The Bible stands on the firm foundation of solid evidence and irrefutable prophecy. Before touching on the Bible’s trustworthiness, though, it needs to be understood that no amount of evidence will ever convince an unbeliever that the Bible is the Word of God, only the Holy Spirit can reveal that. We may be able to change the mind of a skeptic, but only the Spirit can change the heart, and that is where the core of this issue lies. No amount of proof from men will enable the spiritually blind to see. That type of healing is done by the Spirit alone. However, we must be able to defend our faith to the world. Remember that our goal is not to convert men, but to proclaim the Gospel. This whole process comes from a right understanding of our own insignificance and the realization that God saves people, not us. We may plant the seeds, and sometimes even water them if given the opportunity, but God makes them grow. Some seeds are dead and some are alive, there is no way for us to tell them apart. Like good servants we scatter seeds, water if possible and wait for new life to emerge in the Master’s field. We can be sure that the Bible is trustworthy because we know that the Author is trustworthy. Although that fact alone should be enough for us, God has affirmed the truth in other ways. We can use these affirmations to show others that they have no reason to doubt the truthfulness of the Bible. They can disagree with what it says, but they cannot demonstrate that the Bible is not trustworthy. Two of the best proofs are the historical proofs and the prophetical proofs.
From a historical perspective the Bible has more manuscript support than any other work in classical literature including Plato, Homer, Aristotle, Tacitus, and Caesar. No one lifts a skeptical finger at these works, despite them having a mere fraction of the manuscript support of the Bible. The Bible has been around for a long, long time and has never been proven wrong – not once. It is a trustworthy document. Additionally, from this mountain of manuscripts we find that the copies we have now are virtually identical to the earliest documents some of which, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, have been found as recently as the last 50 years. From these facts we can see that the Bible we have now is true to the ancient manuscripts. Additionally, the archaeological evidence constantly reaffirms the Bible. The most recent discovery that I am aware of is the discovery of details surrounding Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas. These two figures played pivotal roles in the crucifixion of Christ and this new proof just re-proves what has already been proven. Even the resurrection of Christ has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. There is a video on Lee Strobel’s website that explains the details of the case. This historical proof alone is more than sufficient to label the Bible as trustworthy but there is another facet to this diamond that makes it shine even brighter still.
The Bible is strewn with prophecy. Over and over again the Bible tells us what will come to pass, long before it does. When we say prophecy in a Biblical sense we are not talking about the vague generalizations monopolized by palm readers and astrologers, but rather hard-and-fast facts. The difference is the astrologer will spew a “prophecy” like “one kingdom will be uprooted by another”. The astrologer collects his two dollars and moves on, knowing that the “insight” he gave was so general it would certainly come to pass eventually. Daniel, on the other hand, writing before 530 BC, was a little more precise. He predicted the progression of kingdoms from the Babylonians through the Medes and the Persians to the suffering of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes who desecrated the temple and his untimely death, and freedom of the Jews under Judas Maccabeus (165 BC). This is not a vague “fortune cookie prophecy” and it is not the only one. The Bible is brimming with prophecy. Some have already come to pass, some are coming to pass even in our lives, and still others have yet to pass. The unique combination of historical and prophetic validation proves that the Bible can be trusted.
We may think of ourselves as defenders of the faith, or even defenders of the truth, but we must always remember that neither faith nor truth need defenders. The Bible is the Truth and it carries its own sword. The Author of this Masterpiece does not care whether it is accepted by men or not. He does not seek our approval. If we approve it is because He has first approved us, if we accept it is because He has first accepted us.