Why I Believe the Bible!

John F. Walvoord (1910-2002) was a Christian theologian, pastor, prolific author, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary (1952-1986). The following excerpt is from his article, “Why I Believe the Bible” (walvoord.com/article/316).

…In more than forty years of preaching and teaching scriptural truth, I have been impressed with the comprehensive evidence supporting the conclusion that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, absolutely accurate in its statements — a book that can be trusted to teach us spiritual truth. Many large volumes have been written in support of the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, but certain facts stand out in my own experience.

First of all, the Bible clearly claims to be inspired of God. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Peter expressed the same concept in 2 Peter 1:21, “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” These direct statements of the inspiration of the Bible are confirmed by dozens of references throughout the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is “the Word of the Lord” and “thy Word,” an assertion made in various ways over one hundred times in the Old Testament alone.

In the New Testament, Christ and the apostles, whenever they quoted the Bible, quoted it as absolute authority and often indicated that the writers of Scripture had been guided in what they wrote by the Spirit of God. Illustrations of this are found in Matthew 22:42-43 and in frequent quotations of the Old Testament in the New Testament. For instance, in Acts 1:16 Peter quotes from Psalm 41:9, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas.”

One of the most dramatic texts comes from the lips of Christ Himself: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matt. 5:18). In this reference Christ is referring to the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet — and the smallest part of a letter that would change its meaning. It would be difficult to have a stronger or more detailed statement of the absolute truth of the Bible than that which came from the lips of Christ Himself.

To Attack the Bible Is to Attack Jesus Christ

This points to an important conclusion: Those who attack the written Word of God also attack the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. If the Bible is in error, then Christ is in error, too. The two stand or fall together. It is for this reason that evangelical Christians are so insistent that the Bible is indeed the inspired Word of God and that the authors were guided by the Spirit so that they wrote the Truth without any error.

Even a casual reader of the Bible becomes impressed with the uniqueness of the Bible.

Where in all the world could sixty-six books be collected from more than 40 authors, be written over a period of more than sixteen hundred years, and yet form one united and continual presentation of divine truth? …The unity of Scripture is one of the convincing evidences that the Bible is not a natural book, but a book which God Himself directed and produced through human authors.

Most Christians, while unfamiliar with many of the technical arguments for the inspiration of the Bible, are convinced that the Bible is the Word of God because of what it has done in their own life. The influence of the Bible on millions of those who have put their trust in it is an attested fact of history. Those who have been moral wrecks and victims of drink and drugs have been marvelously redeemed through the power of the Word of God. They have been made new into intelligent, useful citizens and members of the church….

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This Sunday, July 27, we will continue our teaching series, “Life’s Big Questions!”, with the crucial question, “Why Believe the Bible?” Is the Bible reliable? Is it inconsistent with Science? Please invite someone to join you in the building or online for the Live broadcast on either Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday to both locations and would love to have you join us!

Coming Up: Men, the 2025 Hawaii AG District “Men’s Arise Summit” will take place this weekend, July 25-27, at First Assembly (Red Hill). Cost is $20 now or $30 at the door. Chris & Lindsey Carter, missionaries to Japan, will be here August 17.

Aloha ke Akua!