Is the Bible Trustworthy?

It is estimated that since it’s first printing over 17 billion (17,000,000,000) copies of the Bible have been distributed. Yet as history’s all time best-seller, perhaps no other book has sparked more controversy or been more debated. In reality the Bible has withstood the unrelenting attacks of critics, philosophers, humanists, skeptics, and every other brand of critic. But not only has it survived these attacks, it has triumphed over them.

The French atheist Voltaire confidently proclaimed that the Bible would be an extinct book within 100 years of his lifetime. Instead, within fifty years of his death, the Geneva Bible Society was using his house and his printing press to publish an avalanche of Bibles! His house later became the Paris headquarters for the British and Foreign Bible Society.

Thomas Pain, who wrote “Age of Reason” vowed to rid society of the Bible. He predicted that within a generation that the Bible would only be found in museums. After a lifetime of seeking to destroy the Bible, Paine’s dying words are a startling testimony of the Bible’s triumph: “I would give words, if I had them, if the ‘Age of Reason’ had never been published. O Lord, help me! Christ, help me! Stay with me! It is hell to be left alone.”

For a long period of time, critics of the Bible dismissed it as nothing more that the creative invention of a skilled novelist. While some of the Biblical citations of people, places, and events have not been substantiated, modern archaeology is giving credence to the historicity and legitimacy of the Biblical text.

For example, on August 9, 2005, The Los Angeles Times reported that while repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem, workers had discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam. According to tradition it was a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city. In the Gospel of John it was the site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth. The Biblical Pool was discovered less than 200 yards from one that had been created around 430 A.D. in an effort to reconstruct Biblical sites.

Princeton Theological Seminary New Testament scholar James Charlesworth admitted that many critics of the Bible said that the Gospel of John was not rooted in history but was purely theological. Therefore they denied the existence of the Pool of Siloam. Unfortunately for the critics and skeptics, the Pool of Siloam was found exactly where John said it was. Those questioning the historicity of John’s Gospel have now been silenced.

Jeffery Sheler, an award-winning journalist at U.S. News & World Report, says that other discoveries like the Pool of Siloam discredit the theory that the Bible, and specifically the Old Testament, is the work of a good historical novelist. According to Sheler, it would be a huge leap of faith for skeptics to believe that a human novelist could have so accurately recorded “the arcane details of the economic and social milieu of distant times and places.”

What does all of this mean? Well for me it means that my trust in the Bible has a reliable foundation rooted in historical accuracy. I'll write more on this issue later, but for now I'll leave you with these words, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8, NIV).

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Using God's Grace

"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand" (Romans 5:1, NIV).

To encourage people to "use" God's grace may seem a bit alarming. So what do I mean by "using God's grace"? I mean, use the grace of God to build your life upon and to turn your life around.

In reality, God's grace is our strength for living from day-to-day. In many circumstances in life we literally stand by his grace. When our lives are filled with sorrow and pain, either through our own mistakes or circumstances beyond our control, God's grace has the power to get us through. In fact, God's grace has the power to use our sorrow and pain for his glory and for our good. "...we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3, NIV).

Your sufferings, whatever their cause may be, can be used to strengthen you. The Bible says they give you 3 things: perseverance, character, and hope.

1. Perseverance teaches you, "I can overcome anything--even my own sinful mistakes--through the power of God's grace."
2. Character teaches you, "And through his grace, I can become the kind of person who doesn't make such foolish mistakes."
3. Hope teaches you, "Because, through his grace, he's making me into a new person; he's making me like Christ."
   

Let God's grace be your source of strength, the foundation upon which you stand and build your life.

Chuck Colson understands the transforming power of God's grace. Back in the early 1970's he had made a mess of his life through his involvement with President Nixon and the Watergate scandal--a mess that landed Colson in prison. God used that mess not only to turn his life around, but to give him a platform for ministry that continues to this day. While in prison Colson converted to Christ and vowed that he would not forget his fellow inmates. As a result he founded Prison Fellowship, a world wide minstry to those who are incarcerated. Today Colson is a respected Christian leader with a world-wide impact for God's Kingdom.

So, use God's grace in your life. He can take the mistakes you have made and turn them into something amazing.

Accepting Daily Grace

By its very nature sin messes things up. Nothing good can ever come of sin, because sin is incapable of producing good (Romans 6:23). When we mess with it, it makes a mess of us. Therefore we need to experience God's amazing grace and become brand new people in him. There's a sense in which this happens at salvation: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

But God's work of grace in our lives doesn't end at salvation, it begins at salvation. As we walk with him, his grace transforms us--changes us into brand new people. When you find yourself in a mess, you need God's grace. The good news is: even if it's a mess created by your own sin, God's grace is available. Romans 5:20 says, "Where sin increased, grace increased all the more."

That means as much grace--or as much help--as you need to get out of the mess you've created, God will give. As much mercy as you need to experience full and complete forgiveness, God will give. As much of his power that you need to turn your life around, he will give. As much peace as you need to overcome your fears, he will give. As much acceptance as you need to be free from guilt, he will give. You cannot out-sin God's grace in your life. You cannot make such a mess of things that he is no longer able to help you out. That's how powerful his grace is.

Forgiveness is a free gift. You don't earn it or deserve it. And his forgiveness is total and complete. Your wife may not be ready to forgive you--neither may your boss, or your children, or your parents, or your friends, or your enemies--but God has forgiven you completely. Romans 5:6 says, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." The ungodly: you and I fall into that category. We're the ones he died for. Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God forgives us in spite of the fact that we don't deserve it. In fact, even before we had considered asking for forgiveness, before we felt even a hint of remorse, he had already died for our sins.

Someone once said, "Accepting God's forgiveness at salvation was easy, but when I have sinned in my Christian life, accepting God's forgiveness has been more difficult--because I'm constantly reminded of how little I deserve it."

Can you relate to that statement? I can. But you know what? This attitude reveals a lack of understanding of the scope of God's forgiveness. We tend to think that God can forgive small sins, but not big ones. Or old sins, but not new ones. But when Jesus Christ died on the cross, he died for all sins--the ugly ones, the wicked ones, the stupid ones--all sins.

Romans 5:9 states, "Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" The fear of God's wrath is a thing of the past for Christians, we have been saved from it. We don't have to live in dread of what God is going to do to get even with us, because the punishment that our sins deserved was paid for by Jesus Christ. If you make a mess of your life with sin, God will forgive you, but why in the world would you intentionally want to create that kind of pain for yourself? Anyone who views God's grace as a free ticket to go out and "have fun" with sin is in for a rude awakening. The wages of sin is death and it always leads to misery. Anyone who has made a mess of their lives with sin already knows this.

It's not fair, is it, that Jesus should have to die for our sins and we should get off scot-free? No, it's not fair at all. It's not what we deserve. But it's what we've been given. Accept it. Every day. Just like you accepted it on the day you were saved, accept God's forgiveness in your life ... and turn away from willful sins.

Why is Islam growing so rapidly?

Someone asked me,  "Why is Islam growing so fast in the world, given the comparison to Christianity?  I just don't understand the appeal when you compare/contrast the doctrines of the two religions and compare/contrast Jesus/Muhammad.  I am sure the Muslim religion must be presented differently to those inquiring or considering but I just am not seeing the appeal of the religion in modern times around the world."

Well, one reason may have to do with the different cultures around the world. The Middle East is a much different culture than our own. They have a completely different mindset than we do. That’s true of Europe also. People look at life and view the world differently. The Middle East has been dominated by a very intense religious mindset for centuries. 

Another reason may be the fact that to them commitment really means something. It is easy to be a Christian in America. There are a number of Christians who take their faith as an inclusion in some kind of a spiritual club; almost as kind of a luxury or amenity of sorts. Islam is a completely different mindset. When you make a commitment to Islam, you are making a life-altering commitment. It is a serious deal. A lot of American Christianity is void of that kind of serious commitment. I’m not at all talking about a “radical” kind of commitment with violence; I’m simply referring to an absolute commitment of one’s life. 

In reality, Jesus calls us to an absolute commitment to him (Luke 14:25-35). I'm not sure how so many of us in America have managed to avoid this kind of total commitment to following Christ. We tend to enjoy following Jesus as long as it takes to where we want to be. The version of Christianity so common in America is that God is here to serve us and our needs. While it is true that God is interested in meeting our needs (Philippians 4:19), it is a significant misunderstanding of the Creator and the creation. We exist to serve God and his purposes, not the other way around (Luke 4:8).  

Anyway, the call of total commitment seems to be appealing to the kind of mindset that is found in other parts of the world. In America it seems that we are reluctant to make a commitment to much of anything that doesn’t serve our own purposes. That’s not a slam on America, it is just an observation.