Have Confidence In Your Bible 1

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

1 Peter 1:24 – 25

Every word in the Bible is God’s word. That is the one assumption that every Christian makes. If it’s true every word in the Bible is eternally true, every word can be depended upon, every word carries the authority of the Creator of the universe and everything else we believe follows. If it’s false, we have nothing.

It’s an assumption but it’s not an unreasonable one. People build their lives on assumptions that are way less reasonable. We have very good reasons for making our assumption and over the next few weeks I’m going to tell you about some of them. I want you to have confidence in your Bible.

The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years, the work of 40 different authors: a prince of Egypt, a shepherd who became a king, a herdsman, a military general, a doctor, a fisherman, a rabbi, they could hardly have been more different. They came from different places: places spread over three continents. They grew up in different cultures and lived in different circumstances. They wrote in different languages and they wrote in different styles. Some wrote prose, some wrote poetry, some wrote songs. Some were historians, others were biographers, some were scribes of the law. Some wrote in parables, some in allegory. Some wrote letters and didactic treatises. And yet when the Bible is all put together it tells a single unfolding story: the story of God’s redemption of sinful man. It’s consistent throughout. Each part corroborates the rest.

What are the chances? I mean ask 10 Christians — never mind 40 — to collaborate on a book and you will not get that degree of harmony. I think my assumption that the whole process of the recording of Scripture was guided by a single mind is not unreasonable.

Adapted from Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell. Available to purchase at ICM Books.