What Evidence Do You Need?

“Faith rests not upon the best of human reasoning, but upon the character of God.” — A.W. Tozer

What Evidence is There in a Secular World?

Moses would spend most of his first forty years of life in the Egyptian world, raised by the Egyptians

The first 4 or 5 years his Hebrew mom was raising him

Ultimately though the world had more time to influence him than her

He would have been well versed in their policies and beliefs

So he heard multiple views, so the question comes which one stands true?

Moses was exposed to two worldviews, we are exposed to many, so how do we know ours is the true religion?

Textual Evidence

New Testament their is over 20,000 early manuscripts, 6,000 of those being Greek

500 of those date before the year 500

The early church leadership quoted scripture so often that we could reconstruct the New Testament from their writings along

What is so beautiful about this process is throughout the ages the text has been preserved, Our Modern translations have only 1% difference from the earliest manuscripts we have, thats millions of pages in between

These differences are nothing that impacts theology, it is more of phrasing and punctuation.

Also you do have some of the later manuscripts that did add verses, which is where a lot of the KJV only debate fueled from.

Examples of Passages: The ending of Mark, The woman caught in adultery (John 7:53–8:11), The ending of the Lord’s Prayer (“for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”)

The Bible was written by around 40 different men (Priest, shepherds, fishermen, doctor, tax collector) over the course of 1500 years

And does not contain any contradictions and is a well connected narrative, with over 60,000 cross references

Compared to Islam

One author

a few hundred early manuscripts and thousands that date in the early years of Islam

A key difference though, Christians compare all, while in Islam they are allowed to use only a manuscript standardized by one of the early leaders

Roughly 200 contradictions have been identified

Islam theologians use the theological practice of abrogation to address these, which means the later verse replaced the earliest

Do I just believed because I was raised this way?

That is a fair question, what if I was born in the Middle East, or in China? Would I be this convinced of Islam, of atheism?

This is actually a good question to ask because mom and dad’s faith do not get you into heaven, the strength of their faith does not automatically mean your faith will be strong

As Moses was in a very much pagan world, the world we are in is steadily growing more and more secular/pagan, growing more anti-Christian

And this pushback is not necessarily bad, it guards against false conversions

It causes us to come to the Bible more critical and look at it deeply to make sure believe it is true because that is what we truly believe

What Evidence is There in a Religious World?

The Hebrews heard and were led by one of the most godliest men

They had seen great signs: Water turned to blood, plague of frogs, plague of lice, plague of flies, livestock struck, struck with boils, great hail, locust plague, darkness, firstborn struck. They had see the red sea parted

Was this all enough for them to believe? No, they mad a golden calf

They were raised and had all the right experiences, so why do they chase the things of the world?

Does miracles save?

Did the red sea parting offer any spiritual salvation? No

It allowed them another day to hear the words of God

We say all the time it would be easier to believe if I could just see miracles

Israelites did in Moses time and the ones Stephen were talking to

The miracles are not about saving people, but by opening doorways so the word can be heard, people are saved by the Word of God

Salvation is not about what can I get out of it physically in this world, but surrendering all I have to live for God

Does having all the right teachers save?

No, these people had Moses, the author of the first five books of the Bible, Judas sat under Jesus for three years, the Pharisees had opportunity after opportunity to question Jesus

Some of you this morning are going Bro Austin I done everything right but so and so still does not believe

You are responsible for your obedience, not their decision

I encourage you to reflect deeply and make sure you done nothing to be a stumbling block, if you did be bold enough to apologize and fess up

If not keeping praying and keep being a faithful witness

What Evidence Saves?

We have talked about a lot of things this morning, so if evidence of a literary masterpiece, how I was raised, seeing miracles, the right teachers do not save, what does?

Acts 7:23 ESV

“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

Acts 7:30–31 ESV

“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:

The drawing of God

brought Moses to the Lord

We can give all the lofty arguments in the world, do not get me wrong everything we talked about this morning gives us credibility with people, but does not save people

What saves is the Holy Spirit drawing people unto Himself

John 6:44 ESV

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

With this drawing salvation comes and our minds become enlightened to the wonders of this word

Ephesians 1:16–18 ESV

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

As the Spirit transforms our minds we realize how all the evidence we talked of this morning just points to the beauty of Scripture, that this evidence is just another praise of the goodness of God

Textual Proof

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Titus 1:2 ESV

in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

Contradictions

Luke 24:44 ESV

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Is it not beautiful how the Old covenant looks forward to the New Covenant

The fulfillment we see

Miracles

Matthew 12:39–40 ESV

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

stop letting the devil convince you all you need is a sign, all you need is right here

John 16:7–11 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The right teacher

Proverbs 22:6 ESV

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Is one Scripture that testifies to the beauty of Godly parents

1 John 2:27 ESV

But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Conclusion

1. Examine the Foundation of Your Faith (Head)

Ask yourself: Do I believe because I was raised this way, or because I’ve personally encountered the truth of God’s Word?

The evidence for Scripture is overwhelming, but it’s not enough to know truth — you must be transformed by it.

Like Moses, you may have grown up surrounded by the world’s systems — but the question remains: which voice will you trust?

2. Guard Your Heart in a Secular World (Heart)

The world’s ideologies will always compete for your loyalty, but only the gospel can transform your heart.

Don’t envy the signs, miracles, or philosophies of the world — you already have the sure Word of God (2 Peter 1:19).

When doubts arise, go back to the Scriptures that have stood unshaken for thousands of years.

3. Live Out the Evidence You Claim (Hands)

The strongest evidence for Christ in a secular world is a transformed life.

Let your life be the manuscript that unbelievers read.

The Spirit who drew Moses still draws people today — and He may be using your witness to do it.

Challenge: “Don’t just defend the Word — demonstrate it.”