Peace Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Part 2 The Bible and why we trust it.
What we believe. And WHY.
We take the Bible seriously. VERY seriously. We
believe the Bible is trustworthy. We believe it is
historically accurate. And we believe that the Bible
is the inspired Word of God. And there are reasons
for this, some of which we will address here.
believe the Bible is trustworthy. We believe it is
historically accurate. And we believe that the Bible
is the inspired Word of God. And there are reasons
for this, some of which we will address here.
Question:
Given that there are many religions and different
"gods to each religion", how can we be confident
that our God is the true God? How can we be
confident that the Bible is true, since other religions
claim that their holy writings are also true?
Given that there are many religions and different
"gods to each religion", how can we be confident
that our God is the true God? How can we be
confident that the Bible is true, since other religions
claim that their holy writings are also true?
Answer:
These two questions go together because our trust in the one
true God come about through His Word, the Bible, and our trust
in what the Bible says comes from the fact that it is the Word of
the one true God. Please note the word "trust." In the final
analysis, we cannot prove God scientifically in a laboratory, nor
do we prove the Bible to be true. We trust in God. We believe
in Him. We trust that the Bible is his Word, and therefore, it is
true in its every aspect and is the very revelation of the one
true God to the exclusion of all others books in the world. We
are confident of them because God has made us confident of
them when he worked the miracles of faith in our hearts. Our
confidence is not based on intellectual assent, because faith is
so much more than intellectual proof.
Because our faith in God and His Word means that we believe
other gods and other bibles to be false, it is important that we
point to some evidences of the uniqueness of our God and His
Word, the Bible. The God who presents the God of the Bible
presents a plan of being right with Him that is given as a free
gift, rather than demanded as a work of man. There is no other
god or religion in the world where eternal life is given freely by
grace. All the religion and gods man has created over the
years are based on law, that is, that a person must earn their
god's favor by doing enough good works. The one true God
presents a plan of salvation that is gospel, that is, He gives us
His favor freely through the works of Jesus Christ. When we
compare the Bible to any human holy book, we are struck by
this major difference.
These two questions go together because our trust in the one
true God come about through His Word, the Bible, and our trust
in what the Bible says comes from the fact that it is the Word of
the one true God. Please note the word "trust." In the final
analysis, we cannot prove God scientifically in a laboratory, nor
do we prove the Bible to be true. We trust in God. We believe
in Him. We trust that the Bible is his Word, and therefore, it is
true in its every aspect and is the very revelation of the one
true God to the exclusion of all others books in the world. We
are confident of them because God has made us confident of
them when he worked the miracles of faith in our hearts. Our
confidence is not based on intellectual assent, because faith is
so much more than intellectual proof.
Because our faith in God and His Word means that we believe
other gods and other bibles to be false, it is important that we
point to some evidences of the uniqueness of our God and His
Word, the Bible. The God who presents the God of the Bible
presents a plan of being right with Him that is given as a free
gift, rather than demanded as a work of man. There is no other
god or religion in the world where eternal life is given freely by
grace. All the religion and gods man has created over the
years are based on law, that is, that a person must earn their
god's favor by doing enough good works. The one true God
presents a plan of salvation that is gospel, that is, He gives us
His favor freely through the works of Jesus Christ. When we
compare the Bible to any human holy book, we are struck by
this major difference.
Though outward evidences do not prove the Bible to be God's
Word, it is still remarkable how the Bible has distinguished
itself in the history of the written word. Consider the faithful
way the Bible has been translated, circulated and preserved.
The number of manuscripts from ancient times that all agree
and attest to the accuracy of the Bible can come close to this
kind of attestation. For instance, The Textus Receptus is a
Greek text based on manuscripts copied by hand from about
900 to 1500 A D. (which the King James Version (KJV) is based
on). The UBS text is based on these manuscripts plus those
manuscripts that were copied by hand from about 150 to 900
A.D. (which the New International Version (NIV) is based on).
The difference in these two Greek texts is less than one tenth
of one percent, and none of these differences affect any
doctrine of Scripture. There also the Dead Sea scrolls. The
first type is manuscripts of the books of the Old Testament.
Most of these are just fragments of the books. But these
manuscripts are of great importance. They are 1000 years
older than the previously known copies of the Hebrew Old
Testament. They show that the Old Testament was faithfully
and accurately copied and transmitted from the time of Christ
to us. During 1000 years of copying it was faithfully transmitted.
They help us understand the beliefs and practices of some
groups among the Jews at the time of the New Testament.
However, even more important to us are the internal
evidences that our Bible is the very Word of God. Here we
could point to the Bible's accuracy in prophecy - the fact that
every single things foretold in the Old Testament is fulfilled in
the New Testament.
We could point to the unity of the Bible - how every book of
the Bible agrees with all other, that they are all centered on
Christ. We could point to the unparalleled impact and power
the Bible has in the hearts and lives of people. All these
things demonstrate that the Bible is unique. The Bible is
God's Book. And that the God of the Bible is the only true God.
groups among the Jews at the time of the New Testament.
However, even more important to us are the internal
evidences that our Bible is the very Word of God. Here we
could point to the Bible's accuracy in prophecy - the fact that
every single things foretold in the Old Testament is fulfilled in
the New Testament.
We could point to the unity of the Bible - how every book of
the Bible agrees with all other, that they are all centered on
Christ. We could point to the unparalleled impact and power
the Bible has in the hearts and lives of people. All these
things demonstrate that the Bible is unique. The Bible is
God's Book. And that the God of the Bible is the only true God.
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