Greg Laurie - How Do We Know The Bible Is True?
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Quick question: How many of you go to the gym or a health club or you work out on a regular basis? Raise your hand up, you work out. Okay, you're a pretty fit bunch. That's pretty impressive. You know, interesting people show up in gyms, don't they? There's the headphone guy. That's the guy who's oblivious to the grunts and odd noises he's making as he's doing his reps. That's the guy that drops the weight on the ground and doesn't even know how loud it is. Then, there's the guy who dominates certain places. Like, they're on the bench and they won't get off the bench and you're waiting. And then there's the perspirator.
The person that sweats on everything, but they don't wipe the equipment down after they get up. I saw one guy in a treadmill and he was running and there were literally puddles of perspiration next to the treadmill. No one wanted to use it after that. And then there are the people that just go to the gym and stand around and talk. They may even go four times a week and they wonder, why don't I lose weight? Why am I not getting in better shape? That's because you stand around and talk. I read that 67% of those that buy gym memberships never use them. 67%. And by the way, I also found this out. Most people join gyms, actually, in March and April. I would have thought it was a January, New Year's resolution. It's March and April because they want to get their bodies swimsuit ready, right?
So my objective in the gym is just to remain mobile and functional so I can get up and sit down and walk across the room and that sort of thing. And there's a saying, "no pain, no gain," and I think there's some truth to it. And the Christian life can be that way too. The Bible compares the Christian life to various forms of discipline. We are to be disciplined like a farmer who patiently sows his crops and waits for them to grow. We are to be like soldiers that endure hardship. In fact, Paul wrote to Timothy, "Endure hardship as a follower of Jesus Christ". And we don't like that word "discipline".
You know, we're looking for the shortcut, the hack, the faster way to get something done. But some things just take commitment and regular discipline. Just as physical discipline is necessary for bodily fitness, spiritual discipline is essential for spiritual growth. The Bible tells us in the book of Philippians to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling". Now, that verse doesn't say work for your salvation, because salvation is a gift from God to us. The Bible says it's not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy he has saved us. "By grace you've been saved through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast". But yet, we're told to work out our own salvation.
And the idea of that is carry it to the goal and complete. Sort of the idea of going into a mine and getting that silver out of the mine. So, working it out in your life. And then it goes on to say, "For it is God who works in you both to will and do of His good pleasure". So you need to constantly be moving forward, constantly applying yourself. It's been said the Christian life is like a grease pole. You're either climbing, or you're slipping. So we need these disciplines in our life. And listen to this. You never outgrow these spiritual disciplines, starting with having a prayer life, learning to spend time with the Lord, listen to the Lord, call out to the Lord.
And then, there's the importance of being involved in church. Not going sporadically or occasionally or when it occurs to you, but having a discipline. "We're going to church now". The Bible tells us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but to exhort one another, or encourage one another, or correct one another, both are definitions of exhort, daily. And it's something we all should be doing. And being active in our church. So when we're here and we're worshiping, worship. Don't just stand there like a statue, you know.
That's why we put the lyrics on the screen. Engage. And when opportunities come to serve, volunteer and say, "I'll do that". And when the opportunity comes to give, invest in the work that God is doing. And that brings me to another very important discipline that I wanna focus on in this message, and that is the discipline of consistent Bible study. It's so very important. Listen to this. Success or failure in the Christian life depends on how much of the Word of God you get into your life on a daily basis and how obedient you are to it. Let me say that again. Success or failure in the Christian life depends on how much of God's Word you get into your life on a regular basis and how obedient you are to it.
And we're told in scripture how important that is. The Sermon on the Mount, you've all heard of that. At the conclusion, Jesus said this, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain came down and the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock". Then he went on to say, "But whoever hears these sayings of mine that does not put them into practice, he's like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain came down on the streams rose and it fell with a great crash".
What is your life built on? Build it on a relationship with Christ and build it on the Word of God because the storms are gonna come and the streams are gonna rise and the fires are gonna rage. But if you're built on God's Word, you will stand strong. Don't build your life on your fickle emotions. Don't build your life and the opinions of other people, or what is culturally popular. Here's what the Bible says of itself, Psalm 19, verse 7. "The law of the Lord," or we could just as easily say the Word of God, "is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise this simple".
This phrase "converts the soul" means it revives, it restores, it transforms, and it refreshes. That's what study of the Word of God will do for you. I can think of times in my life when I've been overwhelmed with grief or worry, and how the right passage just helped me and refreshed me and refocused me and encouraged me. And that's why we need to be familiar with God's Word. One of the things that a young believer is going to face is doubt. Don't forget in the first temptation in the Garden of Eden, Satan came to Adam and Eve and said, "Did God really say what you thought you heard him say"? Immediately trying to instill doubt into their minds. And that is why we need to know the Word of God.
Remember, when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days, every time a temptation came his way, he responded by saying, "It is written, it is written, it is written". "Why don't you turn that stone into a piece of bread"? Jesus says, "No, because it is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" And we need to learn to do that as well. We need to open the Word of God and love the Word of God. A growing believer will delight in the study of scripture. Okay, so let's go to Psalm 19. So we will read the phrase "the law of the Lord" a few times. You could just as easily substitute "the Bible" or "the Word of God" in the place of "the law of the Lord".
Psalm 19, verse 7, "The law," or the Word, "of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is Your servant warned, And in keeping them there is great reward".
Point number one, if you're taking notes, the Word of God is perfect. The Word of God is perfect. That's what the scripture says. This is in direct contrast to the flawed, imperfect reasoning of humanity. Culture changes, but the Bible never does. So you stand on God's Word. Things become dated so quickly. "Oh, I got the brand new iPhone," or, "I got the brand new Android phone". Who cares? But anyway. Now, they make some cool stuff. No, sort of. But anyway, "Oh, I got the new this, I got the new that. Oh, here comes the new model. Oh, you have the old model. This is the new model".
How about yearbook photos? Does anyone ever look good in their yearbook photo? It's almost like they capture us at the most awkward moment of our life. And then these photographers, they always pose you in a strange way where your head sort of turned or something odd, and you look at it and everybody cringes, it's so dated. But the Bible isn't dated. The Bible is always relevant. The Word of God is perfect. It means it's whole, it's complete, and it's sufficient. You don't need to add to it. You certainly don't need to take away from it. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God". Another translation of that would be, "All scripture is breathed by God".
There's no mistakes, there's no contradictions. The Word of God is perfect. Everything you need to know about God is in the Bible. Everything you need to know about life, in effect, is also in the Bible. And maybe that's why the Bible remains the best-selling book of all time. Every hour in America, more than 2000 copies of the Bible are sold. Every year in America more than 20 million copies of the Bible are sold. Five billion copies of the Bible have been sold and they continue to sell. It is God's Word to each of us. Now, this is an amazing book. It's actually not one singular book. In some ways, it's a collection of 66 books written over a 1500 year period of time by 40 authors from so many different walks of life. Kings, presidents, excuse me, peasants. No presidents.
What am I saying? Kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, and scholars. Yet, all of these authors inspired by God write about one consistent theme, which is God's redemption of mankind. Every one of these men was directed by the Lord to write these words because 1 Peter 1:20 says, "It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God". But back to my initial question. How can we know the Bible is the Word of God? A few thoughts about that. First, I would say the Bible is confirmed by archaeology. The Bible is confirmed by archaeology. In fact, archaeology has been called the Bible's best friend. From the discovery of the Cyrus Cylinder in 1870 to the Pool of Siloam in 2004, archaeology has confirmed again and again the Bible was right all along.
For instance, there were critics who would say, "You know, there's no person named Pontius Pilate. We can't find any historical evidence for that," though he plays prominently in the Gospel accounts, especially in the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. Well, once again, archaeology reveals in 1961 they find a stone dating back to AD 30 with the words "Pontius Pilate" on it and he's identified as a prefect of Rome. That's me leaning on the stone and I was arrested for doing that, by the way.
Now, that's a reproduction of the stone. The real stone is in a museum. But that's the Pilate Stone, so called. So once again, archaeology proves the Bible was right all along. Critics would say, "You know, we think David is a fictitious character. There's no historical evidence for David". But then archaeology, once again, reveals a special stone dating back to the 9th century bearing the name of David saying "House of David". There's much more I could say, but archaeology confirms the Bible. I know the Bible is true because it's confirmed by science. People think that science and the Bible contradict each other.
Many have scoffed at the Bible, saying it's so unscientific. Did you know there was a time when our great astronomers thought you could count the stars? They did their very best and determined that there are 850 stars. One, two, three, four, five. And then, with a little more sophistication, they expanded that number to 1500. But then in the 17th century Galileo took out his telescope and said, "I think the number is much higher than we previously thought". Well, actually the Bible dealt with this, and if you'd just read it, you would notice the Bible says of the stars that God stretched forth the heavens into a limitless expanse that can never be measured and filled it with stars which are numerous as the sand upon the seashore.
In other words, God is saying, "They're innumerable, you can't count them all". And it's been proven that we can't assess the number of the stars. The numbers range from 200 billion stars to 70 sextillion. I said sex and stars. It's all there. You can't count them. Go down to the beach and pick up the sand and let it slip through your fingers. That's how many stars there are and limitless galaxies. Bible told us that all along. The Bible has so much to say about so many things. But most importantly, the Bible tells us how to know God. Here's another thought. I know the Bible is true because it gave to me the experience it promised.
Now, maybe that's not important to you, but it's important to me. The Bible made certain promises to me and, by nature, I've always been a skeptical person. I don't know about you. I'm not the first to believe something because someone else says it's true. I wanna know for myself. And so when I heard all these promises available to me if I became a Christian, I thought, eh, I don't really know. And even if it were true for other people, I'm not sure it would be true for me personally. But I was proven wrong. Christ did everything he promised he would do for me. For instance, God says that he would forgive my sins, and I asked him to forgive me, and he did.
"If we will confess our sin," 1 John 1:9 says, "he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". So when I go and visit a place for the first time, I'll ask someone, maybe they pick me up at the airport, "Hey, where's a good place to eat"? "Oh, this is the best place to eat". And now I'm gonna say this, I am now going to determine if this person's opinion on food can be trusted. And I'll go to that restaurant and it's some of the worst food I've ever had. But I'll give them one more chance. "You gotta go to this other place. It's the second best place," and it's worse than the first place. So now they go into my category of "people I don't listen to for food recommendations".
Then there are other people that make a recommendation, "This is amazing," and it is amazing. I was over in Maui recently and our campus pastor Lucho said, "I know of a great bakery. You're gonna love it". And I told him upfront, "I'm gonna put you in a category right now, Lucho, so I hope it's good". And I have to say, it was a great choice, so I can trust him now for food. That's good to know, right? But God makes promises. Can they be trusted? Will they happen for me? That sense of guilt was removed from me. The Bible said if I came to Jesus Christ, I would become a different person, and that has happened to me.
Now, I'm still a work in progress, but I found it to be true. Haven't you? The Bible... haven't you? Hello? Thank you. Well, maybe it hasn't worked for you guys. The Bible promised that if I would not worry about anything, but I would pray about everything, that God would give me a peace that passes all human understanding. I found that to be true. The Bible told me if I would pray about things, God could change circumstances, and I've seen that as well. I've seen so many things that God promised come true in my life. I believe in the Bible because it gave me the experience of promise. That's not the only reason I believe in it. It's just one of many. I believe in the Bible because it's the one book that dares to predict the future with 100% accuracy.
And that's an amazing thing. There are many specific prophecies the Bible has made. Many of them have already been fulfilled, so we can look back with 2020 hindsight and see how accurate scripture is. I'm not talking about the Mayan calendar or the so-called prophecies of Nostradamus. I'm talking about bold prophecies and I can talk all day about this. But the Bible said the Jewish people will be scattered to the four corners of the earth. They'll be re-gathered in their land and they'll become a nation again. And after this happens, they'll be surrounded by enemies intent on their destruction. All this is spoken of in scripture and it's happening before our very eyes as we sit here right now.
This is the amazing thing about the Bible. But the Bible is a book that must not just be read, it must be obeyed. James 1:22 says, "Remember, it's a message to obey, not just listen to". And if you don't obey, you're only fooling yourself. You're like someone that goes and looks in the mirror and then forgets what they saw and walks away. But if you keep looking steadily into that mirror, God's Word, it will set you free. And if you do what it says and don't forget what you've heard, God will bless you for doing it. Have you ever looked in the mirror and seen something that alarmed you? When you get older, it just seems like it always alarms you somewhat.
But, you know, you look at... whoa, that's been on my face all day long? No wonder people were laughing at me and taking photos of me with their phones. So maybe you make a correction. Try a magnifying mirror. Oh, those are alarming. But I look at the scripture and it shows me who God is, it shows me who I should be, so I should obey what it says. And then, the Bible should be treasured as well. Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word have I treasured in my heart, That I might not sin against You".
Treasure it and memorize it. Now, some people say, "I can't remember things. I can't memorize things". Oh, give me a break. Of course you can. I have all kinds of useless trivia in my brain and I never remember trying to memorize, but there it is. Annoying jingles, "1-877-Kars4Kids". You ever seen that commercial? But it's worse for me. I remember commercials from the '50s. "Stanley, Stanley, Stanley Chevrolet, Two blocks off the Santa Ana Freeway", why do I know that? "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones They're the modern stone-age family".
I don't remember memorizing that. "From the town of Bedrock..." "Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed, A poor..." now, some of you who are younger say, "I don't know what's happening right now". I don't either. I'm just telling you I have things that have been in my brain for many, many years. But even better than that, I have passages that have stayed in my brain that comfort me. Because when you're facing a crisis, thinking about that story about the man named Jed isn't gonna help you. But the Bible will. That's why you need to commit it to memory.
The Word of God gives incredible wisdom, point number six. Verse 7, "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple". This word "simple" comes from a root word that speaks of an open door, it speaks of a person with a mind like an open door. Everything comes in, everything goes out. They're open to everything, they're closed to nothing. And that's how some people are. Just whatever the culture says, "Oh, that's what I believe now," instead of thinking biblically. And that's why we're doing this little series on hot button issues.
And, you know, if I believe what the Bible says, things start making sense. If I believe that man is intrinsically good and the reason he does bad things is because of his environment, and if we can change his own environment we can change the man, I'm gonna be very disappointed by what I see in life. But if I believe what the Bible says, that man is basically a sinner who has broken God's commandments and only Christ can change him in the heart, I'll see things a lot differently. Some will say, "Yeah, but what if you come to a passage in the Bible you don't agree with"? Okay, simple answer: Change your opinion because you're wrong and God is right. How about that? "Well, I don't agree". Who cares? Who cares? Who are you to critique God? Who are you to critique scripture?
Romans tells us in chapter 9, "Who are you, a mere human being, to criticize God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" So the Word of God is perfect, it transforms us, it makes us wise. What else do we know? The Word of God is something that will make you happy. Psalm 19, verse 8, "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart". Rejoicing the heart. It will bring you happiness in life. The Bible says, Psalm 1, "Happy is the man that doesn't walk in the council being ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners". Listen, you can be happy without sin. You can be happy without having sex outside of marriage. You can be happy without drugs or alcohol. You can be happy without selfishness. Happiness comes from a relationship with God.