Sermon Tone Analysis

Big Idea:  The Bible has been proven true in every detail through the use or archaeology and shows that it is a special book written by God.

I.

Introduction

A.            In mathematics, a proof is a convincing demonstration that a mathematical theory is necessarily true.

1.             Generally this is done by deductive reasoning and logic.

2.             However, there are also some theories that can be proven by what’s called “proof by exhaustion” or what same people call “proof by brute force”

a.              What they seek to do is test the theory by running trial after trial in the hopes of finding a way to prove the theory false.

b.

For example, I can speculate that the sum of two even numbers is also an even number.

i.

That would be easy to test by brute force, as you would go about simply adding two even numbers together and seeing what the sum was.

ii.

To “prove” this theorem, you would have to do it with an infinite amount of numbers.

iii.

In reality, you do it for awhile until you are exhausted and come to the conclusion that the theory is true.

c.              Another example is one we see every day:  a map of the US

i.

The “four-coloured theory” states that you only need four different colors to color a map without two states touching each other having the same color.

ii.

This has been proven true primarily through computer simulations.

3.             Two points immediately come up

a.

The first is that you need to decide how many trials or cases will be enough to prove the theory true.

How much evidence will you need before you decide for yourself that the theory is true?

b.

The second is that it will only take one example, or one trial, to prove the theory false.

i.

Only one sum that is odd.

ii.

Or one map where two same-colored states touch.

B.            Last week Pastor Doug opened up our sermon series entitled “From God To Us” by preaching on “Why I Believe the Bible”

1.

One of the excuses he gave as to why many people don’t believe the Bible is that they think it contains just a bunch of stories, not historical events.

2.             What I want to do today is show you that the Bible is not just a collection of stories, but is a collection of events, recorded by eyewitnesses, that are factually accurate, historically true and archaeologically proven.

C.            Why this topic?

1.             Two reasons:

a.              First, is that the Bible makes the claim to be from God

i.               Paul in 2 Tim.

3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God”

ii.

David in 2 Sam.

23:2 said, “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.”

iii.

Throughout the OT we have the phrase “Thus saith the Lord”, indicating that these are His very words.

iv.

Therefore, if the Bible is from God, it should stand up to the highest scrutiny.

Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God proves true”

a.)           Hebrew means that the Word of God is tested and refined like a precious metal and comes through the fire pure and without blemish.

b.)           Every name, event, date and detail that is written in the Bible is an opportunity for us to put these claims to the test.

v.

However, the Bible is not the only book that makes claims of supernatural authorship.

a.)

The Book of Mormon, for example, is another book that claims to be from God.

i.)             Describes several Israelite tribes coming to America in 600BC and building great cities and civilizations before being wiped out.

ii.)           Absolutely no archaeological evidence for this.

No proof that any of it ever happened.

No great cities, no chariots, no evidences of any kind.

iii.)

The Smithsonian Institution issued an official statement in 1996 and again in 1998 that it "has found no archaeological evidence to support [the book's] claims."

iv.)

National Geographic Society has made similar comments.

b.)           Therefore, if the Book of Mormon can’t get any of its facts straight, why would you believe anything it has to say about God, Jesus, salvation, or eternity?

vi.

What about the Bible?

Can it get its facts straight?

a.)

The Bible claims this about itself, we want to examine it.

b.

Second, archaeology is used to try to disprove the Bible

i.               “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”

a.)           A tomb found in Jerusalem that contained 10 ossuaries (bone boxes) that had inscribed on them names like Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

b.)

In March 2007 (just before Easter), a famous director produced a documentary explaining this find with the understanding that if Jesus had an ossuary, He couldn’t have possibly risen from the dead.

c.)           Almost immediately denounced by nearly every expert, including the actual archaeologist who discovered the tomb nearly 30 years previous as impossible that these belonged to Jesus’ family, let alone Jesus Himself.

2.             So we have two main reasons for looking at this topic: the first is that other books make a similar claim as being from God, and second is that people are trying to disprove that the Bible is from God.

a.              Let’s look at some evidences and see what they have to say.

II.

Body

A.            For the longest time, biblical scholars refused to believe the Bible to be an accurate record of events, places and people because they could not find evidence for some things they considered to be major.

B.            People

1.

The ancient existence of a nation called Israel.

a.

Most scholars didn’t believe that Israel existed as a distinct people group before 800BC, whereas the Bible describes Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt around 1450BC.

b.

In 1896, an English discoverer found what is called the Merneptah Stele, named after the Egyptian King who wrote this description of his war victories.

c.

At the bottom of this 10-foot rock, king Merneptah mentions that previously he had defeated a people called Israel in a land called Canaan.

d.