The Bible, Is It Defendable?

Many times as Christians we are put into situations where we have to defend our beliefs and more importantly defend why our beliefs are based out of the Holy Bible. To many, who have no revelation of who God is, Bible reading seems a waste of time as it has become widely criticized by unbelievers in modern society to be merely a book of fairy tales or made up stories. I mean how can one base their whole life and eternity on a book written by man or men, right?

Saying the Bible has authority is to say that its accuracy has been established and it’s information can be consequently trusted. The authority of the Bible comes from the Bible. It is God’s breath that he breathed into existence through each person that had a part in writing His infallible Word. The word of God states that “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV) His breath took manifestation into words by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who established the Word written by each author as authoritative and trustworthy.

When considering the Word of God and its inerrancy one who has a true relationship with God and His Word will tell you without a doubt His Word is without flaw. His Word is infallible and has yet to fail. The Bible states that “the words of the Lord are flawless (Psalms 12:6 KJV) Based on Biblical argument the Bible is the testimony of Scripture itself and one who is walking as a born again Christian can easily attest to the strength of this argument by seeing it reign true in their own life. Historical arguments strongly support the Biblical argument with strong supporting evidence of events, people, and places that have held true over time and are unchangeable. This has clearly helped sustain a continuous belief of the inerrancy of the Bible throughout the history of the church. It also shows that Scripture has been proven over and over again to stand tried and true.

When looking at the epistemological argument it asks for the Word of God to be beyond doubt and question. Simply put, it is. Historical facts support it, revelation sustains it and its track record proves it. The slippery slope argument has some strength and validity to it because when one starts to question and then disbelieve the inerrancy of the Bible you are now questioning the very existence of God. It is His breath breathed into scripture that has created each word in the Bible to be alive with revelation and power. To believe there is error in the Bible is to believe that God himself is a liar and if that is the case the rest of what you believe concerning God eventually falls to the wayside.

When belief is held that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers throughout the Bible and we know that the Word says “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind…..”(Numbers 23:19 NIV), we know inerrancy directly comes out of inspiration. If God said it, then it has to be truth. Inspiration supports inerrancy by making us understand that God is truth. The Word of God is a manual for our lives. Although written in a time when culture was different, languages and customs were different His Word is relevant to each person’s life today. God’s Word is alive and should be applied to every situation we face in every moment we live. God’s inspired Word had every person, situation, culture, custom, era and generation in mind when written. The foundational precepts and wisdom is a one size fits all and applicable for each of us.

After we talk about the authority of the Bible, it’s inspiration, it’s inerrancy and the arguments that have been discussed and debated over the course of time we still have to remember this, the same inspiration that was used to author the Bible is the same inspiration that has to reveal the validity of it to one who does not believe or know the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is who brings the revelation of the Word to life even in the believer and to debate with a nonbeliever who does not have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of them is futile. One needs to exhibit the love of God, point a person to the cross and to pick up the Bible for themselves so the Holy Spirit can reveal himself to the reader through God’s Word.