The Bible is the best-selling book of all time with an estimated 5 billion sold or distributed. That’s a statistic that’s hard to wrap my head around! And yet, how many of us have several in our homes, not counting what we have on our electronic devices?
The real question, however, isn’t how many people have bought or received a Bible, but how many have truly read and studied God’s Word?
I want to mention just three now-famous men who attempted to debunk the Bible’s teachings, only to find that their in-depth study brought them to a saving faith in Jesus.
- C.S. Lewis – His works include The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity. Of course, most of us are familiar with the movies related to the Narnia theme.
- Lee Strobel – He wrote a full series of “The Case for …” books, including The Case for Christ (also adapted into a major motion picture), The Case for Faith, and The Case for Easter.
- Josh McDowell – Best known for his book Evidence that Demands a Verdict, he has also written a short, “user-friendly” book entitled More Than a Carpenter that has sold over 15 million copies.
So, if you find yourself in the camp where you’re not quite sure you believe all that the Bible teaches, but you don’t relish the idea of doing major research, check out some of these books (or find their films) and learn from these skeptics-turned-believers.
I think it’s highly likely than many or most Christians would say they have struggled at some point in their lives to believe everything that’s in the Bible. I went through that process myself as a young believer. But if this is where you find yourself, I would encourage you not to stay there!
Reaching a place where you can fully trust God and His Word—the Bible—is essential to living a full and authentic Christian life. For anyone wrestling with doubts, I can’t encourage you strongly enough to seek that trust. It changes everything.
What I’ve seen so often through my decades of being a believer is that people are very quick to have their own opinions about who God is, how he operates, what he expects of us, how he wants us to live, what beliefs he wants us to hold, and what areas of the Bible we feel can’t be true. I’ve definitely been in that camp and still get tempted occasionally to think, “Well, that can’t be what God meant …”
Here’s how I would humbly address that.
Let’s say you wanted to be a nuclear physicist. Good for you. What steps would you take to make sure you could become the most knowledgeable nuclear physicist possible?
I imagine you would read a lot about nuclear physics, and most probably, would have years of study under professors in that area. You would also work in the field of nuclear physics to get that valuable hands-on experience that is vital to success in any field.
So, if I wanted to be an “expert” in the things of God, what would I do? Does it make sense that I wouldn’t read much or any of the Bible? And if I found something confusing, should I just go with my own opinion, without digging deeper into why the Bible says what it does? Would I avoid the hard subjects, assuming the Bible surely can’t mean that?
Considering what we’d do as a nuclear physicist wannabe, wouldn’t it make sense for us to read and study the ultimate authority on the subject of God? God, himself? Spend time with the Author. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insights. That’s his job!
While the Bible is all-sufficient, I do find that I also gain much through reading books or articles or even commentaries from others who have much greater knowledge than I do.
Spend time with those who perhaps know this “subject” more deeply than yourself. Find a sold Bible-preaching church, partake in Bible studies that dig deep into God’s Word.
While there may be a finite amount of knowledge about other subjects, we can never fully probe the depths of what God would have us learn about him, his creation, and his plan for his children. Even when this life is over and we join other believers in an eternity with Jesus, we will still be learning. That’s how incredibly infinite God is! I can’t wait for what I’ll learn when this life is over!
My intent in writing this post is to challenge all of us to not be satisfied with surface knowledge of God. Or be content coming up with our own opinions that may not be based on biblical truths. As Lewis, Strobel, McDowell and many others have learned – the more you understand God and his Word, the more likely you are to believe everything God teaches us, in the proper context.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17