Dec 11
4
Why Believe the Bible?
Does it take a giant leap of faith to believe the Bible? Is trusting in what God says in His Word like taking a step off a high, dark, ledge?
Only if you don’t know what it says.
You see, too many people dismiss the Bible over what other people say about it. Are there things you’ve heard about the Bible that have kept you from hearing what it actually says?
Jesus tells a story about a farmer casting seed all around, letting it land wherever it falls. Some of the seed lands in rocks, some in weeds, some in soil (Matthew 13). For now, just concentrate on the seed that lands on the hard, beaten-down path. Birds come along and snatch it away before it has any chance to do anything.
In Jesus’ parable, the seed is the Word of God. The “snatching away” part are all the things that prevent you from actually reading what the Bible says.
Have convenient pot-shots that others make about the Bible kept you from seeing His awesome holiness? When others blindly claim, “the Bible is full of discrepancies and contradictions,” do you believe it without investigation? Have you missed out on seeing God’s costly love for you in Christ because someone else said the Bible is just a bunch of myths and fables? When someone says the Bible has been proven false by history and archaeology, does it make you doubt that Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?”
These are all just mockingbirds feasting on priceless seed.
You see, other writers – serious historians, archaeologists, and scientists – have dealt with these objections at length and to the satisfaction of anyone who really wants to know. My purpose is only to chase away the birds long enough for the seed to have a chance. If just once you would set aside the propaganda about the Bible, the half-truths and the outright lies that so many gobble up and repeat without any critical thinking, what then?
I only want the voice of God to settle once into your soil like a seed. I want you to hear God speak to your heart: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).
Let it rest a minute there on the surface of your mind. Turn the ground over one more time. What might that tiny bit of life become? Only the faith that saves. The hope that endures. The love that never dies.
It is exciting and gratifying to see history and science repeatedly verify the things in the Bible. I recently researched and found the historical proof of the ancient census of Caesar Augustus that sent a young pregnant girl on an 80 mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem so that she – and her child –could be properly counted as a descendant from Royal David’s line.
It verifies for me that believing the Bible is no great leap of faith. The more you read God’s Word, the more amazed you’ll be. In the Bible, God tells you things about you that will resound within you again and again – if you’ll only listen.
I invite you to read actually read your Bible. Let it settle in and take root. Amazing things will happen.
To further your understanding of God’s Word, please join us at Peace Lutheran Church for a Thursday morning Bible Information Class at 11:00 AM. We study God’s Word in a friendly, casual setting. There’s coffee and conversation, and you can ask any questions you’d like about the Bible or God’s Word. We also have a free gift for you if you come – but there’s no pressure to join our church.
