The Gospel Witness: Men often mock certainty in divine things, as though faith were nothing more than intellectual or sentimental self-persuasion. How can a person know that the Bible is truly the Word of God? Many suppose faith means believing something because one wants it to be true. But faith is no such thing. It is not self-persuasion, mental effort, or the shutting of the eyes against reason. Faith does not create certainty; it receives it from the testimony of God. It rests in what God has spoken. I John 5:9-10.
The certainty of Scripture is grounded not merely in external evidence, but in God’s own persuasion through the gospel of His Son revealed therein. I Thessalonians 1:5. And this certainty is not only outwardly proclaimed, but inwardly confirmed when the Lord opens the heart to behold Christ. II Corinthians 4:6. Men may construct systems of religion, compose works of philosophy, and invent endless fables, but they could never conceive a salvation such as this. When one is truly taught that message, it becomes plain that the Scriptures contain a wisdom no sinner could devise. Its doctrine is too holy for nature, too humbling for pride, too glorious for the imagination of man. The Christ of Scripture is the seal of Scripture, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10.
And this brings us to a deeper question: How does a person know anything God reveals? It is known in the same way all divine truth is known, by faith in what God has said, by resting in His testimony above sight, sense, and present experience. For example, we do not see with the natural eye that Christ has put away sin. We do not visibly behold ourselves crucified with Him unto sin and raised with Him unto newness of life. Quite often our feelings seem to testify the contrary, for what we most readily feel is weakness, corruption, and failure. Many days we are more conscious of sin than of victory over it. If sight were our guide, we would conclude ourselves undone and have no peace at all. But faith hears another witness. Faith hears God declare that Christ has put away sin, that His people died in Him, and that life is in the risen Son. God says Christ bore sin. God says there is now no condemnation in Him. Faith bows to that testimony.
Knowing what I know now, if sight ruled me, I am not sure I could even live. That may sound dramatic, but there is truth in it. Sight offers little comfort when all it beholds is corruption, weakness, and repeated failure. Faith is therefore constrained to look beyond self, beyond present feeling, beyond what appears obvious. Faith looks where God points. II Corinthians 5:7.
The moment this is seen, the claim that such faith is irrational stands exposed. There is nothing unreasonable about believing God. Men trust the words of other men every day, though those men are often mistaken. They trust maps to guide them, medicine to help them, news reports to inform them, &c.; yet when a person rests in what God has spoken, it is often dismissed as mere opinion or just another interpretation. The greater folly is that men readily trust themselves, yet call it unreasonable to trust the God of truth. Proverbs 28:26.
Nor is certainty in divine things the same as arrogance. There is no humility in doubting what God has made known. Romans 4:20. It is not pride to be certain when that certainty rests in God rather than self. Pride says, “I know because I have been given greater light.” Faith says, “I know because God has spoken.” Nor is it presumptuous to rest in the testimony God gives concerning His Son. Matthew 17:5. Many mistake doubt for humility, but there is nothing humble about questioning what God has plainly said.
For many years I moved among gospel circles where any clear confession of belonging to Christ was often treated with suspicion. To speak plainly as one who trusted the LORD, or to identify oneself openly as a believer was sometimes viewed as too bold, too presumptuous, or too much to claim. In such an atmosphere, a false humility can quietly settle over the mind. Even the simple word brother was at times used cautiously, as though acknowledging grace in oneself or another might be an intrusion into secrets that belong only to God.
The matter ends where it began – with Christ. The very message men stumble over is itself evidence that this Book is from God. No sinner’s heart would frame such a salvation, and no proud mind would choose it. Yet there it stands in Scripture: righteousness by Another, mercy through justice, glory to the Lamb alone. Men may resist it, but they cannot explain it away. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” I John 5:11. MPJ