Q. How can we show that the writings of the apostle Paul are reliable and trustworthy, especially to someone who thinks that Paul is wrong in some of the things he says?
Our confidence in the writings that we have from the apostle Paul that are found in the Bible is based on the fact that they are part of the canon of Scripture. That is, they are among the books that Christians have recognized, through a process led by the Holy Spirit over several centuries, as inspired by God.
In other words, our confidence is not in Paul as a person, although he was certainly a very learned, intelligent, godly, and committed man. Our confidence is in God, who chose certain people at certain times to be the instruments of delivering his word in writing.
In many cases, as in the case of Paul, the biblical authors did not realize that they writing Scripture, and they were not intending to write it. They were addressing specific situations in the life of communities of believers in specific places and at specific times. But God gave their words a timeless, universal quality that has made them applicable to all believers who have come afterward.
I should stress that our confidence in the Bible as the word of God is a matter of faith, not a matter of proof. In that sense, we cannot “show” anyone that they should have confidence in Paul’s biblical writings because those writings are inspired Scripture. People need to read the Bible fairly and open-mindedly, and when they do, because the word of God is “living and active,” the Holy Spirit may bear witness to their spirit that this is indeed the word of God. I have heard many testimonies of people who have started reading the Bible and found its words to be life-giving and transforming and, as a result, they have become confident by faith that it is the word of God.
If you have a friend who is having a particular problem with some of the things that Paul says, perhaps you could encourage this friend to read some other parts of the Bible, for example, the gospels, which record the life and teachings of Jesus. This may help give your friend an appreciation for the Bible as a whole, and then, when your friend can see Paul’s writings within the context of the entire Bible, he or she may not have such a problem with them.
The Bible itself says that the “things of the Spirit of God” are “spiritually discerned.” So getting someone to recognize the Bible as the word of God is not a matter of argument or persuasion. I think instead we need to invite people to read the Bible, starting with the books they are best in a position to appreciate, and pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to their hearts through what they read.
There are admittedly many passages in the Bible that people have trouble with. (That’s why there are hundreds of posts on this blog!) But those are not necessarily central to the message of the Bible. The core of that message is God’s redemptive love for us, culminating in the life, ministry, atoning death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to point your friend towards those things. He or she may never come to terms with Paul completely. But your friend may come to appreciate the central and most profound message of the Bible and, as a result, find his or her own place in God’s ongoing story of redemption.
Good Question 