FAQs from the unsaved #7 - How do you know the Bible is true?

Continuing on with our series of the most common questions asked by enquirers we come, now, to the most pertinent question  of all viz. "How do you know the Bible is true?"

The reason I say that it is the most pertinent of questions is simple.  We are spreading a message which has huge implications for peoples' lives and their eternal destiny.  We are claiming that we have the answer, not only to life itself, but on how to obtain eternal life in Heaven.

Moreover, we are basing all of this on a book written 1,000s of years ago, and which is often derided as "an irrelevance written by ignorant goat-herders who didn't have the advantage of modern scientific discoveries".

So, what answer do we give to such enquirers?  We answer the question in 4 ways:

1.  Fulfilled prophecies.

The Old Testament is replete with prophecies about the coming Messiah which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  People who wish to examine this in greater detail will be advised to do their research on the internet, but 2 examples will suffice.  Isaiah 53 is clearly about a coming one who would die as a sacrifice for His people ("for the transgression of my people was he stricken" -  v.8); also Psalm 22 speaks of death by crucifixion hundreds of years before such a barbarity was even invented.

It would also be worthwhile to mention the 7-fold prophecy of Tyre in Ezekiel chapter 26 which was perfectly fulfilled.  The chances of this happening merely "by accident" would be 1 in many millions.

2.  Archaeological Discoveries.

No Archaeological discovery has ever disproved the Bible despite intensive digs taking place over many generations in the lands of the Bible.  On the contrary, such expeditions have served to prove the historicity of the Biblical record time and again.   Space does not permit me to go into intensive details (again, an internet search is recommended) but I would just mention the city of Nineveh.  This was destroyed by the Babylonians in 612BC as prophesied in the book of Nahum..  At one time the Biblical record of this happening was scoffed at by historians as, they claimed, no such place even existed!  However, the ruins were discovered in the 1840s and, once again, the Bible proved to be true.

3.  It has stood the test of time.

If the Bible was not the Word of God, and divinely preserved, then it would have been eradicated, or at best, just became a museum piece.  The reason for my stating that is because no book has been subjected to so many attempts at destruction, as the Bible.  Its opponents have been numerous over many centuries and it simply would not have survived.  However, it has not only survived but is daily being printed and distributed all over the world!

4.  The power to change lives.

Over the last 2,000 years millions of people have experienced a powerful change through reading God's Word as the Holy Spirit has confirmed its truths and applied them to their lives and situations.  Time and again I have heard personal testimonies of people who once had lives that were in a terrible mess, but have been transformed by God's power.  Indeed, as the Bible says: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" - Romans 10 v 17.

In conclusion, when we get challenged to show that the Bible is the Word of God, we should not be fazed, but we should relish the opportunity to give a reason for the hope that lies within us.  We have the evidence on our side, let's no be afraid to use it!

Next week we hope to look at the question: "If the Christian faith is true, then why do so many people not accept Christ?"

FAQs from the unsaved #6 - What about the hypocrites in churches?

In our series of questions most frequently asked by the unsaved we come, now, to one of the most common viz. "What about the hypocrites in churches?" or, to put it another way, "How can I believe in Jesus when so many Christians are doing bad things?". 

People who ask this have probably seen media reports of vicars running off with  members of the congregation, or pervert priests doing evil things to kids, or a number of other reports that show supposed Christians doing the most awful things.

To be fair, it is possible that some who ask these questions may be genuinely willing to consider the claims of Christ, but have been put off by these media reports.  Others, are simply looking for excuses not to come to faith in Christ.

So how do we answer such queries?

Firstly, it should be acknowledged that professing Christians have committed terrible crimes and the media reports are often correct in the basic facts reported.  However, we should answer the question with a question viz. "How do you know that the person concerned is a true Christian?" - many people claim to be followers of Christ, and may even have a good knowledge of the Bible, but may never have had a true work of grace in their hearts.  Such people, may talk the talk, but have never come to repentance and true faith in Christ as their Lord and Saviour.  An example of this would be Judas - not only did he betray Christ but, we are told in scripture, that he would steal money from the treasury bag.  It is clear, therefore, that he was never truly saved in the first place.

Secondly, we could challenge the enquirer by saying that one day, every one of us will stand before God as individuals, and give account before Him (Romans 14 v 12) ; it will do us no good to point the finger at other peoples' failings as God will say "I will deal with them, what about you?".

Thirdly, we could challenge the enquirer by asking him a simple question: "Are you prepared to give up an opportunity to get to Heaven, because of the actions of other people?".  In other words, as Christ is the only way to Heaven, and as people are put off believing in Him because of the actions of hypocrites, this means they have forfeited their chance to be saved because of the wrong deeds of other people.

This last point is a powerful argument - we are all appalled by the actions of hypocrites, but refusing to believe in Jesus because of them means we damage ourselves.  Whether or not we believe is not going to make a scrap of difference to hypocrites, but it will affect our own eternal destiny.

I hope you are finding these articles helpful, next week we hope to look at the question - "How do you know the Bible is true?" 

FAQs from the unsaved #5 - How could God be so cruel as to command genocide?

Continuing our series on the type of questions I get asked when doing street evangelism, I come now to one that is not as frequent as the others, but has still arisen from time to time -

"How could God be so cruel as to command genocide?"

This type of question tends to get asked by militant atheists who have read the Bible with the sole aim of finding "contradictions" or objectionable statements (objectionable in their eyes, that is).  However, as I stated in an earlier article, unless we have good grounds to believe that an enquirer is insincere, we should proceed on the basis that they are genuine seekers after truth. The person raising this matter may be a genuine seeker who has been reading the Bible and has come across these "difficult" passages.

It is to be acknowledged that, according to scripture, God did command the Israelites to wipe out the inhabitants of the Promised Land, examples being Deuteronomy 7 v 2 and also, in the same book, chapter 20 v 17-18.

There are a number of ways that this question can be answered, and I'm not saying that my readers should slavishly follow these suggestions, but I tend to approach it like this:

One should not say, How can God be so cruel as to command genocide but rather, How could people be so wicked as to need wiping out?

Having chosen the Jews God wanted to protect them from both spiritual harm and physical disease.  In Deut. 20 v 18 we read that God wanted these heathens wiped out so that they could not be a temptation to the Israelites.  Indeed, as we see while reading through the Old Testament, the Jews failed to obey God's command, they did not wipe out the heathens and, as a result, were led into the sin of idolatry and unnatural perversions.  This, in turn, led to God having to chastise them.

Moreover, God wanted to protect them from physical disease - these heathens were so vile with their unnatural perversions that disease would have been rife and the Lord, who had the best interests of His people at heart, wanted to preserve them from that.

Indeed, as we look at Britain, today, we see that that situation has arisen.  The incidents of disease caused by sinful living is at an all time high.  Moreover, there have been notable occasions when people have died as a result of perverse living (Freddie Mercury and George Michael for example).

So you see, then, when God commanded this "genocide" it was for a good purpose - to protect His own precious people.

No doubt, because most people are humanistic, (and that also includes some "Christians") there will be objections to the answers I have given, but they are eminently Biblical and I stand by them.