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The Reflection Series for this month is adapted from Reasoning the Rest, which you can read or download from the main menu. This month, we’re discussing how we can trust the Bible as the inspired Word of God. 

The Christian belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is rooted in four aspects of the Bible.

1. The Consistency of the Message
2. The Consistency of the Effect
3. The Consistency of the Power
4. The Consistency of the Promise

This week, let’s look at how the effect of the Bible on those who read it helps us trust the Bible as God’s Word.

We humans are complex beings. We evolve, adjust, grow and change with the passing of time. Our views on the world we live in are dependent on not only where we are raised but also when we are raised. Our views on ourselves have changed, developed and in some ways digressed, with the advancement and proliferation of sociological and psychological studies. Theories of human behavior have left our general understanding of who we are in a state of hyper-developed immaturity, still quite unaware of the truths for which we continually grasp. The Bible’s ability to not only clearly explain the ultimate truths we all seek, but also to offer solutions that apply to all people, of all nations, from all times, sets the Word of God apart from other books that simply venture theories and/or hypotheses on who we are, why we’re here and where we are ultimately going. There has always been, and forever will be, truth that affects all readers of the Bible one way or another. For the person seeking answers to problems, the Word of God reveals the root of not only our deepest desires but also the root of our deepest suffering. Additionally, for the person seeking to explore human origins and human existence, the Word of God presents truths that often offend us by telling us what we know deep down to be true and in many ways want to believe, but want desperately never to accept. Whether to repel in rejection or to attract by need and love, readers of the Bible are always marked by what they read.