The Battle for the Bible

Can we trust, even to the point of changing our very lives, a collection of ancient manuscripts that we know today as the Bible? Over the past two weeks I have been presenting solid evidence that we can indeed confidently rely on these very words of God.

This week I will show how God Himself answers His critics—in nature, in celestial bodies and in the Bible.

Here in Cincinnati my wife Bev and I often take walks at the Cincinnati Nature Center. We never cease to be inspired by God’s magnificent creation. Can you imagine what we—or you—would think if we walked around a corner one day and came upon a 325-ton Boeing 747 ready for takeoff? Wouldn’t we instinctively and naturally ask: Where did this come from? Who put it here? Who designed and created it? Or would we assume that it just put itself together?

What’s the statistical probability of that?

Consider this fact: Sir Fred Hoyle, a renowned Cambridge physicist, once calculated that the probability of cellular life evolving was about one chance in 1040,000. A number with 40,000-some zeroes is a pretty large number. To illustrate how implausible cellular evolution is, he wrote in 1981:

“The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way is comparable to the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.”

Clearly the physical universe speaks eloquently of our Creator. Since childhood I’ve had a love of astronomy. From our solar system to our galaxy to the billions of other stellar systems, I never cease to be awed at all that’s out there in the universe. As I think about this and view the night stars from, it bears humbling testimony to David’s words in Psalm 19:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands…night after night they display knowledge” (verses 1-2, New International Version).

But unfortunately, as David also wrote, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm:14:1 emphasis added throughout). The apostle Paul later magnified this: “God’s invisible qualities have been clearly seen…so that men are without excuse” (Romans:1:20, NIV). Because men in Paul’s age and our time today will not acknowledge the self-evident Creator, “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans:1:21-22
).

The outcome of this foolish thinking? “ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie”(Romans:1:25).

It is this sort of arrogant thinking that forms the basis for many, even most, of the grievous problems besetting our planet. It is flawed and illogical thinking of the creation boasting against the Creator! It is this type of thinking that produces an unsubstantiated, biased and contemptible attack on the Bible, as what appeared in Newsweek in late December (2014).

There are many, many ways God reveals Himself to us. To those who are willing to surrender and open their minds, God promises to fill to the full.

A chief proof of the Bible is simply God doing what He promises in a very intimate way.

So do you want to please God? You simply have to trust and believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him earnestly (Hebrews:11:6). In this age, we worship an invisible God. As Paul declared: “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen…we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians:4:18; 2 Corinthians:5:7). God invites you to take Him at His word: “‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi:3:10, NIV).

Are you ready to claim what the Bible describes as “exceedingly great and precious promises”? (2 Peter:1:4). As I quoted earlier in this series “God in the past overlooked such ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts:17:30, NIV). “Repent” is an English word translated from the Greek word “ metanoeó, ” which means to change one’s mind or purpose, literally to “think differently.”

Earlier in this series I suggested that you request our free Bible study aidTransforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion . But I also want to issue a bit of a challenge. We have many men—ordained servants of Jesus Christ—who, ministering together with their wives, can directly help you understand what it means to “think differently.” They can help you learn from the Bible how God thinks and what He offers to you. I invite you to contact one directly. Go to www.ucg.org/congregations/all on our website and find one close by. They won’t ask you to join anything, but you may find knowledge of great value.

We live in challenging times. May you confidently find strength, comfort and direction in the very Word of God!