Sometimes, and it’s rare, doubt creeps into my heart. I believe this is a normal feeling that inches it’s way into the hearts of people. Jesus accomplished His mission over two thousand years ago. And we are anxiously awaiting His return. I also sometimes think about God’s Word and the reliability of it, and some of the stories told. It’s a fact that we must live by faith. But, I have found a few ways to help combat this feeling.
As I’ve walked with God, there are two teachers I’ve leaned on that bring my heart some peace around doubt. God has used the apologist and author Hank Hanegraaff and author Lee Strobel to deeply disciple my heart around interpreting how to think about truth.
Hank Hanegraaff, host of the radio show, The Bible Answer Man, uses the acronym, MAPS to help us remember the reliability of the Bible.
“How can we know the Bible is reliable?” Below are the four basic principles to chart your way to understanding basic biblical reliability: MAPS
Manuscripts
“In determining manuscript reliability, we deal with the question: How can we test to see that the text we possess in the manuscript copies is an accurate rendition of the original? There are three main manuscript tests: the Bibliographic, Eyewitness, and External (a second acronym — BEE — will help you remember these).”
“We have more than 14,000 manuscripts and fragments of the Old Testament.”
“The same is true of the New Testament text. The abundance of textual witnesses is amazing. We possess over 5,300 manuscripts or portions of the (Greek) New Testament — almost 800 copied before A.D. 1000.”
Archeology
“Let us consider our second principle, archaeological evidence. Over and over again, comprehensive field work (archaeology) and careful biblical interpretation affirms the reliability of the Bible.”
Prophecy
“The third principle of Bible reliability is Prophecy, or predictive ability. The Bible records predictions of events that could not be known or predicted by chance or common sense.”
Statistics
“Our fourth MAPS principle works well with predictive prophecy, because it is Statistically preposterous that any or all of the Bible’s very specific, detailed prophecies could have been fulfilled through chance, good guessing, or deliberate deceit.”
To read more about “MAPS” click this link:
https://www.equip.org/article/bible-reliability-m-a-p-s-to-guide-you-through-bible-reliability/
The next author God has used in my life to help strengthen my heart around doubt, is author and teacher Lee Strobel. Mr. Strobel wrote the book, A Case for Christ, and A Case for Faith.
Lee, in his books, builds the irrefutable case that Jesus was crucified, died and rose again. With hundreds of eyewitnesses.
Jesus Death
“The evidence for Jesus’ execution is so extensive that even the atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann calls it “indisputable.” That’s because we not only have multiple, early accounts of Jesus’ death in the New Testament, but we’ve also got five ancient sources outside the Bible that confirm his execution.”
Jesus Resurrection
“We have a report of the resurrection, preserved in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, that comes far too quickly after Jesus’ death to be considered a legend. In fact, scholar James Dunn said “we can be entirely confident” that this report was formulated within months of Jesus’ death. And that’s not the only early report we have. The four Gospels contain others that date back to within a generation of Jesus.”
There are Eye-Witness Accounts
“Finally, I focused on eyewitnesses. While we only have one or two sources for much of what we know from ancient history, we have nine ancient sources –inside and outside the New Testament – confirming the testimony of the disciples that they encountered the resurrected Jesus.”
Strobel finally concluded, “I reached my verdict: the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus was clear and convincing. That’s why I repented of my sins and received him as my forgiver and leader on November 8, 1981. Ultimately, I would see my morality, worldview, marriage – and even my career – transformed as a result.”
Finally, one key legal point Mr. Strobel makes about the eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive after His resurrection was this. Today, in murder trials, a person can be convicted of murder, even if there are no eyewitnesses. However, hundreds of eyewitnesses saw Jesus alive!
Imagine in a courtroom, an attorney calling the over 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive. One by one, they file in, and answer under oath, “Yes, I saw Him alive.” Next witness. “Yes, I saw Him alive.” And this goes on for hours!
So, the next time doubt slowly creeps into your heart, remember MAPS and A Case For Christ and A Case for Faith. They have strengthened my heart and my faith tremendously over the years.
Unless, you can’t handle the truth!
Matt