Giving an Answer: The Inspiration of the Bible
By Timothy Guess
We live in a time when the fact that the Bible is the
infallible, inspired word of God is not taken for granted. It is quite popular
in the college classrooms to make bold claims (that cannot be soundly backed)
against the inspiration of Scripture. It is also popular in secular media to
paint Bible-believing Christians as ignorant, behind-the-times fanatics.
There is no reason for Christians to apologize for the truth
of Bible inspiration. I hope in this short work to give some defense of the
truth that the Bible is Gods word. This will not be exhaustive by any means,
but I trust it will be accurate, helpful to the reader, and glorifying to God.
It does need to be recognized by Christians that we are responsible to be
equipped to give such answers to unbelievers. Notice two verses which teach
this:
I Peter 3:15-But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
Colossians 4:5,6-Walk in wisdom toward them that are
without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned
with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
We need to be able to give a reasoned answer in defense of
the truth. We never know when the Lord will give us an opportunity to speak
truth in His name in such a way that the Holy Spirit will use to benefit
another. This is part of our responsibility as being the light of the world and
the salt of the earth. But it must also be said that no matter how high we
stack the evidence for the Bible, there will be those hard-hearted, sin-biased
people who will still deny it. In reality, the denial of Bible inspiration is
not so much an intellectual problem as it is a spiritual problem. Understanding
the nature of man, we know that the natural mind is fiercely opposed to God and
His authority (Rom. 8:7). However, there may be sincere inquirers we encounter,
who are being dealt with by the Holy Spirit, who will find these truths
powerfully enlightening and freeing. Additionally, those depraved sinners we
just mentioned may be born again by the Holy Spirit one day and the things an
equipped Christian has shared with them may be recalled by them and help them
greatly.
Jesus Christ is identified in Revelation as the true and
faithful witness (Rev. 1:5). Everything that He says is true and right. He
never leads people astray, gives them false information intentionally or
unintentionally. Understanding this is important because Jesus Christ put His
stamp of approval upon the Old Testament. He also promised to send the Holy
Spirit to guide His apostles into all truth, hence we have the New Testament
(John 16:13).
Regarding the Old Testament, Jesus said in Lukes gospel, These
are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things
must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the Psalms, concerning me (Luke 24:44). The law of Moses, the prophets
and the Psalms were the three divisions of the Jewish Scriptures, the Old
Testament. Here, Jesus endorsed them all. In fact, the reason He could
reasonably claim to be the Messiah before the Jewish people was because He did
fulfill the Messianic prophecies from those scriptures. This is certainly not
the only instance of Jesus endorsing the veracity of the Old Testament. In
Matthew 19:4-6, He cited the authority of Genesis regarding the marriage
relationship. In Matthew 5:17, He said, Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. In Matthew
10:15, Jesus spoke of the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded in
Genesis. In Matthew 12:39-41, He taught a lesson drawn from the amazing event
of Jonah and the big fish. Other examples could be given, but this should
suffice to show Jesus recognition of the Old Testament being of Divine origin.
To deny the Old Testament, it goes with the territory that you must also deny
Jesus Christ. You must say that either He was misled, He was mistaken, or He
was deceitful. Neither of these three options fits with the character and
nature of the Son of God. It is a serious thing to deny the inspiration of Gods
word.
Archaeology has verified that the Bible is a historically
accurate document. Bible critics at one time contended that the book of Daniel
was invalidated by its mention of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. It was supposed
that that this was just a Bible blunder. Later archaeological research revealed
that there was a Belzhazzar in Babylon, silencing the critics from touting this
supposed Biblical blunder.
Another important historical proof are the writings of Luke.
He wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament, Lukes Gospel and the Acts of the
Apostles. Obviously, Lukes works were of a historical nature, recording the
life and ministry of Jesus in the gospel and the activity of the early church
in Acts. He recorded Pauls journeys, giving names of many cities and regions.
It must be noted that research has noted that of the 32 countries, 54 cities,
and 9 islands that Luke mentioned in these writings, not one error has been
found! That is what you call a historically accurate writer.
Well mention a few more supposed Bible blunders that have
actually proved to be an embarrassment to critics. The first five books of the
Old Testament, sometimes called the Pentateuch, have always been assumed to
have been written mostly by Moses. Critics contended that writing was even in
use yet during Moses time. All these stories must have been legends handed
down and written much later, and attributed to Moses. This sounds quite
plausible. However, archaeological research again proved the critics wrong.
Thousands of writings were found on stone and clay tablets dating back to even
before Moses time.
Another case is that of the Hittites. Bible readers will
recall Scripture referring to a people called by this name. However, there were
no extra-Biblical records that confirmed their existence. Therefore, it was
assumed that these Hittites never existed and yet another Bible error had been
found. Yet later research in Turkey gave evidence to the existence of the
Hittite civilization.
The case of Sargon, king of Assyria, is also revealing.
Isaiah 20:1 reads, In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the
king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it. A King
Sargon of Assyria for a time was not known outside of his reference in the
Bible. This was another of the Bibles holes, it was contended. Yet,
archaeologists in Iraq discovered the very palace of Sargon! Writings on the
walls of his palace recorded this very victory mentioned in Isa. 20:1.
The point should be well-established. The Bible has been
proven to be historically accurate. The willfully ignorant will still reject
this, no matter how much evidence is stacked up. It must also be noted however,
that all these discoveries do not make the Bible true and accurate. It
simply reveals it to be so. There may be a newspaper article tomorrow
supposedly documenting more Bible blunders. These should not move us. We
believe in the truth of Scripture because we have a God-given faith with which
we lay hold of the Bible. Before all these discoveries were made, true
Christians still believed in the inspiration of Scripture, no matter what the
so-called experts claimed. These discoveries do confirm and strengthen our
faith, as well as glorify God when we see His holy book being vindicated and
the mouths of His opposers being shut, at least for a time.
We will give just a sampling here of the fulfilled
prophecies of the Bible. Think for a moment of the miracle that predictive prophecy
is. God speaks through a prophet telling about a particular event hundreds of
years or more before it happens, and the event takes place just as it was
prophesied. This certainly speaks of a Divine action. So many minute prophecies
about the coming and ministry of Jesus the Messiah were fulfilled so incredibly
that critics surmised that many of these prophetical books must have been
written after Christ. In their eyes, Christ fulfilling prophecy was just a
man-made legend. However, in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the
Middle East. These confirmed such books as Isaiah (which contains many
Messianic prophecies) to be dated well before the first coming of Christ!
In Psalm 22, which foretells the suffering of the Messiah,
it is said, They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
Now how would this be fulfilled in the life of Christ? It was fulfilled on the
cross. The New Testament records in Matthew (27:35), Mark (15:24), Luke (23:34)
and John (19:23,24) that Jesus Roman executioners did indeed cast lots for his
clothing. Apparently, this was not an uncommon custom for the Romans when doing
this work of execution. But think of how that in Gods providence, Christ died
at the hands of the Romans. The Jews would not have killed him through
execution, but through stoning had they had been the official party acting. It
is doubtful that they would have stripped him and cast lots for his clothes
then. But Christ died at the hands of the Romans, who did practice this custom,
thus fulfilling prophecy from hundreds of years before these events took place.
Isaiah 53 contains several prophecies about the Suffering
Messiah. One of these in verse 12 predicted that He would be numbered with the
transgressors in His death (v.12). Was this not powerfully fulfilled in that
Christ, who had committed no crime, was crucified between two thieves. He was
numbered (reckoned, accounted) with the transgressors. Also in Isaiah 53 it
speaks of Christ being like a sheep carried to the slaughter in His suffering,
it that He would be silent (v.7). The gospels reveal that even before His
boisterous false accusers, He did not loudly try to defend Himself against
their bold-faced lies. Rather, He spoke only minimally.
Another fulfilled prophecy is one that came from the very
mouth of Christ. In Matthew 24, Jesus disciples showed Him the buildings of
the temple. He responded to them by predicting the utter destruction of the
Temple, saying There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall
not be thrown down. This was quite a prediction about such a grand structure
as the Temple. History shows Jesus prediction to be true. In A.D. 70, the
Roman armies under Titus besieged Jerusalem and finally destroyed the Temple.
Fire was set to it and it was utterly destroyed. The historian Josephus, who
was accompanying the Roman armies during this battle, records that Titus did
not want to destroy the Temple and did not order it. Apparently, overzealous
soldiers set fire to it, not knowing that they were instruments for the
fulfilled prophecy of Jesus Christ!
One remarkable Old Testament prophecy is found in Ezekiel
26, when the prophet predicted Gods judgment on the city of Tyre, or Tyrus.
Read the first 14 verses of that chapter. It predicts nations coming to destroy
the city (v.3), Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as being one of the destroyers (v.7),
the ruins of the city being put into the water (v.12) (Tyre was a port city),
and the city becoming a place to spread nets upon (v.5, 14). It is important to
note that Tyre was a two-part city, the port city on the coast and an island
city about a half-mile out into the Mediterranean Sea. True to prophecy,
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the main city around 573 B.C. just as predicted by the
prophet. Many fled for refuge to the island city and remained there. Over two
hundred years later, Alexander the Great came against Tyre. He used the rubble
from the mainland city to build a causeway to reach the island city, fulfilling
Ezekiels prophecy that the rubble of Tyre would be laid in the midst of the
water. Alexander then destroyed the island city. It is said that fishermen
still come to the city of Tyre (in modern-day Lebanon) to lay their nets on the
beaches and repair them!
Many, many more prophecies could be given. The honest
inquirer will continue to dig and learn of the many remarkable fulfilled
prophecies in the Bible. No other so-called holy book can claim such.
The Bible is an honest book. It is honest about the mistakes
of even its heroes. We are not surprised to read of it recording the mistakes
of Judas or Pilate or Herod. They were enemies. But it is important to
understand that even the sins of such notable Biblical figures such as Abraham,
David, Peter, and others are not shaded over. When conquerors write history,
they are not known for telling all about their flaws. Rather, they tend to
embellish their virtues and accomplishments. Because the Bible writers were
guided infallibly by the Holy Spirit, they tell it like it is. Abraham, called
the father of the faithful, had a lapse of faith and lied about the identity of
his wife. Peter, who was usually bold and brave, turned cowardly and denied his
association with Christ. David, known as the sweet psalmist of Israel and the
man after Gods own heart, committed adultery and murder! The failings of the
Apostles are recorded as well. At the Last Supper, the night Jesus was
betrayed, they were not sitting humbly at His feet. Instead, they were arguing
with each other about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. After
the Lords death, the disciples of Christ were not out boldly preaching to the
Jews, rather John records that they were meeting together behind closed doors for
fear of the Jews (Jn. 20:19). Yes, the Bible is honest; it records the
failings and weaknesses of its heroes. It does this because it does not
promote saint-worship or patriarch-worship, but points to the one, true God who
alone is perfect and holy.
It is also a unified book. The Bible was written over a
period of about 1,600 years by forty different authors, in three different
languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic). The writers were of varied backgrounds
such as fishermen, kings, farmers, tax collectors, doctors, priests, and more.
Some had more education than others. Paul wrote some of his letters from a
prison cell. John wrote the Revelation while an exile on the Isle of Patmos.
Yet with all these varied circumstances, the Bible is a unified whole! The
theme of Christs redeeming work for His elect is the thread that binds the
whole together. Imagine gathering 40 men from such different backgrounds today
and asking them to write on a certain subject. How unified do you think their
writings would be? Not very! Wonder at the work of the Holy Spirit in inspiring
His vessels to write the sacred Scriptures. David did not personally know Paul,
yet their writings are so knit together with the same truth that Paul quoted
David in His writings.