Why You Can Trust the Bible
Many in the church grew up singing “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” and “The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me, I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.” BUT just because you can sing some songs and nod in agreement about the objective truthfulness of God’s Word doesn’t make it true any more than reading over and over again the declaration on our coins “in God we trust” means this is true of everyone in America.
How can we know for sure the Bible is reliably true and right?
It’s crystal clear that religions are NOT on the same page about their essential beliefs regarding God, creation, humanity, our common problem, and salvation.
NOT everyone can be right as we hear competing truth claims being made in our world and in religion.
It all comes down to one’s source of truth and authority.
The predominate sources of authority that people bank their life upon are the following:
Experience (“this is my personal experience”…it feels right, they have some mystical experience)
Tradition (“this is what or the way we’ve always believed or done it”)
Culture (“everyone else believes this and/or is doing it”…it’s the current consensus
Reason (“it seems rational and logical…by observation or deduction”)
Special Revelation (“God says”)
How do we authenticate or validate any of these sources of authority?
Everything we as Christians believe about who we are, why we are here, where we are going and Who is in control of everything is defined by the Bible. In it, we learn there is a God who is sovereignly overseeing everything and fulfilling His plan and we discover how everything began and will end. We learn what is right and wrong and how we are supposed to live our lives.
On Thursday, the day before Jesus would be crucified on the cross, He said something in a famous prayer we call His High Priestly prayer that is very telling. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (Jn. 17:17) Paul agreed: “And for this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God…” (I Thess. 2:13, Col. 1:5, Eph. 1:13, 2 Tim. 2:15) David summed it up this way: “The sum of Your word is truth…” (Ps. 119:160) Either God’s holy Word is true (as Jesus said) or its not!
I would like to submit that God’s Word is totally trustworthy for two overarching reasons:
1.It’s trustworthy because of its internal character
When we look inside the Bible and examine its contents, it becomes quickly evident that the Bible is no ordinary piece of literature, but one that is extraordinary, unique and miraculous.
We find amazing claims
If the Bible is true, you would expect it to unashamedly make bold and unique claims to this belief and that is exactly what you find.
It reveals answers to all the most important questions in life: Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? What is the purpose of life? Where am I going? How do I live? What’s right and wrong?
It tells us how life began and how it will all end
It tells us WHO is behind the existence of everything and what the plan of life is all about and while speaking to every fundamental issue that we experience: marriage, family, friendship, neighbors, enemies, government, finances, law, emotions, mental health, physical sickness and health, sexual and our heart motivations.
And then, the truth claims it makes about what the Bible itself reveals are off the charts compared to any other book in or outside of religion (let me share 7 of them)
1. The Bible claims to be an inspired book.
It endlessly records things like “the word of the Lord said” or “Thus says the Lord” or “God said”, 3808x.)
2 Tim. 3:16 - “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for…”
2 Peter 1:20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophesy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God”
The word “inspired” simply means that God breathed out His message (gr. Theopneustos, an expirated from God). The Bible is a God-breathed message…the authors are not inspired nor are the preachers/teachers nor the paper with the words, but the God-given truth itself is inspired.
God transmitted His truth through the intellect, personality and style of the personality He chose to use (like the burning sarcasm of Isaiah or the crisp logic of Paul or a farmer like Amos) and He got that divine message through an imperfect messenger (just like He got His Son Jesus through the womb of a sinner like Mary)
The word for “Scripture” (gr. – graphe) simply means writings, so by this, we understand what is inspired…It’s not the thoughts OR ideas that are inspired because you can’t have thoughts or ideas without words, right???
It’s “all” inspired which means the books (Luke 11:51-Abel to Zechariah/OT, 2 Tim. 3:16- NT), the words (Matt. 4:4 – 774,746 words), and even the letters (yodh - Matt. 5:18), and the strokes (serif - Matt. 5:18) are inspired. Jesus said something very interesting and astounding in His great sermon (Matt. 5:18) - “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished”
~ The “jot” is the smallest letter in the Heb. alphabet (yodh)
~ The “tittle” is a tiny Hebrew mark that allows you to distinguish between two Hebrew letters
~ Example of “jot and tittle” inspiration: How did the writer of Hebrews know that Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19)? The key is found in Genesis 22:5 where Abraham said, "WE will come again to you" (or to paraphrase: "even though I am going to sacrifice Isaac, we both will return alive"). The difference between "we will come" and "I will come" (which would have suggested that Abraham would return alone) in Hebrew is one letter
The Bible claims to be an inerrant book (no errors in the original autographs), so then it has to be irrefutable & indisputable
Ps. 19:7 – “the law of the Lord is perfect…” (complete, whole, in accord with the facts, flawless)
The perfect God breathes-out a perfect book…a “flawless” book (Psalm 18:30, Prov. 30:5-6) – infallible (it does not fail)
Jesus called it “truth” (Jn. 17:17, Ps. 119:160), so it can’t be wrong or false!
Ps. 12:6 - "The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times" 3. The Bible claims to be an insistent book (it’s authoritative)
Isa. 1:2 – “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks…”
Jesus called the Bible “the commandment of God” 2x in Mark 7:8-9
The Bible is full of commands that claim to result in eternal reward for the obedient or eternal punishment for the disobedient. 4. The Bible claims to be an insightful book
Heb. 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (it can figure you out better than you) 5. The Bible claims to be an indestructible book.
Matt. 24:35 – "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away"
I Peter 1:23 – "For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Peter 1:23
I Pet. 1:25 - "But the word of the Lord endures forever" 6. The Bible claims to be an immutable book (doesn’t change, never needs an update)
Psalm 119:89 – "Forever, 0 LORD, thy word is settled in heaven"
Matt. 5:18 – "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter(yod) or stroke (serif) shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished"
John 10:35 – “…and the Scripture cannot be broken…" 7. The Bible claims it is an indispensable book (Matthew 4:4)
Jesus: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4 quoting Deut. 8:3) B. We find amazing cohesion (the unity of the book is remarkable)
What other book in the history of literature has the diversity of 66 books written by 40 different men from every background of life (politician, herdsman, cupbearer, prime minister, doctor, fishermen, shepherd, soldier, king, tax collector, rabbi, scribe) in different circumstances (in the desert-Moses, in prison-Jeremiah/Paul, in a palace-Daniel, on a hillside-Daniel, while travelling-Luke, banished on an island-John) in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek) over a period of 1500-1660 years on 3 different continents (Asia, Africa, ) and yet ONE unfolding story of redemption through Jesus Christ?
What about the contradictions or errors that the critics have told us about over the years? o The vast majority of alleged contradictions result from three factors: 1) hasty or casual examination of the text; 2) the faulty assumptions and methods of the critics; and 3) the authors' selective use of data. o Whole books have been written to address the alleged contradictions (W. Arndt, Does the Bible Contradict Itself: A Discussion of Alleged Contradictions in the Bible-1955; John W. Haley, Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible (1982; Gleason Archer, The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties 1982, Norman Geisler, When Critics Ask, 1992) o Scripture has been proven a truthful statement once sufficient archaeological or other information has been discovered. This gives one full confidence that problems currently unresolvable for lack of data will eventually have a similar outcome. C. We find an amazing centerpiece (Jesus Christ)
It’s all about Him, for Him, by Him, to Him, in Him.
Jesus said it was all about Him (Luke 24:44, Jn. 5:39 – “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me”)
He was predicted to come, He was virgin-born, live a sinless life, performed a miraculous 3-yr ministry, died willingly and purposefully, bodily rose again, ascended after 40 days and said He would return again.
2. It’s trustworthy because of its external corroboration
Corroboration is essential in validating reality and even though we are given its validation in our hearts when He miraculously removes our blindness (I Cor. 2:12-14), God graciously corroborates His truth with plenty of external supporting evidence.
I want to use the acronym S.T.A.M.P. that is easy to remember and it can remind us of a STAMP God uses to confirm that what He already said IS true and trustworthy S is for scientific substantiation
Even though the Bible is not a science book, when it speaks of anything that falls within a scientific arena, it is always correct because God is the Creator of everything and wouldn’t contradict Himself.
Quote by A.E. Wilder-Smith (p. 335 in Ready with an Answer)
Example #1: Decaying universe: Psalm 102:25-26 (Isa. 51:6, Matt. 24:35) – “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 “Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed” (Quote by Eastman & Missler, pg 336)
Example #2: Possibility of numbering the stars: Jer. 33:22 – “As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.” (Now we know there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy and probably several hundred billion galaxies in the universe that would take trillions and trillions of years to number)
Example #3: The Sun follows a circular path thru the universe: Psalm 19:6 – “Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat” (Today, we know that the sun does move in a “circuit” at speeds close to 600,000 MPH within one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy and this galaxy is hurling thru space at about 2 million MPH)
OTHERS: The universe had a cause (Gen. 1:1 – Kalam Cosmological Arg), The earth is spherical (Isa 40:22-700BC), hangs on nothing (Job 26:7), Matter is made out of particles that aren’t visible in natural light (Heb. 11:3), predictable paths of oceanic currents (unknown until mid-1800’s - Psalm 8:8), the earth’s hydrological cycle (Job 36:27-28, a mystery in the middle ages), global wind currents (jet stream) and the earth’s water cycle (Ecc. 1:6-7), circumcision on the 8th day (Gen. 17:12 – 1900’s discovered that only after 8 days does vitamin K in the infant’s diet permit prothrombin, a blood-clotting factor to reach its peak), T is for transformational effect
This is a most powerful piece of corroborating evidence because how do you explain the millions and millions of dramatically changed lives that demonstrate what the bible said a changed life would be like in Christ?
How do we explain the transformation of an erudite Pharisee named Saul who was radically changed from a self-righteous and pompous persecutor of the church into one of the greatest preachers and church planters in history?
The Bible expects a radical transformation when a person encounters and experiences the life-giving grace of God and His residing power (Rom. 1:16)
How do we explain the transformation of 11 weak-willed, discouraged and depressed disciples who after they encountered the risen Christ as explained in the bible that they were willing to die a martyrs death for him?
There’s only one way to explain it and it is that what the Bible says is true and real and life-transforming. A is for archaeological confirmation
The systematic discovery, recording and study of the surviving material remains left in the ground provide an incredible validation of the history, places, people and events recorded in the Bible.
In fact, Dr. Clifford Wilsom (author of the 17-volume survey of Archaeology reviewing 5,000 facts relating to arch) said this, “It is remarkable that where confirmation is possible and has come to light, the Bible stands investigation in ways that are unique in all literature. Its superiority to attack, its capacity to withstand criticism, its amazing facility to be proved right after all, are all staggering by any standards of scholarship. Seemingly assured results ‘disproving’ the Bible have a habit of backfiring. Over and over again the Bible has been vindicated. That is true from Genesis to Revelation….”
Maybe when Jesus said, “…if these become silent, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40-Palm Sunday), He foreshadowed the reality of what future digs would reveal about the truth of the proclamations of His disciples (“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”)
Nelson Glueck (one of the greatest archaeologists of the 20th century, president of Hebrew Union College from 1947-1971) said this, "…it may be clearly stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference." (Geisler and Brooks, When Skeptics Ask, p. 179) M is for manuscript evidence
Probably one of the greatest testimonies to the trustworthiness of the Bible is its manuscript evidence which scholars say gives us a Bible that is 99.9% accurate (amazing, Wescott and Hort) o The issue is how many manuscripts do you have and what is the time interval between the original and the earliest copy?
The biblical text is far more accurately preserved than any other text of ancient history…period. We don’t have the originals, but we have the copies that are far more numerous with far greater accuracy and far earlier dating than for any secular classic from antiquity.
The NT has a fragment within a generation of its original composition, whole books within about 100 years from the time of the originals, most of the NT in less than 200 years, and the entire NT within 250 years from the date of its completion. That’s between 50-300 years after the originals (unprecedented)
Collectively there are thousands of New Testament manuscripts and portions (5300 extant Greek manuscripts and portions, 10,000 Latin Vulgate, and 9300 other versions) = 24,000+ (closest is Homer’s Illiad with 643 copies, but its earliest copy is 1500 years from the original)
Add to this number the 1 million quotes tabulated of early church fathers who lived from the early 1st century to the middle ages from which we can almost piece together the entire Bible.
Compare all this to the other well-known ancient literature. For example, of 16 well-known classical authors (Plutarch, Tacitus, Suetonius, Polybius, Thucydides, Xenophon, and others), the total number of extant copies is typically less than ten, and the earliest copies date from 750 to 1600 years after the original manuscript was first penned.
What about all the differences in the manuscripts? The scholars call them variants and there is a whole field of textual criticism that attempts to determine the original wording of any documents whose original document no longer exists. o We have 400,000 variants that are categorized into 4 kinds (❶ spelling/nonsense readings, ❷ changes that can’t be translated-synonyms, ❸ meaningful variants that are not viable and ❹ meaningful and viable variants o 75% of our variants are spelling and nonsense readings that are easily figured out (“a book”, “an apple” – indefinite article “n”). The 2nd largest group is word orders (affect nothing except emphasis), the 3rd largest is meaningful, but not viable (ex. Luke 6:22 – one later man. is missing “on account of the Son of Man”, but not earlier ones)
The “meaningful and viable” variants comprise less than 1% of all textual variants and affect no cardinal doctrines. P is for prophetic accuracy
This is by far one of the greatest testimonies to the truthfulness of the Bible because it is so easy to check out.
God has put His reputation on the line by saying things like this: “whatever word I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God” (Ezek. 12:28b) and read Isa. 46:10-11 (bold)
About 27% of the entire Bible contains prophetic material—an astonishing figure for so large a book.
Prophecies are found in 62 of the 66 books of the Bible
Of the OT's 23,210 verses, 6,641 contain predictive material (28%)
Out of the NT's 7,914 verses, 1,711 contain predictive material (21.5%).
For the entire Bible's 31,124 verses, 8,352 contain predictive material (about 22%, more than 1800 verses (including 318 in the New Testament) deal with the Second Coming of Christ. o If this means anything, it means that the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth has the same chance of being fulfilled as all of the other prophecies…100 percent
1 Kings 13:2 predicted King Josiah by name and lineage 300 years before he was ever born (2 K 23:14-19)
Micah predicted the exact birthplace of the Messiah birth 700 years before it happened (5:2)
Isaiah predicted the Babylonian captivity 100 years before it happened (39:57)
Daniel (Matthew 24:15) predicted the MedoPersian, Greek, and Roman Empires (chapters 2, 7, 8) in such detail that antisupernaturalistic scholars are forced, against all the evidence, to date the book at 165 B.C., implying it is essentially a forgery
109 aspects of JC’s first coming were predicted and every single of them was fulfilled
All of this in the world of the science of probability says it is impossible.
Since the evidence overwhelmingly validates the Bible as God’s true Word, then we can trust its message to us and should fear ignoring it to our peril. o It tells us we are sinners, rebels who are cursed with spiritual blindness, death, helplessness, being lost, without purpose, and without hope o It tells us that God is our only Savior, deliverer and He sent His one and only Son to pay for our unpayable debt of sin by His sacrificial death. o It tells us that only those who are willing to renounce their sins and turn to Christ by faith in Him alone can be delivered, forgiven, and acceptable to God. o It tells us there are only two ways to go…on the wide road mis-marked heaven, but it only leads to hell or on the narrow road marked heaven and it does get there and its only on God’s terms thru the DBR of JC
– April 22, 2012