Defending the Word of God to Others – What are the basics I should know?
How do you know that the word of God is true? What proof is there to confirm this? This blog looks at how you as a believer can stand firm upon the word of God, without wavering upon the truth.
Defending the Word of God...
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It is not uncommon to hear evangelists proclaim the word of God to the unsaved with such holy zeal, that passers-by become arrested by its truth. Onlookers’ will stop and stare, and some may even argue. Yet, the outcome all evangelists seek, is the one where the sinner chooses to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved ( Acts 3:19).
The unbelieving on the other hand, will question the integrity of the word of God, by trying to slay the evangelist with a barrage of scientific and historic questions, with the hope that they can discredit the gospel preached (Psalm 119:159-160). But, the question that we should ask ourself is: What is truth?
Truth Defined
To the world truthfulness can be defined as ‘that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality’ The Oxford Language Dictionary. For example, historians present to us facts that appear truthful. They have historical evidence. Their evidence is their truth.
The word of God, on the other hand, defines truth as that which embodies the nature of God, the sovereign authority of scripture, the person of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:20). In this context, who God is, his thoughts, his will, character and glory, all define what God considers to be truthful. For this reason, we should understand that ‘truth is dependable, trustworthy, tested and unchangeable’. God is the Spirit of Truth.
Defending the Word of God to others – What are the basics I should know?
Always evangelise with the Holy Spirit.
Who best to defend the word of God, than the Spirit of God himself. If you are an evangelist who goes out to preach with a ‘full belly of food’, I am going to ask you to reconsider your evangelical approach. Instead of eating before you preach, why don’t you fast. Exchange consuming ‘physical food’ for ‘the word of God cooked in the presence of God’.
Always remember that It is the Holy Spirit of God who:
- Convicts and searches the heart - 1 Corinthians 2:10
- Knows all things - 1 John 2:20
- Reveals all truth - John 16:13
If you want to defend the word of God, always depend upon the Spirit of God. There is no contradictions in him. He is the Spirit of Truth.
Get understanding about the word of God.
The bible is God’s word and God’s word is unifying.
It sounds pretty obvious, but oftentimes believers overlook the simple fact that the bible is God’s word, written over a period of 1,500 years by over 40 authors. Different writers with the same message. All the human vessels, God used to write the bible were united by the revelatory message of the word of God.
The word of God is not separate from God. Let me explain this statement. John 1: 1-2 states that the word of God is with God since the word of God is God’s revealed mind. God’s word reveals God’s thoughts, his will and his emotions. In John 1, the express image of our invisible God is Jesus, it is Jesus who is the firstborn of creation and he is the person who upholds the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). Therefore, God’s word will never contradict who God is.
The endurance of the Word of God.
Throughout generations, there have been many attacks against the bible. Politically, the government has produced laws that have seemly tried to socially eliminate or restrict access to the teachings of the word of God (Daniel 6:12).
When you have time, why not take a look at the ever- changing laws concerning freedom of speech. Then ask yourself the following questions: Why are the police arresting evangelists for preaching the unfiltered truth of the gospel? Do the offended, hard-hearted and unbelieving, have more legal rights than the faithful in Christ? Or, is it safe to say that any legal hindrance to the preaching of the gospel is just an attempt to silence the activity of the word of God in society?
Whenever you perceive an attack against the word of God, just remember to remain calm , don’t panic and have faith, and continue to submit to God and his word. In the past the leaders of society made many attempts to eradicate the influence of the word of God and failed. They failed, because they underestimated the enduring power of God’s word ( 1 Peter 1: 25).
The word of God still remains one of the most widely distributed and translated books in history.
Fulfilled prophecy:
In today’s society, everybody wants to know the future. The spiritually curious unbelievers run to fortune tellers and horoscopes and believers run to prophets.
How many times have you heard a believer run to their pastor and say ‘ Pastor I need a word. What is God saying concerning my matter? Apart from personal prophesies, there are many messianic prophesies we may overlook because of our hunger for ‘special’ prophesies. For example: Do you know that there are prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled? If you did not know, then why don't you take a look at these 3 fulfilled prophesies from the bible. You can research more fulfilled prophesies during your bible study time.
- The Birth and Lineage of Jesus – was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14. It’s written fulfilment is found in Matthew 1:22-23.
- The Messiah’s Life – was prophesied in Micah 5:2. It’s written fulfilment is found in Matthew 2:1
- The Suffering of Christ - was prophesied in Isaiah 53:5 and Psalms 22:16-18. It’s written fulfilment is found in 1 Peter 2:24 and John 19:23-24
The fact that age old prophesies have been fulfilled, should strengthen your faith in Christ and your trust in the reliability of the bible.
Science:
There are numerous scientific disputes against the validity of the word of God. These disputes include the scientific objection concerning how ‘mankind came to life’.
Evolution theorists openly oppose the notion of a creative intelligent God.
So, to help you put things into perspective, let’s look at the sources of these arguments. When you take a look at the earliest roots of science, you will discover that it finds its traces back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, estimated date 3000 to 1200 BCE. It was the civilians during these times that contributed to early science like mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.
From an opposite standpoint, we see a faith based argument, which states that God is the source of all knowledge. Christians believe that the source of all knowledge is found in the mind of an infinite God (1 John 3:20). A God whose mind is revealed to us through his holy word.
Contrary to popular belief, the holy bible does not dispute the science of life. The reason the word of God does not dispute this, is because scripture clearly contains scientific facts that were not known to man during the time of its writing.
Examples of scientific facts in the bible: The earth’s round shape is referenced in Isaiah 40:22.
Earth’s hot core, is found in Job 28:5
The water cycle is alluded to in Ecclesiastes 1:7, Amos 9:6, and Job 36:27-28.
The word of God transforms lives:
What is your personal testimony? When it comes to testifying of God’s creative ability to change lives, your testimony should be first. Your testimony should confirm to the world that the word of God is true. Just imagine, you are one of the countless people who have experienced the transforming power of God’s word (Acts 26:12-23).
Spiritual transformation is not about feelings and sentiments. Spiritual transformation is about life. Encountering the divine life of God and his governing word.
Final Words.
As long as sin is prevalent in society, the word of God will be contested. As believers in Christ, we must learn how to stand confidently upon the word of God during testing times. Do not agree with unbelief, doubt and fear (Isaiah 41:10). Rather, accept the invitation to partner with the Holy Spirit, who by the word of his power will pull down the strongholds that have been hindering the word of God from being established in the minds of his people. Remember, God is a holy God undefiled by sin, his word is true. Therefore, no matter how many times God’s word may face persecution, his word WILL endure forever.
