The faith that God wants us to have is an “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). He does not expect us to take a “leap of faith” — choosing to believe something, even though there is no evidence upon which to base our belief. Instead, He has provided a reasonable basis for our faith.
The most notable example of this is in the coming of Christ. His arrival into this world, His death on the cross, His resurrection and ascension, as well as His reign as King over His kingdom was all prophesied to occur. But can we really believe that it actually happened? Skeptics and critics say that we cannot accept what the Bible says. But Peter gave us two reasons why we can and should accept it.
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Peter affirmed the inspiration of the Scriptures. The prophecies that were made in times past – particularly those that relate to Christ – came from God. They were not guesses or wishes made by men. They were the words from the Holy Spirit given to men.
The test of a prophet was whether or not his prophecies came true (Deuteronomy 18:18-22). These certainly did come true. As Peter said a few verses earlier, we even have eyewitness accounts to verify their fulfillment.
“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18).
History is based on eyewitness testimony. We know and believe the accounts we hear about men like George Washington because there were men who witnessed the events of his life and made a record of the things they observed. The apostles did that with the events in Jesus’ life as He fulfilled all of these Old Testament prophecies. But the apostles had an advantage over secular historians — they were divinely guided by the Holy Spirit who was able to bring them into remembrance of all the things they saw and heard (John 14:26).
Peter said, “we have the prophetic word made more sure” (2 Peter 1:19). If we believe secular historians, we have even more reason to believe what the Bible says about Jesus. The divinely-inspired prophecies about Him were fulfilled. Their fulfillment was witnessed, recorded, and proclaimed by other inspired men.
God has provided evidence that should result in our belief. We must learn from what He has revealed and follow His word in all things.
