Bible Question:

I have a great respect for the Bible and what it teaches. But how do I convince my friends who demand a LOGICAL conclusion for assent to the Bible as the word of God? Their argument runs this way: you christians believe in the Bible as the word of God;but is your belief supported by any evidence or argument OUTSIDE your Bible that can be reasonably accepted as logical and definitive and, therefore, worthy of credibility?

Bible Answer:

First, your friends cannot understand and will not understand the good news about Jesus Christ because they are not spiritually born again. Since they are not Christians, they cannot understand spiritual truth without the help of the Holy Spirit. That is the message of the following verse,

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (NASB) 1 Cor. 2:14

Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sin and convince them that they need Jesus Christ, our God. Pray that they would understand what you are attempting to tell them. It is the Holy Spirit who can help them to understand. God asks us to present His Word to others. That is all that He asks of us. You can provide the information, but only He can help them understand. That is the message of the following passages,

But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (NASB) John 16:7-11

Share with them the statements that have been made by secular historians and the prophecies from ancient times about Jesus Christ. Avoid discussions about evolution and creationism and other such topics. Quote the Bible. God tells us that the Word of God is sharp and that it pierces into the depths of a person’s heart. The Word of God has power that we do not have.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (NASB) Heb. 4:12

And the Word of God changes lives.

For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. (NASB) 1 Thess 2:13

Conclusion:

You and I can try to convince a person of the truth, but we will fail unless the Holy Spirit has already prepared that person’s heart and mind. Human philosophy and logic will not do it. But the Holy Spirit can use prophecy, ancient testimony about Jesus, and statements from the Bible. Use some of the material from this website and share passages such as John 1:12 and John 3:16-18. We would also recommend the following books:

Gary R. Habermas. Ancient Evidence For The Life of Jesus. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Lee Strobel. The Case For Christ. Zondervan Publishing House.

Grant R. Jeffery. The Signature of God. Frontier Research Publications, Inc.

Suggested Links:

Voices From The Past
Prophecies About Jesus Christ
Nicodemus