Introducing a New Book on the Trustworthiness of God’s Words

For two decades now I have taught theology and exposition on the seminary level, and one of the recurring emphases I have noticed in the Bible is how passionate God is about being trusted on the basis of his words alone. He is determined to be known as the God who keeps his words—all of them.

As Christians, of course, we believe God’s Word. Oddly, however, we somehow still have trouble trusting him, don’t we? And the only means or measure we have for trusting God is whether we trust his words—that he really will be and do for us exactly what he says.

That’s why I wrote The Trustworthiness of God’s Words: Why the Reliability of Every Word from God Matters, which releases from Christian Focus Publications on January 14, 2022. (See Christian Focus or Amazon for more information.) For a sneak peek, read Chapter 2 on “Trusting God’s Words” here.

As I explain in the book’s opening sentences,

This is not a book about the inspiration of the Bible. It is not an apologetic defense of the books of the canon. It is not a book about how we can know the Bible is the Word of God. Those are all important topics that have been ably addressed elsewhere. The focus of this book, though related and complementary to all those themes, is different.

This is a book about God’s jealousy for his integrity, his passion to be believed on the basis of his words alone. It is about the trustworthiness of God’s words in the Bible. Throughout Scripture God expresses his determination to be known as the God who keeps his words. He has resolved that every person and nation will see and confess that all his words are reliable down to every last syllable, jot, and tittle. Learning to trust a God who is sovereign and in control, especially in the ache and throb of life, means hanging on to the conviction that every word he speaks is utterly dependable.

The book targets—like the Bible itself—all the people of God at large: singles, newlyweds, housewives, fathers, widowers, pastors, students. Because we all struggle from time to time with translating our creedal beliefs into the kind of practical trust that brings serenity and security amid the turmoil of everyday life.

Part 1 begins with essential foundations:

• The relationship between believing and trusting (Chapter 2).
• Biblical expressions of God’s jealousy for his integrity (Chapter 3).
• The value God places on his words (Chapter 4).
• The linkage between God’s trustworthiness and his other attributes (Chapter 5).
• And finally, what Jesus has to say about the trustworthiness of God’s words (Chapter 6).

Part 2 moves into more specific practical applications:

• Trusting God’s testimony of past history (Chapter 7).
• Trusting his statements about his own character (Chapter 8).
• Trusting even his most astonishing promises (Chapter 9).
• And exploring what trusting God’s words looks like in the life experiences of God’s people in the past (Chapters 10 and 11).

Part 3 finally guides the reader on a sweeping worldview journey through the Bible’s overarching narrative of reality (Chapters 12-14). The book’s chapters include suggestive “Review & Reflect” questions as a personal or group study guide.

One final explanatory admission:

I will confess that in the writing of this book I was often torn by opposing impressions. At times it seemed that what I was writing was, on one level, so simple and so obvious it hardly needed to be written. But that sense was always quickly countered by the sudden awareness that God jealously defends His integrity in so many ways and places, that the integrity of His words is obviously deeply important to God, and that this theme therefore has the profoundest implications for the glory of God.

God has tucked into every dell and dingle of the Bible this emphasis on the trustworthiness of his words. He is passionate about displaying and sharing his glory with his people. . . . Part of God’s passion for his glory is his passion for his integrity—that he means what he says, that he has said exactly what he meant to say, and that he will unfailingly do all that he has said. We glorify God and vindicate his integrity when we trust his words entirely—all of them.

I invite you to join me on an inspiring and empowering journey through Scripture to discover why trusting every word from God matters so much to him, and to us.

To read a sample of the book, download Chapter 2 here.