God’s Word
We believe that God’s Word—which we call the Bible—is the lens that explains how the world works. It’s the primary way God has chosen to communicate with people about who He is, who we are, and what His plan is for the world. At its core, it’s actually a love story about how much God loves each of us and wants to be with us. But how do we know it’s true? Here are three reasons why I believe the Bible is a reliable source.
It’s inspired.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21
It’s inerrant.
Inerrant is just a fancy word meaning it doesn’t have any errors. Because God breathed out the message, the original biblical writings are as perfect as God Himself. The Bible itself asserts that many times; here’s just one example:
As for God, His way is perfect: The LORD’s Word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him. Psalm 18:30
It’s in charge.
Earlier I mentioned that the Bible is essentially a love story. It chronicles God’s love for humanity and His desire for all of us to be part of His family. And in any loving family, one aspect of that love is having rules and boundaries. Those rules are in place to protect the members of the family and help them thrive. Has anyone ever heard the term house rules? Who knows what that means? That’s right—house rules means that whoever owns the house makes the rules for that house. Maybe at your home you can’t eat food in the living room or use certain things without asking. Or maybe when you play Monopoly at your house, you put all the money from extra payments into Free Parking, while at your friend’s house, all the money goes back to the bank. Whatever the rules are, the point is that the one who owns the house gets to set the rules. This same concept applies to our world. Except in this case, the “house” is the universe, and God owns it, because He made it.
Look at these verses:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Deuteronomy 10:12-14
In these verses we see that God made the universe and everything in it, and because of that, everything belongs to Him. As the owner, He’s set up rules about how things should work, and those rules are for our own good—not only for Christians, but for every person who’s ever lived. His Word outlines the rules we should live by and the consequences that come if we don’t.