Can I trust the Bible?
Photo by: Joel Munoz
Merriam-Webster defines trust as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone of something.” Sadly, in our current times “trust,” based on this definition, seems to be eroding at warp speed. As society, particularly Western society, in the name of tolerance seeks to relativize anything we once called “true,” it makes sense that many people wonder … can we believe in anything at all? And when it comes to the Bible, it makes sense that so many people ask if the Church really expects us to establish our foundation of our faith and way of life on something that was written thousands of years ago.
First, let me assure you that this is a valid and important question. One of the many things to be learned from studying the Bible is that God never asks us to suspend our doubts. Rather, God invites us to bring those doubts forward, to allow them to be “tested” and examined by Scripture so that ultimately our doubts drive us closer to the heart of God. The author of Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). In Greek, that word we translate as “conviction” means something akin to the testing and proving of something. In other words, through our faith God proves that the unseen is very real … very possible.
So back to Scripture. How do we approach this ancient foundation of faith? Does it really have relevance for our modern day lives? Is the Bible trustworthy?
The Christian faith says, “YES!”
Here’s the thing: Scripture is ancient indeed. In fact, it is not just an ancient “book” but a library of 66 books written by approximately 40 authors over a timespan of 1,500 years on three different continents. Within this library we find a range of genres as well – from poetry to legal documents, genealogies to narratives, conquest literature to apocalyptic writings; all contributing to a revelatory glimpse of God’s grand plan for God’s beloved creation. The Bible is the story of God’s creation, from its breathtaking beginnings to its human-caused challenges to its God-given redemption. It is a story told via a particular time and place in human history and it unfolds through the lens’ of those to whom this story was first entrusted. And it is told via human authors inspired by the Spirit of God.
Naturally, this presents difficulties to a modern-day reader. Without access to those authors who composed the ancient words, we must do our best to reconstruct the context out of which the Bible emerged. We must carefully analyze the genre of each book of the Bible, asking how it provides guidance and limitation to our interpretation. We look diligently at context, making sure we understand each book as a whole unit lest we pull a verse out of the context and appropriate it for our own ends. Finally, we look at ourselves. We ask what we as readers bring to the Bible in terms of our own knowledge, background, and explicit or implicit biases. All of these are keys to unlock the mysteries of the text.
BUT. We don’t just do this for the sake of knowledge. The goal of proper and diligent Biblical interpretation is that it will help us to apply what we learn to our own lives so that the Bible truly can serve as the trustworthy foundation of our faith. We bring our experiences, the traditions of our own faith denomination, and our reason to the Bible and allow the Bible to offer correction, exhortation, and encouragement. Although the Bible doesn’t directly address many of our modern-day ethical concerns, its narratives offer us a framework to guide us as we wrestle these issues. The Bible itself says: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
In short, the Bible is the miraculous revelation of God for each one of us – teaching us about God’s character, purposes, heart, and mission for the world. Teaching us about how much each one of us matters to God – and that we are valued, loved, and tasked with caring for God’s beautiful creation. Teaching us that no matter how far we might fall, we only need to turn to God to find mercy and grace in abundance.
The Bible is trustworthy because when we engage in careful biblical interpretation and application, we will find that the Bible proves itself to be true in our lives and the lives of those around us.
There’s more I can say … so much more. For now, I invite you to join me on a journey through Scripture. To read, study and allow the Bible to offer proof of its own trustworthiness. It’s a study I call Cover to Cover: Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You can find more information on the studies tab.
Until then, I pray as always that God will make your faith resilient.Merriam-Webster defines trust as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone of something.” Sadly, in our current times “trust,” based on this definition, seems to be eroding at warp speed. As society, particularly Western society, in the name of tolerance seeks to relativize anything we once called “true,” it makes sense that many people wonder … can we believe in anything at all? And when it comes to the Bible, it makes sense that so many people ask if the Church really expects us to establish our foundation of our faith and way of life on something that was written thousands of years ago.
First, let me assure you that this is a valid and important question. One of the many things to be learned from studying the Bible is that God never asks us to suspend our doubts. Rather, God invites us to bring those doubts forward, to allow them to be “tested” and examined by Scripture so that ultimately our doubts drive us closer to the heart of God. The author of Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). In Greek, that word we translate as “conviction” means something akin to the testing and proving of something. In other words, through our faith God proves that the unseen is very real … very possible.
So back to Scripture. How do we approach this ancient foundation of faith? Does it really have relevance for our modern day lives? Is the Bible trustworthy?
The Christian faith says, “YES!”
Here’s the thing: Scripture is ancient indeed. In fact, it is not just an ancient “book” but a library of 66 books written by approximately 40 authors over a timespan of 1,500 years on three different continents. Within this library we find a range of genres as well – from poetry to legal documents, genealogies to narratives, conquest literature to apocalyptic writings; all contributing to a revelatory glimpse of God’s grand plan for God’s beloved creation. The Bible is the story of God’s creation, from its breathtaking beginnings to its human-caused challenges to its God-given redemption. It is a story told via a particular time and place in human history and it unfolds through the lens’ of those to whom this story was first entrusted. And it is told via human authors inspired by the Spirit of God.
Naturally, this presents difficulties to a modern-day reader. Without access to those authors who composed the ancient words, we must do our best to reconstruct the context out of which the Bible emerged. We must carefully analyze the genre of each book of the Bible, asking how it provides guidance and limitation to our interpretation. We look diligently at context, making sure we understand each book as a whole unit lest we pull a verse out of the context and appropriate it for our own ends. Finally, we look at ourselves. We ask what we as readers bring to the Bible in terms of our own knowledge, background, and explicit or implicit biases. All of these are keys to unlock the mysteries of the text.
BUT. We don’t just do this for the sake of knowledge. The goal of proper and diligent Biblical interpretation is that it will help us to apply what we learn to our own lives so that the Bible truly can serve as the trustworthy foundation of our faith. We bring our experiences, the traditions of our own faith denomination, and our reason to the Bible and allow the Bible to offer correction, exhortation, and encouragement. Although the Bible doesn’t directly address many of our modern-day ethical concerns, its narratives offer us a framework to guide us as we wrestle these issues. The Bible itself says: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
In short, the Bible is the miraculous revelation of God for each one of us – teaching us about God’s character, purposes, heart, and mission for the world. Teaching us about how much each one of us matters to God – and that we are valued, loved, and tasked with caring for God’s beautiful creation. Teaching us that no matter how far we might fall, we only need to turn to God to find mercy and grace in abundance.
The Bible is trustworthy because when we engage in careful biblical interpretation and application, we will find that the Bible proves itself to be true in our lives and the lives of those around us.
There’s more I can say … so much more. For now, I invite you to join me on a journey through Scripture. To read, study and allow the Bible to offer proof of its own trustworthiness. It’s a study I call Cover to Cover: Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You can find more information on the studies tab.
Until then, I pray as always that God will make your faith resilient.
