Is the Bible true?
Devotion
June 2003
Is the bible true? Have you ever been asked that? What did you say? Do you know for sure that it is true? I am going to try and give you just one way that you can talk to others and perhaps give them the evidence they need to continue to pursue God.
Many times when we get a chance to talk to someone about the bible they have a problem seeing it as the truth that we see it as. They have either not read it or if they tried to read it they started at Genesis and stopped long about Leviticus. They see it as a collection of stories, myths or fairy tails and simply ignore when it comes to their day to day lives. In fact, with out the Spirit to reveal the scriptures to us, I don’t think we can get much from the bible at all. It does not connect to our spirit with out the influence of the Holy Spirit but that is another lesson.
There are all kinds of studies that have been done to prove and disprove the bible. We are not going to talk about them here but instead let’s look at one simple set of facts. First, of the 12 disciples, 11 of them died horrible deaths. Martyrs deaths. Crucifixion, stoning and the sword just to get started. They were beaten, thrown in prison, starved and in general hated by the leaders and followers of the religious community.
Why did these men die? Because they taught that Jesus was the Christ. The living God. The savior of the world. Why did they teach that? Because they believed it. They knew it was true.
Men are willing to die for only a few things I suspect. Family, country, religious beliefs. Maybe a few more but let’s stop there. Religion. We hear a lot about suicide bombers these days. I have to admit that I don’t understand how they can do that. I mean, we don’t see their side do we? They must think they have the truth. The believe it so surely that they are willing to die for it. Do you think they would be so willing to die if they thought it was all a lie? Or if they knew it was a lie.
In that lies the proof we are looking for to show the bible is true. At least the new testament we are looking at when we talk about the disciples. Think about it. The disciples knew Jesus better than any one on earth. Better then Mary or Joseph. Better than the neighbors that lived next door to Jesus before his ministry started. Better than anyone. They were with him on his last night on earth before he died. They heard him in the garden talking about the vine and the branches. Jesus poured his life into these men because he loved them and because this was the plan for saving the people that God loved so dearly. They saw him crucified. They saw him dead. They saw him buried. They lost hope. They felt betrayed, confused, bewildered. What had happened. Jesus was gone.
Then they saw him alive again. They talked with him. They ate with him. They touched him. For 40 days they were with him and then they saw him disappear into the heavens. It was true. All of it and they knew it. They were there. Then they received the Holy Spirit and they started changing the world. Because they knew it was true.
But what if it weren’t true.
They of all people would know it. If they had not seen Jesus die. If they had not seen him buried. If they had not seen the empty tomb. What if they carried off the body as some accused them of doing? They would know it was a lie, wouldn’t they? Would they die for a lie? Especially if they knew it was a lie? Would you die for a lie? If you knew it was a lie? I don’t think so.
So here is some proof that we can relate to real life. Our lives. Their lives. Most times the people we talk to about Christ raise objections is to get us to change the subject and move on. If they are truly interested in the questions they ask, we must honor that and try to answer them. However, if it is a diversion then we have to try and get past it.
I would encourage you to do the research to be able to field some basic questions but be praying when you are talking to a seeker. Try to determine if the question is real or just a smoke screen. One tactic that can work is to ask them to save the question for later or to say, ‘That is a good question. Can we save that for a minute and finish the question about who Jesus is?’. If they agree to save it, come back to it if they want but many times, once you get to talking about Christ, the questions will be forgotten.
If you like, we can start meeting at my house on the first Tuesday of the month to try and answer some of these questions that get asked. If you want to meet with me and do this, let’s get started. We can meet at 7:00 and go for about an hour and a half. Come and talk to me for directions and lets prepare for those that God will send to us.
In His Grip,
Jerry Robertson
Chaplain