Bible Study Course: Lesson 1 - Why the Bible is the Word of God

Relying on God in an Uncertain World!

It is abundantly evident that we live in an uncertain world. Three thousand years ago Solomon confirmed that "man is greatly troubled by ignorance of the future; who can tell him what it will bring?" (Ecclesiastes 8:6-7, Revised English Bible). He said "the living know that they will die" and "time and chance happen to them all" (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 11).

This ancient king's words are as true today as when he wrote them. As mortal human beings, our one certainty is death.
The apostle James also reminds us that we "do not know what will happen tomorrow" (James 4:14). Though the context clearly shows that he refers to man's mundane, day-to-day activities, his sobering declaration underlines the natural state of our material world.

How is God willing to relate to us in this uncertain world of suffering and death?

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place for all generations . . . Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" (Psalm 90:1-2).

God is always there! As Peter wrote, "do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). God "inhabits eternity"—and is not bound by physical laws of time and space (compare Isaiah 57:15; Psalm 90:4).

Yet is God fully aware of our life expectancy, our temporary existence in this world?

"We finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow" (Psalm 90:9-10).

Though the Bible freely acknowledges the insecurity and uncertainty of man's earthly existence, how do the Scriptures contrast the character of God?

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

God is the most stable Being in this whole universe! His overall plan and purpose remain constant and unchanging. God is our refuge, our one place of security, our hope in the face of the uncertainties that plague us (compare Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He is our Rock! (Psalm 18:2).

On whom, then, should we rely?

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary . . . He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:28-29).

What does God promise to do when we are troubled by doubt and uncertainty?

"For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you'" (Isaiah 41:13).

Even death cannot defeat those who trust in God. It was Jesus who said that "whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:26). He obviously meant eternal death, because we will all face the end of this life (Hebrews 9:27).

Yet Christ promised there would be a resurrection to eternal life for those who truly trust in God and His Word. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

Those who are truly converted—through repentance and the receiving of the Holy Spirit—and remain faithful to the end have the sure promise of a resurrection to eternal life in God's kingdom. Our free booklet What Happens After Death? explains in much greater detail.