The Bible Tells Me So (pt 2)

Last week the stage was set for discussing the reliability or the trustworthiness of the Bible. For a brief summary: we discussed sources of authority, we looked at Scripture’s claim of being God-breathed, and ended up the important issues at stake for accepting or rejecting Biblical claims.

For our starting place, we are going to begin with Scripture’s self-affirming witness. That is to say that the Bible makes the claim that it is the very Word of God. In the 14th chapter of John we find Jesus preparing His disciples for His journey to the Cross. In verse 6, Jesus declares to them that He Himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Notice Jesus does not say a truth among many truths, but rather, His claim is that He is the Truth

Illustrate: Advertising Gimmicks - the world’s best coffee, our shakes are the best in town, etc. We don’t really believe the statements, we just hope they are pretty good

Argument: At first glance this seems to be what is called a circular argument, which is basically a claim that cannot be falsified. Google the definition of circular argument and this is one of the first that pops up: “Circular reasoning is when you attempt to make an argument by beginning with an assumption that what you are trying to prove is already true. ...

Examples of Circular Reasoning: The Bible is true, so you should not doubt the Word of God. This argument rests on your prior acceptance of the Bible as truth.” (www.softschools.com › Examples › Grammar Examples)

Application: Make this a starting point. Begin with the idea that the Bible is what it claims to be, and then examine the evidence and see where it goes

Internal Coherence

To start the journey, let’s take a closer look at the Bible itself, its format and how it is compiled. We quickly discover that the Bible is divided into two main sections, The first is named the Old Testament, and the second section is named the New Testament. Within the main sections we discover there are separate individual Books within the larger Bible. The OT has 39 individual books, and the NT has 27 individual books for a total of 66 books contained within the Book known as the Holy Bible.

Upon further investigation we will discover that these 66 books were written by approximately 40 different human authors spanning a time period of 1500 years. The books were written in different languages, Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT), and a few sections in Aramaic, on three different continents

Why is this important? Because in spite of the time span of a millennia and a half, in spite of differing languages, in spite of different cultures, and in spite of different life experiences, the accounts of these 66 individual books fit together with no conflicting accounts. It all fits together!

Fulfilled Prophecies

The OT is foundational to a proper understanding of the Revelation of Jesus as Messiah in the NT. In the OT mankind is told our origins as beings created in God’s image; we find out how sin entered the world and marred that image for all of us bringing death & separation from God; and then we are told of God’s enduring plan of Redemption. This Redemption, planned from Eternity Past will ultimately be revealed in Jesus in the NT. Therefore, most of the OT is a record of God’s gracious dealing with His people in preparing them for their Messiah. Sadly, because of sin, we see how God’s people repeatedly fail to uphold their part of this Covenant.

The important thing for us to see as we read the pages of the OT is the amount of prophetic teaching that is fulfilled in Christ. These next 2 slides contain only 10 OT Prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ. Only 10 out of over 300!

Written by Eyewitnesses

These next sections will focus on the NT primarily. All of the NT books were written either by an Apostle, an associate of an Apostle, or a member of Jesus’ family. All of the NT writers wrote from the vantage point of an eyewitness. The entirety of the NT was written in a time period of no greater than 40 years, possibly less. And the first NT book was written as early as 20 years after the Crucifixion. And these books were written in the same area (approximately) of where the events took place

Illustration: In the early morning hours of Oct. 30, 1995, 19 year old Josh Sims died in a car accident. His family and church family refused to bury him, and instead prayed for his resurrection. Josh was not raised, and he was laid to rest on Nov 5. That was 23 years ago. What reaction would occur if a person waited even 10 more years to write a book about how that young man came back to life in 1995? And published the book in NC, not in India or Bangladesh.

Argument: The Synoptic Gospels were written only 30 to 40 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and they were written in the same basic area where the events occurred. Many people were still alive when the Gospels began to be circulated. No widespread rejection on the basis of false testimony

Multiple lines of transmission

The NT documents were written for the purpose of being used in the churches for worship, doctrine, and Christian living. When Paul and the others wrote their God-breathed documents, they were intended for circulation (cf., ). This meant that when the original made it to its destination and was recognized by the church as Scripture, it was hand-copied and the copy was sent to another nearby church. The process was repeated, and the God-breathed Scriptures were copied and recopied and probably crossed paths on their way to and from the various NT chuches

What this means - This process prevented the spread of corruption. There was never a time when all of the originals were in one place at the same time under control of a person or group of persons who might have wished to corrupt or falsify the text. This was never a possibility. While the different lines of transmission (Jerusalem to Antioch to Alexandria) and (Rome to Galatia to Ephesus to Syria) by different amateur copyists may have increased textual variants, they protected against intentional falsification.

Manuscript Evidence

It is one thing to talk about eyewitness accounts and the security provided by multiple lines of transmission, but another very important question is this, “Is what we currently have in today’s Bible the same thing that was written 2,000 years ago?” This is an excellent question, and the answer is YES. We do have the same words and the mss evidence exists to back it up. While the Bible as a whole is well documented, the amount of mss evidence for the NT is overwhelming. There are over 5,800 Greek mss alone, and over 24,000 Latin mss.

While the Bible as a whole is well documented, the amount of mss evidence for the NT is overwhelming. There are over 5,800 Greek mss

The earliest mss is named the Rylands Fragment (p45) and it dates back to approx. 125 AD. The Rylands Fragment contains part of , and allowing for time for circulation, the time gap may only be 30 to 40 years after the original.

This is a good time to make sure all understand one very important point when talking about mss. None of the original NT documents are in existence today! What we have for the most part in the mss are copies of copies of the copies of copies. But, through the science of Textual Criticism we have confidence that we have the Word of God as He intended.

Changed Lives

The previous information provides vital support for the truth and reliability of God’s Word. Another important piece of evidence that supports the Bible as the Word of God is the history of changed lives as a result of encountering the Risen Savior. The Bible is not just another great work of literature, it is not just a history book, and it is certainly more than a book that has an overwhelming amount of textual support.

The Bible is the very Revelation of the Creator God of the Universe who gave it to mankind that they might know Him. Contained in the pages of the NT are the historical accounts of lives who were changed when they encountered Jesus: Paul, the Ethiopian Eunuch, the Philippian jailor, Lydia, and others. Church History tells of Origen, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Isaac Newton, John Newton, Jonathan Edwards, and countless others. An unbroken chain of lives changed by the Master right up til today, and continuing unto the Blessed Return of Jesus at His Second Coming!

The Vital Ingredient of Faith ()

The Vital Ingredient of Faith

The Word of God is Alive and Powerful () and it can see right through to the human heart. The reality is that The Bible can defend itself. It is God’s own Word, and He has declared that His Word is forever established and settled in Heaven ()

Men have tried over the centuries to destroy the Bible, but all have failed. It continues to be the #1 Best selling book of all recorded history. It is reliable and trustworthy as the supporting lines of evidence has shown. But make no mistake in thinking that proving the Bible is reliable is sufficient to change the hearts and minds of men. No one has ever been or ever will be reasoned into the Kingdom - it is not possible. The Bible itself talks about the vital necessity of Faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him … “ ()

Christianity is very much a reasonable system of belief. Christianity makes sense of the world around us, and it gives meaning and purpose to life. The only entry point, however is not stacking up the evidence and deciding to “give Jesus a try,” but complete surrender to the finished work of Christ on your behalf in the act of faith.

Romans 10:14–17 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

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