Why do we trust the Bible?

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:14-15).

Why do we trust the Bible?

People who grew up in the church grew up trusting the Bible because people they trusted told them it was trustworthy. Even people who didn’t grow up in the church may have had someone they trusted, someone in whom they saw the power of God to change people, tell them the Bible is the source of the transformation in our lives and can be trusted.

There is no shame in that.

Everyone has things they believe because they trusted the people who told

them they were true. Almost everyone believes the earth is round; almost no one has gone into orbit to check. Everyone believes George Washington was the first president of the United State; how many have carefully investigated the historical documents to verify their truthfulness?

I know many scientists. None of them have repeated every experiment. None of them have even repeated every experiment in their own field. There are several scientists today who are renown for their skepticism about God and the Bible. They all rely on Newton’s, Maxwell’s, and/or Boyle’s Laws without repeating every experiment to confirm them.

So, again, there is no shame in trusting the Bible because people you trust told you it was trustworthy.

However, in today’s world, believers need to move beyond that. The scriptures come under attack from several directions. If you cannot answer those attacks, you may well find your trust in them eroding. Even those who don’t walk away from the faith can find a weakened confidence leading to an ineffective Christian life.

Also, people may ask you about these issues. Whether you’re trying to share the gospel with people or they just know you’re a Christian, people may, whether out of idle curiosity, genuine interest, or pure mischief, ask you to explain why you believe the Bible.

Trusting the Bible is not an all-intellectual exercise, and we’ll return to that shortly, but it is good for believers to be able to answer the charges leveled against the Bible. Skeptics and honest seekers alike raise valid questions: How do you know this is actually what was written? Why should we trust the writers? Is there any proof? Why these books and not those? These are fair questions, even if they’re not always fairly delivered.

Being able to answer these questions will strengthen your trust in the scriptures and equip you to help those honest seekers who need to know the truth. That is what we will turn to next.


Image credit: Map of the Square and Stationary Earth, Orlando Ferguson, 1893.

Part of Christianity 101