If I want to present my best ideas, I need to be open to the helpful, sharpening critique that people close to me have to offer. My first idea sounds great, until others come along to make it better.
“In so far as I am Man I am the chief of creatures. In so far as I am a man I am the chief of sinners.” —G.K. Chesterton
Cold case detective J. Warner Wallace applies the same scrutiny to examining the evidence of the New Testament as he does with a suspect. “There are four critical questions that must drive our examination of any eyewitness, ancient or modern: Were they actually present to see what they claim? Can their account be corroborated in some fashion, even indirectly? Have the key elements of their story shifted over time? And finally, do they possess ulterior motives or bias that would tempt them to lie or embellish? This is not a uniquely religious or anti-religious method; it is simply good investigative practice.”
“Few men, if any, step into responsible positions without preparation. Sometimes in our shortsightedness we seem to get the idea in regard to Bible characters that they come on the scene ready-made, fully prepared; here they are, God’s gift to the world! They take up the work, and that’s all there is to it. But if you will read more carefully, you will find that usually—I think we could even say always—there is a period of preparation behind them. God lays His plans well in advance.” —William Sanford LaSor
The writer of the Book of Hebrews challenges Christians to learn how to better encourage others and spur them on to their very best. This means we have to go deeper in our relationships with people. Here’s one way not to do this.
T.M. Moore cautions us against having a “too small God” mindset. He writes, “We are short-changing the people of God unless our preaching and teaching fits them to seek the Kingdom of God and the restoration of the world in all our life and work. We do not expect to recreate the original conditions that existed before the fall, but to remember them, to recall them, to recover a measure of them for the life of the world and, by so doing, to point ahead to the new and better and fully remade world that is to come.”
More archeological evidence from the city of Jericho helps scholars date the exodus from Egypt more precisely as well. All of this reinforces the absolute historicity of the biblical accounts.
“The Pentecostal movement emerged at the turn of the 20th century, resulting from a series of overlapping revivals that occurred around the world.” One of those revivals was in Wales.
“Although [traditional scientists] feel certain that dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago, unremitting soft tissue discoveries from dinosaur fossils openly challenge such age options and validate the creation model.” Check out how the Raman spectroscopy tests are aligning paleontological discoveries with the biblical timeline of Creation.
T.M. Moore is sharing a fascinating series of posts on economics through a biblical worldview. “All the ancient laws of Israel contain principles like this, principles which, if rightly understood and faithfully practiced, could tap into the grace of God and bring more honesty, respect, fairness, justice, generosity, forbearance, and love into the economic practice of a powerful nation such as the United States—more of grace and less of greed to our economic life.”
“Christ had even a literary style of His own, not to be found, I think, elsewhere; it consists of an almost furious use of the a fortiori. His ’how much more’ is piled one upon another like castle upon castle in the clouds. The diction used about Christ has been, and perhaps wisely, sweet and submissive. But the diction used by Christ is quite curiously gigantesque; it is full of camels leaping through needles and mountains hurled into the sea.” —G.K. Chesterton
David Mathis writes that the Bible is not just “a Book.” He says, “In my mind, one of the greatest imaginable tragedies is a professing Christian who is bored with the Bible. Could a truly loving husband cherish his wife but not care for her words? Could an adoring wife respect her husband but not what he says? What are words anyway? They are the breathed-out expressions of the person himself. Words are audible revelations of the otherwise unknown heart.”
Another archeological study supports the historicity of the Bible. This one identifies the battle preparations that King Joash made.
Isaac Newton said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler are two gigantic figures in the world of science. These men were both devout Christians. Check out these mini-biographies from the ICR.
“What made David’s heart remarkable wasn’t the absence of sin but his unrelenting pursuit of restoration with God.” —YouVersion reading plan Men of God: Ancient Virtues for Modern Warriors
It’s always fascinating to read about archeological discoveries that overlap with the historical accounts of the Bible.
Whether you are a pastor, a Sunday School teacher, or just a Christian sharing your testimony with your friend, we need to handle God’s Word correctly. John Piper’s lesson on 2 Timothy 2:14-15 is spot-on.
“Psychologists, since the beginning of the discipline, have argued about the essence of what it means to be human. Some, like [Sigmund] Freud, insist that we are motivated by physical pleasure, while others, like Victor Frankl or Abraham Maslow, believe that some higher purpose…. Human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, only realize their full potential and pleasure as they participate in the very being of God and know and experience the pleasure He takes in Himself and His glory.” —T.M. Moore
“If you are persevering in faith today, you owe it to the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit, who is working in you to preserve your faith, is honoring the purchase of Jesus. God the Spirit works in us what God the Son obtained for us. The Father planned it. Jesus bought it. The Spirit applies it—all of them infallibly.” —John Piper
“The Hebrew word Davar (דבר, pronounced ‘daw-var’) reveals something profound about God’s Word—it’s not merely information, but transformation. … Throughout Scripture, God’s Word consistently proves both living and active. It has the power to create worlds (Genesis 1), transform lives (Psalm 119:105), and accomplish God’s purposes (Isaiah 55:11).” —Dave Adamson
More fascinating archeology that supports the Bible’s historicity. This is a look at the library of letters found at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt. “The most obvious connection between the Amarna Letters and biblical history is that some of the letters appear to be describing, in real-time, the attacks of the Israelites during the period of the conquest. Remember, the initial conquest battles took a period of some 5–6 years, but the attempts by various tribes to conquer their allotted territories lasted into the period of the Judges. The letters from the rulers of some of the very cities named in the biblical conquest calling for help from the attacking ʿapîru/ḫa-bi-ru, provide a poignant backdrop to this period of biblical history.”
“Because I am your constant Companion, there should be a lightness to your step that is observable to others. Do not be weighed down with problems and unresolved issues, for I am your burden-bearer.” —Jesus in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling, based on Psalm 31:19–20; John 16:33
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Back in 2014, I was reading through the history of the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The historical accounts of these kingdoms in both the Books of Kings and Chronicles go back-and-forth from kings in the north to kings in the south. I was having trouble keeping them all straight, so I began designing a side-by-side chart to help me.
I had no idea that this chart would be viewed and downloaded by other Bible students literally thousands and thousands of times each year.
You can find all of the download information for this chart by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
In his Gospel, John gives eyewitness testimony to the physical death of Jesus. “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe” (John 19:34-35).
John was at Calvary to report this event as an eyewitness, and so were the women who had been so involved with the public ministry of Jesus.
Matthew, however, was not there. He ran away when Jesus was arrested. So in his historical account, he shares the eyewitness testimony of those who were there—
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for His needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:54-56)
These details in both Matthew and John’s Gospels are what lends credibility to this whole event. I’m sure it was embarrassing to Matthew for him to admit, “I ran away and hid in fear.” I’m sure it pained him again and again when he heard John, the women, and the Roman centurion recounting their eyewitness testimony.
But this is what makes the reporting of this account real.
If Matthew and John were attempting to perpetuate a hoax on the world—if they were concocting a conspiracy to fool people about the resurrection of Jesus—they certainly would have told their stories the same way. Matthew could have inserted himself as personally there on Calvary. John and Mark could have listed the names of the other disciples as eyewitnesses. The disciples could have given falsified information to Luke for his Gospel. And all of them could have left out the part about the female testimony, since in their day women were deemed unreliable witnesses in the courtroom.
Details like these are just another factor in a long, long list of evidences that attest to the historicity of all that is recorded in the Bible.
Earlier in his Gospel, Matthew tells about the doubts of John the Baptizer (Matthew 11:2-6). John was imprisoned and sent his friends to ask Jesus, “Are You really the One?” Jesus sends John’s friends back with eyewitness testimony, and with these words: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me” (v. 6).
The testimonies of both eyewitnesses and those who were embarrassed that they couldn’t give eyewitness testimony should bolster your faith in all that the Bible says. If you don’t stumble away from these testimonies, you can know the blessing of your faith in Jesus.
Whether you call it grit or stick-to-it-iveness, those who don’t give up easily are the ones who will become leaders by their example. Check out the conversation we had on The Craig and Greg Show.
I was thrilled to be asked to write an article for Influence Magazine about the biting sheep that every pastor has experienced. I am praying that this article will help pastors recover and thrive in their shepherding ministry.
“Knowing our lowliness and Christ’s worthiness, we neither grovel nor saunter into the presence of God. And we do not go home flippant or weeping. In Christ, we will receive what we ask or what we should have asked.” —David Mathis
In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, the apostle Paul warns us not to quench the Holy Spirit. T.M. Moore asks, “How do we quench the Spirit?” and then gives Christians seven warning signs to avoid this quenching. Check out his post Joy In His Spirit.
I really enjoy these archeological biographies of biblical people and places. The Bible Archeology Report writes, “The Neo-Babylonian king, Amēl-Marduk (biblical Evil-Merodach) is only mentioned twice in Scripture (in 2 Kings 25:27–30 and the parallel passage, Jeremiah 52:31–34), both times in connection with the restoration of Jehoiachin, king of Judah.” In a separate post, John Stonestreet shares an archeological discovery in a Roman cemetery in Frankfurt of an amulet that shows that “the Gospel spread farther and faster than historians thought.”
Psalm 133 tells us that in order for us to sharpen others—and for us to be sharpened by them—we have to be around other them. Christian saints put a high priority on spending time with others.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
From Desiring God’s Here We Stand series comes this great snippet from the history of the Reformation: “[John] Calvin intended to go to Strasbourg for a life of peaceful literary production. But while Calvin was staying the night in Geneva, William Farel, the fiery leader of the Reformation in that city, found out he was there and sought him out. It was a meeting that changed the course of history, not just for Geneva, but for the world. Calvin remembers, ‘Farel, who burned with an extraordinary zeal to advance the gospel, immediately learned that my heart was set upon devoting myself to private studies . . . and finding that he gained nothing by entreaties, he proceeded to utter an imprecation that God would curse my retirement, and the tranquillity of the studies which I sought, if I should withdraw and refuse to give assistance, when the necessity was so urgent. By this imprecation I was so stricken with terror, that I desisted from the journey which I had undertaken.’”
Have you ever heard people claim that celebrity deaths seem to come in threes? It does seem that many times the major cataclysmic events happen in bunches. Dr. Roy Spencer has an interesting post (with corresponding data) in which he outlines the role of randomness in these events.
“In Hebrews 12:2 the writer uses a participle—‘fixing your eyes’—to describe what should be the characteristic orientation of our every waking moment. True and full faith wants to say with David, ‘I have set the Lord always before me’ (Psalm 16:8). … If we are living full faith, having the eye of our heart fixed on the world of unseen things, the reality of that world and all its beauty, goodness, and truth will begin to be evident in our daily lives, filling our lives with the overflowing Presence of Jesus Christ (John 7:37-39).” —T.M. Moore
“There are three kinds of people in the world; those who have sought God and found Him and now serve Him, those who are seeking Him, but have not yet found Him, and those who neither seek Him nor find Him. The first are reasonable and happy, the second reasonable and unhappy, and the third unreasonable and unhappy.” —Blaise Pascal
Evolutionists are now using language that sounds like words Creationists use: “Flowers like hibiscus use an invisible blueprint established very early in petal formation that dictates the size of their bullseyes—a crucial pre-pattern that can significantly impact their ability to attract pollinating bees.” Check out this article from the Institute for Creation Research.
Another very helpful apologetic video from J. Warner Wallace. This video explains how the origin of DNA is best explained not by scientific theories but by the existence of God.
Just as the smallest enzyme is invaluable to the human body, the gift God has given you is invaluable to the Body of Christ. Check out the full sermon called Let’s grow together.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
A couple of years ago I was in a car accident, but I never saw the car that hit me. Fortunately, the driver in the vehicle right behind me, a driver who was nearly hit by the car who hit me, and another driver waiting at the same intersection all shared their stories with the sheriff’s deputy. All of their stories had slightly different details, but putting all of their accounts together, they gave the deputy a complete story of what happened.
This is one of the features throughout the Bible that repeatedly convinces me that the events are both historically accurate and divinely inspired. I love reading the Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in the New Testament, the different perspectives the four Gospel writers give of the public ministry of Jesus, and the details in the epistles that correspond with the historical accounts found elsewhere (both inside and outside Scripture).
Luke was one of the Gospel writers who also wrote a sequel called the Book of Acts. In this historical record of the early church, he documents many confirming details. For example, consider the story of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Luke tells us the story in Acts 9, and then repeats the story as Paul is telling it to different audiences in chapters 22 and 26. Without the details that Luke records, skeptics could easily chalk up Saul’s experience to a hallucination or even madness, as Governor Festus claimed in Acts 26:24.
For instance, the bright light that got Saul’s attention was seen by both Saul and his companions that were traveling with him. These were Jews who shared Saul’s hatred of Christianity, so they would have no desire to bolster Saul’s story after he himself became a Christian. The brilliance of this light knocked all of the travelers to the ground (9:3–8; 22:6–7, 11; 26:13–14).
Everyone heard the voice of Jesus speaking to Saul, although Saul was the only one who could understand His words spoken to him in the Aramaic language (9:4–7; 22:7–9; 26:14).
All of Saul’s companions and a Jewish Christian named Ananias could attest to Saul’s physical blindness after being exposed to this bright light (9:8, 17–18; 22:11–13).
Ananias confirmed what Jesus had said to Saul, although he was in Damascus (and not on the road with him) when Jesus spoke to Saul. This was because Ananias had also been given a vision of what was happening with Saul, and what Jesus had said to him (9:10–17; 22:12–16).
All of these confirming details assure us that Saul was not hallucinating, nor did he concoct some fantastic tale to thrill his audiences. This was an actual historical event that is attested to by many sources.
This is the consistent evidence we find throughout all of Scripture. This means that we can trust both the divine inspiration and the historical reliability of everything we read in the Bible.
Craig T. Owens 