In trusting the Bible as God’s written revelation of Himself to us (Jn 5:39), we should not do so blindly; we should examine the evidence and be ready to give an answer to those who ask why we believe as we do. (1Pe 3:15)
We could start with the historical fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the validity of the New Testament as a reliable account of His teachings. The Gospels contain Christ’s view of the inspiration of Scripture, and His resurrection implies He’s a trustworthy authority.
Jesus refers to the Tanach as “the Word of God” (Jn 10:35), and indicates it’s a faithful, reliable guide for us in our pursuit of God. (Lk 16:29) It’s so perfectly suited to guide us there’s no better witness even possible (31); God has given us everything we need. (Ps 19:7-11)
Jesus also reveals that the Holy Spirit will preserve His words through the apostles (Jn 14:26) for all the world to treasure (Mt 45:35, Mk 13:31, Lk 21:33), implying a body of New Testament scripture. (2Pe 3:15-16)
That these NT scriptures are inspired like the Tanakh may be derived from the fact that both bodies of scripture form the basis and standard of God’s judgment of Mankind. (Jn 5:45, Jn 12:48, Mt 7:24-27) He says continuing to meditate on and obey His words is part of being His disciple and finding freedom (Jn 8:31-32), implying His words are faithfully recorded and preserved for us; we’ll all be held accountable for how we receive and respond to what Jesus Christ says. (De 18:19, He 2:1-3)
So, Jesus Christ affirms the scripture as a text which has been divinely revealed by God, written in such a way that we may safely rely upon it as a guide to having a proper standing and relationship with God, being fully equipped and furnished through His word to do all He has called us to do. (2Ti 3:16-17)
This evidence for the inspiration of scripture is sufficient to expose and implicate all who refuse to submit to it as inexcusably guilty before God. (Ro 3:19)
Once we understand the divine origin of Scripture, it’s essential that we use it as God intended, not merely as a religious book, or even a theological manual; scripture is a survival guide, a map, a training manual for combat readiness, our weapon in spiritual warfare. (Ep 5:17)
It is also essential to perceive that scripture is not merely a book, it is alive (He 4:12), it is a Person. (Ga 3:8) Our attitude towards our Bible reflects and reveals our relationship with God. (Jn 14:23)
On the blog, the only thing that I might want to add (although not essential) is the written evidence we have from non-Christian sources outside of the Bible, such as Flavius, Josephus, who directly confirms the resurrection, and Tacitus, who indirectly confirms it by writing that Jesus’s death did not stop Christianity from spreading, which would not have happened without the resurrection as you discuss in the blog.
Thank you, brother! I agree these extra biblical witnesses of the resurrection are helpful. They are historically reliable witnesses of the origin and source of our faith.