To Encourage You

John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

We’ve all heard of the “he said, she said” situations in a court of law. They are very difficult cases to prove, for it’s always just one person’s word against another.  That’s why in court we have two sides presented, and the strategy of both sides is to bring multiple witnesses to the stand.  In Judeo-Christian societies this is likely rooted in the biblical instruction that the testimony of just one person should not be deemed sufficient. When God gave His Law to Moses, one of those laws was the following: “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15).  One of the reasons that we know that the charges that the Jews made against Jesus at His trial were false was that “their testimony did not agree” (Mark 14:59). 

But no matter if there are many witnesses to a case, we ask each person to swear by something greater than themselves that their testimony is true – such as the Bible or with the words “so help me God.”  To violate such an oath is punishable as an act of perjury.  It’s so interesting that even God held Himself to this rule when He made His great promise to Abraham that He would bless him and give him many descendants. In Hebrews 6:13-18 it says this: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” 

You see, unlike us, God does not lie.  For Him to say anything one time is enough.  Yet He took an oath, swearing on His own name, for there was no one greater by which to swear that what He had said was the truth.

So again, because we do lie, God, in His wisdom, demanded that issues of guilt in a court of law be based on two or more witnesses – never just one.  That’s why we should be skeptical of any “so-called” holy book that is based on one person’s word with no verification from another.  Examples of this are the Book of Mormon, which was written by Joseph Smith alone, and the Koran, the work of just one man: Muhammad. 

So, what about the Bible?  Does it pass this test?  The answer is obviously “Yes.”  In the verses above from the gospel of John we are told that the things written by John were written so that we would believe.  He tells us that many signs, more than John had written about, were done by Jesus in the presence of the disciples.  But that’s just John’s word.  Why should we believe this one man about such a critical matter?  Shouldn’t there be multiple witnesses for us to believe? And the answer is “There are.”  That’s surely one of the reasons that we don’t just have the gospel of John, but also the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  Many of the things found in any one of these gospels is also found in one or more of the others.  And some of the accounts, like the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, are written by not just two or three witnesses, but by all four.  In addition, we have the New Testament writings of Paul, Peter, James, and Jude, as well, testifying to the truth of the life of Christ and the gospel. 

That’s the nature of the entire Bible. Unlike the writings of Joseph Smith and Muhammad , the Bible is comprised of 66 books written by a total of 40 different authors over a period of about 1,500 years – yet the testimony of all of these men is always in harmony.  Many of these writers faced great hardship, even martyrdom, yet stood by the testimony of what they had seen and heard to the very end. 

So, can you believe the Bible?  You certainly should be able to, for the very nature by which it was written is strong confirmation that it is true.