Why do I choose to believe the Bible?

We are losing our kids in a world of free thinkers and atheists. But why? We can blame academia or the weakness of the contemporary church. We can blame public schools for not having prayer or the government from keeping God out of pretty much every facet of every institution in modern times. Or, we can blame ourselves, as Fathers, as parents for not training our kids. We can take that responsibility upon ourselves as failing in our first ministry.

LifeWay Research reported in 2019 that about 2/3's of young adults stop attending church when they get into college. Realizing that some truly leave of their own accord and are prodigals, why is the number so staggeringly high? It would seem that we, as believers, have not built a firm foundation for our kids to stand on in the face of the world, tough questions, friends, enemies and the diversity that the world presents.

I am encouraged by the presentation done by Dr. Voddie Baucham as he presents his answer for, "Why."

 “I chose to believe the Bible because it’s a reliable collection historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies, and claimed that their writings were divine rather than human in origin.” -- Voddie Baucham

2 Peter 1:16-21 (ESV) - For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (17) For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," (18) we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (19) And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, (20) knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. (21) For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

He is clear that his well put-together statement is not something that he came up with on his own. It is taken directly from the text in 2 Peter 1. He also explains that his intent is not to defend the Bible itself, but answer the question about his belief in the Bible. This is an important distinction, as they are truly two separate arguments.

In this time when many of us are quarantined at home with our kids from elementary school up through college, we have a captive audience to build the solid foundation of truth. My prayer is that you would use this time to establish a plan to educate your children about the Bible and the truth that it delivers to the world. I pray that not only would your children learn to defend their faith, but deepen their love of Jesus Christ. And while they are learning you are becoming more intimate with your Savior as well.

I highly recommend Voddie's video where he explains, "Why do I believe the Bible?" He not only has a great gift of delivery, but he also shares many truths about the reliability of the text and the reasons we, as believers, can stand upon it.