"We also believe and therefore speak, KNOWING . . ."
2 Corinthians 4:13-14
* We can know some things:
1) . . . that I exist (Psalm 139:1-24)2)
2) . . . that external objects exist (Psalm 8:3-9)
3) . . . that other minds exist (Mark 2:6-8; Romans 14:3-7)
4) . . . that cause and effect occurs (Hebrews 3:4)
5) . . . that I can know some very crucial things (Luke 1:4; John 8:32)
* We can know that God exists (I need only use the evidence of myself)
1) I am contingent—so there must be some necessary (non-contingent) Being.
2) There is order and adjustment (the adaptation of means to an end—purpose) and, therefore, design in my body (and mind), so there must be the Designer.
3) There is “oughtness” within me, so there is law—and so there is the Lawgiver.
Thomas B. Warren wrote, “God has given evidence of Himself in the heavens (Psalm 19:1-5), in the world (Acts 14:17), in the body of each human being (Psalm 139:14, cf. affirmative arguments in the Warren-Flew Debate and The Warren-Matson Debate), in the mind, spirit, and conscience of each human being (Romans 2:14-16). The conscience is that within each human being which urges him/her to do that which he is convinced is the right thing to do. It is one’s sense of ‘oughtness.’ Since ‘oughtness’ can be neither taught nor learned, it must have been given to each individual by God (cf. detailed discussion in The Warren-Matson Debate).” (The God Question: A Response to an Historic Conference on the Existence of God 26-27).
* We can know that the Bible is God’s word.
The Bible possesses such properties as to demand the conclusion that it is a production not of man but of God. (See: The Utterance of God: An Extended Treatment of Thomas B. Warren’s Argument with the Proof that Assures Man the Bible is the Word of God. Warren Apologetics Center, 2021).
* We Can know God does not lie—so the Bible (God’s word) does not lie (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18; Romans 3:3-4; 2 Timothy 2:13).
* We can know that the presentation of Jesus Christ—His person, life, teachings, and work—within the pages of the Bible is beyond human invention (Mark 7;37; Luke 4:22; John 7:46; 8:46; 1 Peter 1:21; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
* We can know that only through Jesus Christ can we be saved (John 1:1-3, 14, 29; John 12:23-41; John 14:6; John 20:30-31; Romans 1:1-4, 15-32; Romans 6:1-17; Romans 8:1-39; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
In Jesus—the Lamb Who is a Lion, Thomas B. Warren wrote the following: “In spite of a deluge of false philosophies and false theologies which claim that no man can really know anything (especially in regard to religious matters), it still remains a fact that Jesus Christ said, ‘. . . ye shall know the truth . . .” (John 8:32). For each one of us, it comes down to this simple question, which will you accept: what Jesus said about the matter or the contradiction of what Jesus said?” (95).
The foregoing pertinent propositions I have set forth in this article imply that the apologetic (defense) that accurately represents the Bible is not based in an approach of invalid argumentation that, at best, can only result in probabilities. The true case for Christian faith is based in absolute truth that can be known from deductions that are the conclusions of intellectually sound argumentation (valid arguments with true premises).
In his defense (Acts 26:1-2) of his Christian faith, Paul the apostle of Christ stated, “I am not out of my mind . . . but I utter words [of truth and rationality] (Acts 26:25, NASV with its corresponding textual note bracketed). Literally, it means what is “intellectually sound” (The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 7, 1097).
As Paul, we believe, and therefore we speak, knowing these things. This is a true representation of a New Testament apologia (defense) of Christian faith. We can know and know that we know. As we speak, may it always “be with grace, seasoned with salt, also knowing how we ought to speak” (Colossians 4:6).