Can we really trust the Bible?

In this extract his new book, Barry Cooper grapples with the question of why the words of the Bible really matter…

Isn’t it silly to claim that something as commonplace as a book actually contains God’s words? If God really is God, couldn’t he communicate with human beings in a less run-of-the-mill way?

He certainly could. The Bible itself gives plenty of examples: God speaks to people by means of dreams, visions, angels—even, on one significant occasion, from a burning bush. He also “speaks” to individuals by means of their consciences (Romans 2 v 15); by hard-wiring us with a deep inner hunger for him (Ecclesiastes 3 v 11); even by determining where and when in history we live (Acts 17 v 26-27). God constantly “speaks” to us of his goodness by providing for us, regardless of whether we love him or not (Matthew 5 v 45; Acts 14 v 17). And he still guides his people by means of his Holy Spirit.

But if we were to hear a voice speaking directly to us, a voice claiming to be God himself, how would we know it was God speaking and not just indigestion, our own desires, or something worse? And what if we just “feel” that something is right? Would that be God guiding us?

The Apostle John addresses this in 1 John 4 verse 1:

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world”.

The way we “test the spirits” is to measure everything against God’s written word. If any voice chafes against Scripture at any point, then according to Scripture it shouldn’t be treated as being “from God”.

That is one of the reasons why God has chosen to communicate in writing. It gives us a supreme court in which to weigh up every human claim to be speaking or acting with God’s authority. And this is a very good thing. If every person claimed to have heard words from God, and acted on them apart from any other consideration, the result would be chaos. As the 17th-century theologian John Owen put it, the “mask of pretended revelations and interior inspiration” has been used by Satan to mislead people throughout history. It’s a loving gesture of God’s grace, then, that he has provided Scripture as “a constant aid and guide”(John Owen).

Write this down

There’s another reason God has communicated in writing. Writing was the natural way to preserve God’s words for present and future generations.

For example, the Ten Commandments are described as having been “inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31 v 18), and when the stone tablets were smashed by Moses—in a fit of anger at Israel’s idolatry—God immediately took steps to replace them. Writing was the way God carefully protected his words so that they would not be lost, changed, distorted or forgotten. As he says to Moses at one point: “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered…” (Exodus 17 v 14).

Again, in the Bible’s final book, we read:

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” - Revelation 21 v 5

So there’s no reason to be suspicious of the Bible’s divine authority simply because it’s a book. Words don’t become less authoritative because they’re written rather than spoken.

In fact, when you think about it, the reverse is true. The most important statements human beings make—whether they be legally-binding contracts or lyrical expressions of love—are most often written down, at least when we intend them to be powerful and lasting. When God specifically instructs that his words be written down, things get serious.

Why the words in the Bible matter

God ensured that his words were preserved in writing because they are a matter of life and death. Eternal life and eternal death.

At one point in Jesus’ life, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Looking at the twelve disciples who were closest to him, he asked: “You do not want to leave too, do you?” And Peter, so often the spokesman for the group, said this:

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. John 6 v 68-69

Jesus has the words of eternal life. Now, that’s wonderful for those living in Palestine 2,000 years ago—those who could listen to him speaking in the flesh—but what about us? How can we know what his words were? Is eternal life eternally lost to us because we were born too late to hear them?

Thank God that isn’t the case. These “words of eternal life” have been preserved for us. Without those words, we would still be unreconciled with God the Father, with nothing to look forward to except death, judgment and hell. Without those words, we would never have known about God the Son, who died, was resurrected, and then ascended so that we could become a child of God, a co-heir with Christ. Without those words, we would never have known about God the Holy Spirit, who graciously comes to live in those who belong to him.

So when people who claim to be Christian are careless with (or selectively trash) the very words which brought them life, it is tragic—and absurd. Imagine a person drowning in the Atlantic who, having been rescued by a passing life-raft, proceeds to pick holes in it.

As Peter said, Jesus has the words of eternal life. There is no one else who has them. Without a record of them, we are lost. The Bible itself is explicit about this:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20 v 30-31

God has preserved his word in the Bible so that we ourselves might be preserved. He wants us to have life, as we meet the source of all life—Jesus himself—in Scripture.

Can I really trust the Bible? is part of the Questions Christians Ask series, order it HERE.