The church is a movement based around the conviction that God came in the flesh, died on the cross, rose from the dead to give life and they were empowered by the Spirit for mission. The book of Acts is the highlights of how the church spread. This book is centered around the mission to spread the gospel, we are part of that movement.
What is the common theme throughout the book of Acts? The common thing was the Word. We will preach, teach, sing, pray and live the Bible with boldness and in love. We are a bible church, that’s the foundation, that’s the power.
There are questions that you might have about the bible. Every year around this time, as we get near Resurrection Sunday, documentaries and investigative journalists come out with shows blasting the truthfulness of scripture.
How do we know the right books were included in the bible? Is the Bible filled with contradictions? Is there any proof outside the bible that any of this really happened?
1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
This doesn’t mean you need all the answers. It does mean that the Bible will stand up to any question. The greatest minds have tried to discredit it, and the bible always holds up. We want to love the Lord with our heart, soul, and mind.
Four proofs that give me confidence in the Bible
- All the fulfilled prophecy.
Acts 1:16 says, “Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David foretold about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.”
They call the Old Testament scripture; they look at the words in the manuscripts as predictive in nature. There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled, and 61 that are so specific.
There are prophecies about the expected Messiah, where he was born, His ancestry, His betrayal, His manner of death. Psalm 22 talks about the crucifixion and when that Psalm was written, crucifixion had not even been invented yet.
One mathematician says: “The odds of just 8 of those 61 prophecies being fulfilled in one man are 1 in 10 to the 17 power. This doesn’t just happen.”
The mathematician goes on and says, “Take a silver dollar and put an X on it. The chances that one man can fulfill these, would be like filling the ground of the state of Texas with silver dollars 2 feet deep. Then in one random motion, pick up just one, and it would be the one marked with the X.”
We can have great confidence in the truthfulness of our faith.
- The internal evidence of scripture
What does the Bible say about itself? For the skeptic, this is the least convincing proof, but it is important to look at the internal evidence.
Acts 1:16 shows that the Holy Spirit spoke but it came from the mouth of David. The scriptures declare that human authors wrote it, but it was the spoken Word of God.
For example, when the boys are out playing in the neighborhood, and me or Kate send one of the other kids to tell them to come home.
And they say, “Dad says you need to come home now.” You aren’t speaking from your own authority; you are speaking from your dad’s authority. That is what the Bible claims about itself. Its speaking from God’s authority.
Jesus said Matthew 5:17, “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.”
The point is Jesus believed in the message of the Bible.
In the gospels we see Jesus reference Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaac and Jacob, the manna in the wilderness, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Naaman, even Jonah, never one time questioning a single event, a single miracle, a single historical claim.
- The overall unity of the message
40 different diverse authors, written over 1500 years, 3 different languages and 1 story.
You have 40 authors that are so diverse: rich, poor, shepherds and Kings, and everything in between. Yet the Bible present one single message, one powerful cohesive story.
There is also a unity of symbolism throughout the Old and New Testament: fire equals judgement, water and oil equal the Holy Spirit, blood is the agent of redemption, leaven represents sin.
Well…I heard the bible is filled with contradictions. Is that true?
There are a few seemingly contradictions, but there are quick answers to solve them.
For example, Isaiah 11:12 says, “He will lift up a banner for the nations and gather the dispersed of Israel; he will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
People think this means that the Bible teaches the earth is flat. Not at all. This would be like the meteorologist saying the sun rises and sets. Isaiah is not being literal.
You can always get real answers to these so-called contradictions.
- Understanding the date of the gospels
The majority of the New Testament was written between AD 40-85, this means many of the people that witnessed Jesus’ resurrection were still alive.
1 Corinthians 15:6 says, “Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”
If the early church wanted to trick people, they would have waited until all the eyewitnesses were dead so that they would not be fact checked.
The way we got our Bible today was through a canon. A canon simply means a measuring stick, a set of criteria that was used to compile all the books and letters that were considered divinely inspired by God. What was the criteria for a book to be included in the canon of scripture? It had to be written by an apostle or under an apostle’s supervision
Our biggest problem is not the confidence in the Bible, but consistency in the Bible. So here is a challenge for you:
7-Day Challenge
- Read the Bible.
- Personalize the bible
- Pray the Bible
- Obey what you’ve learned
Pastor Chris Williams
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these weekly encouragements in your inbox.
