Can we trust the Bible?
By TIM KLIEWER
Trinity Mennonite Church
Is the Bible God's Word or was it written by people like you and me? Of course, the Bible was written by people like you and me, but to stop there makes it a half truth that can hinder a Christian's faith. Human beings did write the Bible, but they didn't do it alone. God has a way of directing people with His Holy Spirit and with His wisdom and love, inspiring them to write what He wants them to write.
God is so great that He used about forty of His people to write His Word. It's a miracle. No person ever created the Bible on his own. The forty writers lived over a period of 1600 years. They couldn't have held secret conferences conspiring to create a big lie.
The truth is that the Bible is more modern and true to life than any other modern textbook written. It claims to have the one solution to the world's ills. It claims to bear the formula for personal success.
With these amazing claims in mind, no thinking person should fail to carefully evaluate the facts for himself before he dares to reject the Bible and its claims. Let's put it to a test by asking several key questions.
First: Is the Bible historically true? Did the events described in the Bible actually happen? Today there are written records by people who lived during the time of the Bible that confirm many events.
For instance, there are inscriptions by an Assyrian king named Sennacharib who wrote about his invasion of Judea. And his record corresponds to the one recorded in II Kings, chapter 18, of the Bible.
Archaeologists have excavated ancient cities like Jerico and have found that Bible records of events are true. One of the world's outstanding archaeologists, Dr. Nelson Glueck, made this phenomenal statement: "No archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Bible reference." The evidence is on the side of the Bible. The events of the Bible actually did happen.
Let's take a second question. Is the Bible an accurate account of life? I mean, is the Bible's view of human life and of the world a true interpretation? For instance, the Bible says that man is sinful by nature. The Bible tells us, point blank, that the world is an arena of struggle between the Kingdom of God and the powers of evil. This is in direct contrast to the popular philosophy that man is gradually improving and moving upward toward an ultimate man established utopia.
If we look at the facts of history, we see that man has taken tremendous strides in technology, in knowledge of the human body, medicine and other fields, but people themselves are not changed. We still struggle with the same unfulfilled longings, the same anxieties and fears that people faced 2,000 years ago. Evil still threatens to engulf us. We still face death, the problems of meaninglessness in life, and the problems caused by guilt. What we need is a change in our nature. We need power to do what is right. And that's exactly what the Bible says we need.
And then we have the Bible's teaching about morality and conduct. The Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the ethical teachings of the New Testament, all tell us that we are responsible to God for our conduct. They tell us that God has absolute standards of right and wrong; and when people fail to observe them, it means trouble.
Today there is a rebellion against such Bible guidelines. Modern man simply won't listen to Christian teaching about morality. The result is runaway social disease, AIDS, people being shot by snipers in mall parking lots and drive-by shootings. On a freeway in California, my own brother was the target of one of those drive-by shootings. The bullet narrowly missed his head as it went through the windshield. There's rebellion against civil authority, crisis in the home — and on and on.
The book of Romans, chapter one, gives an account of a people long ago who went this way. It's an ugly story. The Bible reveals that God's standard of morality and true happiness and success will come only to those who believe and obey.
Outside of Christ and following the Bible there is no cure for man's sinful nature. If you haven't found the cure, that is to believe and obey the Bible, it is time for you to turn off the TV and start reading.
