Ephesians 1:13,14 (NKJV) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
One of the greatest decisions I have ever made in my life, was when I decided to accept the absolute, unassailable truth of scripture.
Some of you may read this and think, ‘oh, that? That was easy.’ Others of you may think, ‘really? Yeah, I’m not there yet and I’m not sure I can get there.’ I didn’t find it particularly difficult, but it wasn’t particularly easy either.
I am a man gifted very strongly in faith and I humbly and sincerely praise God for that. You see, He also made a very black, white, left, right, proof is in the pudding kind of guy. Let’s face it. To a very logical, prove it to me kind of mind, the biblical accounts can be, at times, hard to reconcile.
I, like most of you I presume, was educated in the public school system. I enjoyed my time there, learned a great deal and for the most part was prepared to make my way in this world. However, there are a great many things taught to and ingrained in us that do not align with what God tells us in the bible. That is where the difficulty lies, especially for a person with my bent for deductive, logical thought.
Thankfully God, in His infinite wisdom, saw to counter my bent with an extraordinary gift of faith. Honestly, had He not saw fit to do that, I would not be drafting this commentary today.
Let’s face it, there is a great deal of information found in the bible that secular science and history contradict. Being educated in the public secular school system of the late twentieth century, there is a great deal that I, upon the above profession, had to be willing to cast aside, unlearn if you will.
Prior to being able to choose to believe the entirety of scripture, I did a great deal of research. I wanted to know how so much of what I “knew” could not be truth. Believe me, for a “doubting Thomas” there are endless resources available. What I found through my study and research were mountains of evidence supporting scriptural claims. I found atheists converted during their attempts to refute scripture, historical documentation (scriptural and secular) that monumentally exceeds support for any other “historical truth”, manuscript corroboration and on and on and on. In the 2000 plus years since Christ, hundreds if not thousands of people have sought to cast definitive doubt on the bible. As of December 15th, 2016, not one solitary person has succeeded.
I Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
You know what… even faced with this preponderance of evidence, it still wasn’t enough. After all, just like the secular scientists and historians who accept and teach a contradiction to scripture, the “evidence” presented by this vast array of biblical scholars fail the same test. None of them were there. They were not present. They cannot duplicate, same as evolutionists and big bangers, through repeatable experimental recreation.
The evidence for the accuracy of scripture by far and away overwhelms the alternative explanations. However, the evidence is not enough. There are too many places where doubt can be cast through the scientific and investigative models. It was not until the Holy Spirit interceded, and by this fervent gift of faith that I was able to recognize this absolute truth. By faith I choose the absolute truth, authority and authenticity of scripture.
To anyone who is reading this, questioning, “but how did? How’s that possible? Where did that? How do I know?” The answers are not in a text book. There won’t be that one artifact or document that will convince you. The truth will reveal itself to you when you proclaim Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of your life, profess Him the Son of God, sacrificed on the cross for payment of your sin, risen from the dead three days later by our God in Heaven and receive the gift of the Holy spirit. That’s it. Only by faith you will know. Have a blessed weekend.
John 16:13 (NKJV) However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
In full pursuit of the greatest Trophy,
Scott Pace
