Articles
“Four Reasons to Believe”
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1)
Some define faith as “belief in something you know ain’t so” or “the illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.” But Biblical faith is not unthinking, irrational or gullible. Rather, faith is the measured step we take based on evidence provided by God himself.
There is confidence in that step of faith because there is a sure foundation of trust beneath it. Though the Bible makes extraordinary claims, we have strong reasons for believing in the existence of God and the truthfulness of his promises. We can see four of those reasons by looking back, looking up, looking down and looking in.
Look back to the beginning of the universe. Just in the last 100 years, the majority of scientists have come to believe that the universe had a beginning. We are able to detect the expansion of the universe in size in all directions indicating a fixed starting point in time and space. In other words, as Stephen Hawking said, “the universe has not existed forever… it had a beginning.”
The opening verses of the Bible give a reason for that beginning: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). If God did not create the universe then what is the alternative? Many say that it simply came into existence for no apparent reason. But can something come from nothing? If the universe has a beginning, there must be a reason—a cause—for its existence.
Look up to see a universe finely tuned for life. Imagine a poker player who draws twelve straight royal flushes, the odds of which are about the same as winning the lottery twelve times in a row. Something similar could be said with respect to the universe. There are many features of creation that need to be precisely as they are for life to be possible, not just life on Earth or life as we know it, but any form of life anywhere. How are we to explain these amazing “coincidences”? The rational conclusion is that the universe is not a chance result of random forces but rather the result of a purposeful and powerful mind. Paul says God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:20)
Look down into the empty tomb. The historical evidence of Jesus’ bodily resurrection agrees with what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, that he was raised from the dead and appeared before many people. Christians proclaimed this resurrection even under threat of death. Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor in the first century wrote, “I ask them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and a third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution.” What alternatives are there to Jesus’ resurrection? Was it a legend? History shows it takes about three generations for a legend to develop yet Christians were proclaiming his resurrection immediately after it took place. A hallucination? Could hundreds of people have seen the same hallucination? Not likely. Was it all an elaborate lie? What would these Christians have to gain from lying? Poverty, prison and persecution awaited them. Or could it be that God “has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31)?
Look in the pages of Scripture. For me, more than all the philosophical and scientific arguments, the Bible itself is Christianity’s most powerful apologetic. And not just the proofs for the inspiration of Scripture either, but the message of the gospel, the beautiful story that unfolds to show God’s unconquerable love toward you and me, people who are so flawed and reprehensible, and yet are meant to be the recipients of his transforming grace!
