Do I believe the Bible to be God’s inspired Word? Certainly! But remember: the Christian faith is not only known but also shown. We’re called not only to know what we believe but also to be able to show reasons why our beliefs are true… When it comes to the people to whom we’re sharing the gospel, if the only reason we can offer them is our own personal experience with the divine, there’s little difference between our claims and the claims of someone who’s launched a cult.

In my years as a pastor and professor, I’ve spoken with thousands of people—most of them firm believers in the biblical perspective on Jesus—about Christian apologetics and the historical foundations of their faith. In the process, I’ve heard multitudes of well-meaning Christians provide two particular reasons for their faith.

The first reason runs something like this: “I just know Jesus is alive because I’ve felt his presence—that’s the only proof I need!” The other one is usually stated in these terms: “The Bible is God’s Word; so, if the Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it.”

If the Christian faith happened to be a faith that we keep to ourselves, these foundations for faith might be acceptable. In fact, as Alvin Plantinga has argued, an individual’s faith is warranted based on experience as long as his or her cognitive faculties are working properly, the beliefs have been formed in an environment that’s appropriate for our cognitive faculties to work, and the beliefs have been formed as part of a design plan that was aimed at seeking and finding truth.

But Christian faith isn’t merely a belief system that’s known and then kept to ourselves. Christian faith, by its very nature, is a way of believing and living that’s intended to be shown to others. What’s more, the point of this showing is so that others end up knowing what we know already. Your experience of the living Jesus and the internal claims of Scripture may be true and meaningful–but, when it comes to showing your faith, neither one is particularly helpful….

(1) The Bible says it?

Sure, the apostle Paul referred to the Hebrew Scriptures as “God-breathed,” and a letter ascribed to Simon Peter placed New Testament writings in the same inspired category as the Old Testament (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 3:16-17)….

(2) I’ve experienced it? 

But what about the inward, personal awareness that Jesus is present and alive?^[iii] Doesn’t that prove the truth of the gospel?….

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