Why You Should Trust the Bible’s Truth
I’m writing a series of blogs called TRUTH—FLUID OR FINAL. Ultimate truth is not as fluid as our pop-culture would believe. God has revealed to humanity his heart and mind—his truth. That revelation was overseen by God to ensure it was reliably preserved in what we know as scripture—the Bible. In today’s blog, I want to explore the question: Can You Trust the Bible? After the dust settles, do you agree that what’s contained in the Bible is God’s message for you?
DON’T ADD OR DETRACT
As you may know, the book of Revelation was written after the resurrected and ascended Jesus spoke to the Apostle John. John had been exiled to the Isle of Patmos. The book of Revelation is really about the end of times, the future of the church, and the final and future coming of God’s eternal kingdom. At the end of that book are final words spoken by Jesus to John—Revelation 22:18-19...
18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
Pretty solemn warning right? I’m not exactly sure what the plagues are about or losing a share of the tree of life, but I know this, it doesn’t sound good! I mean, whatever the plagues are and whatever the loss is, I wouldn’t want any part of that! The bottom line is that we must not add or subtract from God’s Word. However, people are doing that all the time. I recently read a posting that said, “Man’s laws cannot make moral what God has declared immoral. Even if a sin is legalized, it’s still a sin in the eyes of God.”
God has some very definite boundaries concerning his truth around in the Scriptures. Now, to be accurate here, Jesus’ words from Revelation 22 speak specifically about the Book of Revelation. However, there are other passages that have similar words. In Deuteronomy 4:2, Moses tells the people: “Don’t add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give to you.” Proverbs 30:5-6 says, “Every word of God proves true…Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.” There is a theme in the Bible that God’s Word has boundaries. Whether in word or deed, be careful neither to add nor take away from what God’s Word has declared as truth.
SLIPPERY SLOPE OF HUMAN TRUTH
In the history of humanity, challenges to God’s truth have always been there. But it seems to me that human truth (rather than God’s truth) is gaining momentum with the growth of global communication, social media, and secular humanist movements. The Jesus Seminar fiasco in the 1990s is just one example of human reason seeking to unseat God from the discussion. The Jesus Seminar was a group of intellectuals who came together and debated whether or not Jesus really said the things that he said and did the things that he did. They debunked 95% of what Jesus said and did as inauthentic.
Robert Funk, the organizer of The Jesus Seminar concluded this:
“We should give Jesus a demotion. It is no longer credible to think of Jesus as divine. Jesus' divinity goes together with the old theistic way of thinking about God. The plot early Christians invented for a divine redeemer figure is as archaic as the mythology in which it is framed. A Jesus who drops down out of heaven, performs some magical act that frees human beings from the power of sin, rises from the dead, and returns to heaven is simply no longer credible. The notion that he will return at the end of time and sit in cosmic judgment is equally incredible. We must find a new plot for a more credible Jesus.”
The problem here is the proverbial, “The tail is wagging the dog.” God created humanity but the creation is challenging the creator. It's the culture informing self rather than God’s truth informing and transforming the culture. The root cause is a culture that's adding and detracting from God’s Word. There are plenty of hot button issues challenging God’s truth today—abortion, euthanasia, sexual identity confusion, co-habitation, evolution, the significance of marriage, etc. God’s Word has truth for each of these and most other human issues we face. However, if God’s truth no longer informs and transforms cultural issues, we are faced with a relativistic culture informing itself of the latest version of truth. In that setting, no lasting or real truth exists.
JESUS CONSIDERED SCRIPTURE TO BE TRUE
The Old Testament scripture is made up of 39 books. Those books record history from creation to about 400 BC which conclude with the writings of the prophet Malachi. There is widespread acceptance among Jews and Christians that those 39 books are indeed the Word of God. In fact, in the New Testament, Jesus himself quotes from 24 of the Old Testament books! Jesus said this…
“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18)
If Jesus treated the Old Testament writings as authoritative, shouldn’t we? In a talk that John Piper gave entitled, The “Sum of God's Word Is Truth,” Piper spoke of Simon Gathagan, a Cambridge University professor. Here’s a portion of Piper's talk…
“Simon Gathagan believes in inerrancy. He’s at Cambridge University in England. This is unheard of. Revival has come! A teacher at Cambridge University believes in the inerrancy of the Bible. Gathagan says…
‘My main reason is because historically, I cannot deny that was Jesus’s view of His Bible. I can argue in any scholarly setting, any university in the world, that that is a fact. That Jesus viewed His Bible, mainly the Old Testament, that way. Okay, if I’m going to be submissive to Jesus as Lord of my life, and if historically Jesus had that view of the Bible (so must I view the Bible as authoritative)...before Jesus left and went back to heaven, He chooses these apostles, and He says, especially in the gospel of John, ‘I will send the Spirit of truth who will guide you into all truth, so the first half of your Bible I’m endorsing, and the second half of your Bible I’m inspiring.’
Piper summarizes, “And that’s how God works. You start at the center with Jesus, and you work your way out to Jesus’s powerful view of the Old Testament, and Jesus’s preparation to make the New Testament authoritative, and then you have the apostles saying…
“And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)
It’s personally and collectively perilous to disregard God’s provision of a standard of truth. If we have only our own fallible and flawed understanding to discern right from wrong, good from bad, true from false, we’re doomed to a moving moral bull’s eye. The result is a culture untethered from any anchor of righteous moral and ethical behavior.
NEXT STEP
1. What is your uncompromised standard for living? Is it your own understanding? Your own reasoning that’s fed by the culture around you? Be careful. God loves you and has given you his standard of truth to determine your life choices. If you haven’t been measuring your daily choices and experiences through the grid of God’s truth, begin reading one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). Get to know the heart of Jesus and live according to his truth.
