How Do We Know the Bible is True?
If none of the following makes sense to you, then simply don’t take my word for it. Go and seek the truth. Jesus himself said in the book of Matthew, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
You might have heard someone use the Bible to back up an argument, held you to a standard you may not believe in, or you might have even done this to someone else. Maybe you consider yourself a believer, but you couldn’t fully explain why you believe what you believe, or if you aren’t truly sure if you believe the Bible to be truth without a doubt in your mind. There are a lot of ways we can go about this topic, but we’ll cover a just a few.
What is Truth?
First, let’s define truth. When something is true, it means that it is factual, and not subject to change based on opinion. Let’s approach this using logic. Take July 4th, 1776, for example. We were taught that on this day, the Thirteen US Colonies gained their independence from the British. We know this as fact, right? But how? We didn’t see this with our own eyes, nor did we hear about these events from an eyewitness. We know this happened because it was written down by the eyewitnesses for us to read hundreds of years later. In the same way, the people who saw the events of the Bible occur in real time wrote down what happened.
Just a Book?
Before I get into what the Bible is, let me tell you what the Bible isn’t. The Bible is not a self-help book, a rulebook, a fairy tale collection, nor is it an irrelevant account of random events from 2,000+ years ago that has nothing to do with us today.
Someone can read this book cover to cover and not believe a word it says. It all depends on their heart posture. Heart posture is the mindset you have while you’re doing anything. If you read the Bible and are convinced you aren’t going to get anything out of it, you won’t.
But if we choose to read the Bible under the belief that is the narrative story of God revealing Himself to us, His creation, through a book, written by people divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, our lives will change dramatically.
Throughout the Bible, there are moments when something was mentioned once, then mentioned again later. These could be prophecies or references to scripture. For example, in the New Testament (the second part of the Bible), Jesus referred to Himself as the sacrificial lamb. In the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible), people would have to sacrifice animals, often lambs or other livestock, to atone for their sins. This event is called a cross-reference.
The Bible has over thirty-six authors, written over the course of 1,500 years, with over 340,000 cross-references. Most of the authors did not live in the same place and did not know each other, yet they were all telling the same, coherent story.
There are two ways to read it: “It’s just some 2,000-year-old book of fairytales’” or believing that it is the living, breathing Word of God. If you choose the latter, it can change everything.
Translations
Sometimes, people will argue that the Bible isn’t true because of the number of times it has been translated, claiming that the meaning of the original texts have been lost. In reality, because different languages have different sentence structures, translations can vary in terms of word order or diction, but the meaning of the text has not changed.
Since the Bible was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, the translators had to convert to a different alphabet and sentence structure so we could understand God's Word. For example, Genesis 1:1. The Hebrew word “Bereshit” (בְּרֵאשִׁית, bare-uh-sheet) is one word in Hebrew, but three words in English, meaning “In the beginning.”
Other than just the words themselves, the translators had to alter sentence structure to make the Bible make sense. For example, Spanish is structured differently than English. If you took the sentence in Spanish, “A ella le gusta la manzana rojo.” Literally, it translates to, “To her, is pleasing to the apple red.” But because of how English sentences are structured, we change the order of the words to make it make sense. The correct way to translate this sentence would be, “She likes the red apple.”
As for the authors' diction, take a verse (John 3:16) from an NIV (New International Version) and a KJV (King James Version) Bible. NIV says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." While KJV says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Some words are different, but it still means the same thing, right?
Impact from Belief
If we choose to read the Bible based on the belief that the words are true, you will not stay the same. Only God has the power to change hearts and minds, and when you make reading the Bible part of your routine, He will certainly change your heart. C.S. Lewis is one of the most famous Christian authors of all time, and he started out as an atheist trying to find evidence to disprove the Gospel. Similarly, Lee Strobel, a former investigative journalist who worked for the Chicago Tribune was also an atheist at first. He set out to find Jesus’ teachings and prove them invalid, but Strobel became a Christian because of the overwhelming evidence of Jesus. In the same way, if you earnestly seek the truth, you will find it.
Science
Another misconception about the authenticity of the Bible is the belief that science disproves the Bible. Also looking at this from a historical perspective, scientific beliefs have changed over the years, but the Bible has stayed the same. For example, we used to think the Earth was flat, and that there were only 1,100 stars in the sky, etc. Isaiah 40:22 tells us that the Earth is round, and Jeremiah 33:22 tells us that there is an infinite number of stars, both written long before scientists had discovered either. The point here is that it’s not science versus the Bible. Science is the study of God’s creation, not the study of disproving God. God is a creator with intentional purpose for everything He makes. Each creature has its niche, or role, in an environment with its own instincts. Where there is creation, there is always a creator.
I believe it takes more faith to believe there isn't a God. If you really think about it, what sounds more believable: from the beginning of time, there was nothing. Suddenly, all the nothing randomly exploded and created the Earth and the rest of the universe. Also randomly, we all have unique fingerprints, personalities, laughs, families, and dreams. Also without reason, each individual creature was created with intricate detail and niche that just happened to exist, and nothing is on purpose.
Or, that there is a creator, who made the Earth and the rest of the universe. Have you ever thought that maybe God was who could have caused the Big Bang? That there is a possibility that science and God are intertwined because God created science? That there is a reason your fingerprints are only yours, your personality is not the same as anyone else’s, each creature has different design and role, each creature is made with intricate detail, patterns occur in nature, natural cycles occur, and the sky is painted each night with bold tones of orange, red, and pink. I could go on and on about different things that add up to make the case that there is a creator that makes everything with purpose and intent, but ultimately, it’s up for you to figure out if you genuinely desire to see the truth.
God Changing My Heart
With coming to know Christ and reading the Bible, your circumstances may not change, but your heart posture and mindset will change. Amidst anxiety, depression, loneliness, confusion, etc., the Holy Spirit will supply you with its fruit (byproducts): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the Spirit are the gifts we see and feel that God gives us when we follow Him. They are the tools He gifts us to navigate our broken world, and don't depend on your environment. By reading the Bible under the assumption that its words are true, Jesus provides a cure for our everyday problems: His love.
I know this firsthand. I have been rescued from anxiety, fear, and my own actions. I have heard testimonies and have seen the change in people’s lives around me because of Christ. Think of this message not as me “shoving my religion down your throat,” but rather, I know how it feels to be freed from feeling empty at the end of the day. Why would I keep that to myself?
A quote from theologian R.C. Ryle summarizes this perfectly: "Christians have nothing to be smug about; we are not righteous people trying to correct the unrighteous. Just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."
I know how it feels to be let down by the people you thought never would. I know how it feels to not be invited to the table, and be shackled by anxiety. You don’t have to live like that. You can be set free and experience true joy. Not temporary happiness, but unexplainable, powerful joy. I know from personal experience that changing your mindset to believe that the Bible isn't a textbook but the Word of God, God can turn lives around and turn mourning into dancing, because that's what He did for me.
Even if things don’t work out the way you wanted, God will use your situation for good—if you let Him. He wants to heal you, not control you. Following Jesus isn't a cage of rules, but the cure.
Bottom Line Belief
Believing in the Bible isn’t just about knowing or trusting in historical facts or specific technicalities. The bottom line of Christianity is that Jesus rose from the dead. No other religions can say the same about who they follow. Usually when the leader of a cult or religion dies, the religion dies with them. That’s the unique thing about Christianity; it has remained alive for thousands of years and continues to grow every day. Also uniquely, other religions focus on what you can do to earn your way into heaven. The prerequisite to get into heaven is perfection. But because God created us and knows that we will never be perfect, He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay our debt. God did this because He loves us.
Our belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus sets us apart from other religions because we know that we can never work our way into heaven, but by accepting the free gift of Jesus, we get to dwell with our Heavenly Father again one day.
What Happened to the Eyewitnesses?
Jesus had twelve main followers in his close circle, known as the Disciples. Each disciple died as a martyr because they proclaimed that they saw Jesus risen from the dead, conquering sin.
Increasing numbers of Christians have been killed for their faith in modern times, too. When has there been a moment in history when thousands of people have died for a lie? Looking at the Watergate scandal in 1974, it only took a few hours for powerful men in the American government to admit they were trying to convince people of a lie.
Don’t you think that being told you were going to be brutally killed if you continued preaching, would make someone want to admit they were lying? Peter was crucified upside-down. Thomas, who originally did not believe until Jesus himself approached him and asked Thomas to feel the holes in His wrists, was stabbed with a spear. Luke was hanged. Mark was dragged through the streets of Egypt by horses until he died. The reason I tell you this is to emphasize that none of these men acquired an ounce of societal gain because of what they preached. No fame, no respect, no money.
The reason they preached the Gospel was because they knew the truth, Jesus’ death and resurrection, and knew without a doubt that He is the Son of God. They all saw the truth with their own eyes, swallowed their pride, and followed what Jesus commanded them: to share the Good News to every nation, tribe, and tongue. They were willing to die for what they believed in.
If reading this message made you grow more curious about Jesus, I encourage you to keep seeking and dive deeper into understanding God’s character, and challenge you to read the Bible under the assumption that it is truth. I pray that God will show you His character and bless you.