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Why Believe the Bible?

Is the Bible real? How can you trust a book written thousands of years ago?

TRANSCRIPT

Brother Bob: I’m Brother Bob Pellien. Thank you for joining us on this podcast episode of That’s in the Bible. Our next set of questions comes from two individuals. And in fact, there are many who often ask questions like this. Let’s hear the first one from Ryan Foster from San Diego, California. His question is this:

[Video question]

Ryan Foster: My question is, who’s to say the Bible isn’t fictional?

[Video ends]

What is the identifying characteristic of the word of God?

Brother Bob: And we have a lot of very similar questions. Let’s post up another one that comes from Magda Staunch from the faraway land of New Zealand. Here’s her question: “You get all your answers from the Bible. How do you know that it is the right book? What about the Quran and other religious books?” 

Brother Bob: Well, it’s true that there’s a lot of world renowned religions that use so many different books and claim those books to be the foundation of their faith because they are from God via the Quran of the Islam religion or be at the Catechism of Catholicism or other religious world renowned books that people use as the foundation of their faith. If all of those books were piled up in front of us on a table, and there they are all claiming to be the word of God in order to find which one truly is, one has to know the identifying characteristic of the word of God.

For example, if a person was given the assignment to find an automobile, but they don’t know what an automobile looks like, they don’t know how big it is, what it sounds like, what material it’s made of, they might go out on the street and get run over by an automobile and wouldn’t know yet that they have found an automobile because they need to know it’s identifying characteristics. The same with the word of God. So what did Jesus mention regarding the identifying characteristic of the word of God in the book of John 17:17 he said:

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

[John 17:17 New King James Version]

How is truth measured?

Brother Bob: Identifying characteristic: truth. That’s where many would probably want to inject and say, “Well what is true? Your definition of truth? My definition of truth? Or what is truth? Is truth measurable by what a yardstick?” How can truth be measured and verified? Let’s consider what was quoted by the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 46, verse 11, it says:

Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.

[Isaiah 46:11 New King James Version] 

Brother Bob: How is truth measurable? Not by a yardstick or some kind of measuring instrument like that. Truth is verifiable by its fulfillment. Like here, the prophet Isaiah quoting God saying, “What I have spoken, I will bring it to pass.” Very different than the word of men; we can say, “We will do this tomorrow, we will do that tomorrow or next week.” We don’t even know if we’ll be alive tomorrow or next week, it may not be within our human capacity to fulfill what we say. And therefore what we say, could not be verified as truth until it actually happens. The fulfillment is the evidence, the tangible verification that what was spoken is truth. 

So now we have that characteristic, the identifiable characteristic of the word of God. It’s truth. Of all the books there piled in front of us, one of them has to emerge and prove itself to really be true. True and proven so by the fulfillment of what is recorded therein. And we can cite so many, many [pieces of evidence] of that—what’s recorded here in the Bible. We are the mere eyewitnesses to their fulfillment; therefore proving what’s contained here is true. Truth is the word of God. 

What is a truth fulfilled in the Bible?

But let’s just take a couple of brief examples, like the character of people in the particular timeframe that we all live in nowadays.There was a prophecy stated in the writings of Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3, beginning in verse 1:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

[2 Timothy 3:1-5 New King James Version]

Brother Bob: There’s a prophetic statement of Apostle Paul regarding the nature of people. And we are all the living eyewitnesses that clearly describe the nature of people nowadays. If we took time to read for example, Daniel chapter 12 verse 4 [it mentions] our technological advancements because of the increase [of] the knowledge of mankind fulfilled in our time. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke all throughout chapter 24 of Matthew, regarding events like World War I, World War II and other events which we can clearly see fulfilled, all of which prove the Bible is true, the Bible is the word of God. All the other books may be nice reading, might discuss how to interact with people, love your neighbor, all such things, but do not pass the “truth test.” Only the Bible passes the truth test. Only the Bible therefore, is worthy of our trust as the word of God.

Thanks for listening. I’m brother Bob Pellien, and we hope you join us next time on That’s in the Bible. Please feel free to email your questions to answer@incmedia.org. For more programming of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ and to find a local congregation near you, please visit incmedia.org.

 

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