Got Bible Questions? Get Bible Answers!
Have you ever spent time reading the Bible just to find out you ended with more questions than you started? Have you ever wished you could get some clarification on a biblical or theological point from one of Gary’s sermons, a Bible Study, or small group lesson? No longer do you have to live with unresolved curiosity because the Foundation Ministry’s Bible Answers Team can help you find the answers!
Curious about the kinds of questions and answers the Bible Answers Team handles? View the questions below to see an example answer.
If you have a question about the Bible – about a particular Bible passage, person, doctrine, or event – email it to
BibleAnswers@thecreek.org.
Someone told me I should believe in God just because the Bible tells me to. My response is, “How do I know that the Bible is reliable?”
You have stumbled on a common misconception related to biblical authority that brings to mind the popular children’s song “Jesus Loves Me.” Making a long song short, it suggests that I can know that Jesus loves me because “…the Bible tells me so.” This is a good principle and it is applied appropriately in this song. The problem is that many Christians have taken “…the Bible tells me so” and applied it inappropriately in other contexts. In-so-doing, Christians often present what is at the very least an illogical appeal to the authority and reliability of the Bible. It goes exactly as you presented in your question - Person A asks, “Why is the Bible reliable?” Person B responds, “Because the Bible claims to be reliable.” What you have recognized is that this is clearly an insufficient reason to grant authority.
There are many religious and secular works alike that claim to be authoritative. To blindly accept such claims are nothing short of irresponsible. That said, neither do we ignore the fact that a work claims authority. In fact, the claim of authority is very important. By claiming authority and reliability the work sets itself apart and exposes itself to internal and external challenges to its credibility. Nobody spends much time questioning the historical, ethical, and moral credibility of the latest best selling work of fiction. Why? Because it is fiction - it has no internal claim to truth. On the other hand, much time is spent evaluating history books, science books, and the Bible because each one claims to present accurate and reliable information. This brings us back to the original question, “On what basis should we assess and if appropriate grant the Bible authority?”
At the end of the day, there is either sufficient reason to grant the Bible authority or there is not. A parallel idea is that the Bible either is reliable or it is not. There is no possibility that it is “kind of” authoritative. The evidence will either affirm the internal claim to reliability or the evidence will disprove the internal claim to reliability. How this assessment takes shape is largely dependent upon where one places the burden of proof. Some claim that the burden of proof is on the Bible itself. Others claim that the burden of proof is on the person evaluating the Bible. The most reasonable approach incorporates both approaches.
We grant that the Bible does maintain a very important burden of proof. However, it is essential to note that the Bible is a written work and thus does not have the ability to offer any evidence beyond the information contained within its pages. In other words, the Bible has already presented its evidence to substantiate its internal claim to reliability and authority. Its work is already done. It has in essence rested its case. The practical burden of proof, then, is on those who seek to challenge the Bible’s reliability.
Legitimate challenges to the Bible’s claim of reliability must be accompanied by evidence that the Bible is either incorrect or inconsistent. We mention this because arguments against the Bible’s reliability are often general in nature and totally absent of evidence to support the objections. The individual who says, “The Bible is full of inaccuracies and inconsistencies” but does not provide examples or evidence to support the claim clearly fails to achieve the standard of proof.
If the goal is to prove the Bible unreliable, the dissenter must provide evidence that discredits the Bible’s accounts of important people, places, and events. A natural source of such information would be extra-biblical authors – writings/historical records produced by non-canonical individuals, governmental entities, etc. If the goal is to prove the Bible inconsistent, the dissenter must identify contradictions in the biblical text or inconsistencies across a range of manuscripts.
It is worth noting at this point that the Bible is a compilation of 66 individual works written by more than 40 authors over the better part of 1,500 years - the most recent of which is almost two thousand years old. Furthermore, we have at our disposal hundreds upon hundreds of manuscripts and fragments. Countless ancient works of history have survived that chronicle time periods paralleled by biblical writers and events. An incredible amount of information is available to anyone who wishes to evaluate it in an effort to discredit the Bible. Many have set out to do just this. However, a thorough investigation of each aforementioned source of information leads to the conclusion at all points the Bible appears to be reliable. For additional information, I recommend Josh McDowell’s The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict.
Response written by Jeffrey Derico
A friend told me he believes in God, but that he believes he doesn't have to go to church to prove it. What does the Bible say about this?
This is a great question. Thanks for taking the time to submit it to the Bible Answers Team.
There is both implicit and explicit biblical evidence that suggests meeting together as a body of believers is necessary. One example of explicit teaching related to this topic is found in Hebrews 10:23-25 in which the writer specifically denounces the view that going to church is unimportant:
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB).
This is a very clear instruction. Thus the reasonable conclusion is that it is necessary for believers to gather together for worship.
In addition to the explicit instruction to assemble, the writer of Hebrews establishes an implicit argument by functionally connecting the corporate gathering to aspects of our discipleship. This is a common thread throughout the New Testament. Luke lists the apostle's teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer as activities that took place when believers gathered (Acts 2:42). Biblical writers connect the corporate gathering to encouraging one another toward "love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:23-25), meeting the needs of other believers (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), spiritual guidance (Acts 20:28), discipline (1 Corinthians 5:9-13), etc. These are very important resources/tools/opportunities that can dramatically increase our ability to grow and mature in our relationship with God and our pursuit of His will for our lives. Thus, gathering together as a body of believers is an important aspect of our spiritual growth.
A second category of implicit evidence related to the importance of the corporate worship experience is the early church's consistent pattern. The New Testament writers repeatedly testify that Christians regularly gathered together (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:18, 1 Corinthians 14:26; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; James 2:1-4). In fact, the biblical writers appear to describe the regular gathering together of the church as an obvious and essential aspect of their walk with Christ.
A third implicit argument surrounds the fact that churches were established and functioned as independent congregations each with a distinct group of elders (Acts 11:25-26; Acts 14:21-28; Acts 15:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; Titus 1:5; Philemon 1:1-3; James 5:14). The effort required to establish and sustain these churches suggest - thus the implicit nature of the argument - the inherent value placed on the local corporate community of believers.
A point of clarification that must be addressed is the definition of the phrase "have to." It is possible to apply this phrase such as, "Christians 'have to' regularly participate in a weekly worship experience if he or she wants to maximize spiritual growth efforts." It could also be applied as, "Christians 'have to' attend church regularly to enter heaven."
When engaging in a conversation about church attendance, one person might mean, "I can still go to heaven if I don't sit in a church pew every Sunday" while the other person simply claims, "It is very difficult if not impossible to be the person God calls you to be without regularly receiving the benefits associated with corporate worship." When this occurs the natural assumption is that one person is correct and the other is not correct. This however is not the case in this scenario because both statements can indeed be true.
Church attendance is not a "salvation issue" as such. That is, church attendance is not included in the plan of salvation along with faith, confession, repentance, and baptism. Thus, it is inappropriate to suggest that a person cannot enter heaven if he or she does not attend church every Sunday. Neither is it appropriate, though, to claim that a person is guaranteed entry into heaven if he or she does not attend church regularly.
Christians must not only enter into a relationship with God through Christ but must also maintain that relationship. The measure of this relationship is measured by the fruit an individual bears (Matthew 7:17-19; Matthew 12:33; Luke 3:8-9; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:1-2; Romans 7:4; Colossians 1:9-12). If the fruit is not good or if there is no fruit at all then the imagery used is that of being "cut off" and "thrown into the fire." This is clearly not a desirable fate. Thus it is essential to pursue activities that will cultivate our ability to bear good fruit. Participating in the life of the local church is one of these activities.
A person puts himself or herself at great spiritual risk by choosing to not participate in the life of the local church. It is much more likely for a lone individual to fall victim to the enemy's attacks (1 Peter 5:8) whereas the corporate experience draws believers together in a network of support, encouragement, and accountability (Proverbs 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Hebrews 10:23-25). Furthermore, participating in the local church community provides important tools and resources related to discipleship. It is much more difficult - if not impossible - to achieve lifelong spiritual growth in the absence of those tools and resources.
Response written by Jeffrey Derico
If you have a question about the Bible – about a particular Bible passage, person, doctrine, or event – email it to BibleAnswers@thecreek.org.