What We Believe
Nearing the close of Jesus’ unlawful trial, the question of truth came up. The discussion between Jesus and Pilate ends with a question and a statement from Pilate. “Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him” (John 18:37-38). When we study this trial, we see truth standing out amid many lies. The mob is shouting lies and calling for Jesus’ death. The truth is that Jesus is the King and is guiltless. On that day, however, lies won out over truth.
In a court of law, truth is demanded from everyone who enters the judge’s presence. Although all promise to tell the truth, many do not. Psychologists say that lying is human nature and, by implication, indicate that all man-made documents contain errors and untruths. The conclusion people have concerning the Bible is that people wrote it and, therefore, it must contain falsehoods. The Bible’s claim for itself is that God is Love (1John 4:8), He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and all He says is truth (John 17:17). To be a believing child of the God who sent His Son and angels to serve the people that will inherit salvation in Heaven, the Bible must be accepted as true in all respects.
From the words contained in the letters of the New Testament, it is evident that some doubted the complete truthfulness of the gospel teachings. Working through the apostles, the Holy Spirit worked miracles to prove that their words were the truth from God. Even in the Old Testament, the prophets used both logical arguments and God’s miracles to confirm the truth of their message. And we read the words Luke used to express how the writings in the Gospel and the Book of Acts were investigated and verified. Luke’s details provide names of officials, dates, and places, verifiable today. He says the reason for his diligence was “so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).
Without a firm conviction that the Bible is true, and an all-powerful God can provide a means of keeping it true, the words of John’s Gospel would have no meaning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). And, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Of all the religions in the world, only this Word, a Word that had no beginning but always has been and always will be, claims eternal existence. History marks the beginning and sometimes the end of all other faiths. Only this Word that became flesh (John 1:14) claims the number one characteristic of deity, Eternal Life!
The characteristic of eternal life allows God to choose the best time for all things. To set the seasons (Genesis 1:14), to remember His promises and fulfill them (Exodus 2:24), and to send His Son to save sinful people (Galatians 4:4). Only the true God could fully explain “The mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16). Only the true Living God could direct men to write the One Book, over time, using three languages, which leads people to eternal life in His presence. God caused Paul to write of the message of that Book “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘but the righteous man shall live by faith'” (Romans 1:16-17).
God will not tell everything. Through Moses, He said, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Jesus told the disciples, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority” (Acts 1:7). Paul reminds us, “That the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). God does not tell us everything we want to know. But the knowledge in The Bible must be believed. As Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). John wrote that the Bible is the place to learn the truth we need to believe. The purpose of the Bible is “So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).
Do you believe the truth written in The Bible?
