While apologetics tries to defend the Christian faith and the Bible, I really believe that apologetics is first and foremost useful to solidify the faith of the believer. Yes, while it can also be a powerful tool in sharing why we believe in the veracity of the Bible with unbelievers and skeptics, I believe that the Scriptures don’t need us to defend its uniqueness, intellectual soundness, and its truthfulness. The great Protestant preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, said it well: “Defend the Bible? I would just as soon defend a lion. Just turn the Bible loose. It will defend itself.”1
As I have shared in earlier devotions the Bible has been attacked and vilified for over 2,000 years by a great onslaught of enemies yet it remains the most circulated book in the world. Theologian and apologist Bernard Ramm shared a colorful description on how the Bible, despite its attacks, down through the centuries, is still with us today when he said: “A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology… of classical or modern times has been subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet? The Bible is still loved by millions, read by millions, and studied by millions.”2
But just how does the Bible defend itself? I believe the Bible defends itself by proving, after 2,000 years, to be historically and scientifically accurate, the finest book on ethics ever written, and the only book that can answer life’s big questions. Richard T. Ritenbaugh, however, gives us the key answer in the transformative nature of the Bible when he shares: “The Bible needs no authentication from scholars, historians, archeologists, or anyone with a pointy head. The Bible proves itself true every time a sinner turns from his wicked ways to God’s way of life. The proof is in its impact on people who are in the process of changing from carnal to spiritual.”3
The transformative power of the Bible to change a sinner into a saint, and an individual from bondage to freedom demonstrates how the Holy Word of God can do the impossible and will last forever.
(Isaiah 40:8) boldly declares: “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
But you may ask what about the other sacred books – are they not the same as the Bible? Professor Monier Williams spent over 40 years studying the religious literature of the Orient – His conclusion follows: “Pile them, if you will, on the left side of your study table; but place your own Holy Bible on the right side – all by itself, all alone and with a wide gap between them. For,…there is a gulf between it and the so-called sacred books of the East which severs the one from the other utterly, hopelessly, and forever…”4
One more quote will serve to drive home the point that you not only can’t destroy the Bible, but it doesn’t need you or me to defend its uniqueness. 19th century writer, H. L. Hastings, shows how the Bible has withstood the most severe attacks of skepticism when he stated:
“Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt.
“When the French monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, ‘Sire, the Church of GOD is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.’ So, the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of GOD, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.”5
My friends the next time someone asks you to defend the Bible just share with them how the Bible and Jesus Christ have transformed your life and throw in a little apologetics for good measure.
1 https://www.winchesterroadchurch.org/single-post/2017/12/17/Turn-the-bible-loose-it-will-defend-itself#!
2 Bernard Ramm – Writings – Influence of Protestant Christian Evidences | Influence <i>Protestant Christian Evidences<> (liquisearch.com)
3 Discounting the Bible (cgg.org)
4 What’s the big deal about the Bible anyway? • ChristianAnswers.Net
5 The Anvil that has worn out many Hammers « The Righter Report
Hi Curt…I tell people the The Bible says Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8) Then I tell them…since He is, and He did miracles of healing when He lived on the earth, He could still do miracles of healing today. Then, I tell them how I prayed and asked God (Jesus) to heal my eye. You know the rest of the story…He did!
Then I mention that my two physicians here in Silicon Valley both said “It was a miracle”