Why did God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save whosoever shall believe in Him... when He really only saves those who derive a law perfectly from letters left by imperfect men?

Sincerely,
Men Wrote The Bible

Dear Men Wrote The Bible,

If the Bible were like any other book written by mere men, we could never trust it with our souls.  Thankfully, the Bible is unique.  The Bible claims to be authored by God who guided the hands of men by His Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:13, Eph 3:4-5).  Such a claim would be blasphemously ludicrous if the Bible didn’t back it up.  Consider these facts about the Bible:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.
2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.
3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.
4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.
5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

The Bible is perfect, and therefore, Jesus’ death and the law He gave through His apostles mean something.  That is why Paul said that the gospel was the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16).  The Bible is the perfect law given so that we might be forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice.

Hi.  While my faith has recently been shaky, I'm happy to say that I am a whole-hearted believer in God.  My closest friend, however, is far from that which is something I've started to question God about.

She is very intelligent, especially in the sciences.  Actually, to be honest, we both are rather gifted in that area which is probably what brought us together.  But the most important thing that separates us is that she doesn't believe in God, and she has a lot of scientific evidence to back up her opinion.  I have my evidence too, but whenever the subject comes up, she refuses to talk about it, saying she's concerned she'll ruin my faith.  How do I reach out to a person like this?  It hurts me so much to see her live out her life with obvious gaps that only God can fill.

Any suggestions on how to direct my friend to the Lord without ruining our friendship?  She has developed something against religion recently, saying that it's just a tool used through history to give people power and reason to kill.  This really bothers me, but again, the friendship is so important to me, and I don't want to lose it.  At the same time, her salvation is also at least that important to me.  Thanks, and God bless.

Sincerely,
A Proven Friend

Dear A Proven Friend,

You are obviously dealing with a very intelligent person who has formed her own opinions… but without all the data.  What we normally do when studying with someone like this is to hand them a couple of books and tell them we would like to hear their thoughts after they are finished reading.  That has a two-fold effect:

1. It takes all wrangling over words out of the picture because it isn't an argument anymore... they are simply reading.
2. It shows you how serious they are about pursuing the subject.  If it is important, they will read and get back to you, but if it isn't important, the subject will just get dropped.  Either way, you can have a clear conscience that you tried to help.

In this circumstance, we recommend "Evidence That Demands A Verdict" by Josh McDowell (this book should address much of the argument of the Bible being used as a tool to hurt others).  We also recommend “Case For A Creator” by Lee Strobel to deal with the scientific arguments and “Has God Spoken?” by A.O. Schnabel (which addresses the internal evidence of the Bible’s supernatural origins).  That is our recommendation on the topic… less confrontation and more information.

I am struggling with something that I have been struggling with for a while.  I have always been a Fundamentalist Christian (that is the title I gave myself), and I converted from Catholicism.  However, after a few years of being a Protestant, I started to look at Islam.  Last week, I converted.  In the beginning, I never felt better.  But now, I am doubting myself and wondering if I should return to Christianity.  I would convert back, but there are some things that bother me about it that I cannot get over.  Chiefly among them is the fact that the Bible has been changed so much and edited so much over the years.  How can I trust it?  Also, I do not understand the Trinity and why God would need a Son.  I think just worshiping God Himself makes a lot more sense.  So can you help me with these two things?  Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Stuck Between A Crucifix And A Crescent

Dear Stuck,

The Bible is exactly the same today as it was when it was originally written.  The Dead Sea Scrolls prove that fact.  When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, they predated any other copy of the Old Testament by hundreds of years… and yet, they matched with the newer texts by over 99.9%.  The differences were only minor (such as spelling) and never affected the meaning of the text.  There are over 16,000 different manuscripts, texts, and archaeological references to Scripture that have been collected throughout the centuries, and they paint a picture of a perfectly (we would say divinely) preserved Bible.  We also recommend you read “Who Wrote The Bible” for further reasons that the Bible is definitively from God.  The Bible you read today is proven to be the same Bible that God originally wrote.  The Q’uran can’t make that claim because it isn’t from God.

And the fact that the Bible is accurate answers your second question – there are three parts to God (The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Matt 3:16-17).  It may be hard to understand… but it is what it is.  We can’t make God into what we want Him to be… we must accept who He really is.  Even if Islam is a more comfortable religion for your personality – that doesn’t make it right.  We must serve God in truth (Jhn 4:24), even if it isn’t convenient.  If you would like help finding a faithful Bible-believing church in your area to ask further questions, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

Why is it so hard to just have faith?  Why can't it be absolute instead of questionable?

Sincerely,
Wanna See It

Dear Wanna See It,

Faith, without an element of trust, isn’t faith at all.  If you can see something, then all doubt is removed – faith is a conviction in things not seen (Heb 11:1).  God has provided ample evidence of His existence (Rom 1:20, for further details read “Does God Exist?”) as well as abundant evidence that the Bible is His Word (see “Who Wrote The Bible?”).  The vast preponderance of evidence proves that God exists, but it is up to us to trust the evidence without actually seeing Him.  Faith is the great struggle and battle of the human soul.  Will we choose to believe in a God we cannot see (but can logically prove exists)… or will we choose to believe that there is nothing after death?

     How can I know God exists?  Am I really expected to believe in something that I've never seen?  Am I supposed to just read the Bible stories and decide that they sound true?  If that's the case, I have a hard time believing because they don't sound true.  For example: Jonah and the Whale, Noah's Ark, and Joshua using horns to bring down the walls of Jericho.  There must be more to it; please teach me.

Sincerely,
Serious Skeptic

Dear Serious Skeptic,

The best way to show you that the Bible is accurate is to show the uniqueness of the Bible. The writers of the Bible admit that it is their hands that wrote it (Gal 6:11), but they also explain that God’s Spirit guided those hands (Eph 3:3-4). If that is true (and it is!), then the Bible would show signs that it was written by God and not man. Here are some simple reasons that the Bible is unique from every other book:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.

2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.

3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.

4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.

5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

These are only short answers to the question ‘Why should I believe the Bible?’, but they are a good start. If you want a more detailed answer, we recommend Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell and Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel as great reference material on this topic.