitally important considering the madness that some Christian leaders are considering these days.

There are those who believe that the Church cannot grow any further because of its ties to the Old Testament. These same people foolishly suggest that we should not use it anymore. The argument goes; people do not need to believe in the Old Testament to be saved, so let's do away with it and all of its controversial contents.

Jesus told us the Bible is true, if it is not, then Jesus was terribly wrong. If I learned about Jesus in the New Testament, but am told the Old Testament is mainly myths and folk stories, why should I trust the things in the New Testament? This picking and choosing of what we should follow does nothing to inspire faith in the Bible.

There are even some pastors who only want to use Jesus's own words to validate salvation. Thomas Jefferson once thought that way, and he created his own version of the Bible that he cut and pasted, using only the teachings of Jesus. He simply ignored all the miracles and anything supernatural. What good was that? Did he have such doubt of the many miracles Jesus was credited for, that it shook his faith? Or worse, was he ashamed of the things he omitted? I cannot say.

Jesus addresses unbelief in John 5: 46-47, where he states, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?”

Moses wrote a great many things about the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus fulfills the description of the Passover Lamb. The blood He shed bought salvation for the world. Jesus is like the manna given to the Israelites every morning, for He is the Bread of Life. When Moses asked God for water, a rock split open and quenched their thirst. Likewise, Jesus is the living water, if taken, will quench your spiritual thirst forever. Moses spoke of God raising up a prophet as worthy as himself. Jesus is clearly a luminary above!

We can plainly see that we are living in a post Christian society. The signs are all around us. There is no sin, every lifestyle is blessed in God's eyes, hell is not real, and all faiths can eventually enter heaven. You can now represent yourself as male, female, or something entirely different! This makes the word “truth” totally negotiable!

I guess the preachers and Bible teachers for the last nineteen hundred years got it all wrong! At least that is what some progressive church leaders would have us believe. I have heard some pastors say, while holding up a Bible, “This is not God’s word!”

You might not need to believe that the Old Testament is true to be saved, but the Bible has got to be true for there to be any salvation! Jesus cannot be separated from the Old Testament simply because it is he who fulfills it!

Why is reading our bibles so important? Most Christians know that reading God's word is important. But far too many times we get frustrated and confused, and very soon we set aside our bibles for long periods at a time. We have no problem reading mainstream authors new books cover to cover, but persistent study of God's word seems to elude us.

Our spiritual well-being needs to be nourished by reading God's word on a regular basis. Just as our bodies require good, and wholesome foods to keep us of strong mind and body, so does our spiritual health need regular refreshment in the Word.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 4: 4, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Jesus quoted these same words to defeat the devil while He was in the desert.

When we just look at the Bible, we can see the impact it has on the world. The Bible was the first book ever to be printed. Since then, the Bible has become the most published and printed book in history. It has also been printed in just about every known language and dialect. It is an undisputed best seller year after year! Many households have more than one copy residing there.

Historically, many people have died horrible deaths in pursuit of ownership of a copy. Throughout history, the Bible has been praised, cursed, banned, burned, restricted and argued over. We not only swear on it, but at it as well.

The Bible was translated into its present form painstakingly from the original languages using verified ancient manuscripts. Men died to translate it into their own languages. It has been proven accurate to the smallest of details. It has been studied, dissected, and commentated on more than any book ever written.

The events found in this book have greatly influenced the art world as well. Countless paintings that reflect the many accounts found within the pages of the Bible are on display across the world in museums and art galleries.

It has been responsible for changing the lives of many over the centuries. People have found hope, and reason to turn their troubled lives around. People have found peace and serenity by reading it faithfully and committing its words to memory.

Reading the Bible shows us God's character. If we have questions about God, this is where you will find the answers! Reading the Bible regularly also keeps us from sin! Psalm 119: 1 says, “Thy word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Paul warns us not to conform to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We cannot expect to fight the false teachers of this world when we do not know the truth contained in the Bible.

Then, in Hebrews 4: 12, we see the ultimate power of the Word of God. “For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”