The Case for Trusting the Gospels

John Stott has said, “Nothing hinders evangelism … more than the widespread loss of confidence in the truth, relevance, and power of the Gospel.” Even within the present framework of contemporary Christianity, there has been and continues to be an erosion of conviction as it relates to the exclusive claims of Jesus and, thus, the power of the Gospel. Unbelief is not strictly a matter of facts. There is a strong moral and spiritual component, by which a lack of courage may draw Christians into the vortex of contemporary opinion, and a spiritual blindness may prevent men and women from ever being ready to listen. Yet the facts are on the Bible-believing Christian’s side, and they should give us confidence. If we neglect them, we neglect a powerful resource that God has provided. In his first epistle, the apostle Peter writes that we are to be “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (3:15). One very basic line of argument that all Christians should be ready with is the evidence for the veracity of the Gospel accounts. The story about Jesus forms the backbone of Christian faith. It is also a frequent target of skeptics a...