“What I hope to accomplish … is to introduce thirteen different arguments that each point toward the reliability of the New Testament. I will be presenting these arguments as though it were the reader’s first time coming into contact with them. Hopefully, this will help the reader understand the different levels and angles at which the New Testament is trustworthy as well as give a new appreciation of the NT when reading it.”

As Christians, we are unapologetic about this fact: Everything hinges on the Bible. All we believe, all we proclaim, all we do, all we hope for—it all depends on Scripture. If the Bible is not true, our faith is not true. If the Bible is not reliable, our faith is not reliable. If the Bible is not trustworthy, we are most to be pitied.
Little wonder, then, that the trustworthiness of Scripture is an area of constant attack and one that has generated its own category of literature. To undermine the Bible is to undermine the faith and to undermine the faith is to discourage those who hold to it. However, if the Bible can be proven to be trustworthy, then Christians can have great confidence in their Book, in their Faith, in their Savior, and in their Hope.
The trustworthiness of Scripture has been an especially important area of study to Benjamin Shaw. Shaw is an adjunct professor of theology at Liberty University and an affiliate faculty member of Colorado Christian University. Perhaps more to the point of his area of interest, he has spent more than a decade working closely with Dr. Gary Habermas who has authored or co-authored many works of apologetics. In Trustworthy: Thirteen Arguments for the Reliability of the New Testament, Shaw proves himself to be deeply indebted to Habermas and his methods and does so in a concise and reader-friendly format.
This book, he says, “is for people who want to dig deeper into the New Testament and issues regarding its reliability, whether as a disciple or as a doubter.”
Read More
Related Posts:

The Savior has taken away the sin of our hypocrisy by his sincere obedience. Who but Jesus could keep the commands of God with such sinless sincerity? Then, having perfectly done what he taught in absolute sincerity, Jesus left us with the most potent example to follow.

Jesus constantly warned about hypocrisy throughout his earthly ministry. Whether it was the institutionalized hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16; 15:7; 16:3; 22:18; 23:13-15, 23-29), or the leavening effects that such hypocrisy had on professing believers (Luke 12:1), Jesus recurrently emphasized that we are ever in danger of falling into hypocrisy.
Since such hypocrisy was most prevalent among the religious leaders in Israel in Jesus’ day, pastors and others engaged in public ministry are far from immune to such hypocrisy in our own day.
Christian leaders need to have a deep determination to avoid falling into the trap of hypocrisy.
When the apostle Paul wrote his epistles, he often dealt with the issue of sincerity and hypocrisy in ministry. The same apostle who said, “what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do…For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Rom. 7:15-20) also said, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27; all Scripture quotations from NKJV).
Paul, at one and the same time, acknowledged the principle of indwelling sin in his own Christian experience and a deep determination to avoid falling into the trap of hypocrisy. There was a devout resolution in the heart of the apostle to put hypocrisy to death daily–even as he recognized the irreconcilable warfare between the flesh and the Spirit that raged in his heart.
There was not one insincere bone in the body of Jesus.
And, while it is true that all Christians must have the same resolution as the apostle Paul, there was only One who never knew anything of the reality of indwelling sin–the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only One who perfectly abstained from every form of sin and hypocrisy. There was not one insincere bone in the body of Jesus. Jesus never taught others something that he did not perfectly exemplify in his own experience. This is perhaps nowhere better seen than in his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. No one ever had a pure heart like Christ. Jesus never lusted after a woman, never lied, never had a hateful thought or affection. Jesus was perfectly pure in heart. Jesus loved his Father with all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Read More

Can you honestly say that you “yearn” for every member of your church family “with the affection of Christ Jesus” (v. 8)? Think of how different our churches would be if we spent the week thanking God for every member in our congregation, recognizing that they are partners with us in the gospel, and valuing them as such.   

For many of us the inability to gather with church family during parts of the pandemic increased our appreciation for our pastors, elders, deacons, and fellow church members. It has not been unusual to hear people testify of how they will not take church gatherings, especially corporate worship, for granted again. Yet, if we’re honest, it won’t be long before we need to be reminded to give thanks for and appreciate our church family.
When we think about giving thanks and praying for fellow believers, we need to first remember that our union with Christ is the foundation for our communion with one another. This is clear in Paul’s letter to the Philippians in which he begins with the greeting, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus…Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:1-2). Paul wrote to the Philippians while he was in prison in Rome. In his letter he thanks God for them, prays for them, and expresses the affection he has for them. We too need to thank God for our church family and pray for them often.
Praise to God
It’s instructive that Paul began his thanksgiving with the people of God, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (Phil. 1:3-4). It must have brought great joy to him to remember meeting Lydia for the first time and hearing her profession of faith and having the privilege of baptizing her alongside her family (Acts 16:11-15). He must have rejoiced when he remembered the jailer’s profession of faith and baptism (vv. 25-34), not to mention countless others who came to saving faith under his preaching ministry. But it was the Philippians’ “partnership in the gospel” (Phil. 1:4) that filled him with great joy.
Read More
Related Posts: