Session 7: Why Should I Believe the Bible?

Welcome back, everyone. Today we're going to talk about a book you've probably heard about your entire life: the Bible. Maybe there's one sitting somewhere in your house. Maybe you've tried reading it, became confused, and stopped. Or maybe you simply think, “Why should something written thousands of years ago have anything to do with my life today?” That's a fair question. The first thing to understand is that the Bible isn't really one book. It's a collection of books containing history, poetry, wisdom, letters, prophecy, prayers, and accounts of Jesus' life, written across many centuries by different authors.

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Christianity doesn't teach that the Bible magically dropped out of the sky. These writings came through real people living in real places and periods of history. Christians believe God inspired those authors to communicate what He wanted us to know. And despite something you may have heard, modern Bibles aren't simply translations of translations that have been changed over and over. Scholars can study ancient manuscripts written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and compare them to understand what the original texts said.

But for Christianity, everything eventually leads to Jesus. The New Testament comes from the earliest generations of Christianity and tells us about Jesus' life, teachings, death, and Resurrection. Christianity didn't begin because somebody discovered an old book. It began because people became convinced that something extraordinary had happened: Jesus had been crucified and had risen from the dead. Those followers began spreading His message throughout the ancient world, often at tremendous personal cost.

The Bible also remains incredibly relevant because although technology has changed, human nature hasn't changed very much. The Bible deals with love, jealousy, anxiety, betrayal, temptation, family problems, money, suffering, forgiveness, hope, and death—the same things we still struggle with today. Scripture says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” — Psalm 119:105. A lamp doesn't necessarily show you the entire road ahead. Sometimes it simply gives you enough light to take the next step.

So here's your challenge today. Don't take my word for it. Open the Bible yourself. Start with the Gospel of Mark and read just one chapter. As you read, ask: “What does this tell me about Jesus, and is there anything here that could change how I live?” Then say a simple prayer: “God, if this really is Your Word, help me understand it.” You don't have to become a Bible expert. Just be curious enough to investigate it for yourself. Next time, we're going to focus on the person at the center of Christianity and ask the most important question yet: Who was Jesus—really?