6 Reasons to Believe the Bible

Why should we believe and trust the Bible? First let’s look at what it is. The Bible is a unique book, in that it contains 66 books written in 3 different languages by over 40 authors. It was penned on 3 continents over a period of 1500 years, yet its message is remarkable in its unity.

The Bible, our guide book

The word bible simply means book, which derives from the Latin biblia and Greek byblos (or its plural biblion). The word byblos can be traced back to an ancient port bearing that name, where papyrus was grown to produce paper. The earliest biblical manuscripts were written on either leather or papyrus paper.

The word bible can refer to any book typically used as a guidebook or handbook; a backpacker’s bible for instance. When capitalized it is generally accepted as referring to the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is God’s message of love, revealing his plan of salvation for humanity. It serves as a guidebook for how we should live our lives and how to walk in God’s ways.

The Bible, God’s revelation

Throughout history God has revealed himself to humankind through creation, history, miracles, and visions given to his prophets. But his primary way of revealing himself and his love for humanity is through his written message, the Bible.

The Bible has 2 testaments or sections

1. The Old Testament:

The Old Testament, or the Tanakh (the Hebrew scriptures), lays the foundation or groundwork of Scripture. It establishes God’s principles and recounts the history of the Jewish people. It’s principle purpose is that it points to Christ, the promised Savior, and prepares the way for his arrival.

2. The New Testament:

The New Testament builds on the Old. The Gospels (the first four books) present the long-awaited Savior: his person, his life, and his work. They accurately portray him as Prophet (proclaiming God’s Word), Priest (representing God to man), Savior (who would die to save humankind from sin), and King (to rule eternally with God the Father).

The remaining books, except Revelation, contain teaching for how we should walk in this world as Christians. It concludes with the book of Revelation, which foretells end time events and the Lord’s return.

6 Reasons to believe God’s word:

Convincing proofs that the Bible is God’s written word:

1. Unity of the Scriptures

The Bible is composed of many books, but there is one main theme throughout: the story of Jesus Christ, foretold in the Old Testament and revealed in the New.

Regarding the precision of this intertwining between Old Testament prophecies and New Testament records, Dr. Richard J. Krejcir states: “Even with our modern technology and massive libraries and resources no work has ever come close” to such remarkable precision!

2. Its accuracy

The Bible contains over 1800 prophecies, many of which have already been amazingly fulfilled with incredible detail and accuracy. Peter Stoner, author of Science Speaks, says that if we apply the modern science of probability to just eight of the fulfilled prophecies about Christ, the chance of any one man fufilling all eight is just one in one hundred quadrillion!

3. Many external proofs

More copies of early Bible manuscripts exist than for any other historical book. And more external proof exists for the authenticity of the Bible than for any other ancient text.

Many of the people, places, customs, and even specific events of the Bible have been substantiated by archeological discoveries. Findings like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Pool of Siloam, the Tel Dan Stela which bears King David’s name, and findings at Jericho.

The Bible itself makes true scientific statements. To name just a few, Job states that “God hangs the earth on nothing,” and Isaiah that God “sits above the circle of the earth.” In Jeremiah we read that the stars are innumerable, and in Judges that they follow their orbits.

Recent findings in anthropology, biology, and geology, also provide amazing proofs of the Bible’s authenticity.

4. Its timeless and life-changing message

No other book in history has faced so many vicious attacks and attempts to destroy it. Yet it has been published in more languages than any other book. And it remains the most published and best-selling book of all time.

Its message is timely and relevant for every age and in all eras. It answers the deepest questions that humankind has posed through the ages. Questions regarding life’s most fundamental issues: What is the purpose of life? Where did life come from? Is there life after death?

The Bible resonates as truth in the deepest part of the human soul. Its message of life and hope remains unquenchable. Its teachings have transformed millions, including individuals, communities, and even whole cultures.

Adrian Rogers states that the Word of God, “Is so majestically deep that scholars could swim and never touch the bottom. Yet so wonderfully shallow that a little child could come and get a drink of water without fear of drowning.”

5. Its unbiased account of truth

Although Scripture was written by humans, it is not a biased account in their own favor. Rather, the authors of biblical texts were honest about their own sins, weaknesses, and nature. They were convinced that God expected them to tell the truth.

Most New Testament authors were even martyred for their faith. It is highly unlikely they would have willingly faced persecution and death for something they knew to be a lie.

6. It is backed by God’s authority

But mostly, we can trust and believe the Bible because it comes from God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is backed by his authority. It has been stated that the Bible bears God’s fingerprint. It carries the imprint of the miraculous, the divine, the supernatural. Which explains how it has managed to endure down through the centuries.

We are blessed to have this timely and trustworthy guide for our lives. We should strive to read, study, and believe this book more and more. It is our greatest source of knowledge, truth, grace, and wisdom!

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.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

Images: Bible & plant by Ben White | Papyrus paper by geralt | Papyrus plant by makamuki0 | Bible & bookmark by Kelly Sikkema.