Trustworthy Words

Today, I’m taking a rabbit trail. I am deeply concerned about the pervasive apathy within the Church concerning the Word of God. This apathy is not a case where a few local churches have strayed away from the “straight and narrow.” No, entire denominations and countless individual Christians no longer find relevance in the Bible and some even think the Bible is not trustworthy. This must change if we are to reach the whole world with the Gospel of Jesus and if we are to be known by our love. In this post, I am addressing one aspect of the Bible that has been wholly dismissed by modern Christians. This aspect is that of miracles.

Incredible but True

In every generation, certainly since the time of Moses, it has been vital for believers to trust the Holy Scriptures. God’s Word is true. God has placed in the Holy Scriptures many astonishing claims, claims that are foreign to the world we live in. From God using Moses to part the waters and turn a seabed into dry ground (Exodus 14:21) to God using Ezekiel to prophesy to dry bones and causing them to come to life (Ezekiel 37:10) to God invading the devil’s world in the form of a baby (Luke 2:7). All of these are incredible claims!

God’s declarations are sometimes more than incredible, they are baffling, such as when King David prophesied, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in Psalms 110:1, “The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” This prophecy wasn’t understood for 1,000 years, not until Jesus explained it in Matthew 22:44. Let’s consider one example of an extraordinary statement in the Bible. It’s one that I’ve personally been queried on countless times. Here it is: “How could a person live to be one thousand years old?” Well, first, no one in the Bible lived 1,000 years, but a few did come close. So let’s use Adam as our example.

An Example

The Bible states in Genesis 5:5 (ESV), “Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.” Okay. None of us know anyone that has lived to be 200 years old let alone 930 years, yet Christians and Jews have accepted this as true for thousands of years. Not until recently was there any biological evidence that what the Bible said was true. That is, not until the publication, Nature, which is the preeminent publication for biologists and many other science disciplines, published an article titled, “First hint that body’s ‘biological age’ can be reversed. [a]” And, the National Institute of Health, an American federal government agency, published an abstract titled, “Anti-aging science: The emergence, maintenance, and enhancement of a discipline. [b]”

It seems that within our bodies there still remains remnants of biological properties that enable significantly longer lifespans. So, science is beginning to affirm a truth which God declared in His Word many millennia ago. This is good, but it’s not necessary for science to prove the veracity of God’s Word, for we know that God is supernatural. He is beyond the scientific laws of nature because He created nature. As God’s Word declares:

For by him [Jesus, the Son of God] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16 ESV)

The Laws of Nature

For some reason, many Christians tend to think Old Testament miracles are fantastical. From the “wheel in the middle of a wheel” in Ezekiel, chapter one, to the talking donkey in the book of Numbers, chapter twenty-two, the miracles are true in the canon of Scriptures (i.e., Bible). So, why do we shy away from the supernatural character of God’s Word? “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) Jesus said, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” (John 8:23) And Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3)