Truth is Elusive Today!
John 8:44-47 NKJV — “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
It’s an Either or Situation
According to the Bible, we either believe the Bible and thus believe God or we believe the Devil, the Father of lies. It is hard to know what to believe today when we listen to the news and to politicians,and even when we listen to friends and preachers. But there is one thing of which I am convinced, we can trust the Bible.
Why Should We Believe the Bible?
Normally we believe those who have proven to us that they tell the truth. We get to know ;people and we know if they pay their bills, if they honor their marriage vows and other promises that they make. We pay attention when they tell us how many fish they have caught (supported by pictures). When the character of the person gives us confidence in the person we usually say that we believe they are telling the truth. What we are really saying is this: If what we can test proves to be true when we talk to a person, then we will depend on them with regard to what we cannot test. This is called inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning says, look at what can be proven and then use that experience to depend on what cannot be proven. In other words we depend on doctors that have been able to correctly diagnose us, we depend on business partners who have been faithful to their promises.
Three Reasons for Believing the Bible
There are three reasons why I believe the Bible. One is because of inductive reasoning. The Lord established validity checks in the Bible. Prophecies were made that have been fulfilled in detail. In Psalm 22:16, King David says about 1000 years before it happened, “For dogs have surrounded Me;The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.” We never read of King David having his hands and feet pierced. But the Lord did and this was fulfilled when the Lord was crucified. In the first three chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, there are six times when Matthew records that the events of the day were fulfilling Old Testament prophecies. Since there are about 400 years between the writings of the Old Testament and the New, all of these prophecies had to occur at least 400 years before the events happened. Having just these six prophecies fulfilled when the Lord was born would be like buying six lottery tickets and having each one be a winner. (I don’t suggest that you try it unless you want to give the lottery police an explanation as to how you were cheating). And I am only giving the tip of the iceberg when it comes to provable fulfilled prophecies connected with Israel as a nation and with the Lord’s first coming.
Now if the things that I can prove have been faithfully fulfilled, I am willing to believe that God has given us His word that Christ did indeed die to put away the sins of the world . I believe that those who trust in the Word of God will not be disappointed and that those who do not will be condemned eternally. That is the first reason I believe the Bible.
The second reason that I believe the Bible is that God describes what is in my heart. He knows me better than I know myself. The Lord says through Jeremiah the prophet, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;
who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9)? And of course the Lord searches our hearts and knows them. Most of us would be embarrassed if the thoughts of our hearts were somehow made public. I have to be honest about my sinnership but am thankful that God loves sinners according to Romans 5:8.
The third reason that I believe the Bible is because I want to. I don’t know of any other guide that gives me a confident assurance of an enjoyable life after death. I don’t have to work for it. Christ did all the work on the cross. But of course He wants me to believe in Him or trust Him. I can’t do that when I am believing in the Father of lies. I have found that as a believer the Bible has a happy conclusion. For the unbeliever, not so much. I certainly want to believe the good news:
The Truth
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. — John 3:17-18
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of May 16, 2021