I remember a friend, whose marriage had broken up, saying that although they could forgive their ex, they could no longer trust them.
It got me thinking about trust and how it depends on truth.
We learn to trust those who tell us the truth.
Lies, or betrayal in their actions, break trust and we struggle to regain it in the future. The problem is that humans find it almost impossible to tell the truth 100% of the time! So is there anyone we can trust completely?
The Bible says:
“…It is impossible for God to lie”
Hebrews 6v18
So can we trust God?
The psalmist certainly thought so – he said:
“His truth endures to all generations”
Psalm 100v5
Another man, Paul, wrote in a letter to Titus,
“…in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”
Titus 1v2
But how do we know for sure that the Bible is telling the truth, and God can be trusted?
Is the Bible true?
Well, we can look for evidence that the Bible tells the truth. There’s plenty of historical evidence to be found. For example, there’s a prophecy in the book of Daniel, chapter 8, which was written around 600BC during the time of the Babylonian Empire.
- It tells of a ram with two horns coming from the east and identifies that ram as the two kings of the Medo-Persian Empire (Daniel 8v20).
- It also describes a male goat with one horn, coming very fast from the west and conquering the ram. That goat is identified as the Greek Empire (Daniel 8v21).
We know from history books that this is exactly what happened! The Babylonian Empire was overthrown around 540BC by the Medo-Persian Empire, with two kings, Cyrus and Darius. That lasted about 200 years until Alexander the Greek led his troops in a rapid attack on the Medo-Persian Empire. He conquered it, making the area part of his Greek Empire.
There’s even more to this prophecy – detail about the horn of the ram being broken and four smaller horns growing to take its place. History tells us that when Alexander died in 323BC at the age of 32, his four generals took control of the empire.
Remember that this prophecy was written many years before the events that it predicted, and the level of detail it includes is amazing! It’s way beyond what guesswork and coincidence could do.
What about Jesus Christ?
The New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell us all about the life and teaching of a man called Jesus, who lived in the land of Israel. He was crucified by the Romans after a mob of Jews demanded his death because they didn’t like his teaching.
The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, admitted that Jesus was an innocent man who didn’t deserve the death penalty. The gospels tell us that he rose from the dead, and belief in his resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith. But is this true?
Did Jesus actually exist?
Evidence that Jesus Christ really did exist isn’t only found in the Bible record, or by early Christian writers. He’s also mentioned by a number of non-Christian historians of that time:
- Flavius Josephus, Jewish historian around 93CE
- Pliny the younger, Roman governor of Bithynia, around 112CE
- Cornelius Tacitus, Roman senator & historian around 116CE
…to name a few
Jesus really did exist, and once again we find that the historical record shows the Bible account to be true.
So can we trust the God of the Bible?
Yes!
The more we find out about the Bible, God’s word, the more we can see how truthful He has always been. We can have complete trust in Him.
“We trust in the living God, who is the saviour of all men, specially of those that believe”
1 Timothy 4v10
