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Why I Believe You know, sometimes I wish I could turn the clock back a decade and once again be the innocent little nerdy boy who believed every story in the Bible without question. Some time ago I got it into my head that there really were a lot of contradictions within the Bible. Since then I've spent countless hours trying to rationalize these "problems", going on the Internet to read endless Bible commentaries, trying to figure out what a passage is really saying and how to read it in context. Usually I end up confused because every commentator seems to be saying something different, and atheists.org is all I need to put doubt into anything "solid" I find. I wholeheartedly believe the Bible, but it seems that I am often the greatest skeptic of my own faith. Recently, after spending some time at atheists.org, I started considering why I really believe in God. I know that I don't believe in Him because I can logically and scientifically prove every word of the Bible. When I related this issue to a friend of mine, he pointed out to me that we don't believe in God simply because of the Bible. Having faith never required me to know the Bible inside and out, considering that I began my relationship with God when I was four or five. Abraham had no written Scripture when he became the father of all who believe in God by faith. We only need to look at the tree in our backyard to know that there is a God. And today I believe in God because He has radically changed my life. God was making changes in my heart long before I found the Bible passage saying that those who had faith in Christ were a new creation in Him. Consequently, God's Word speaks to me with great authority. The skeptics can tell you why the Flood never happened, but they can never disprove the testimony of the way God has changed your life in just the way that He said He would. I just finished a small study in Revelation which helped reaffirm my beliefs. For a long time I stayed away from Revelation because I thought there wasn't anything useful to get out of it after I ended up in a bitter debate with a Christian friend on its interpretation. Reading it again, God spoke to me that I didn't need to understand all of the events of the future which are mentioned, and that at its heart Revelation is a book of worship to God. You may or may not realize that one of the most well known worship songs, Agnus Dei, was written entirely from Revelation: Alleluia Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.' --19:6 ...Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty... Day and night [the living creatures] never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.' --4:8 ...Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb; You are holy. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angles, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' --5:11 Revelation reveals God's majesty like no other book of the Bible. Check out the description of the battle between Jesus and Satan and their respective forces in 19:11-21. Of Jesus it says, "Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations" (v.15). Judging by the previous verses, I believe this sword to be the Word of God; the downfall of Satan is the authority of God's Word. Interestingly, Paul writes a similar passage to us as Christians in Ephesians. Part of the armor of God listed in ch. 6 is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (v.17). The very same weapon which will be the ultimate destruction of Satan is the Book that God preserves for us to use to fight our battle against Satan today. In light of all this, I hope we will continually take into consideration the place we should put God's Word in our daily lives. In the last century alone over 20 million Christians became martyrs because they believed in God. They loved God's Word more than their lives. Do we? --Written by Steven Wakeman (10/20/02) |