Is the Bible the Word

of God?
by Michael Kruger
When it comes to the truth of the Bible, modern people often think like George Gershwin: “The
things that you’re liable to read in the Bible, it ain’t necessarily so.” After all, says the skeptic, this
book is so chock full of fanciful stories and over-the-top miracles that no reasonable person could
believe it. Why should we think the bible is actually from God?

Of course, it needs to be acknowledged that convincing the skeptic of the divine origins of Scripture
is no easy task. Since “the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor.
2:14), it is not as simple as just presenting the facts. The Bible is a spiritual book, so the Spirit must
work for us to see it for what it is.
Our arguments may not always convince the skeptics, but that does not mean our arguments are
invalid. God has provided ways that we can know these books are from Him.

DIVINE QUALITIES
First, we must recognize that the biblical books have internal qualities that demonstrate that they are
from God. Just as natural revelation (the created world) has characteristics that show God is the
author of nature (Ps. 19; Rom. 1:20), so we should expect special revelation (Scripture) to have such
characteristics that show God is its author.
One example is the efficacy and power of Scripture. It’s not just that Scripture says things, but the
Scripture does things. It convicts (Heb. 4:12–13), it encourages (Ps. 119:105), it comforts (v. 50), and
it brings wisdom (v. 98). In short, this book is alive. Even more than this, the Bible brings
understanding in regard to the biggest questions of life (v. 144). It provides a coherent and
compelling worldview that explains reality like no other book.
Another example is the unity and harmony of Scripture. It is incredible to behold how so many
different authors—writing in different times, locations, and cultures—can weave together a single,
unified, coherent story of the redemption of all things through Christ. Such harmony is not man-
made but evidence of a divine origin.

In short, Christians know the Scriptures are God’s Word because in them they hear the voice of their
Lord. As Jesus declared, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”
(John 10:27).
HISTORICAL ORIGINS
In addition to the internal quality of these books, we can also look to the historical origins of these
books as evidence of their unique character. These books come from God’s authenticated
messengers, prophets and Apostles who were authorized to speak for Him. The Scriptures contain
not just the words of human beings but the words of human beings who were called to be God’s
mouthpieces (2 Peter 1:21).
Of course, we are not always certain of the particular author of every biblical book (for example, the
book of Hebrews). But, even in such cases, we have solid historical evidence that situates these books
in time periods and circumstances where we know God was actively working among His people to
reveal His Word.

Moreover, it should be noted that the books of the Bible have been subjected to the keenest scrutiny
and the most rigorous examination by modern scholars. And time and time again, the books of the
Bible have proved themselves to be historically reliable and worthy of our trust.

RECEIVED BY GOD’S PEOPLE
A final reason to take the Bible as God’s Word is that God’s Spirit-filled people, for generations and
generations, have recognized these books are from God.

Even when Paul explains the inspiration of Scripture to Timothy, he first reminds him to remember
“from whom you learned it” (2 Tim. 3:14), namely, his mother and grandmother.
It is not just the testimony of biological family, but also God’s family, His church throughout the
ages. The Bible contains the books that God’s people have been using, trusting, reading, and applying
for thousands of years. And that testimony should be given its due weight.

In the end, these three reasons provide a great basis for believing that the Scriptures are the Word of
God. But, even more than this, we have the testimony of the Lord Jesus Himself. Not only did Christ
know and use the Scripture, but He unequivocally affirmed its divine power: “Scripture cannot be
broken” (John 10:35).
So, yes, if we believe the Bible, we will believe in Jesus. But it is also true that if we believe in Jesus,
we will believe the Bible.

by Jared Oliphint
The phrase must have looped over and over in Adam’s mind aftˆer he took his first bite of the
forbidden fruit. “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). This was the day he ate
of it, so this was the day he would surely die. I can’t imagine the terror Adam felt as he stitched
together a few fig leaves for make-shiftˆ clothes. Adam was now on borrowed time before his
inevitable punishment. Judgment day had come. 
While God introduced earthly justice that day, He also restrained His judgment’s full weight and
granted Adam and the now sinful world a delayed sentence. His merciful delay of final judgment set
a gracious but sometimes frustrating pattern for our battle between sin and justice—not every earthly
evil will see an earthly, just answer.
As God withheld immediate death when Adam swallowed that first bite of forbidden fruit, He
showed them two more new ideas: grace and mercy. The opposite of justice is injustice, but the
complement to justice is mercy. Both justice and mercy flow from God’s good character, and on the
day creation needed mercy to survive, God promised a Savior (Gen. 3:15).
But how do we know God’s character? When skeptics point to the world and declare that things are
not as they should be, believers can bellow a spirited “Amen!” But when the skeptic then points up
and accuses God of injustice and wrongdoing, the skeptic and believer must part doctrinal ways.

Few skeptics affirm simultaneously (1) “God exists” and (2) “the god I genuinely believe in is unjust.”
Accusations typically come from those who hope to expose a clash between the existence of God and
unjust tragedies. But an essential difference exists between man’s responsibility under God’s law and
God’s relationship to laws He creates and reveals. Created laws are divinely forged for particular,
earthly, sometimes temporary circumstances. God does not find Himself answerable to some higher
“law” separate from His nature. The skeptic who holds God accountable to laws He created fatally
misunderstands the Creator-creature relationship.

What about the skeptic who observes injustices in the Bible? How does God’s perfect, just nature
harmonize with all kinds of stories and events in Scripture where God’s people—and even God
Himself—appear to approve of or command injustices? 

The Old Testament unfolds act 1 of the battle for ultimate justice. As judgment day got postponed
after Eden, injustice would often thrive. God cast down only temporary, earthly shadows of the
pending, ultimate judgment. Compare the conquest narratives in Joshua with any chapter in
Revelation. Joshua sounds tame compared to Revelation’s dragons, beasts, and fire. Though
Revelation delivers its message in veiled symbols and fantastic imagery, the message is not just for
show—the world will end violently. Before its end, God’s covenant people cry out for Him to end
injustices involving betrayal, slavery, exile, and death. You cannot read the Psalms without echoing
what Old Testament saints felt: “Will my cries ever be answered?”

Someone did answer. But once-for-all deliverance from injustice would unfold in a two-part story
(John 12:31; Rev. 14:7). At the center, we find Christ on a hill; the second Adam, waiting in a
different garden (Gethsemane) in anticipatory agony over the undeserved judgment that would
inevitably come from His Father (Luke 22:44). Of all injustices, the greatest by an infinite degree
took place in that mysterious exchange—judgment day poured out on Christ as He purchased
ultimate glory for a new creation. Good Friday throws a wrench in every simplistic attempt to
address God’s justice. That day, the wooden cross brought to a climax the fulfillment of God’s
merciful promise to the first Adam (Gen. 3:15).
Three days later, Christ’s resurrection sentenced death and the devil to capital punishment. Paul
called that inaugural resurrection the “firstfruits” for believers (1 Cor. 15:20–23). If Christ is the
firstfruits, we are the “next fruits,” waiting to join the resurrection harvest at the end of this phase
of history.
Christ never minimized the reality of death’s unjust sting (John 11:35–38), but knowing how His
dramatic story ends gives comfort that endures temporal injustices. Our inevitable resurrection, and
our new home in the new heavens and the new earth, will at last redeem that first, old injustice on
this old earth. For now, injustice invades and permeates the earthly air we breathe. Suffering and
tragedy must be taken seriously and handled with sensitivity and pastoral care. But we will not find
ultimate solutions—nor our ultimate hope—on earth. Ultimate rest from injustice will be found in a
new, eternal home. We repeat “How long, O Lord?” while knowing our just and merciful Savior
builds our new home even now (John 14:3) for the final act on that last day.