Tag: matthew-2435

Lord, How Can I Know Your Word is True?

n a world filled with changing opinions and competing voices, how can we know God’s Word is true? Scripture reminds us that the Bible comes from the God who cannot lie and whose truth never changes.

We live in a world filled with voices. Every day someone offers a new truth, a better way, or a different interpretation of what is right. What one generation accepts, another may question. What seemed settled yesterday may be challenged today. After listening to so many competing claims, we may find ourselves asking, “Lord, how can I know Your Word is true?”

That question is not answered by saying the Bible is true simply because we want it to be. Our confidence in Scripture begins with its source.

Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV). The expression translated “inspiration of God” means that Scripture is God-breathed. Paul was not saying that the biblical writers occasionally had inspiring thoughts about God. He was saying that the words of Scripture came from God Himself.

Paul wrote these words during a difficult time. False teachers were spreading error, people were resisting the truth, and Timothy needed something firm upon which to stand. Paul directed him back to the sacred writings he had known from childhood. Timothy was not to build his faith upon the opinions around him. He was to remain grounded in what God had spoken.

The Lord used human authors to write the Bible. Moses did not write like David. David did not write like Paul. Each writer brought his own vocabulary, personality, historical setting, and experience to the page. Yet through those human writers, God gave the message He intended His people to receive.

That is why Scripture carries authority. Its authority does not come from a church council, a scholar, a pastor, or a popular vote. The Bible carries authority because the God who speaks through it has authority.

The psalmist declared, “The entirety of Your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160, NKJV). Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NKJV).

Notice what Jesus said. He did not say God’s Word occasionally speaks truth or merely contains helpful truths. He said, “Your word is truth.”

That means Scripture is not simply one voice among many. It is the standard by which every other voice must be tested.

A carpenter does not decide whether a wall is straight by stepping back and asking whether it looks close enough. He uses a level because his eyes can be deceived. In the same way, our feelings, experiences, and opinions cannot be the final measure of truth. Feelings change. Experiences can be misunderstood. Opinions shift with the culture. God’s Word remains steady.

This does not mean we will always find Scripture easy to understand or easy to obey. There are passages that require careful study. There are commands that confront our desires and expose attitudes we would rather ignore. Yet the truthfulness of God’s Word does not depend upon whether we find it comfortable.

Sometimes we approach the Bible hoping it will agree with us. We open its pages looking for support for a decision we have already made or reassurance that what we want is right. But Scripture was not given so that we could reshape it around our preferences. It was given so that God could reshape us according to His truth.

Because God is true, His Word is true. Scripture tells us that “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18, NKJV). God does not change His character, mislead His people, or adjust His truth to suit the thinking of each generation. What He has spoken remains trustworthy even when the world around us is uncertain.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35, NKJV). Everything we consider permanent will one day pass away. Governments change. Cultures change. Human wisdom changes. The words of Christ will remain.

God has not left us to guess who He is or how we can be made right with Him. Through Scripture, He has revealed His character, His holiness, His mercy, and His plan of salvation. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points us to Jesus Christ, the One who came to save sinners through His death and resurrection.

When we wonder whether God’s Word is true, we can examine its claims, study its history, and consider the way its message holds together across centuries. Those things strengthen our confidence. Yet our deepest assurance rests in the character of the One who spoke.

The God who gave His Word cannot lie. He does not mislead His children or leave them without truth. When every other voice seems uncertain, His Word remains a firm place to stand.

Truth to Carry

God’s Word is true because it comes from the God who cannot lie. When opinions change and voices compete for my attention, I can return to Scripture and trust what He has spoken.

Lord, How Do I know the Bible Wasn’t Changed

Can we trust the Bible we hold today? Manuscript evidence, ancient discoveries, and the faithfulness of God give us strong reason to believe that His Word has been carefully preserved.

Have you ever heard someone say, “The Bible has been changed so many times that no one really knows what it originally said”? Perhaps the comment caught you off guard or left you wondering whether the Bible in your hands can truly be trusted. That question deserves more than a quick answer. God has never asked us to be afraid of honest examination, and the history of the biblical text gives us good reason for confidence.

The Bible was not passed from person to person like a whispered sentence in a game of telephone. Nor was it translated from one modern language into another until the original message disappeared. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, with some Aramaic, and the New Testament was written in Greek. Modern translations are produced by comparing ancient manuscripts in those original languages.

Before printing presses existed, manuscripts had to be copied by hand. That means copyists sometimes made mistakes. A word might be misspelled, two words might appear in a different order, or a line might be accidentally repeated or omitted. Scholars call these differences textual variants. Their existence should not frighten us. Because so many manuscripts survive, the copies can be compared with one another, allowing scholars to identify where those differences occurred.

Some surviving New Testament manuscripts and fragments come from the early centuries of the church. The Dead Sea Scrolls include biblical manuscripts copied more than two thousand years ago. When these ancient texts are compared with later copies, they show both the care with which Scripture was transmitted and the places where small differences entered during copying. The vast majority of those differences involve spelling, word order, or other minor details. They do not overturn the central message of Scripture or any essential doctrine of the Christian faith.

The presence of copying differences does not mean the Bible has been hopelessly changed. In fact, the abundance of manuscript evidence allows those differences to be seen rather than hidden. If only one ancient copy existed, we would have nothing with which to compare it. God, in His providence, has preserved His Word through a great number of witnesses spread across centuries and regions.

Yet our confidence in Scripture rests on more than manuscript evidence. It rests in the character of the God who speaks. Isaiah declared, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV). Isaiah spoke those words to a people who would face judgment, exile, and uncertainty. Human strength would fade. Nations would rise and fall. God’s promises, however, would not fail. His Word would remain because the God who gave it is faithful.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35, NKJV). He spoke of events that would shake everything people considered secure, yet His words would remain certain. Time cannot weaken what Christ has spoken, and human hands cannot erase what God has determined to preserve.

Could a scribe make a mistake while copying a manuscript? Yes. Scripture never asks us to deny the human process through which the text was transmitted. Could those mistakes destroy God’s message or leave His people without His truth? No. The God who breathed out His Word is not helpless before ink, parchment, human weakness, or the passing of centuries.

This does not mean we close our eyes to historical questions and simply say we have faith. We can examine the evidence, study the manuscripts, and listen carefully to responsible scholarship. Honest investigation does not weaken faith. It helps us see how remarkably the Lord has preserved His Word through ordinary people, fragile materials, persecution, war, and time.

Still, evidence alone cannot produce a heart that trusts God. At some point, the question becomes personal. Do I believe the God who gave His Word is faithful enough to preserve what His people need to know Him, understand the gospel, and walk in obedience?

Paul wrote, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV). Biblical faith is not belief without reason. It is confidence in the trustworthy God whose faithfulness is supported by both His Word and the witness of history.

The Bible in your hands did not arrive by accident. It comes to us through centuries of careful copying, comparison, preservation, and translation. We can read it with confidence, not because every copyist was perfect, but because the God who gave His Word has remained faithful.

Truth to Carry

Our confidence in Scripture rests not only on the evidence of history, but on the faithfulness of the God who gave it. His Word has endured, and it remains trustworthy today.