Proof - by Greg Steggerda
For members of a religion of faith, we sure struggle to have faith. In general, we’re suspicious and want proof. And then we want to see the source data from which the evidence was calculated. Once we have the source data, we want to know the methods used to collect the data. Then, once we trust the methods and accept the data, we might also accept the evidence as proof. Or we might say “Fake news.”
That’s how we often want Christianity to work, too. We love it when there’s a new archaeological discovery that validates some episode of the Bible. “See,” we say, “there’s proof!” When we encounter hard doctrines like the Trinity or election, we need to understand it before we accept it. But that’s not how faith in Jesus works.
Oh, there’s proof, all the proof we need. Jesus explained it to his disciples in John 16:7-11: “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
The Holy Spirit gives believers proof of everything Jesus taught and scripture revealed; he helps us understand it and makes sense of the things we feel. He opens our eyes to see Jesus at work in the world, and opens our minds to recognize the lies of the Devil. Once we have the Holy Spirit, the things of God make sense, and the conclusions are inevitable.
Here’s the thing, though: the Holy Spirit doesn’t prove anything about God to unbelievers. That’s what we want; we want God to prove himself to all the heathens who challenge us. But that’s our job. By our lives and choices and words, we’re supposed to be proof to the world.
Some things will still take faith, but in the end that’s the most important thing the Holy Spirit proves. By his very presence he verifies the goodness and unswerving personal attention of God, so that we can trust in his goodness and accept by faith the things we don’t understand.
That’s how we often want Christianity to work, too. We love it when there’s a new archaeological discovery that validates some episode of the Bible. “See,” we say, “there’s proof!” When we encounter hard doctrines like the Trinity or election, we need to understand it before we accept it. But that’s not how faith in Jesus works.
Oh, there’s proof, all the proof we need. Jesus explained it to his disciples in John 16:7-11: “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
The Holy Spirit gives believers proof of everything Jesus taught and scripture revealed; he helps us understand it and makes sense of the things we feel. He opens our eyes to see Jesus at work in the world, and opens our minds to recognize the lies of the Devil. Once we have the Holy Spirit, the things of God make sense, and the conclusions are inevitable.
Here’s the thing, though: the Holy Spirit doesn’t prove anything about God to unbelievers. That’s what we want; we want God to prove himself to all the heathens who challenge us. But that’s our job. By our lives and choices and words, we’re supposed to be proof to the world.
Some things will still take faith, but in the end that’s the most important thing the Holy Spirit proves. By his very presence he verifies the goodness and unswerving personal attention of God, so that we can trust in his goodness and accept by faith the things we don’t understand.