Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?

In these rapidly changing and challenging times—when promises of stability and safety rarely come through; when trusted spiritual leaders prove false; when lying in politics seems to be the norm; when those you depend on the most often hurt you the deepest—is there anything left you can trust? Yes! You can fully trust the Bible! Why? Let’s take a look at the evidence …

The Bible says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16).

“Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

“The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

Answer:   The Bible claims to be inspired, written by men who were guided by the Holy Spirit. It says its messages cannot be broken or proved untrue.

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’ … It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ … For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’ ” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Answer:   Jesus quoted from Scripture when He was tempted by Satan. He also said the Bible is truth (John 17:17). Jesus quoted Scripture as the authority for everything He was teaching.

The Bible says, “I am the Lord. … New things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isaiah 42:8, 9).

“I am God … declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done” (Isaiah 46:9, 10).

Answer:   Bible predictions of future events that have come to pass dramatically confirm the divine inspiration of Scripture.

These are just a few examples of fulfilled Bible prophecies:

1. 1. Four world empires would arise: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome
      (Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8).
   2. Cyrus to be the warrior to capture Babylon (Isaiah 45:1-3).
   3. After Babylon’s destruction, it would never be inhabited again (Isaiah 13:19, 20 Jeremiah 51:37).
   4. Egypt would never again have a commanding position among the nations (Ezekiel 29:14, 15 30:12, 13).
   5. Earth-shaking calamities and fear toward the end of time (Luke 21:25, 26).
   6. Moral degeneracy and decline of spirituality in the last days (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

2. “He … sits above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). The Bible said the earth is round centuries before it was confirmed by scientists.

3. “To establish a weight for the wind” (Job 28:25). Long before science verified it, the Bible reported that air has weight.

The Bible says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health,
just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2).

Answer:   God wants His creation to be happy and healthy. Following are just a few examples
of Bible health principles that confirm its divine inspiration:

A. Cover body waste with dirt (Deuteronomy 23:12, 13).
Moses’ command that body waste should be buried outside Israel’s encampment was thousands of years ahead of its time. When human waste is not properly disposed of, disease can quickly spread via the water supply. This Bible counsel has saved millions of lives throughout history.

B. “Nor let us commit sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 10:8).
“Sexual immorality” refers to any inappropriate sexual conduct (see Leviticus 18 for a comprehensive list). By following this Bible counsel, people would have little reason to fear unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and AIDS.

C. Leave alcoholic beverages alone (Proverbs 23:29–32).
If everyone followed this Bible advice, millions of alcoholics would become sober, helpful citizens; millions of broken families would be reunited; thousands of lives would be saved from drunk driving; and government and business leaders would make clear-minded decisions.

Note:   God not only tells us how to succeed and have joy amid today’s challenging problems, He also gives us the miraculous power to do it (1 Corinthians 15:57; Philippians 4:13; Romans 1:16). The Bible’s health principles are still relevant today and are desperately needed. (For more on health, see Study Guide 13.)

1. For years skeptics said the Bible was unreliable because it mentions the Hittite nation (Deuteronomy 7:1) and cities like Nineveh (Jonah 1:1, 2) and Sodom (Genesis 19:1), all of which they denied ever existed. But now modern archaeology has confirmed that all three did exist.

2. Critics also said that the kings Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1) and Sargon (Isaiah 20:1) never existed. Again, their existence has since been confirmed.

3. Skeptics said the Bible record of Moses was not reliable because it mentions writing (Exodus 24:4) and wheeled vehicles (Exodus 14:25), which they said didn’t exist in his time. Today we know they did.

4. At one time, the 39 kings of ancient Israel and Judah were known only from the Bible record; thus, critics doubted their existence. But when archaeologists found independent ancient records that mention many of these kings, the Bible record was proved accurate once again.

Critics of the Bible have been proven wrong repeatedly as new discoveries have confirmed biblical people, places, and events.

*The Revised Standard Version of the Bible C 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

1. On three continents.

2. In three languages.

3. By about 40 different people (such as kings, shepherds, scientists, attorneys, an army general, fishermen, priests, and a physician)

4. Over a period of about 1,500 years

5. On the most controversial subjects

6. By people who, in most cases, had never met

7. By authors whose education and background varied greatly

Yet, though it seems totally inconceivable, the 66 books maintain harmony with one another. And even when new concepts on a certain subject are expressed, they do not undermine what other Bible writers say on the same subject.

This is almost too amazing to believe! Ask people who have viewed the same event to give a report of what happened and you’ll discover that their stories will often differ widely and will contradict each other in some way. Yet the Bible, penned by 40 writers over a 1,500-year period, reads as if it was written by one mind. And indeed it was: “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The Holy Spirit “moved” them all; He is the real Bible author.

The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Answer:   The changed lives of those who follow Jesus and obey Scripture provide some of the most convincing proofs of the Bible’s divine inspiration. The drunk becomes sober; the immoral person becomes pure; the addicted becomes free; the profane person becomes reverent; the fearful person becomes courageous; and the cruel person becomes kind.

What are the odds that Jesus could have fulfilled just eight of these prophecies by mere chance? Dr. Peter Stoner, former chairman of the departments of mathematics, astronomy, and engineering at Pasadena College in California, applied the principle of probability to this question.

He calculated the odds of just eight being fulfilled by one man as one in
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

What would be the odds of all 125 prophecies of the Messiah being fulfilled by chance alone? It simply couldn’t have happened by chance!

Answer:   A person who accepts the Word of God will discover answers to many mysteries that confound those seeking only worldly answers. For instance, there is no known way life could spring up from non-life; the Bible says it took a supernatural agent—God—to start life. Scientists also now know that all human life today came from one woman; this is exactly what the Bible teaches in Genesis.

You can also know that God created the world in six, literal, 24-hour days; that a worldwide flood destroyed every living thing except sea life and what was inside the ark; and that the different world languages originated at the Tower of Babel.

God, who has always existed and knows everything, shares these truths with us in the Bible, recognizing that we could never figure them out on our own. God’s knowledge is “past finding out” (Romans 11:33). Believe the Bible, and you will always be ahead of the wisdom of mere humans.

Answer: The increasing number of natural disasters and the rise of worldwide terrorism are signs predicted by the Bible, which says that at the end of time, “On the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25). The tsunami of December 26, 2004, is just one example. Over 250,000 people were reported dead or missing in what was one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history. A year later, Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans, reminding us again of the prophetic power of Jesus’ words that there would be “waves roaring.”

The theory of evolution teaches that humans and apes come from a common ancestor, denying that people were created in the image of God and that you have a real purpose: to live eternally with God. The scientific collapse of evolution, along with the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, can help establish your faith in the Word of God.

The Bible says, “Your word is a … light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

“These things I have spoken to you … that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

“In the image of God … He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

1. Where did I come from? God created us in His image; we are not mere accidents without purpose. We are children of God (Galatians 3:26). Even better, as His children, we are precious to Him and He desires that we be with Him forever.
2. Why am I here? The Bible says our aims for life today should be to discover God’s perfect, practical answers to life’s problems, to accept Jesus’ offer of salvation from sin, and to be become more like Him each day (Romans 8:29).
3. What does the future hold for me? You don’t need to guess! Not only will you experience more peace and joy today, the Bible says Jesus will come very soon to take His people to the wonderful home He is preparing for them in heaven (John 14:1–3). In supreme joy and happiness, you will live forever in God’s presence (Revelation 21:3, 4).